be MISSION MINDED...Just Go! Do Something!

Powerful or Powerless?

2009-08-19T23:53:00.000-07:00

We don't fast, we don't pray, we don't live lives of sacrifice; Is it any wonder why we don't see God doing awesome, incredible things in and through our lives? Is it any wonder why we don't see miraculous healings? Bringing souls to Christ by the masses? Receiving answered prayers? Being released from sinful bondage's? Helping others being released from addictive life ruining sinful bondage's like drugs? Alcohol? Pornography?
Why are we so comfortable with our lukewarm, disgusting, complacent, compromising, American Christianity? Why don't we weep for the souls of the lost? Or our hearts break for the lost multitudes that pass by us on the streets? While all we care about is the newest super tech cell phone we "gotta have"? or the newest latest flat screen TVs? The newest video gaming system? Sound system? The latest popular flick in the movie we wait anxiously all week to see? We are so consumed by the most futile stupid things, emptiness, pure emptiness that our society sells us, we buy it all up, we gobble it all up, with no remorse for the money we waste, the time we waste, the energy we waste, the life we waste, all the the while neglecting, and willfully disobeying the greatest most important purpose, will, and calling of all of our lives- to follow the greatest command ever given to mankind by the son of the living God, the greatest calling God Himself bestows upon every christian- to preach the gospel. Do you want to know what Gods will for your life is- its plain, its simple and right in front of your face- if you'd just open your calloused, crusty, scaled eyes, and pry open your dusty Bible. Matthew 28:18-20 "And Jesus came up and spoke to them, 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 the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Were is your faith? Who do you believe in? Where are the faithful Christians? Where are those whom God has called? Where is your faith o man? Where is the simplicity of faith that I see so lacking in today's modern christian? No faith for God to provide them a job? To provide them their proper and due fiances to supply their needs, not their WANTS, but needs!? Where is the faith that God allows trials and suffering for His saints as a test? As a learning ground? Have we forgotten what the very wise man Job said in Job 2:10 "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips."
So shall we indeed only accept good and not bad from the Lord?
Where is your faith that God CAUSES ALL THINGS to work TOGETHER for GOOD, to those who are called according to His purpose? Romans 8:28 "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
Are you called sir? Are you called madam? If you are, then have faith in the God that rescued and saved your soul from the pits of flaming hell, and know that this same God will also provide for your trifle little things here on this earth. O people! Please hear the Lord today, and harken to His voice, don't refuse Him who speaks...
Hebrews 12:25,28-29 "See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven...Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire."
Hebrews 12:11 "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness."

Paul the apostle declared- "I know whom I have believed"..
2Timothy 1:12 "For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day."
Do you know whom you have believed? Where is your faith o sinner? Whom have you trusted for your soul? For your life? Whom have you believed on? And for what?
Jesus said when He comes back to the earth, He is looking to see who will have faith.
Luke 18:8 "I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"

My heart is grieved not only for my pitiful life and soul, but for my fellow brethren. May we weep, mourn, repent, and change our lives to be, and live as Christ desires.

God help us all!

(please read this quick article off the mission field "Tumor disappears after prayer"

also this one "Why healings happen on mission field"

Hebrews 12:4 "You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;
Hbr 12:5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM;
Hbr 12:6 FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."
Hbr 12:7 "It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
Hbr 12:8 "But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Hbr 12:9 "Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?
Hbr 12:10 "For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.
Hbr 12:11 "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
Hbr 12:12 "Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble,
Hbr 12:13 "and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
Hbr 12:14 "Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
Hebrews 12

Romans 14:8 "For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's."

Gift of Tears

2008-12-07T23:15:00.000-08:00

When was the last time you got on your knees and wept for the salvation of a lost soul of another human being? The Puritans would pray and ask God for the gift of tears. I believe we desperately need this in the church today. Soul'd out Christians who weep, who are truly heart broken, with tears and pleas and prayers for their lost co-workers and family members, and neighbors, who are on their way to eternal fire and forever misery in hell. There is no end to hell. Eternity is forever! Forever! Forever! God help us to weep! Cry! Plead! Beg! Fast! For every single lost soul we know. God help and forgive us for doing anything else beside this.

Wasting Time

2008-12-01T23:29:00.000-08:00

Imagine how much time and life is wasted on tv, movies, youtube, myspace, etc. or any other frivolous things. So sad...
1Peter 5:8 "Be of sober spirit,be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
How can we be of sober and alert spirit when we watch brain wasting and numbing sitcoms and ungodly movies? youtube videos? We cant.
Job 31:1 "I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin?"
As Job made a covenant with his eyes to not look upon a woman, so should we make a covenant with our eyes to not look upon ungodly tv, videos, movies, and other forms of what this world calls 'entertainment'.

Jeremiah 7:30 "The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it."
I think about how we, as christians, try to have a 'godly home' devoted unto God, but then set up a tv or computer, and then watch evil on it- and 'it' becomes our idol.

Psalm 101:3 (nasb) "I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not fasten its grip on me."
Psalm 101:3 (kjv) "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me."

How many worthless, or wicked things have we spent countless hours watching and finding pleasure in worldly entertainment... Or laughing at sitcoms with humor that wickedly glorifies sins, and then we laugh at it, laughing at coarse jesting, laughing at jokes about sinful things, sins for which Christ Jesus had to be crucified for?
Ephesians 5:4 "and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks."

Philipians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."
Is the tv show or movie pure? worthy of praise? If what your watching does not fit into this catorgory or standard, then don't watch it. The bible says to dwell on things that are good. Dwell means to-To fasten one's attention,to live or continue in a given condition or state,to linger over, emphasize, or ponder in thought, speech. How can you do that when you dwell on unrighteous tv or movies?

Psalm 11:5 "The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates."
How much do you love violent action movies? How much pleasure do you get when the 'bad guys' or 'good guys' get killed, or revenge is executed? In our sinful nature our flesh can't help but rise up and get excited by violent action movies. You may say "Hey watching revenge getting executed is good, because it has a sense of justice, and God loves justice, so its good when the bad guy gets it"
Uh no, the bible says vengeance is the Lords, not ours, and to forgive your enemies, and to do good to those who mis-use you, mis-treat you, and to pray for those that hurt you, to pray for your enemies, to love your enemies. Then you may say in response "Well, the movie is fictional, its just a story, so what does it matter anyway!" Well, it does matter because when you are being entertained by anything that goes against biblical standards and watching and filling your mind with things that are the opposite of what the bible says, you are allowing yourself to be conformed and numbed into the mind-set of this world. Jesus told stories too, they were called parables, and parables in a way are like short stories- with a biblical teaching. Well, movies and tv shows do the same, they are like short teachings- but unfortunately its teaching is always promoting the opposite of biblical standards. Take the bible for what it says, Gods soul hates those who love violence. So why would I want to watch anything that encourages my flesh to love violence?
Psalm 11:4 "The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD'S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men."
Look at the complete opposite picture above in scripture, "The LORD is in His holy temple" Imagine God on His holy throne in perfect holiness, and perfect love, and perfect hatred of sin...And then imagine us sitting in our living room wasting time, watching an evil tv show or violent tv show or movie, laughing... Quite sad opposites. How God must be grieved. How the Holy Spirit must be grieved in us.
Ephesians 4:30 "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
Eph 4:29 "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth..."
How can we let no unwholesome word proceed from our mouth when we watch tv shows and movies that that are filled with unwholesome words?
Eph 4:31 "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice."
How can anger, wrath and malice be put away from us when we fill our mind with movies that are full of these things?
Rom 12:2 "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
How can you renew your mind with godliness and holiness, and not be conformed to the world when all your free time is spent doing the opposite by mind numbing entertainment.
It's interesting that the opposite (Antonym) of "renew" means to- finish, halt, kill, stop. Are you halting your walk and relationship with God by what you watch? Are you killing your spirit? Killing the 'new man' in you who is supposed to be conforming to be more like Jesus? Are You Killing your spiritual growth? Are you stopping Gods will for your life?

Or how much money have we spent on worldly entertainment that could of gone to feed the starving in Africa, or given to support missionaries who need money to help them preach the gospel that will save souls from hell? How much did your flat screen tv cost? How much did your awesome multiple speaker home entertainment center cost? How much is your new updated computer system that comes out every year?

You may say "Hey! I don't own a flat screen and I don't watch movies that much, and I don't own a movie home entertainment system, and even if I had the money to buy one, I wouldn't!" Well then, I ask you then- What do you spend your time and money on? Clothes? Do you have an unending supply of new clothes? shoes? How many pairs of shoes do you own? How much do you spend on frivolous things to decorate your house? How much video games do you play? What new video system do you buy? How much sports do you watch? news?
My point is...Is that everyone has 'something' that we can waste our time and money on. Everyone is in danger of having some sort of frivolous mind numbing and money wasting idol. Check yourself, and ask God what obstacles or idol do you have.
Psalm 26:2 "Examine me, O LORD, and try me; Test my mind and my heart."
Lamentations 3:40 "Let us examine and probe our ways, And let us return to the LORD."
Galatians 6:4 "But each one must examine his own work"
1Thessalonians 5:21-22 "But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil."
2Corinthians 13:5 "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?"

Anyway things to ponder, repent, and change in our lives...God bless and help us all, who try to live godly in this present evil age.
Galatians 1:4 "who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father"

God wants to RESCUE us! So let Him.

Song of Songs

2008-11-30T23:00:00.000-08:00

I've heard so many studies and teachings through the book of Song of Songs, and by far this is one the best series I have ever heard. I think every one NEEDS to hear and watch this, whether you are single, or married, everyone needs to see this entire series. It's amazing. If your married, you especially need this! It will help you have an awesome marriage, or maybe even save your marriage.
And guess what, if your single, you especially need this too! It will help prepare you for how to have an awesome marriage. So basically no matter who you are, you need to watch this series.

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

PART 5

PART 6

PART 7

PART 8

PART 9

PART 10

No wonder if Satan get into the saddle!

2008-11-28T01:12:00.001-08:00

No wonder if Satan get into the saddle!
(William Secker, "The Consistent Christian" 1660)

"Avoid every kind of evil." 1 Thessalonians 5:22

He who now gives way to the least sin--may yet be given up to the greatest sins. We are never far enough from lust--while we are on earth; or near enough to Christ--while we are out of heaven. O, stand far off from the devil's mark--unless you would be hit by his arrows!

The drawing near to the appearance of evil--is the first step to the accomplishment of the most enormous evil. A spark--will easily catch a box of tinder on fire. Little streams--will find a passage to the great sea. Christian reader! Why should you venture on slippery places--when you can scarcely stand upon the firmest ground? Who will pity that man whose house is blown up with gun-powder--if he stores it in the chimney corner?

Such is the monstrous wickedness of men, that though the streams and currents of their own lusts carry them too swiftly already--yet they hoist up sails to catch the devil's winds!

The fowler spreads his net--but the wings of the bird carry her into it! If you would not step into the harlot's house--you should not go by the harlot's door! If you would not gather the forbidden fruit--then beware how you look on the luscious tree!

To pray against temptations, and yet to rush into occasions to sin--is to thrust your fingers into the fire--and then pray that they might not be burnt! If you hold the stirrup for him--no wonder if Satan get into the saddle!

"Watch and pray--so that you will not fall into temptation." Matthew 26:41. That man who is the most watchful--is the least sinful. A soul without its watch--is like a city without its wall, exposed to the attack of all its enemies!

Those who would not fall into the river--should beware how they approach too near to its banks. He who crushes the egg--need not fear the biting of the serpent. He who would not drink of the wine of divine wrath--let him not touch the cup of sinful pleasure.

A person who carries gun-powder with him--can never stand too far from the fire. If we accompany sin one mile--it will compel us to go two. Sin swells like Elijah's cloud, from the size of a man's hand to such an expansion, as to cover the whole sky.

"Let him who thinks he stands--take heed, lest he fall." 1 Corinthians 10:12. You will quickly lose your standing--if you are fearless of falling.

(I got this from sermon index, and thought it was great and had to post it)

"If we desire to end our days in joy and comfort..."

2008-11-24T14:25:00.000-08:00

"If we desire to end our days in joy and comfort, let us lay the foundation of a comfortable death now betimes. To die well is not a thing of that light moment as some imagine: it is no easy matter. But to die well is a matter of every day. Let us daily do some good that may help us at the time of our death. Every day by repentance pull out the sting of some sin,that so when death comes, we may have nothing to do but to die. To die well is the action of the whole life."
~ RICHARD SIBBES ~

The Missionary Call/ How do I know if I'm called?

2008-11-19T16:04:00.000-08:00

The Missionary Call

By Oswald J. Smith

What constitutes a Call? Is there any way of knowing the will of God? How can one be sure?

I think there is. In fact, I am certain. God would not leave His servants in darkness.

But let me give you James Gilmour’s experience. It is well worth quoting. How was he called, and why did he go to the Mongols? This is how he puts it:

“Is the Kingdom a harvest field? Then I thought it reasonable that I should seek to work where the work was most abundant and the workers fewest. Laborers say they are overtaxed at home; what, then, must be the case abroad, where there are wide-stretching plains already white to harvest with scarcely here and there a solitary reaper?

“To me the soul of an Indian seemed as precious as the soul of an Englishman, and the Gospel as much for the Chinese as for the European; and the band of missionaries was few compared with the company of ministers at home, it seemed to me clearly to be my duty to go abroad.

“But I go out as a missionary, not that I may follow the dictates of common sense, but that I may obey that command of Christ, ‘Go into all the world and preach.’ This command seems to be strictly a missionary injunction; so that, apart altogether from choice and other lower reason, my going forth is a matter of obedience to a plain command: and in place of seeking to assign a reason for going abroad, I would prefer to say that I have failed to discover any reason why I should stay at home.”

