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"Missions — A Daily Call"
Matthew Campbell, Christian Education & Missions
from a Selah Moment at Colonial Baptist Church, April 20, 2008
 
We seek to be God-focused - focused on Jesus Christ and his glory. We seek to be proper worshippers of our Creator-God from whom we receive life and breath. Though we fade He never changes. 

As we sing and think of these truths, the greatness, majesty, and justice of our God it is fitting for us to take those thoughts and connect them with a world that does not worship God. It is fitting for us to connect those thoughts with what has come to be called The Great Commission: Matthew 28:18-20. 

"And Jesus came and spoke to (his disciples), saying,
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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, 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." 

Our Missions Conference has ended, but the call to mission is ever present for every believer today. So we ask the question concerning this world that does not worship God and this text of scripture, "What is the mission we are called to?" 

The Apostle Matthew makes it clear that the mission we are called to involves several things: 
  1. The Mission involves action: It involves going outside the walls of our church and our family to people who are not like us with the intent to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
  2. The Mission involves speaking: It involves teaching people who are not like us the commands of Jesus Christ. 
If you're like me when I think about this mission my mind immediately has objections and questions about the successfulness of such a mission.
  • My logic says, "Going to be with people who are not like me is not comfortable and it is not safe."
  • My logic says, "These people need someone who is like them in order for the mission to be successful."
  • My logic asks, "Is it really worth it to make myself vulnerable to these people who are not like me?"
  • My logic asks, "Is it worth it to be mocked or despised by these people?" 
Of course, God and Scripture speaks to all these questions and objections our minds and logic bring up, because this mission is a command of God, and it is a necessary component in the lives of His people. Therefore, . . .
  • Jesus says, "All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth," therefore, go and make disciples of people not like you.
  • Jesus says, "All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth," therefore, the mission will be successful in going to make disciples of people not like you.
  • Jesus says, "I am with you always," therefore, make yourself vulnerable for the sake of His name for He is with you.
  • Jesus says, "I am with you always," therefore, "do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord . . . but share . . . in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God." 
Missions. . .Yes, we desire to be a missions-minded church. One that sends a courageous force of frontier missionaries around the world. But the momentum for this missionary force comes as we all embrace the mission to go outside our church, our homes and families to people who are not like us, so they might also embrace and know Jesus Christ, our Savior.