Christians On Mission

Two years ago. Getting ready to go on a mission trip to Brazil. Buying large suitcase at a store. Woman asked: “Why would you go?”

A little offended that we would go to place [in this case, Brazil], where so many people are at least nominally Christian, to try to convert people to faith in Jesus.

A commitment my wife Michele and I have made:

We will pray, give, and go to take the gospel all over the world – as long as we live.

We will lead our family to pray, give, and go to take the gospel all over the world – as long as we live.

We will encourage others to pray, give, and go to take the gospel all over the world – as long as we live.

Why?

Here’s why —

1.    I will pray, give, and go because God’s command is so clear.

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Matthew 28:20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

One major command that Jesus gives there: “Make disciples.”

By Going – make disciples.

By Baptizing – make disciples.

By Teaching – make disciples.

By Relying on the Power and Presence of the Lord Jesus – make disciples.

Pastors and church workers riding in to class at from 6 to 10:30 PM. Riding buses after a hard day of work in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

2.    I will pray, give, and go because the Gospel is so precious.

Thailand trip. A mission trip we could take our families on. So we and some friends from a church I had served in Rocky Mount made plans to go. Michele, Joshua, and me. A family with two teenaged daughters. Another family with two young daughters. A family with a little girl a little older than Joshua and a son, Clark, who is a little younger than Joshua.

At the time, Joshua was 6. Clark was 5. Both of them had crew cuts.

24 hours in the air. Connecting flights in Dallas/Fort Worth and Tokyo. A night in Bangkok. Then we arrived in Pattaya on the Gulf of Thailand. Arrived and found out our assignment.

In Thailand, but our ministry target was the Han Chinese. Hundreds of thousands of them go on vacation to Thailand each year.

Giving out Bibles, a video CD of the “Jesus Film,” a pack of books and tracks.

Outside of a restaurant [Chinese!!] in Thailand. Busloads of tourists. Wait on them to come out.

Joshua and Clark: Me in fay, song gay nee, shun jing. “This is a free gift. I give it to you. God’s book.”

Some would walk right by. We learned that if one person walked past without taking it, then a whole busload would. But if one person would take it, then the whole busload would.

Prayed hard for that first person to take the packet.

Then, we discovered that Joshua and Clark were like magnets for those Chinese people. Cherish boys. Little American boys with crew cuts chanting out to them were irresistible.

Didn’t want Bibles from me. Or from Michele. Wanted them from those little boys. Then came back to take pictures. Joshua and Clark were like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck at Disney World. Everybody wanted a picture with them.

Watched them take those Bibles, load up on tour bus, drove away, you could see some in the windows, reading their new Bibles.

The average Chinese person reads around 4 to 5 hours each day. Those Bibles would be read!

On average, when a copy of the Jesus film is given to one Chinese person, 10 Chinese people will watch that copy. On average, one out of every 10 people who see that video trusts Christ as Savior.

Exciting to know that for every packet we gave out, at least one person was going to come to Christ. Maybe not the person you gave it to, but someone.

Gospel is so precious!

3.    I will pray, give, and go because the reward is so great.

Nicholas Muteti, my friend who pastors Forestville Baptist Church, near Raleigh. I wish he were here to tell you his story. He tells it so much better than I ever could. But this is how he told his story to me.

Nicholas grew up in Kenya. Lived in a small village in a family that was not rich, but was not poor, either. He was saved as a teenager when he was visiting in the city one day. A preacher was preaching. As he did, Nicholas heard the gospel.

“It was like God was speaking to my heart and saying, ‘Nicholas, I know you and I love you and I want to save you. I will be your Father and you will be my child. I will give you new life through Jesus Christ.” Nicholas trusted Jesus. He went back to his own village and shared his good news with his family.

Nicholas began to read his Bible and pray. God began to convict him to go to the neighboring Masai tribe, the enemies of his tribe, and to tell them about salvation through Jesus.

He told his parents what God was leading him to do. They said, “Nicholas, you are our oldest son. Our family is depending on you. If you go to that village, the Masai warriors will kill you. We will lose you forever.” So, he stayed home. But God kept telling him to go and tell the neighboring tribe and tell them about Jesus.

He went to his grandparents. “God has given me a message to tell the Masai tribe. He is sending me to tell them about Jesus.” His grandparents said, “Nicholas, you are our oldest grandson. The family is depending on you. If you go to that village, the Masai warriors will kill you. We will lose you forever.” So, he stayed home. But God kept telling him to go.

One night, as the family was going to sleep, he secretly packed his little duffle bag. He waited until everyone was asleep. Then, in the early hours of the morning, long before daylight, Nicholas Muteti got out of bed and left his parents house. He began walking to the village of the Masai. He knew the risk of going. He knew that he was likely to be killed. But he knew God had commanded him to go. So, he kept walking.

Before midmorning, he was approaching the village. As he drew closer, he saw the women and children looking in his direction. They scurried into the huts where they lived. A young man with a long spear came out of one of the huts and stood his ground. Nicholas stopped walking. He dropped his duffle bag and held up his hands.

The warrior called out, “Why are you here?”

Nicholas called back, “I have come here with a message for your people from your God and my God.”

The warrior went back to one of the huts. He came back out with another young warrior, and an older man, who Nicholas knew must be the elder of the village.

Flanked on either side by warriors, the elder called out, “Why have you come here?”

Nicholas called back, “I have come here with a message for your people from your God and my God.”

The elder went back inside a hut, perhaps to confer with other elders of the tribe, and then came back out.

He told Nicholas, “You may enter the village.”

So, Nicholas came into the village of his enemy. Men, women, and children gathered around Nicholas Muteti gather around him as he told them the story of Jesus – His death, His resurrection, and the eternal life He gives. First the elder – and then many others gave their hearts to Christ. They invited Nicholas to come and live among them, and to be their pastor.

A great reward to be reaped by following Jesus.

Miraculous results from a man who simply obeyed the clear command of Jesus to go.