Gilmour went in response to the Great Commission. His Captain ordered him to “go” and he went. He went because he could find no adequate reason for staying at home. He went to the foreign field because, as he says, there the workers were fewest. What a heroic decision!

What was Charles T. Studd’s reason for going? Studd, you remember, gave away a fortune—$145,000. He could have lived at home in great luxury, but he chose rather to give away all that he had and go to China as a missionary. Why? Strange as it may seem, it was the statement of an atheist that started him on his way. It so gripped him when he read it that he felt he must leave all and follow Jesus Christ. Here it is:

“Did I firmly believe, as millions say they do, that the knowledge and practice of religion in this life influences destiny in another, religion would mean to me everything. I would cast away earthly enjoyment as dross, earthly cares as follies, and earthly thoughts and feelings as vanity. Religion would be my first waking thought, and my last image before sleep sank me into unconsciousness. I would labor in its cause alone. I would take thought for the morrow of Eternity only. I would esteem one soul gained for Heaven worth a life of suffering. Earthly consequences should never stay my hand, nor seal my lips. Earth, its joys and griefs, would occupy no moment in my thoughts. I would strive to look upon Eternity alone, and on the immortal Souls around me, soon to be everlastingly happy or everlastingly miserable. I would go forth to the world and preach to it in season and out of season, and my text would be, ‘What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?’”

Is that the way you feel? Have you, too, felt the urge? Does the Word of God burn like a fire in your heart? Have you no rest day or night because you do not go?

“When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul” (Ez. 33:8-9).

The Need and the Urge

That means, of course, that the need is the Call. Men are dying. You have the Message of Life. Are you going to withhold it from them? The responsibility rests upon you… To me the Call is that divine urge, that compelling impulse, that passion within that makes it impossible for me to resist. There is something within that is calling, ever calling. I am restless. I am like a hunter’s dog on the leash, straining to get away. It is that irresistible “must.” The divine fire burns within my heart. I rise from my desk and rapidly pace the floor, praying, crying to God. My mind is not on what I am doing. I see the distant fields. I feel that, come what may, I have no choice but to go. I am not satisfied to settle down where I am. One time I expressed it like this:

Hark! ‘tis a Voice that calls to me Out of the depths of mystery.

It was that inner Voice that spoke to my soul and called me into the ministry and to the mission fields of the world. I can’t explain it, except to speak of it as an “urge” that was with me night and day. That urge I followed, and I have never been disappointed.

Stir me, Oh! stir me, Lord— I care not how, But stir my heart in passion for the world. Stir me to give, to go, but most to pray. Stir, till the Blood-red banner be unfurled O’er lands that still in heathen darkness lie, O’er deserts where no Cross is lifted high.

If you really want to hear God’s voice, and if you want to do His will, I can tell you how you may find out whether or not He has called you to the foreign field. Just do two things.

First, start praying about your life’s work, and pray every day. Set aside a time to wait on God about it. Pray “Lord, what would you have me to do?” Every day talk to God about it.

Second, as you pray, read missionary biographies. When I was a student I purchased a whole shelf of biographies and read two or three chapters each day. You young women should be perfectly familiar with the life stories of Ann Judson, Mary Slessor, and other missionary heroines. You young men should know the lives of Livingstone, Moffat, MacKay, Gilmour, Morrison, Taylor and other great missionary heroes.

Why do I tell you to study biographies? Because in this twentieth century you are living in an atmosphere in which God cannot speak to you. If you will read missionary biographies, you will be putting yourself into an atmosphere where God can talk to you.

Hence as you read biographies, and then pray about your life’s work day by day, you will hear the voice of God. Before long you will be burdened for some particular field, after you have finished your training, you will find yourself in the place of God’s choosing for you.

That is the way most missionaries have heard God’s Call. As I said before, it is the Divine urge. It is the voice of the Holy Spirit telling you to go, and if you disobey you will do so at your peril. You can never be happy except in the center of God’s will.

Satan’s Opposition

But no sooner will you decide to become a missionary than Satan will do everything in his power to discourage you. He may make it difficult for you to get the money you need to secure your training. He may turn the members of your own family against you. If he cannot succeed in any other way, he will do what he has done in hundreds of cases. He will get you young women interested in some young man who has no idea of ever becoming a missionary, and if you marry him, you will never be a missionary. He will get you young men interested in some young woman who is not planning upon going to the foreign field, and if you marry her that will be the end of your missionary work forever.

I cannot tell you how many have come to me in the middle age and have said, “Dr. Smith, God called me to be a missionary, but I married a man who was not going, and now we have a family. We are in middle life and it is too late. I have missed God’s best and now I must take His second best.” And I have had them break down and weep. Listen, young people, if God has called you and you have become an active volunteer, then you have no right to even keep company with anyone except someone who is traveling in your direction, and if you do that you will both reach the same destination.

Thus, you will be called, and thus you will be guided, and if you will faithfully follow these suggestions, God will lead you into the most glorious work ever committed to man. You will become a missionary, your life will be invested in a worthwhile work, and, conscious of the leading of the Lord, you will never be disappointed. You can do what millions of others have done if you want to. You can settle down to the monotony of American life, get married, raise children, work, retire, die and be forgotten, or—you can become a pioneer, a trail-blazer, invest your life in a great adventure for God, and be the first to give some unreached tribe the Gospel, and be re-membered forever. Which is it to be? It is for you to decide.

John G. Paton argued this way: “I clearly saw that all at home had free access to the Bible and the means of Grace, with Gospel light shining all around them, while the poor heathen were perishing without even the chance of knowing all God’s love and mercy to men.”

Will you then listen to His voice and answer, “Here am I, Lord, send me?”

Missions and the Bible

2008-11-19T15:12:00.000-08:00

What does the word “missionary” mean? Is it in the Bible?

The word “mission” comes from the Latin word mitto, which was derived from the Greek word apostello. This latter word means “to send” and from it we get the English word “apostle.” The word “mission” is not used widely in the Bible though the fact that God is on a mission is the main theme of all of scripture.

The last words of Jesus to his disciples, what many call “The Great Commission” is found in Matt 28:16. This passage of scriptures is the most common text for going and making disciples of the nations. However it is not the only text that gives the biblical basis for missions. In fact, from Genesis to Revelation, we see God on a mission and calling others to join Him. Take out the theme of mission from the Bible you have nothing left. Mission is what makes the Bible make sense.

This Mission shown forth in scripture is sometimes called the “Missio Dei” in Latin or the Mission of God. The idea is that God is the initiator and sustainer of mission, not men. God calls us, His church, to participate in what He is doing in the world. We, as the Church, are the instrument that He has chosen to get the message out to the nations. This calling was originally given to Israel as a nation (see Isa 42) and still stands although it has been expanded to include us as non-Jews. (Romans 11).

Where is missions in the Bible? The Question should be, “Where is missions not in the Bible”?

Old Testament and missions

Genesis 12:1-3 (repeated in Gen. 18:18, 22:17-18, 26:24 and 28:12-14)

Exodus 9:14-16 — purpose of the plagues

Exodus 19:6 — Israel was to be a “kingdom of priests”

Numbers 14:21 — glory of Lord fills the whole earth

Deuteronomy 4:6-8 — show your understanding to the nations

Deuteronomy 10:19 — “You are to love those who are aliens”

Deuteronomy 28:10 — “all the peoples on the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord”

Deuteronomy 32:1 - “Hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.”

Joshua 4:24 — “so that all the peoples of the earth might know”

1 Samuel 2:10 — “The LORD will judge the ends of the earth.”

1 Samuel 17:46 — “the whole world will know there is a God in Israel”

1 Kings 8:41-43, 59-60 (also in 2 Chronicles 6:32-33) — “so that all peoples of the earth may know your name” (Solomon’s prayer at dedication of Temple)

2 Kings 19:15 — “Hezekiah prayed . . . : O LORD, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth.’”

1 Chronicles 16:31 “Let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, The Lord reigns!’”

1 Chronicles 16:24 — “Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples”

2 Chronicles 6:33 — “so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you”

Psalm 2:7-10 — “You are my Son . . . I will make the nations your inheritance”

Psalm 7:7-8 — “Let the Lord judge the peoples”

Psalm 8:9 — “How majestic is your name in all the earth!”

Psalm 18:49 — “I will praise you among the nations”

Psalm 22:26-28 — “all the families of the nations will bow down”

Psalm 19:1-4 — “their words to the ends of the world”

Psalm 22:27 — “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord”

Psalm 24 — “The earth is the Lord’s”

Psalm 33 — “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord”

Psalm 45:17 — “The nations will praise you for ever and ever”

Psalm 46:10 — “I will be exalted among the nations”

Psalm 47 — “God reigns over the nations”

Psalm 48:10 — “Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth”

Psalm 49:1 — “Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world”

Psalm 50 — “From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets”

Psalm 57 — “I will sing of you among the peoples”

Psalm 59:13 — “It will be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob.”

Psalm 65:5-8 — “the hope of all the ends of the earth . . . where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy”

Psalm 66 — “All the earth bows down to you . . . Praise our God, O peoples”

Psalm 67 — “your salvation among all peoples”

Psalm 68:32 — “Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth”

Psalm 72 — “all nations will serve him”

Psalm 72:9 — “the desert tribes will bow before him”

Psalm 72:17, 19 — “All nations will be blessed through him . . . May the whole earth be filled with his glory”

Psalm 77:14 — “you display your power among the peoples”

Psalm 82 — “all the nations are your inheritance”

Psalm 83:18 — “You alone are the Most High over all the earth.”

Psalm 86:8-13 — all nations will come and worship

Psalm 87 — the register of the peoples

Psalm 96 — “sing to the Lord, all the earth . . . Declare his glory among the nations”

Psalm 97 — “The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice”

Psalm 98:3 — “All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”

Psalm 98:9 — “He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.”

Psalm 99:1-3 — “He is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name”

Psalm 102:15 — “The nations will fear the name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.”

Psalm 102:22 — “when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the Lord”

Psalm 105:1 — “make known among the nations what He has done”

Psalm 106:8 — reason for dividing the Red Sea

Psalm 108:3 — “I will sing of you among the peoples”

Psalm 108:5 — “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth.”

Psalm 110:6 — “He will judge the nations,”

Psalm 113:3 — “From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised”

Psalm 117 — “Praise the Lord, all you nations”

Psalm 126 — “it was said among the nations”

Psalm 135 — “our Lord is greater than all gods”

Psalm 138:4 — “may all the kings of the earth praise you, O Lord”

Isaiah 2:3 — “Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.

Isaiah 6:3 — “They were calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’”

Isaiah 11:9 — “fill the earth with the knowledge of the Lord”

Isaiah 11:10 — “in that day a Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples, the nations . . .”

Isaiah 12:4 — “Make known among the nations what He has done”

Isaiah 24:16 — “From the ends of the earth we hear singing: Glory to the Righteous One.’”

Isaiah 25:6 — “the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples”

Isaiah 42:4 — “in His law the islands will put their hope”

Isaiah 42:6 — “I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.”

Isaiah 34:1 — “Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples!”

Isaiah 37:16 — “O Lord Almighty . . . , you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth.”

Isaiah 42:4 — “He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.”

Isaiah 43:6 — “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’”

Isaiah 45:6 — “from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me.”

Isaiah 45:22 — “Turn to me . . . all you ends of the earth”

Isaiah 49:1-6 — “I will make you a light for the Gentiles”

Isaiah 49:22 — “The Sovereign Lord says: “See, I will beckon to the Gentiles, I will lift up my banner to the peoples.”

Isaiah 52:10 — “The Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.”

Isaiah 56:7 — “my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations”

Isaiah 59:19 — “From the west, men will fear the name of the Lord, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere His glory.”

Isaiah 60:3 — “Nations will come to your light”

Isaiah 62:11 — “The Lord has made proclamation to the ends of the earth”

Isaiah 66:19 — “They will proclaim my glory among the nations”

Jeremiah 3:17 — “All nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord”

Jeremiah 16:19 To you the nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers possessed nothing but false gods, worthless idols that did them no good.”

Ezekiel 36:22-23 — “The nations will know I am the Lord”

Daniel 2:47; 4:1-2; 6:25 — “Surely your God is the God of gods”

Daniel 7:13, 14 — “all peoples, nations and languages should serve Him”

Jonah’s story — the missionary book of the Old Testament

Micah 1:2 — “Hear, O peoples, all of you, listen, O earth and all who are in it.”

Micah 4:2 — “Many nations will come”

Micah 5:4 — “His greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.”

Habbakuk 2:14 — “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the water cover the sea”

Zephaniah 2:11 — “Nations on every shore will worship him”

Zephaniah 3:9 — “Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord.”

Haggai 2:7 — “Desire of all nations”

Zechariah 2:11 — “Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people”

Zechariah 8:20-23 — “Many peoples and inhabitants of many cities will come”

Zechariah 9:10 — “He will proclaim peace to the nations”

Zechariah 14:9 — “The Lord will be king over the whole earth.”

Malachi 1:10-11 — “My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun” New Testament and missions

Matthew 4:8-11 — Temptation of Jesus

Matthew 6:9-10 — The Lord’s prayer

Matthew 10:18 — “On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.”

