The Call Of Missions
Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 9:57-62
Text-Words from which every Missionary gets their calling
Used probably more than any other scripture-save John 3:16
called "The Great Commission"
12 men/ now 11 sculpted, molded by Christ. Prepared for this one day when the disciples would now be given the commission to go and make for themselves disciples.
A special calling- Christ was saying to them, "You have matured. You have learned all that I can teach you. I can now teach you no more. I took you when you were immature. I cared for you; I raised you as a parent raises a child."
The disciples now stand ready to continue the journey-no longer in need of the Master’s presence. His words, the demonstration of the Father’s power in His life, the expressions of His love, His admonishments, edifications, and chastisements have now made ready these men for the same calling which Jesus Christ, Himself had.
Christ’s calling is now their calling. His task, now their task. His ministry, now their ministry.
This is not something they took lightly, nor was it something they were given half heartedly. The Great Commission came at a price.
Luke 9:57-62
The Great Commission costs three things
1. Vulnerability
Our tendency is to go with the easy path
Matthew 5:10-11 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. (RSV)
Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (RSV)
2. Urgency/ Precedence
So important was a decent burial for the father, that it "took precedence over the study of the Law, the temple service, the killing of the Passover sacrifice, and the observance of circumcision." (Tyndale)
Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be yours as well. (RSV)
Numbers 6:7 "All the days that he separates himself to the LORD he shall not go near a dead body. Neither for his father nor for his mother, nor for brother or sister, if they die, shall he make himself unclean; because his separation to God is upon his head. (Numbers 6:6-7 RSV)
Luke 14:25-30 Now great multitudes accompanied him; and he turned and said to them, "If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build, and was not able to finish.’ (RSV)
3. Dedication/ Devotion
To be called Christian is to identify ourselves with the mission and purpose of Christ.
Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (RSV)
The disciples learned these lessons.
Missionaries have learned these lessons.
If we are to be participants in the Great Commission– If we want to reach full maturity as Christians, full maturity in Christ, no longer babes– we must learn these lessons.
