ANSWERING
A MISSIONARY CALL
Memorise
And
they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and
confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Mark 16:20
Read
Acts 13:1–5
1 Now there
were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as
Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen,
which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 As they
ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas
and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
3 And when
they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
4 So they,
being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence
they sailed to Cyprus.
5 And when
they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the
Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
Message
Missions can be defined as God specifically sending
a person to reach the unreached for him. The unreached are those people who
have not heard the gospel sufficiently enough to be taken over for Christ. The
sender is God, and the personality sent is the missionary. The unreached can be
within the environment of the missionary or in faraway lands. A Call is
imperative for missionary work. The missionary call is just like any other call
to Christian service. Many people have shipwrecked their lives because they
were not sure of God’s call upon their life. If you are sure of God’s call upon
your life, you will not be tossed to and fro by all shades of doctrine. Being
called to be a missionary is by God’s grace; it does not follow a stereotyped
style. Factors underlying God’s call include acknowledging and receiving a
claim of ownership by Christ. You must acknowledge divine ownership upon your
life and develop an understanding of God’s will and have the willingness to do
it. You should also develop sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s voice by having an
open mind, an attentive ear and a pure heart. In addition, you should be active
in God’s service. A missionary call does not necessarily come through a special
revelation. The call can come through a casual remark by a friend or neighbour
about the heathen. It can be through a letter received from a missionary or
through reading extracts from an article, book or periodical. It can be through
a hymn, an anointed message, counselling from an anointed leader or through
divinely orchestrated circumstances. Are you prepared to answer the missionary
call?
A missionary should be physically fit to withstand
adverse situations such as mosquitoes, bad climates, diseases, poor public
sanitation and poor medical services. Also, a prospective missionary should at
least be at the level of his or her audience. In other words, a missionary must
be adequately educated to reach the highest of all the educated folks in the
mission field and should be able to meet and discuss with other missionaries at
their level. To excel as a missionary, you need a charming personality that is
emotionally stable. You should also be able to adapt to the culture and food of
other people. There is equally the need for you to be patient and persevering.
A missionary should be versatile. He or she should also be submissive to God,
the mission board and to his or her superior officers. Finally, whoever wishes
to be a missionary should have a thorough experience of salvation,
sanctification and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Action
Point
For success on the field, every missionary should
ask for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Go ahead and ask for these gifts now.
BIBLE
IN ONE YEAR
1 Kings 4-6
Proverbs 15:25-16:5
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