Matthew 13 (Ezekiel 17:23) — parables of sower, weeds, mustard seed, fishing net

Matthew 24:14 — the gospel will be preached in the whole world

Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15 - The Great Commission (which many say is a re-statement of God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12)

Mark 11:17 (Isaiah 56:7) — a house of prayer for all nations

Mark 13:10 — “the gospel must first be preached to all nations”

Mark 16:15 (see Matthew 28:19-20)

Luke 2:32 — “a light for revelation to the Gentiles”

Luke 10:2 — “harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few”

Luke 10:27 — “love your neighbor as yourself”

John 3:16 ”For God so loved the world that he gave…”

John 12:32 — “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”

John 21:4-14 — some Biblical commentators have said the 153 fish equals the number of all the tribes and nations which the ancients thought existed on earth

Acts 1:8; 2:5-12 13:47 (Isaiah 49:6) — witnesses in all the earth

Acts 3:25 — “He said to Abraham, Through your offspring, all peoples on earth will be blessed.’”

Acts 9:15 “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings.”

Acts 11:18 — “They praised God, saying, So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.’”

Acts 13:47 — “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)

Acts 14:27 — “They reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.”

Acts 28:28 — “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

Romans 1:5 — “We received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to obedience.”

Romans 3:29 — “Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too.”

Romans 10:12-15 — “How can they hear?”

Romans 15:10 “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” (Deuteronomy 32:43]

Romans 15:11 “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples.” (Psalm 117:1)

Romans 16:26 — So that all nations might believe

2 Corinthians 4:15 — “grace that is reaching more and more people”

2 Corinthians 10:16 — “so that we can preach the gospel to the regions beyond you”

Galatians 3:8 — “The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: All nations will be blessed through you.’” (Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18)

Galatians 3:14 — “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles.”

Ephesians 1:10 — “To bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.”

Ephesians 2:11-19 — “you are no longer foreigners and aliens”

Philippians 2:10 — Every knee shall bow

1 Thessalonians 2:15-16 — “to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved”

Hebrews 6:13-14 — God’s promise to Abraham

2 Peter 3:9, 12 — “not wanting anyone to perish”

1 John 2:2 — “He is the atoning sacrifice . . . for the sins of the whole world”

Revelation 5:9 — “you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation”

Revelation 7:9 — Every tribe, tongue, people and nation

Revelation 14:6 — “The angel had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth — to every nation, tribe, language and people.”

Revelation 15:4 — “all nations will come and worship before you”

Revelation 21:23-24 — “The Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light”

What do missionaries do?

I believe that in God’s mind, building His Church, or those people called out from among the nations, is the main priority. Jesus told us that He would build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matt 16:18). In order to do that, He has given gifts to redeemed men to prepare His people for “works of service.” These gifts of service or ministry can be found in I Cor 12 and Eph 4. One of these gifts is the gift of the Apostle, or Sent one. This gift is not to be confused with the original 12 Apostles, but has to do with function more than title.

An Apostle is one who is sent by God with a mandate to plant churches. He is specially equipped to lay the foundation for those who have believed in the message of the Gospel that has been preached to them. He appoints leadership over these groups and nurtures them as a spiritual father providing direction and oversight when needed. He then moves on to build other churches in similar fashion.

In this calling he is like the thumb of the hand that is able to touch all four of the other fingers or gifts when needed; pastor, teacher, evangelist, and prophet. His main burden is to plant where Christ has not been named and many times this ministry is evidenced by signs, miracles, and wonders confirming the word preached.

In addition to the Apostolic gifting, some in the Body of Christ may be called to operate in any of the other Spiritual giftings as a blessing to the Church cross culturally. This may include certain outreaches such as orphan ministry, mercy ministry, education, and support ministry.

If you got to the end of this page, congratulations! You just took in a load of information!

Awesome Quotes!

2008-11-19T15:08:00.000-08:00

Missionary Quotes-

Take some time to read through these quotes, digest them, and listen to what God may be saying to you about playing your part in His global mission.

“The purpose of the church is to bring God glory through the worldwide proclamation, reception and worship of His Son. This is our corporate purpose. It should be our individual purpose as well” -David Shibley

“We do not adequately confess Christ as the God of all men if we seek to be his witnesses only among our neighbors. We must seek at the same time to confess him to the ends of the earth” -Leslie Newbigin

To understand the role of mobilizers, think of World War II as a parallel. Only 10% of the American population went to the war. Of those, only 1% were actually on the firing lines. However, for them to be successful in their mission, the entire country had to be mobilized!” -Phil Parshall

“God requires no person to spend his or her life reiterating the gospel to people who will not receive it. He wants everyone to have an opportunity to hear. Then He would have us move on to other areas. The mistake of the church has been that she sits down to convert all the people in one country to the neglect of the great masses who have never had the chance to hear the gospel - not even once!”-A.B. Simpson

“The church is a subplot to the bigger story. If it exists for its own sake, or its own growth, it has probably already broken the first commandment”-Paul McKaughan

“Anyone who can help 100 missionaries to the field is more important than one missionary on the field. In fact, mission mobilization activity is more crucial than field missionary activity.”-Phil Parshall

“Not every believer has the missionary gift, but every Christian is called to some kind of involvement in missions. We are called to advance the gospel in some way and to participate in the fulfilling of God’s purposes in our generation”-David Shibley

“No pastor is fully obedient to Christ if he does not lead his church to pursue the Great Commission by making disciples both locally and around the world.” Bill Lawrence

“Churches realize that God will do more through their honest mistakes than their disobedience; more through their fumbled efforts than their lack of efforts; more through their awkward attempts to influence their global neighbors than through their grand programs within their comfort zone.”-Mark Mays

“Must you go to China? How much nicer it would be to stay here and serve the Lord at home!” She made it plain at last that she would not go to China.”- J. Hudson Taylor’s new ex-girlfriend

“You can do something other than working with God in His purpose, but it will always be something lesser, and you couldn’t come up with something better.”- Steve Hawthorne “I have seen, at different times, the smoke of a thousand villages - villages whose people are without Christ, without God, and without hope in the world.”- Robert Moffat

“The command has been to “go,” but we have stayed - in body, gifts, prayer and influence. He has asked us to be witnesses unto the uttermost parts of the earth… but 99% of Christians have kept puttering around in the homeland.”- Robert Savage

“While vast continents are shrouded in darkness… the burden of proof lies upon you to show that the circumstances in which God has placed you were meant by God to keep you out of the foreign mission field.”- Ion Keith-Falconer

“I wasn’t God’s first choice for what I’ve done for China… I don’t know who it was… It must have been a man… a well-educated man. I don’t know what happened. Perhaps he died. Perhaps he wasn’t willing… and God looked down… and saw Gladys Aylward… And God said - “Well, she’s willing.”- Gladys Aylward

“Brother, if you would enter that Province, you must go forward on your knees.”- J. Hudson Taylor

“The man… looking at him with a smile that only half concealed his contempt, inquired, “Now Mr. Morrison do you really expect that you will make an impression on the idolatry of the Chinese Empire?” “No sir,” said Morrison, “but I expect that God will.”- Robert Morrison

“Here am I. Send me.“- Isaiah

“And people who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives… and when the bubble has burst they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted.”- Nate Saint

“Jehovah Witnesses don’t believe in hell and neither do most Christians”- Leonard Ravenhill

“Had I cared for the comments of people, I should never have been a missionary.”- C.T. Studd

“Young man, sit down: when God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine.”- said to a young William Carey who later opened India to the modern missions movement

“Oh, that I had a thousand lives, and a thousand bodies! All of them should be devoted to no other employment but to preach Christ to these degraded, despised, yet beloved mortals.”- Robert Moffat

“We must be global Christians with a global vision because our God is a global God.”- John Stott

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”- Jim Elliot

“A tiny group of believers who have the gospel keep mumbling it over and over to themselves. Meanwhile, millions who have never heard it once fall into the flames of eternal hell without ever hearing the salvation story.”- K.P. Yohannan

“I have but one passion - it is He, it is He alone. The world is the field and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ.”- Count Zinzindorf

“God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supplies.”- J. Hudson Taylor

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”- John the Baptist

“If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”- C.T. Studd

“The greatest missionary is the Bible in the mother tongue. It needs no furlough and is never considered a foreigner.”- William Cameron Townsend

“Prepare for the worst, expect the best, and take what comes.”- Robert E. Speer

“The saddest thing one meets is a nominal Christian. I had not seen it in Japan where missions is younger. The church here is a “field full of wheat and tares.”- Amy Carmichael

“I used to think that prayer should have the first place and teaching the second. I now feel it would be truer to give prayer the first, second and third places and teaching the fourth.”- James O. Fraser

“It is just as proper, maybe even more so, to say Christ’s global cause has a Church as to say Christ’s Church has a global cause.”- David Bryant

“If you are sick, fast and pray; if the language is hard to learn, fast and pray; if the people will not hear you, fast and pray, if you have nothing to eat, fast and pray.”- Frederick Franson

“What are we here for, to have a good time with Christians or to save sinners?”- Malla Moe

“I tell you, brethren, if mercies and if judgments do not convert you, God has no other arrows in His quiver.”- Robert Murray Mc’Cheyne

“It’s amazing what can be accomplished if you don’t worry about who gets the credit.”- Clarence W. Jones

“Two distinguishing marks of the early church were: 1) Poverty 2) Power.”- T.J. Bach

“Do not think me mad. It is not to make money that I believe a Christian should live. The noblest thing a man can do is, just humbly to receive, and then go amongst others and give.”- David Livingstone

“From my many years’ experience I can unhesitatingly say that the cross bears those who bear the cross.”- Sadhu Sundar Singh

“I pray that no missionary will ever be as lonely as I have been.”- Lottie Moon

“All my friends are but one, but He is all sufficient.”- William Carey

“How little chance the Holy Ghost has nowadays. The churches and missionary societies have so bound him in red tape that they practically ask Him to sit in a corner while they do the work themselves.”- C.T. Studd

“I have always believed that the Good Samaritan went across the road to the wounded man just because he wanted to.”- Wilfred Thomason Grenfell

“The more obstacles you have, the more opportunities there are for God to do something.”- Clarence W. Jones

“Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.”- William Carey

“God’s part is to put forth power; our part is to put forth faith.”- Andrew A. Bonar

“All the resources of the Godhead are at our disposal!”- Jonathan Goforth

“I feel now, that Arabia could easily be evangelized within the next thirty years if it were not for the wicked selfishness of Christians.”-Samuel Zwemer

“The Indian is making an amazing discovery, namely that Christianity and Jesus are not the same - that they may have Jesus without the system that has been built up around Him in the West.”- E. Stanley Jones

“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” - Jesus

“All roads lead to the judgment seat of Christ.”- Keith Green

“Obedience to the call of Christ nearly always costs everything to two people- the one who is called, and the one who loves that one.”- Oswald Chambers

“Christians don’t tell lies they just go to church and sing them”- A.W. Tozer

“I have said that there is nothing in the world or the Church, except it’s disobedience, to render the evangelization of the world in this generation an impossibility.”- Robert Speer

“I will lay my bones by the Ganges that India might know there is one who cares.”- Alexander Duff

“Today Christians spend more money on dog food then missions”- Leonard Ravenhill

“It will not do to say that you have no special call to go to China. With these facts before you and with the command of the Lord Jesus to go and preach the gospel to every creature, you need rather to ascertain whether you have a special call to stay at home.”- J. Hudson Taylor

“We talk of the second coming, half the world has never heard of the first.”- Oswald J. Smith

“God cannot lead you on the basis of facts that you do not know.”- David Bryant

“And thus I aspire to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named so that I would not build on another man’s foundation.”- Paul

“Why do we insist on building the largest and most impressive structures in our city when people on the other side of town are hungry, jobless and worshipping in storefronts?”- K.P. Yohannan

“If every Christian is already considered a missionary, then all can stay put where they are, and nobody needs to get up and go anywhere to preach the gospel. But if our only concern is to witness where we are, how will people in unevangelized areas ever hear the gospel? The present uneven distribution of Christians and opportunities to hear the gospel of Christ will continue on unchanged.”- C. Gordon Olson

“I spent twenty years of my life trying to recruit people out of local churches and into missions structures so that they could be involved in fulfilling God’s global mission. Now I have another idea. Let’s take God’s global mission and put it right in the middle of the local church!”- George Miley

“God provides the men and women needed for each generation.”-Mildred Cable

“Oh dear, I couldn’t say that my church is alive and I wouldn’t want to call it dead. I guess it’s just walking in its sleep!”- Church member

“When he landed in 1848 there were no Christians here; when he left in 1872 there were no heathen.”- said of John Geddie

“I am ready to burn out for God. I am ready to endure any hardship, if by any means I might save some. The longing of my heart is to make known my glorious Redeemer to those who have never heard.”-William Burns

“At the moment I put the bread and wine into those dark hands, once stained with the blood of cannibalism, now stretched out to receive and partake the emblems and seals of the Redeemer’s love, I had a foretaste of the joy of glory that well nigh broke my heart to pieces. I shall never taste a deeper bliss, till I gaze on the glorified face of Jesus himself.”- John G. Paton

“Save others, snatching them out of the fire.”- Jude

“The evangelization of the world in this generation.”- Student Volunteer Movement Motto

“Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring.”- Jesus

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t.”- John Piper

“His authority on earth allows us to dare to go to all the nations. His authority in heaven gives us our only hope of success. And His presence with us leaves us no other choice.”- John Stott

“Today five out of six non-Christians in our world have no hope unless missionaries come to them and plant the church among them.”- David Bryant

“Tell the students to give up their small ambitions and come eastward to preach the gospel of Christ.”- Francis Xavier

“Christ for the students of the world, and the students of the world for Christ.”- Luther Wishard

“We who have Christ’s eternal life need to throw away our own lives.”- George Verwer

“Some wish to live within the sound of a chapel bell, I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of Hell.”- C.T. Studd

“When I get to China, I will have no claim on any one for anything. My claim will be alone in God and I must learn before I leave England to move men through God by prayer alone.”- J. Hudson Taylor

“God has huge plans for the world today! He is not content to merely establish a handful of struggling churches among each tongue, tribe and nation. Even now He is preparing and empowering His Church to carry the seeds of revival to the uttermost ends of the earth.”- David Smithers

“The mark of a great church is not its seating capacity, but its sending capacity.”- Mike Stachura

“Answering a student’s question, ‘Will the heathen who have not heard the Gospel be saved?’ thus, ‘It is more a question with me whether we, who have the Gospel and fail to give it to those who have not, can be saved.’”- C.H. Spurgeon.

