“God Sends Missionaries”

Sunday, January 14, 2018

The God of the Bible is the God who sends. He sent Abraham across the East with the imperative, “You will be a blessing.” (Gen. 12:2) He sent Elijah, Jeremiah, Haggai and many more prophets to carry “the word of the LORD” to many nations. And he sent the apostles across the known world of the time with the commission that “you will be my witnesses… to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

There are two important lessons to learn from this.

Firstly, that missionary work matters a great deal to God. Church planting, overseas missionary trips, long-term missionary work in foreign cultures, helping brothers & sisters whose basic life needs go unmet… All of these are activities which matter to the God who sends. It was God’s own voice that breathed out request after request for prayer on Paul’s behalf as he stepped into the mission field day after day. He sent visions to his saints in the first century to say “Come over and help us” (Acts 16:9). God has a plan for missional work, and his faithful ones must always be aware of it.

Secondly, all of this demonstrates the great depth of God’s love for the lost. He does not close his eyes to the condemned state of many thousands as though they were unimportant to him. For thousands of years, he has made the initial effort to reach us and save us. And he continues to do the same today. That is why we must teach the lost here in Louisville: we are the ones he has sent to “teach the Gospel to every creature.” And that is why we support those who preach in places where Christianity is sparse or altogether unknown. This is not just our idea of a good deed; it is from the mind of God. So we are grateful for the opportunity to “enter into partnership with [faithful missionaries] in giving and receiving” (Phil. 4:15).

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