Twenty year-old John R. Mott walked in late to the meeting at Cornell while J.K. Studd was quoting, “Young man, are you seeking great things for yourself? Seek them not! Seek first the Kingdom of God!” He couldn’t sleep all night. He finally got up and had the courage to meet with Studd. He later said that the meeting with Studd was the “decisive hour of his life”. He went on to become the greatest missions mobilizer in world history. “There is something wonderfully misleading, full of hallucination and delusion in this business of missionary calls. With many of us it is not a missionary call at all that we are looking for; it is a shove. There are a great many of us who would never hear a call if it came.”- Robert Speer

“I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God; first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.”- J. Hudson Taylor

“I love to live on the brink of eternity.”- David Brainerd

“The greatest tragedy to befall a person is to have sight but lack vision.”- Helen Keller

“‘Not called!’ did you say? ‘Not heard the call,’ I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father’s house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there. And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world.”- William Booth

“Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you are alive, it isn’t.”- Richard Bach

“If God has fit you to be a missionary, I would not have you shrivel down to be a king.”- Charles H. Spurgeon

“The world is my parish.”- John Wesley

“Why doesn’t your God speak my language?”- Guatemalan Indian to Cam Townsend, founder Wycliffe Bible Translators

“I am willing to go anywhere, at anytime, to do anything for Jesus.”- Luther Wishard

“The 3.5 billion unreached people on earth would form a single file line that would stretch around the equator 25 times! Can you picture 25 lines of Christless people, trampling endlessly toward hell? Let that vision stay with you day and night.”- Larry Stockstill

“God does not have to come and tell me what I must do for Him, He brings me into a relationship with Himself where I hear His call and understand what He wants me to do, and I do it out of sheer love to Him… When people say they have had a call to foreign service, or to any particular sphere of work, they mean that their relationship to God has enabled them to realize what they can do for God.”- Oswald Chambers

“A little prayer, little power; no prayer, no power.”- A Chinese Christian motto

“When God’s finger points, God’s hand will open the door.”-Clarence Jones

“I will open Africa to the gospel or die trying.”- Rowland Bingham

“None but women can reach Muslim Women… So we have a solemn duty in this matter that we cannot shift. The blood of souls is on our skirts, and God will demand them at our hands.”- Missionary wife from the Middle East

“The church that does not evangelize will fossilize.”-Oswald J. Smith

“As long as there are millions destitute of the word of God and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, it will be impossible for me to devote my time and energy to those who have both.”- J.L. Ewen

“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”- Charles Spurgeon

“We have a God who delights in impossibilities.”- Andrew Murray

“Why do you need a voice when you have a verse.”-Jim Elliot

“The history of missions is the history of answered prayer. From Pentecost to the Haystack meeting in New England and from the days when Robert Morrison landed in China to the martyrdom of John and Betty Stam, prayer has been the source of power and the secret of spiritual triumph.”-Samuel Zwemer

“They are making a living when they could be making a life.”-Samuel Zwemer

“Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be a miracle.” -Bishop Phillips Brooks

“Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of a great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink, but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall hereafter be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice.” -David Livingstone“

My business is to witness for Christ. I make shoes just to pay my expenses” -William Carey

“Some retorted upon me, `There are heathen at home; let us seek and save, first of all, the lost ones perishing at our doors.”’ We must evangelize our home front first, before we worry about the rest of the world. Aren’t there millions of sinners living all around us? Isn’t it logical and right to preach to them first?’ “This I felt to be most true, and an appalling fact; but I unfailingly observed that those who made this retort neglected those home heathen themselves. They would ungrudgingly spend more on a fashionable party at dinner or tea, on concert or ball or theatre, or on some ostentatious display, or worldly or selfish indulgence, ten times more, perhaps in a single day, than they would give in a year, or in half a lifetime, for the conversion of the whole heathen world, either at home or abroad.” -John Paton, Missionary from Scotland to the South Sea Islands“

Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession” (Psalm 2:8)

“There are frontier or pioneer missionaries, and there are evangelists. Missionaries cross cultures and learn languages. And frontier missionaries pour out their lives “by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God” to break through thousands of years of darkness and the reign of Satan over a people who do not know the King of kings and the Savior of the world. This was Paul’s ambition. And since the great commission to make disciples of all nations is still valid and there are peoples today who do not know the gospel, therefore every church should pray that God raise up many frontier missionaries, and make all of us evangelists.” -John Piper

“I can imagine—indeed I pray—that ten years from now someone—perhaps ten of you—will write a letter home from an unreached people and say, “I am here to speak the gospel to those who have never heard, for as it is written in Romans 15:20, ‘I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation.’ God burned that word onto my heart and turned it into a holy ambition.” -John Piper to his congregation-August, 2006.”

“The Bible is not the basis of missions; missions is the basis of the Bible” — Ralph Winter, U.S. Center for World Mission

“If ten men are carrying a log — nine of them on the little end and one at the heavy end — and you want to help, which end will you lift on?” — William Borden, as he reflected on the numbers of Christian workers in the U.S. as compared to those among unreached peoples in China

“The reason some folks don’t believe in missions is that the brand of religion they have isn’t worth propagating.” — unknown

When James Calvert went out as a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands, the ship captain tried to turn him back, saying, “You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages.” To that, Calvert replied, “We died before we came here.”

“Never pity missionaries; envy them. They are where the real action is — where life and death, sin and grace, Heaven and Hell converge.” — Robert C. Shannon

“It is possible for the most obscure person in a church, with a heart right toward God, to exercise as much power for the evangelization of the world, as it is for those who stand in the most prominent positions.” — John R. Mott“

Love is the root of missions; sacrifice is the fruit of missions” — Roderick Davis“

Missionary zeal does not grow out of intellectual beliefs, nor out of theological arguments, but out of love” — Roland Allen“

I believe that in each generation God has called’ enough men and women to evangelize all the yet unreached tribes of the earth…. It is not God who does not call. It is man who will not respond!” — Isobel Kuhn, missionary to China and Thailand

“To know the will of God, we need an open Bible and an open map.” — William Carey, pioneer missionary to India“God is a God of missions. He wills missions. He commands missions. He demands missions. He made missions possible through His Son. He made missions actual in sending the Holy Spirit.” — George W. Peters“The best remedy for a sick church is to put it on a missionary diet.” — Unknown“The Church must send or the church will end.” — Mendell Taylor“Only as the church fulfills her missionary obligation does she justify her existence.” — Unknown“Go, send, or disobey.” — John Piper

“I like what I’m doing better than what you’re not doing.” - Dr. Charles Keen

“Why do what others can and will do, when there is so much that needs to be done that others will not do?”– Dawson Trotman, Founder of Navigators

“Whom God would use greatly He will hurt deeply.” - A.W. Tozer

“May the time come when rich men and great men would think it an honor to support whole stations of missionaries in Africa, instead of spending their money on hounds and horses.”- David Livingstone

“God cannot bless your ignorance – no matter how much you dedicate it!”- David Mays

“There are three stages in the work of God: Impossible; Difficult; Done.”- J. Hudson Taylor

“If you want the Kingdom speeded, go out and speed it yourselves. Only obedience rationalizes prayer. Only Missions can redeem your intercessions from insincerity.”
- William Carey

“As we seek to find out why, with such millions of Christians, the real army of God that is fighting the hosts of darkness is so small, the only answer is – lack of heart. The enthusiasm of the kingdom is missing. And that is because there is so little enthusiasm for the King.”- Andrew Murray

“I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of Him to make me love a black man [or any different ethnic group] or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want the warmth of the womb not a new birth. I want about a pound of the eternal in a paper sack. I’d like to buy $3 worth of God, please [How much do you want?].”- Wilbur Reese

“Is is one thing for a minister to be an advocate and supporter of missions: it is another and very different thing for him to understand that missions are the chief end of the church, and therefore the chief end for which his congregation exists. It is only when this truth masters him in its spiritual power that he will be able to give the subject of missions its true place in his ministry.”- Bishop Hendrix

“Is what you’re living for worth Christ dying for”? Leonard Ravenhill

“Missionaries are like a pile of manure. When you spread them out, they do some good. But if you let them pile up in one place, they begin to stink.”- (unknown)

“Every person ought to pray at least one violent prayer everyday.”– Gordon Lindsay (founder of Christ for the Nations)

“There are no closed doors to the gospel - provided that, once you get inside, you don’t care if you ever come out.”– Brother Andrew

“History’s one great lesson is that reactionaries are losers.”– George Otis, Jr.

“The God of the Bible confronts entire nationalities, challenges whole peoples, takes seriously every cultural sphere. And the God of the Bible doesn’t talk about most of the people (individuals) of the world. God has not commanded us to go into most of the world. We do not read in the Bible that in the End Times every tribe and tongue and people will be represented. The Bible talks about every people - that is, every nation, tribe, and tongue.”– Ralph Winter (U.S. Center for World Mission)

“What we need to be assured of is not that we possess an excellent system of doctrine and ritual, but that the gift of the Holy Spirit is a reality.”- Roland Allen

“We dare not go on awakening interest in the gospel unless somehow we can nourish and preserve the results.”- Clarence W. Jones

“Every step in the progress of missions is directly traceable to prayer.”- A.T. Pierson

“I do not know how to make a man think seriously about sin and judgment, and must look to the work of the Holy Spirit for any hint of such a working.”- Jim Elliot

“Gain all you can; save all you can; give all you can.”- John Wesley

“I am driven to keep going for Christ by the filling of the Holy Spirit and the knowledge that the harvest is not forever. It will soon be past.”– Bill Bright

“We must be constantly weaving into our organization the new generation. My work the world over and across the many years has shown me that young people can be trusted with great loads and great responsibilities. Youth have never disappointed me when I have put heavy burdens on them.”– John R. Mott

“This generation is waiting for the challenge that will demand their all. They are waiting to find something they can pour their lives into - something to sink their teeth into. They have become disallusioned with both the secular world and the Christian world. Our greatest natural resources - the vision and energy of a whole generation of youth - are being squandered. We must show them a Christianity that will answer their cry for a meaningful life. It is time to call them to give their lives away to a cause greater than themselves. We need to let them know there is a Christ to live for and a cause worth dying for.”- Ron Luce

“The first joint priority of the churches of any city should be that of making it hard for people to go to hell from that city.”- David Shibley

“Do you wake up in the morning with Jesus on your mind? Do you go to sleep with Jesus on your mind? Do you eat, sleep, breathe Jesus?” Steve Hill

“I am convinced that when we stand before God…we will discover that every soul ever brought to a knowledge of Christ was in some way related to intercessory prayer.”- Dick Eastman

“The Bible in its totality ascribes only one intention to God: to save mankind. Every task of the church makes sense and has a purpose only as it leads to the mission.”– Georg F. Vicedom

“All my forefathers have passed away into darkness without knowing anything of what was to befall them; how is it that your forefathers knowing all these things, did not send word to my forefathers sooner?”– (an African chief speaking to Missionary David Livingstone)

“There is no argument for missions. The entire action of God in history, the whole revelation of God in Christ — that is the argument.”– James S. Stewart

“God is a missionary God. The Bible is a missionary book. The Gospel is a missionary message. The church is a missionary institution. And when the church ceases to be missionary minded, it has denied its faith and betrayed its trust.”– J. Herbert Kane

“Essentially, the church has many responsibilities but only one mission, and that is the evangelization and discipling of all nations.”– Daniel Bacon

“Missions are the chief end of the Church….the chief end of the ministry ought to be to equip the Church for this. Each congregation is meant to be a training class.”
– Andrew Murray (The Key to the Missionary Problem)

“Watch out for teachers who preach all manner of insight, yet have no passion for the ends of the earth. When they say that it is ‘just not their ministry,’ they are people who have not seen the heart of God and who are not committed to the complete Lordship of Christ.”– John Willis Zumwalt (Founder of Heart of God Ministries)

“Don’t aim to plant churches. Aim to plant a church that will plant many other churches.”
– George Patterson

“Look to the heathen without Christ, and you will find an altar…and may God help you to be a sacrifice.”– Warren Chastain (OMF Missionary to Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia)”We have the means of evangelizing our country, but they are slumbering in the pews of our churches.”- John Stott

“For one, I hold we must either give up the inspiration of the Word, or accept the lost condition of the world. The epistle of the Romans deals with these very questions and leaves no standing room for any candid doubt, unless we deny that Paul spake under the moving of the Holy Ghost. We can scarcely read the introductory chapter of that masterly epistle, which is logic on fire, without observing a fearful indictment on the whole pagan world from idolatry and iniquity. Yet he does not hesitate to affirm that they are WITHOUT EXCUSE, because that when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God.”
– A.T. Pierson

“I meet a good many people who say to me, ‘I cannot believe that the heathen are lost, because they have not heard the Gospel’; and I fully agree with them. I believe they are lost, because they are now in sin and go on in sin. It is not a delusion as to whether people will be lost. We are lost, because it is a state of nature. The unconverted are lost already, but they can learn that Jesus Christ came to seek and to save, not those who are in danger of being lost, but those that are lost.”– James Hudson Taylor

“I continually heard…the wail of the perishing heathen in the South Seas.”– John G. Paton

“Would that God would make hell so real to us that we cannot rest.”– James Hudson Taylor

“There is no better way to measure the self centeredness in the Church than the lip service that we give to the heart of God concerning those who are living in total darkness.”– Dr. James L. West

“Missions is the reason we live. The minute the Church gets on her knees, the minute the Church sells out to advancing the Gospel into these dark areas, Satan is done.”– John Willis Zumwalt

“It is not clever technology that will see salvation brought to the ends of the earth. It is the taking on of His Name, His nature and character, the living of His life and the partaking in His sufferings and death.”– John Willis Zumwalt

“Is it possible to get close to the Master’s heart without getting close to the Master’s mission?”– Larry Moyer

“Jesus was moved with compassion concerning the miseries of men. He saw them as lost, hungry, sick and bewildered. And just as His Father’s heart had been moved in love to send Christ into the world to redeem them, so our Lord’s own heart was moved in compassion toward them.”– G. Christian Weiss

“You would believe in pioneer missions if your family were part of an unevangelized people group.”– Norm Lewis

“The shore waters are largely over-fished. Out in the deeps are fish that have never had smell or sight of bait or net. Here, near shore, the lines get badly tangled sometimes, and committees have to be appointed to try to untangle the lines and sweeten up the fishermen. And the fish get very particular about the sort or shape of the bait. Some men have taken to fishing wholly with pickles, but with very unsatisfying results. The fish nibble, but are seldom landed apparently. And just a little bit out are fish that never have gotten a suggestion of a good bite.”– S.D. Gordon

“We are never closer to God than when we share His heart for the unevangelized.”
– Patrick Johnstone

“The way I see it, we ought to be willing to die. In the military, we are taught that to obtain our objectives, we have to be willing to be expendable. Missionaries must face that same expendability.”– Naint Saint (martyred missionary)

A missionary working on the borders of Tibet wrote these impressive words: ‘The eyes of Christians should turn as instinctively toward the lands closed to the Gospel in this missionary age as do the eyes of a conquering army toward the few remaining outposts of the enemy which withstand the victors and hinder complete victory, and without which the commander-in-chief is unable to close the campaign.’”– Robert Hall Glover

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.”– C.S. Lewis

“Men do not reject the Bible because it contradicts itself but because it contradicts them.”
– Frank Mead

“If the church is to be missionary, she must be spiritual; and if the church is to be spiritual, she must be missionary.”– G. Campbell Morgan

“No one can do everything, but everyone can do something; and together, we can change the world.”– Ron Sider (Author, Rich Christians in An Age of Hunger)
“What is to give light, must endure burning.”– Victor Frankyl

“If you want to go fast, go alone: if you want to go far, go together.”– African Proverb

“If we in the West insist on keeping our blessing instead of sharing it, then we will, like other nations before us, have to lose our blessing for the nations to receive it.”
– Ralph Winter

“Evangelism is a church growing where it is: Missions is a church growing where it isn’t.”
– Ralph Winter

“Do not bring us the Gospel as a potted plant. Bring us the seed of the Gospel and plant it in our soil.”– Mr. Murthis (Indian Evangelist)

“World Christians are heaven’s expatriates, camping where the Kingdom is best served.”
– David Bryant

“If God has called you to China or any other place and you are sure in your own heart, let nothing deter you….Remember, it is God who has called you and it is the same as when He called Moses or Samuel.”– Gladys Aylward (Missionary to China)

“There are individuals ripe to receive the Lord in the most resistant and hostile situations. We must take the Gospel to them.”– Virgil Amos

“It seems to me personally that our failure to have as complete and perfect an understanding of ‘fairness’ as God does, stems from two things. First, we do not have all the facts. Trying to decide if what He does in a given situation is fair or not, is like coming into a room half way through an argument. Not having all the background information, we are in no real position to cast a verdict. And we won’t have all the information until the Judgment Day, when we’ll be able to see things in the light of an eternal perspective. The second reason…is our own failure to appreciate the seriousness and hideousness of sin. I know that it seldom really strikes me that God owes this utterly rebellious and ungrateful planet absolutely nothing. In fact, that is an understatement. Actually He does owe us something – hell.”– Joni Eareckson Tada

“The modern habit throughout the Christian church is to play this subject down. Those who still believe in the wrath of God (not all do) say little about it; perhaps they do not think much about it. To an age which has unashamedly sold itself to the gods of greed, pride, sex, and self-will, the church mumbles on about God’s kindness, but says virtually nothing about His judgment…The fact is that the subject of divine wrath has become taboo in modern society, and Christians by and large have accepted the taboo and conditioned themselves never to raise the subject.”– J.I. Packer

“Men are in this plight, not because they are unevangelized, but because they are men. Sin is the destroyer of the soul and the destruction of the knowledge of God which is life. And it is not the failure to have heard the Gospel which makes men sinners. The Gospel would save them if they heard it and accepted it, but it is not the ignorance or rejection of the Gospel which destroys them, it is the knowledge of sin.”– Robert E. Speer

“The history of missions is the history of answered prayer….It is the key to the whole mission problem. All human means are secondary.”– Samuel Zwemer

“If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, I would spend 6 hours sharpening my ax.” -Abraham Lincoln

“It is conceivable that God might have ordained to preach the Gospel directly to man through dreams, visions and revelations. But as a matter of fact, He has not done this; but rather has committed the preaching to man, telling them to go and disciple all nations. The responsibility lies squarely on our shoulders.”– J. Oswald Sanders

“That land is henceforth my country which most needs the gospel.”– Count Nikolus Ludwig Von Zinzendorf

“Obedience to God’s will is the secret of spiritual knowledge and insight. It is not willingness to know, but willingness to DO (obey) God’s will that brings certainty.”
– Eric Liddell

“Let us press on. All Africa must be won for Christ. Though a thousand missionaries die, send more.”– Missionary Andreas Riis (Missionary to Africa)

“Too many people want the fruit of Paul’s ministry without paying the price that Paul paid. He died. He died to everything. He died daily He was crucified with Christ…I challenge you to pray this prayer: ‘Lord, be ruthless with me in revealing my selfish ambition and my lack of willingness to die to myself.’ I guarantee that He will answer your prayer – and quickly.”– Floyd McClung

“I want my breakfast served at eight, with ham and eggs upon my plate; a well-broiled steak I’ll eat at one, and dine again when day is done. I want an ultramodern home. And in each room a telephone; soft carpets, too, upon the floors, and pretty drapes to grace the doors. A cozy place of lovely things, like easy chairs with inner springs, and then I’ll get a small TV – Of course, ‘I’m careful’ what I see. I want my wardrobe, too, to be of neatest, finest quality, with latest style in suit and vest: why should not Christians have the best? But then the Master I can hear in no uncertain voice, so clear: ‘I bid you come and follow Me, the lowly Man of Galilee. Birds of the air have made their nest, And foxes in their holes find rest, but I can offer you no bed; no place have I to lay My head.’ In shame, I hung my head and cried. How could I spurn the Crucified? Could I forget the way He went. The sleepless nights in prayer He spent? For forty days without a bite, alone He fasted day and night; despised, rejected – on He went, and did not stop till veil He rent. A man of sorrows and of grief, no earthly friend to bring relief; ‘Smitten of God,’ the prophet said – ‘Mocked, beaten, bruised, His blood ran red.’ If He be God, and died for me, no sacrifice too great can be for me, a mortal man, to make; I’ll do it all for Jesus’ sake. yes, I will tread the path He trod, no other way will please my God; so, henceforth, this my choice shall be, my choice for all eternity.”– William “Smiling Bill” McChesney (age 28; 5′ 2″; 110 lb.; single missionary to the Congo – he was shoved into a truck by Simba rebels in the Congo in 1964, stripped and mercilessly beaten by soldiers while suffering from malaria, imprisoned in a small cell with 40 other prisoners, he was turned over to a rioting mob armed with clubs and fists who struck him down, dead.)

“That the Lamb who was slain would receive the reward of His suffering.”(the missionary motivation of the Moravians)

“For me, passion means whatever a person is willing to suffer for….’Apostolic passion,’ therefore, is a deliberate, intentional choice to live for the worship of Jesus in the nations. It has to do with being committed to the point of death to spreading His glory. It’s the quality of those who are on fire for Jesus, who dream of the whole earth being covered with the Glory of the Lord.”– Floyd McClung

“Our eyes must be on the entire world, but never off the individual.”– Unknown

“We should not ask, ‘What is wrong with the world?’ for that diagnosis has already been given. Rather, we should ask, ‘What has happened to the salt and light?’”- John Stott

“Where passion for God is weak, zeal for missions will be weak.”– John Piper

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).– Apostle Paul

“And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish” (Luke 21:16-18).– Jesus Christ

“If your church wouldn’t miss them, we probably don’t want them!”– Unknown

“You must go or send a substitute.”– Oswald J. Smith

“Send us people with initiative, who can carry themselves and others too; such as need to be carried hamper the work and weaken those who should be spending their strength for the heathen. Weaklings should be nursed at home! If any have jealousy, pride, or talebearing traits lurking about them, do not send them, nor any who are prone to criticize. Send only Pauls and Timothys; men who are full of zeal, holiness and power. All others are hindrances. If you send us ten such men the work will be done. Quantity is nothing; quality is what matters. ‘FORWARD EVER; BACKWARD, NEVER!’”– C.T. Studd

“Jesus will judge us not only for what we did, but also for what we could have done and didn’t.”– George Otis

“Give according to your income lest God make your income according to your giving.”– Peter Marshall

“We have eternity to tell of victories won for Christ, but we have only a few hours before sunset to win them.”– Unknown

“Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29, 30).– Jesus Christ

“Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Mark 8:34, 35).– Jesus Christ

Was Joseph Smith a prophet of God?

2008-01-09T16:50:00.000-08:00

Was Joseph Smith a prophet of God?

NO

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon church, claimed to be a prophet of God. Was he?

In determining whether Joseph Smith was a prophet of God we need first to look at Smith's so-called first vision, in which God supposedly instructed the would-be prophet to start a new church what was to become the Mormon church. The evidence shows, however that Smith's testimony suffers from a host of internal discrepancies. For example, the earliest recorded account of Smith's first vision makes mention only of Jesus Christ, whereas other accounts report the appearance of both Jesus and God the Father, or of an angel, or a group of angels. Whatever the case may be, it's clear to see that such conflicting reports only serve to cast doubt on the veracity of Smith's testimony. Keep in mind that several of these accounts came from the same man Joseph Smith himself.

Turning now to prophetic accuracy, we find that Smith fares no better than he did in recounting his alleged encounter with God. According to Deuteronomy 18:22, God's prophets have a one hundred percent rate of accuracy that is to say, their prophetic predictions never miss the mark. Unfortunately for Smith, such standards proved too much for him. We note, for example, that Smith predicted that a Mormon temple in Missouri would be constructed before all of the people living in 1832 pass away. This did not occur.

But even if Smith were flawless in all his predictions (which certainly was not the case), according to Deuteronomy 13:1-3 he would still not qualify as a prophet of God because he was speaking for a false god a god other than the One revealed in Scripture. The facts lead us to draw only one conclusion: that Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet, but a false prophet. And remember, the irony is that it was Joseph Smith who attacked Christianity by saying that all its teachers were corrupt.

by-Hank Hanegraaff.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

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Mormonism and Jesus Christ...is it the same Jesus?

2008-01-08T20:18:00.000-08:00

Mormons openly profess to believe in Jesus Christ. But is their Jesus different from the Jesus of the Bible?

It's not uncommon for Mormons to argue that they should be regarded as Christians because their faith is centered on Jesus Christ. And while this may appear to be the case from the perspective of the Mormon Church, there can be little doubt that the Jesus preached by Mormonism is not the Jesus of the Bible.

Simply believing in someone named Jesus will not solve the issue for Mormons because as the apostle Paul warns in 2 Corinthians 11:4 there are some who preach a different Jesus. For example, while the Bible teaches that Jesus has always existed as God (John 1:1), Mormons see Jesus as someone who worked His way up to godhood. In fact, to Mormons, Jesus is merely one in purpose with God the Father; whereas the Bible declares that the Father and the Son are also one in essence (cf. Phil. 2:6) that they are both equally God and members of the Holy Trinity.

This leads me to what is perhaps the most problematic matter facing Mormons with regard to their view of Christ. You see, in their attempt to evade charges of polytheism which, of course, is the belief in or worship of more than one god Mormons end up prohibiting prayer to Jesus. Mormons confess that they believe in the existence of many gods but pray only to God the Father. Well, in light of the Bible's explicit command to pray to Jehovah (cf. Deut. 4:7; 2 Chron. 7:14; Pss. 5:2; 32:6; Jer. 27:7, 12), it's simply incredible that Mormons refuse to pray to Jesus while yet acknowledging Him to be Jehovah! In addition, let me point you to passages like John 14:14 and Romans 10:12 which demonstrate beyond the shadow of a doubt that believers ought to pray to Jesus.

Mormons can claim to believe in Jesus all they want, but it's apparent from their teachings that the Jesus they profess is definitely not the Jesus of the Bible. The truth is they worship another Jesus, proclaim another gospel, and teach the skin of the truth stuffed with a lie. Ultimately, all cults and world religions, in one way or another, compromise the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

On the Jesus of Mormonism, thats the CRI Perspective. Hank Hanegraaff.

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MORMONISM...Is the book of mormon credible?

2008-01-07T15:55:00.000-08:00

Is the book of mormon credible? NO

This article first appeared in the Ask Hank column of the Christian Research Journal, volume 28, number 3 (2005). For further information or to subscribe to the Christian Research Journal go to: http://www.equip.org

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” (Gal. 1:6–9 NIV).

In 1823, the angel Moroni allegedly visited Mormon prophet Joseph Smith and divulged the location of some golden plates containing the “fullness of the everlasting gospel.” These plates—abridged by Moroni and his father, Mormon, 1,400 years earlier—were written in “reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics.” Along with the plates, Smith found a pair of magical eyeglasses that he used to translate the cryptic writing into English. The result was a new revelation called the Book of Mormon and a new religion called Mormonism.

How millions can take the Book of Mormon seriously is almost beyond comprehension. First, while Smith referred to the Book of Mormon as “the most correct of any book on earth and the keystone of our religion,” its flaws run the gamut from the serious to the silly. In the category of serious, the Book of Mormon contains modalistic language that militates against the biblical doctrine of the Trinity (Ether 3:14). In the category of silly, a man struggles to catch his breath after having his head cut off (Ether 15:31).

Furthermore, while archeology is a powerful testimony to the accuracy of the Bible the same cannot be said for the Book of Mormon. Not only is there no archeological evidence for a language such as “reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics,” there is no archeological support for lands such as the “land of Moron” (Ether 7:6). Nor is there any archeological evidence to buttress the notion that the Jaredites, Nephites, and Lamanites migrated from Israel to the Americas. On the contrary, both archeology and anthropology demonstrate conclusively that the people and places chronicled in the Book of Mormon are little more than the product of a fertile imagination.

Finally, Joseph Smith asserted that the golden plates were translated “by the power of God” and produced “the most correct of any book on earth.” Joseph F. Smith, the sixth president of the Mormon Church, went so far as to say that the words were not only correct but “every letter was given to [Smith] by the gift and power of God.” In reality, however, the Book of Mormon has had to be corrected thousands of times to compensate for Smith’s poor grammar and spelling.

The Book of Mormon is fraught with other errors as well. For example, “Benjamin” was changed to “Mosiah” when Mormon leaders realized that in the chronology of the Book of Mormon King Benjamin had already died—thus he would have been hard pressed to “interpret” the engravings mentioned in Mosiah 21:28.

Perhaps the greatest crack in the credibility of the Book of Mormon is that whole sections were derived directly from the King James Version of the Bible—this despite the fact that according to Mormon chronology, the Book of Mormon predates the King James Version by more than a thousand years. Little wonder that Mormons accept the Book of Mormon based on a “burning in the bosom” rather than on history and evidence.

— Hank Hanegraaff
Article: JAM530

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MORMONISM... christianity or cult ???

2008-01-03T19:22:00.000-08:00

MORMONISM...another form of christianity or just another cult ???

Brigham Young (mormon leader) said- “Take up the Bible and compare the religion of the latter-day saints with it and see if it will stand the test” (Journal of Discourses page 46 Vol. 16)

Cult- a belief system that takes true teachings of a world religion and redefine it to an extent that it becomes radically altered.

President Hinkley (Mormon current prophet) -“In bearing testimony of Jesus Christ spoke of those outside the church who say latter-day saints ‘do not believe in the tradition of Christ.’ No I don’t. The tradition of Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak. For the Christ of whom I speak has been revealed in this dispensation of the fullest of time. He together with his father appeared to the boy, Joseph Smith in 1820 and when Joseph left the grove that day, he knew more about the nature of God than all the learned ministers of the gospel of the ages.” (Latter Day Saints Newsweek June 20, 1998 page 7)

CORE TEACHINGS of MORMONISM:

God used to be a man on another world that he became a god by following the laws and ordinances of his god on his own world. In his present god state he rules our world. He has a body of flesh and bones and according to Mormonism he has a wife, a goddess wife. Since they are both exalted persons they each posses physical bodies. In their exalted states as deities they produce spirit children that grow and mature in the spiritual realm. The first spirit born was Jesus. Afterwards were born the devil and all other spirit creatures. After the spirit children are born to god and his goddess wife in heaven they come down and enter into bodies of human babies that are born on earth. During this compression into infant state, the memories of the pre-existence is veiled. All people were born in heaven first and then on earth where they grown and learn to return to god. God the father who is called Elohim, was concerned for the future salvation of the people on earth in the heavenly realm the father had a plan for salvation of the world. Jesus endorsed the fathers’ plan, Lucifer did not. Lucifer became jealous and rebelled. In his rebellion he convinced a large portion of the spirits existing in heaven to side with him and oppose God. God being more powerful than they cursed the rebellious spirits to become demons. Mormon men and women have the potential of becoming gods

President Lorenzo Snow –“As god once was, man is. As god is, man may become. In order to reach the exalted state, a man must become a good Mormon, pay a full 10
ithe to the Mormon Church, follow various laws and ordinances of the church and be found worthy. Afterwards he or she can enter a Mormon temple and go through the secret (they call sacred) rituals : baptism for the dead, celestial marriage, and various oaths of secrecy and commitment. 4 secret handshakes are taught so the believing Mormon upon entering the 3rd level of Mormon heaven can shake hands with god in a certain pattern. This celestial ritual is for the purpose of permitting entrance into that level of heaven. For those that achieve the highest of heavens, exaltation to godhood awaits them. Then he or she will be permitted to have his or own planet and be the god of his own world and the Mormon system will be expanded to other planets.

(Chapter 4:61) More correct than the Bible. There are many gods (Mormon doctrine page 163) God used to be a man on another planet (MD page 321) After you become a good Mormon, you have the potential of becoming a god. (345-347) teachings of Joseph Smith) God resides near a star called Colub (pearl of great price page 34,35). God has a body of flesh and bones (Doctrine and covenants (page 130:22) Jesus and Satan are spirit brothers and we were all born as siblings in haven to them both (page 163 MD) Goes back to 1830.

As of 1997, membership was a little more than 10 million in world.

Isaiah 43:10,11 says “…before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.11I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no Savior.”

Isaiah 44:6 says “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

Isaiah 46:9 says “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,

1 Timothy 3:16 “God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

(Times and seasons 5:613) First God himself who sits enthroned in yonder heavens is a man like unto one like yourselves. (DC 130:22) the father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as mans.

Hosea 11:9 says “for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee

John 4:24 “God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

Luke 24:39 “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”

John 1:1,14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Mark 2:7 “Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?” (Jesus forgave sins afterward)

Colossians 2:9 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” (speaking of Jesus)

Colossians 1:16 “For by him (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:”

Hebrews 3:4 “For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.”

Psalm 96:5 “ For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.”

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Matthew 1:23 “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

Matthew 1:18 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Matthew 1:20 “…that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.”

Luke 1:35 “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

Brigham Young (Mormon prophet) said- “When the virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the father begotten him in his own likeness. He was not begotten of the holy ghost” (Journal of Discourses page 150)

Psalm 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

How was Jesus born a god? Why aren’t we all born gods?

Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Matthew 1:20 that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

(Mormon Doctrine) Page 358 “The holy ghost is the 3rd member of the godhead. He is a personage of spirit, a spirit person, a spirit man, a spirit entity. He can be in only one place at one time and he cannot transform himself in any other image than that of man, whom he is.”

Acts 5:34 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4"While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God."

Psalm139:7,8 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.

Isaiah 44:6 Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

Revelation 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last.

Polytheism -More than one God.

Monotheism- Only one God (Christianity)

Polytheism belief in worship of many gods (Webster’s dictionary)

Christianity believes One God revealed in 3 persons.

Mormonism belief actually 3 different gods

Isaiah 44:8 Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

(JOD) The father is the only god with whom we have to do. In other words the only one they report to.

Matthew 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

Matthew 14:33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

Matthew 28:9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

Matthew 28:17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

John 9:38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

Revelation 5:12-14 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.13And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.14And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Q- Joseph Smith claims church had fallen away. Father God told him not to go to any church b/c all wrong. He had to restore it.

All verses referring to end time apostasy do not say a total and complete apostasy.

Isaiah 51:6-8 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.7Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.8For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation.

Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Orson Pratt apostle of Mormon Church said “gates of hell have prevailed against the church.”

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Galatians 1:8 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.

Q Do you really believe that God commanded the restriction of African-American from the restored priesthood? Are you in support and agreement with the views of the Latter Day Saints prophets and apostles on this matter?

Latter Day Saints Prophet Bruce R. McConkey in MD page 527-528 1966 edition says “the Negroes are not equal with other races where the receipt of certain spiritual blessings are concerned. This inequality is not of mans origin, it is the Lord’s doing. It is based on the eternal laws of justice and grows out of the lack of spiritual valiance of those concerned in their first estate.”

Acts 10:34,35 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:35But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

Galatians 2:6 But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man's person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me:

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

(Journal of Discourses Vol 2 page 143) In 1854, prophet Brigham Young - “The Negroes would not receive the Mormon priesthood until after the resurrection.”

Another prophet, Spencer Kimball pleading to god against this very same revelation. In 1978, Spencer claims that as a result of these pleadings he received a new revelation that contradicts Brigham Young’s original teaching of the subject.

Problem: 2 revelations from God that are contradictory

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

In 1978 when they had this (made top 10 things in 20th century regarding Mormon church)

1979: worthy males of all races can all receive the priesthood, means that members of all races may be married although interracial marriages are discouraged by the brethren.

-Latter Day Saints prophet Bruce McConkey (Mormon Doctrine 526-528, 1979)

They will ask you to pray about the Book of Mormon to see if you get the burning in your bosom Moroni 10:4 and James 1:5 {that context is of trials.

Q- If it contradicts the bible why pray about it? Why not pray about adultery or homosexuality. Just as obvious how wrong it is! Should we pray about the Qu’Ran to see if it is true?

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Proverbs 28:26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.

As far as determining truth, use 2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

John 5:39 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Matthew 21:16 And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

If agree to pray about the book of Mormon, which edition 1830, 1921 or today’s which has over 4,000 changes since 1830.

Changes in 1830 book of Nephi page 25 “Behold the lamb of god, yeah even the eternal father.”

Today it reads “Yeah, even the son of the eternal father.”

Page 26 “I looked and beheld the lamb of God that he was taken by the people. Yeah, the everlasting god was judged of the world.”

Now it reads “yeah the son of the everlasting god was judged of the world.”

Page 32 “The lamb of god is the eternal father and the savior of the world.”

Now it reads “The lamb of God is the son of the eternal father and the savior of the world.”

Book of Mormon contradicts DandC Jacob 2:24- “Behold, Davis and Solomon had many wives and concubines which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.”

DandC 132:1 David and Solomon were justified of polygamy

Alma 11:44- “The father, son, and Holy ghost are one. Christ the son, God the father and the holy spirit which is one eternal god.” (Contradicts Mormon doctrine)

Mormon 7:7 “Unto the father, unto the son and unto the holy ghost which are one god.”(Contradicts many gods)

Alma 31:15 “Holy, holy, we believe that thou art holy and that thou was a spirit, and that thou art a spirit, and that thou will be a spirit forever.”

Believe in the Bible as long as it is interpreted properly.

Q- How were Jesus and Satan spirit brothers when Jesus created all things?

John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Ezekiel 28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

Teach necessity of water baptism for salvation (works salvation) Acts 2:38

Acts 10:44-47

Thief on the cross not baptized. Luke 23:40-43

Archeological evidence for the book of Mormon= Zero!

Smithsonian see no archeological support for migration from Israel to America

Department of Anthropology says Americas did not have steel or horses before 1492.

600 B.C. – 421 A.D.

1 Nephi 4:9 -steel

Alma 18:9 existence of horses

Excuse is names have changed, etc

To determine a cult: A cult changes major religion and perverts it and radically changing it.

Joseph Smith is a false prophet based on this:

Feb 14, 1835 in history of Church 2:3-82 preached, “the coming of the Lord will be in 56 years (1891). Also on April 6,1843 HC 5:336; DandC 130:14-17

He also prophesied that “there are those of the rising generation that will not taste death until Christ comes. In the name of the Lord God, let it be written that the son of man will not come in the heavens until I am 85 years old. About (1890)” Jesus did not return. Mormons do not claim He did! Joseph Smith did not live to be 85 years old.

Deuteronomy 18:22- When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”

Excuse is “He probably didn’t mean what he said.”

Mormon prophet Brigham Young taught “Adam and Joseph Smith helped to make and organize the world.” (Journal of Discourses Volume 1 page 50)

Isaiah 44:24 Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;

Pre-Existence ???

Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Jeremiah 11:5 That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O Lord.

Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

1 Peter 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Mormons believe we are all literal offspring of God

We are children of God by adoption when we repent and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Deuteronomy 14:1 Deuteronomy 14:2 chosen not conceived by sex

Hosea 1:10 called or told not conceived by sex

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Romans 8:15,16 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.16The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.

Brigham Young taught controversial Adam-God doctrine. Many Mormons claim not true.

Excuse is “he was a deep thinker, so we can’t understand what he meant.”

Intro in JoD says “words of the apostles and prophets as they were spoken in the assemblies of the saints in Zion, the value of which cannot be estimated by man not so much for any great display of learning and eloquence but as for the purity of doctrine, simplicity of style, and the extent of a monotheological truth which they develop. Referred to as the embodiment of doctrine. These sermons will be most valuable as a gauge of doctrine.

Oct 8,1954 “he (Adam) is god and father of our lord Jesus Christ, both body and spirit. He is the father of our spirits and the father of our flesh in the beginning. You will not dispute the words of an apostle that he is the actually the god and father of our Lord Jesus Christ and the father of our spirits. I tell you simply he is our father and god and the father of our Lord Jesus Christ and the father of our sprits. I say he is not made of the dust of this ground of this earth but made of the dust of the earth where he lived where he honored his calling and believed in his savior or elder brother and by his faithfulness was redeemed and got a glorious resurrection. Our spirits and all spirits were begotten by Adam and born of Eve. I tell you when you see your father in Heaven, you will see Adam. When you see your mother that bore your spirit, you will see mother Eve.”

1 Corinthians 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.

Manuscript Address of Brigham Young quoted in Journal of L. John Nutal Feb 7,1887 “He had received his priesthood, was numbered through the Gods.”

“Now hear it oh inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, saint and sinner, when our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body and brought Eve, one of his wives with him. He helped to make and organize this world...”

{Genesis 2:18 God made a helper for Adam. Genesis 2:22 Lord God made Eve from side of Adam.} “…he is Michael the archangel the ancient of days whom holy man have written and spoken. He (Adam) is our father and our God and the only God with whom we have to do. Every man upon the earth, professing Christians must hear it and will know it sooner or later. He was not begotten of the holy ghost. And who is the father? He is the first human of the family and when he took a tabernacle it was begotten by the father in heaven. Jesus our elder brother was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the garden of Eden and who is our father in heaven.

{Matthew 1:20 “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.”}

Now let all who may hear these doctrines pause before they make light of them or treat them with indifference, for they will prove their salvation or damnation. Who did beget him his father and his father is our God and the father of our lord Jesus Christ? Who is he? He is father Adam.”

Brigham Young’s Challenge: “Take up the Bible and compare the religion of the latter-day saints with it and see if it stands the test.”

Isaiah 8:20 says “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”

Romans 16:17 commands “And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people's faith by teaching things that are contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them.”

WHY JESUS IS GREATER THAN SANTA CLAUS

2007-12-08T20:49:00.000-08:00

Santa lives at the North Pole.
JESUS is everywhere.

Santa rides in a sleigh.
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.

Santa comes but once a year.
JESUS is an ever present help.

Santa fills your stockings with goodies.
JESUS supplies all your needs.

Santa comes down your chimney uninvited.
JESUS stands at your door and knocks, and then enters your heart when
invited.

You have to wait in line to see Santa.
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.

Santa lets you sit on his lap.
JESUS lets you rest in His arms.

Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl,
what's your name?"
JESUS knew your name before you did.

Not only does He know your name,
He knows your address too.
He knows your history and future and
He even knows how many hairs are on your head.

Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly.
JESUS has a heart full of love.

All Santa can offer is HO HO HO.
JESUS offers Health, Help and Hope.

Santa says "You better not cry."
JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you."

Santa's little helpers make toys.
JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and
builds mansions.

Santa may make you chuckle but.
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.

While Santa puts gifts under your tree.
JESUS became our gift and died on a tree.
Yes, from sin He sets us free!

Now thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!
2 Corinthians 9:15
But to each one of us was the grace given according to the measure of
the gift of Christ. Ephesians 4:7

Halloween

2007-10-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

Halloween : What’s it all about?

"The hypocrisy of celebrating Halloween is stupid," says Egan, satanic high priest at the Church of Satan in Salem, Mass. "I often chastise Christians: If you believe in the two opposing forces, good and evil, you can't fight the Devil every day of the year, then join his side for one day."

Doreen Irvine, once the head witch of Wicca (name for the religion of witchcraft), said, “If Christian parents knew what Halloween really was about, they wouldn’t even say the word around their children.”

You may be thinking, ‘if Halloween is really that bad, why is it so popular and so many people celebrate it and say it is fine?’ If you use that excuse to justify it, Luke 16:15 says, “What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” According to Webster’s dictionary, detestable means, “arousing or meriting intense dislike.” Let’s see if the things associated with Halloween are hated by God.

As of 1998, there were estimated to be between over 160,000 witches in America alone. Witchcraft has grown and become more and more acceptable in America. Some of the most popular recent movies are “The Craft”, “The Blair witch project”, “Practical Magic”, even old Disney movies such as “Bed knobs and broomsticks” and “Fantasia” in which Mickey Mouse is dressed up as a sorcerer, or a male witch! Americans, who once thought of witchcraft to be strictly forbidden and evil, now have been so desensitized by the media’s continuous pouring on of witchcraft that they celebrate Halloween, even while at the same time, claiming to be against evil and wicked practices. Mickey Mouse puts on a sorcerer’s hat and viewers let their guard down because it looks so cute. The truth however, is that Halloween has a very real and evil basis behind all the candy and pumpkins. One smart man once said, “for Christians or anybody that claims to against evil and wrong doing to celebrate Halloween would be like the Jewish Holocaust survivors to celebrate Adolph Hitler’s birthday or the anniversary of the Nazi holocaust.”

Satan is very real and so real that God said in 1 Peter 5:8 to “Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.” Ephesians 6:12 tells us that “For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.”

Halloween is actually a celebration held in honor of the demon prince of death, Samhein! The ancient druids recognized it as a time when the spirits of hell were at their most powerful state and went around the neighborhoods, demanding food from the citizens. If not they would call on the demon spirits to bring curses on their households. That is where we get the term “trick or treat.”

The question is: Does anyone today celebrate Samhain as a religious observance? According to self-professing witch, Rowan Moonstone,

“Yes. many followers of various pagan religions, such as Druids and Wiccans observe this day as a religious festival. They view it as a memorial day for their dead friends, similar to the national holiday of Memorial Day in May. It is still a night to practice various forms of divination concerning future events.” -"The Origins of Halloween" by Rowan Moonstone

Jack ‘O Lanterns also posses an awful background and meaning. The legend of them is that of a drunken man who make a pact with Satan to sell his soul for a single alcoholic drink. So the devil changed himself into money to pay for the man’s drink but then the man tricked Satan and put the change in his pocket where he had a cross also so the devil could not take his soul. Then once the change eventually came out of his pocket, he once again tricked the devil into retrieving an apple for him from a tree. Then once in the tree, the devil couldn’t get down so the man made Satan promise not to take his soul, so he did. Now this man was also rejected from entering into heaven also because of the drunken and selfish life he lead and consequently was not allowed to enter into heaven or hell until judgment day at the end of the world and is stuck inside the turnip or pumpkin until that time. So the jack o’ lantern represents a damned soul!

Should we participate with these customs that have to do with blatant evil and Satanism? According to God’s word, the answer is an overwhelming no! God’s word, in contrast says to “Come out from their midst and be separate. Do not touch what is unclean and I will welcome you.” –2 Corinthians 6:17 God’s word also commands “Abstain from every form of evil.” -1 Thessalonians 5:22

God also warns us in depth concerning all the things associated with Halloween:

“Be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering (sacrifice). And do not let your people practice fortune-telling or sorcery, or allow them to interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is an object of horror and disgust to the Lord. (verse 14) The Lord your God forbids you to do such things.” –Deuteronomy 18:9-14 (NLT) If you are not doing these things, but approve of them, God’s word says that you are just as guilty as doing them. Romans 1:32 says, “…those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.” Proverbs 17:15 says, “He who justifies the wicked (is) an abomination to the Lord.”

God’s word also strongly warns that, “Those who practice witchcraft… their doom is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.” -Revelation 21:8 (NLT)

If you are into these practices or simply just are not following the Lord Jesus at all, Jesus says to you “He who is not with me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.” –Matthew 12:30

God’s word says that life is short and you never know when your last day on earth may be! James 4:14 reveals, “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just like a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” Romans 13:11 warns, “…Time is running out. Wake up, for the coming of our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” 2 Corinthians 6:2 declares that “behold, now is the acceptable time, behold today is the day of salvation.”

Jesus said, “Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20) John 3:16 says, “Whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” Hebrews 3:7,8 begs, “Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…” John 3:36 promises “He who believes in the Son (Jesus) has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Trust Jesus to save your soul and turn from all the wicked things in this world and receive the forgiveness of your sins that God is offering to you today!

copied from:
"Halloween Exposed, a celebration of evil"

The only difference is what they did, and didn't do!

2006-11-27T05:52:00.000-08:00

Mat 25:32	"All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
Mat 25:33	and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34	"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Mat 25:35	'For I was hungry, and you gave Me {something} to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me {something} to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
Mat 25:36	naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
Mat 25:37	"Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You {something} to drink?
Mat 25:38	'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
Mat 25:39	'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
Mat 25:40	"The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, {even} the least {of them,} you did it to Me.'
Mat 25:41	"Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
Mat 25:42	for I was hungry, and you gave Me {nothing} to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
Mat 25:43	I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'
Mat 25:44	"Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'
Mat 25:45	"Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'
Mat 25:46	"These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

This site is hopefully a wake-up call to you to get off your chair and do something for God. Don't waste your life, and claim to be a christian (Christ-follower) while you neglect one of Jesus' greatest and clearest commands! God bless you, and give you the strength, wisdom, and will to follow Him completely wherever He leads you! Make your life count for eternity!
Matthew 28:18-20 "And Jesus came up and spoke to them, 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 the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Are you being used by God to your fullest potential?
Are you obeying Christs command?
Did you give your life,& heart to Jesus? So...
Are you living for Him? or yourself?
Galations 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

The Harvest

2006-11-27T05:44:00.000-08:00

Mat 9:36-38	"Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.
	Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
	"Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."

"Why YOU Should Go to the Mission Field", Keith Green's Final Message

2006-11-27T01:23:00.000-08:00

Why YOU Should Go to the Mission Field
Keith Green's Final Message

An Introduction By Melody Green

I want to encourage you to read the following article by Keith with an open heart. It was completed only a few days before Keith and two of our children, Josiah and Bethany, went home to be with Jesus in a fatal plane crash. The following message was a real expression of the fresh burden the Lord had put on his heart. As Keith explains, this is so much more than "just another article." It was something that the Lord had put burning in Keith's heart and was to be his new emphasis of message to Christians - especially those Christians in America.

I know that most of you are aware of the fact that Keith's message almost from the start of his ministry, was "get right with God!" He wasn't very shy about preaching it, and I know that because of his boldness, many hearts opened up to the Holy Spirit's conviction and the reality of God. Keith so wanted to see every Christian totally sold out to the Lord - not lukewarm or half-hearted - but as he put it in one of his last concerts, bananas for Jesus!

I believe the vision for missions is a completion of Keith's message for Christians to really be right with God. The question is this - once you are right...then what? do you just sit around in your "rightness", or do you seek God's direction to see how and where you can be used most effectively for the Kingdom of God? What the world is dying for is hundreds and thousands of believers who are determined to see the lost find out who their Creator is before they stand before Him on that great and awesome day.

I know it would be Keith's greatest desire (aside from the salvation of the lost) for you to take this matter seriously before the throne of God. If you will lay all your personal goals at the foot of the cross, and ask Jesus what He wants you to do with your life, then I know Keith's burden from the Lord will be born in the hearts of many of you - and carried to the ends of the earth! - Melody

Part I: The Call Of The Lord

A Biblical Look At The Missions Call

I recently returned from visiting some overseas missionary bases, and I must say that since returning, my life has not been quite the same. The vision and goals of our ministry have suddenly changed. The Lord definitely did something to my heart on that trip. Besides showing me how small my vision had been, He began to give me a great burden to see the ranks of His army in the field swell!

One of the greatest things God opened my eyes to was how tremendously evangelized my own country was, while the rest of the world was barely being reached. As I traveled from country to country, I thought of the millions of people I was passing through who needed to have the Gospel of Jesus shown to them in a real way - and yet there was hardly anyone there to reach them.

As I visited each mission base, I spoke with different missionaries, and picked up various pieces of literature that told the story of what was being done in different parts of the world to expand the Kingdom of God. As I read the statistics, I was shocked - I really had never known how little the need was being met!

When I returned home, I got hold of some of the leaders of different missionary organizations and set up some meetings to find out more about what was being done to fill the need. After these meetings, I decided to do a study of God's Word (to see what He had to say about reaching the lost in other countries), and I also read through some more of the missions literature I had been given.

This article is the result of that study, and also a burning desire in my heart to see 100,000 young people released to the mission field over the next five years!

So...why should you go to the mission field?

1) Because Jesus has told you to go.

"Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation." (Mark 16:15)

With these words, Jesus made it clear exactly what His disciples were to do - they were to spread His teachings in His name, preaching salvation unto the ends of the earth. (Rom. 10:18) If you consider yourself a "believer", then you must consider yourself a "disciple" of Jesus - no less called and chosen than the very first 12 apostles. There are no such things as "1^st class" Christians and "2^nd class" Christians - every believer is called to spread the Good News about Jesus to those who have not yet heard. Jesus' command is definite and clear - it is His great mandate, His "Great Commission" to the soldiers in His holy army. We must go, because our great General has commanded us to go.

2) You should go because the need is so great.

"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." (Matt. 9:37-38)

Ever since Jesus first spoke these compassionate words, the supply of workers in the fields of soul-harvest has always been horribly low. But today the need is the greatest it has ever been in the history of mankind. Remember, Hell is not just for the weekend! More people are alive today, and more souls are at stake, than the total number of people who have ever lived on the face of the earth in all of human history! This simply means that we can populate either Heaven or Hell by our obedience or our laziness. There are over 2,700,000,000 people who have never heard the Gospel at all, and there are only 5,000 to 7,000 missionaries worldwide, working directly with these totally unreached groups of people.¹ That means there is approximately one missionary for every 450,000 of these people! There are over 16,000 different and distinct cultures and people-groups - even whole countries, where not one single church is in existence.² There are 7,010 distinct living languages, and 5,199 of them still have no Bible or Scripture translations available in their own language!³ Do these figures move you at all? Does it matter to you that an estimated 80,000 unsaved people die every day (approximately 3,333 every hour...55 people every single minute!) to face the judgment seat of Christ?⁴

3) You should go because so few Christians are obeying the call, making the need even greater!

"Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ...how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Rom. 10:17,14)

Right now worldwide there are only 85,000 workers on the mission field - working mainly among those who have heard the gospel before.⁵ This figure includes missionaries from all over the world of every nationality. When you compare this number with the amount of Americans selling Avon or Amway products, it is staggering. Just in America alone there are 435,000 Avon sales-people⁶ (with 1,280,000 worldwide), and over 750,000 Amway products distributors,⁷ (with over a million worldwide)! Do you realize that these two companies combined have 14 times more representatives in the United States alone than the Church of Jesus Christ has in the whole world outside of America?

And what about the Christian representatives we do have in the world? Only 9% of the world's population speaks English, and yet 94% of all ordained preachers in the whole world minister to the 9% who speak English. And 96% of all Christian finances are spent in the United States on 6% of the world's population. Only 4% of all Christian money is spent on missionary efforts to reach the other 94% of the world's population! There are over 1,000,000 full-time Christian workers in the United States; while one half of the world's population (3 major groups - Moslem, Hindu, and Chinese), 2,200,000,000 people, have only 2,417 full-time Christian workers.⁸ As you can see by these figures, something is definitely wrong. While we in America have approximately one worker for every 230 people - those who have never heard the Gospel even once have one worker for every 450,000 souls! Please forgive us, Jesus, for being too timid to obey You and reach out into all the world like You have commanded us to!

4) You should go because God gives special anointing and grace to those who leave their own land, people, and culture to do God's will and spread the Gospel.

"And the Lord said to Abram, 'Go forth from your country and from your relatives, and from your father's house...and I will bless you and make your name great; and so you shall also be a blessing; and I will bless those that bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'" (Genesis 12:1-3)

Abram ( later to be renamed Abraham by God ) is only one of the many people in the Bible who God used mightily only after he left his own people, his own land, and his own culture. Look at the travels and ministries of people like Jacob and Moses - both of whom had to go into other lands to learn from God and be used by Him.

No matter where you look in the Bible, God always gave a great anointing a and blessing to those who served Him in a foreign land. Look at Joseph and Daniel. They were the only two men in the Bible who God raised up as successful, secular officials in foreign and heathen cultures - and they remained faithful witnesses and servants of God to the very end, and often at the risk of their very lives!

What about Jonah? He was a good example of someone who didn't want to go to the mission field and preach to heathens! Stubborn, rebellious, and selfish - and yet God "made him an offer he couldn't refuse." ( I pray that God would freely move like that in all our lives, "helping" us to make the right decisions about going.)

And then there's the apostle Paul - who had such a burden for his own people and country, Israel. Oh , how he would have loved a ministry among the Jews! But what did God say? "Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles." (Acts 22:21) That's what God commanded, and "go" he did. Never was there a missionary like Paul. Take a look at II Corinthians 11 if you'd like to see a list of his qualifications: beatings, imprisonment's, stonings, mobs, shipwrecks, the list goes on and on - and so did Paul, obeying his Master who bought him.

From Noah to Abraham, from Moses to Jonah, from Daniel to Paul, God has always given special blessing to those who, leaving the comforts of home and relatives, cross the boundaries of their little worlds to bring God's message and blessing to the nations.

Remember Jesus' words about this subject, "A prophet is not without honor except in his home town, "(Matt. 13:57)

5) You should go because America (and some other western nations) is literally drenched with the Gospel, while most other countries and cultures of the world do not have any continual, relevant witness a all.

"And thus I aspired to preach the Gospel, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build upon another man's foundation; but as it is written, 'They that had no news of Him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand.'" (Rom. 15:20-21)

It is so true that we here in America are continually bombarded with Christian witness and ministry. Almost at every turn there's a billboard or a bumper sticker proclaiming something about Jesus. Turn the dial on your radio at any time of the day or night, and you've got non-stop preaching. There are several Christian satellite and cable networks. And there are over 250 different Christian magazines and publications. In most cities there's a church on almost every corner. I am not trying to say that this is all bad - a lot of it is good, winning many souls to Jesus - but as I've traveled overseas, it is hard for me to believe that it is God's will for there to be so much Gospel preaching and literature available here, while there is comparatively little or even none in many places outside of this country.

The world is going to Hell on every continent! Is it God's fault that so few are hearing the gospel - or is it the Church's? Aren't we who love Jesus accountable to reach our generation with the gospel? A friend of mine has written, "this generation of Christians is responsible for this generation of sinners." If this is true, then each of us must take a good, long look at our lives and priorities - finding out where God would have us begin to get ready to go!

6) You should go because, as Oswald J. Smith said, "No one has the right to hear the Gospel twice, while there remains someone who has not heart it once."

"But if our Gospel be hidden, it is hidden to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, that they might not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (II Cor. 4:3-4)

Has it occurred to you that Jesus wants every creature to hear the Gospel? If you had 20 children to feed and plenty of food to feed them all with, do you think it would be right to give 3 of the children 10 meals, 7 children only 1 meal, and the remaining nothing - causing them to die of starvation? That's exactly what we're doing with the Gospel in the world today!

Because we believers are so deaf to God's call to go into all nations, we keep most of God's resources to ourselves! We keep feeding and reaching the same people over and over again. I am not saying there should be no Gospel preached in America, I am saying that there needs to be a spreading out of the soldiers of God, to fight the enemy where his greatest strongholds are - "where Christ is not already named"!

7) You should go because the time is short. More and more countries are closing their doors to missionaries and the Gospel, and we must go now.

"We must work the works of Him who sent me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no man can work." (John 9:4)

I constantly hear of country after country where missionaries used to be welcome, but now the doors are closed to them entering. Though it is true that many Christians can still go to be subtle witnesses as doctors, teachers, engineers, etc., the Gospel can no longer be openly preached in many lands.

Although there are still vast areas of the world wide open for foreign evangelism, such as western Europe, parts of Asia, and most of the Pacific (Japan, South Korea, Singapore, etc.) there are many other countries where it is illegal to hold a street meeting or pass out Gospel literature. We need to sense the urgency of this hour, and obey God by reaching out to those lost in the darkness "while it is still day."

8) You should go because the Holy Spirit is speaking to Christian leadership all over the world that it is God's desire for there to be a great final missionary thrust with the Gospel before the end of the age. It is His desire that every people should have the Gospel preached to them, and that the Gospel should be published in every nation and in every language. And unless YOU get involved personally, there is no hope of that ever happening in our generation!

"...And you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:8) "And this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come. " ( Matt. 24:14) "The Lord is...patient toward you, not wishing for you to perish but for all to come to repentance." ( II Peter 3:9)

Is there any doubt in your mind that God wants everyone to be saved? If you believe this, and you really love Jesus, then WHY are you so timid about getting involved in this great thrust to bring the Gospel to all the nations? Do you think that while you're reading this, God isn't grieved that His Church is being so lazy and disobedient about fulfilling his commission? He knows that you agree with the Scriptures, and He's listening to every excuse you're turning over in your mind like, "Yes, I know that more people need to go...but He just couldn't mean ME! I'm...just not the 'missionary-type'..."

In Part 2 of "Why YOU Should Go To The Mission Field," we will see what "type" of Christian you really are...

Part II: The Most Commonly Heard Excuses

The following objections are just a few of the many that Christian groups and missionary societies constantly hear from prospective recruits for the mission field. Although many may merely be excuses, we have heard them spoken so many times as serious statements from well-meaning Christians in response to the question, "Why don't you get trained to go into full time Christian service in a foreign country?

1) "But I'm not called."

You don't know how many people I've met who have said to me "Keith, I agree that more people need to go to the mission field, but I've never heard God tell me to go."

Well, the truth is that God has already told you to go in His Word. In fact, He commands you to go... "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." ( Mark 16:15) That's right... YOU ARE CALLED!

In fact, if you don't go, you need a specific calling from God to stay home. Has God definitely told you not to "go" somewhere outside your country to preach the Gospel? If He hasn't, then you'd better start praying WHERE to go, instead of IF you should go - for again, you're already called!

2) "But God needs people to stay here to be a witness to those lost in America. There's enough need right here!"

It is true that God has called some people to stay right where they are to be witnesses for Jesus in their daily lives and professions. But again, God is merciful and just. Since America has only about 5% of the world's population, then only about 5% of the believers would really be called to stay in this country as a witness ( that's only about 1 out of 20) while the rest of us should go into the parts of the world where there are almost 0% believers. (In Albania, for instance, there are only "a handful" of known believers in the whole country of 2.7 million people - less than 1/2 of 1/1000^th percent!!)⁹

3) "But God needs people to stay home and financially support those ministries and missionaries who are already all over the world. In fact, my church is already supporting some missionaries with my tithes and offerings."

You should never have to worry about there not being enough Christians staying home to support missionaries! There will always be enough people around who will not answer the call to go - who will stay home and gladly just send a check (instead of themselves) to reach to lost. After all, nothing is easier to give than money (except nothing!).

This does not mean that everyone who stays home is selfish and disobedient. As I've already said, there are some who know they are definitely called to stay, and they are doing exactly what God would have them do here, while they greatly support other ministries. I'm just saying that there will always be plenty of people around to financially support the pitifully few who answer the call and obey God.

4) "But my family and friends would frown upon me going."

"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me..." (Matt. 10:37)

God is very clear about whose approval we should seek. It's shocking to me how even Christian parents react when their children say that they'd like to go for training as a full-time Christian worker. "A missionary! Are you crazy?!" It's as if they've announced they'd like to be a thief or a prostitute.

It is true that God wants us to honor our parents and love our friends, but He has also made it clear in His Word that this honor and love must not exceed our love and obedience to Him and His calling on our lives. We should always try our best to explain God's call to our families, lovingly and patiently, but the bottom line must be that we will obey Christ no matter what the cost. We should always try to get our family's understanding and blessing when God makes our ministry clear to us, but we must also always be ready to leave "houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms" for His sake "and for the Gospel's sake." (Mark 10:29)

5) "But I need to stay here and lead my relatives to the Lord first. If I go somewhere else, how can they get saved?"

There was once a man who wanted to follow and obey Jesus, but he said to Him, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." Jesus' answer to him was, "Follow me; and allow the dead to bury their own dead." (Matt. 8:21-22)

This may sound cruel of Jesus not to allow the man to have a funeral for his dead father - but most likely, the man's father had not died yet. The phrase "wait until I bury my father" was sometimes used to say "wait until my father has died." What he was really saying was, "I'd like to follow You now, but You see, my parents wouldn't understand. Please wait until after they've died, and then I'll be more than glad to follow You!"

Jesus' answer was appropriate... "allow the dead to bury their own dead." In other words, "allow the unbelievers to take care of themselves, and follow Me!" Jesus doesn't want us to throw our usefulness away because our relatives are not yet saved. The greatest witness they can see is you fully obeying the call of God on your life. Jesus didn't want this man's father to be buried - He wanted the young man to follow Him, and then maybe even the man's father would come to know Him too. Obedience is truly greater than sacrifice (I Samuel 15:22) - when we obey God, He takes care of all our other obligations. (Matt. 6:33)

6) "But I need to get an education first."

I don't believe that God wants every Christian to go to college just because, "Well, everyone goes to college now, unless they're too dumb!" You shouldn't go to college unless God has definitely called you to go. Just like everything else in our Christian lives, He's the Master, we're the servants. He's the General, we're the soldiers. If you're really a Christian, you're at the beck and command of the King. If you're not at His command, then you're really not a Christian.

Yes, God does call some people to go to college. Sometimes it's to get training for a ministry calling He's made clear to them. For instance, if you know what country you're called to, perhaps God would lead you to learn the language and culture somewhat before you go (although the very best place to learn is within the country itself - it's a definite "crash course"!)

Of course, another reason God might lead you to college is to minister to people right there on the campus - as well as to mature emotionally and spiritually. But be careful! Make sure you're there in direct obedience to God, or else you're wasting your time - and His.

7) "But I need to get married first, and then maybe my mate will want to serve God full-time on the field, rather than me going alone."

Nothing could be a more foolish reason for putting off obeying God now. God does not want you to look for a husband or wife, He wants you to be married to Him, and trust Him for any mate He may bring into your life. I know of many single Christians serving Jesus overseas who are trusting Him for everything. And some of the most beautiful stories of God's grace I've ever heard are told by couples who went to the mission field single, and then God led them to marry another whose heart was also fully devoted to serving Him there. Remember, "Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." (Matt. 6:8) Trust Him!

8) "But I have a family to support. God doesn't want me to neglect them, does He?"

The Word of God says, "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you." (Matt.6:33) If you can trust God for your needs, you can certainly trust Him for your family's needs. You would never be foolishly "neglecting" your family's needs by obeying God's call to go. God will show you the way. I know of so many families - some with many children - who are on the field right now, trusting God for their needs while they minister in His name. I have never heard of ONE occurrence where God didn't meet the needs of one of His servants and their families. As King David said...

"I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his descendants begging bread. All day long he is gracious and lends; and his descendants are a blessing." (Psalm 37:25-26)

9) "But the mission field is dangerous. God would not have me put myself or my family in danger of disease or native hostilities, would he?"

"Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" (Numbers 14:3)

It is all a matter of our priorities - do we look at the temporary or the eternal in making our choices? It's true that you will probably be in more physical danger on the mission field than you would be in the suburbs of America, but that is part of the cost that we need to count when it comes to serving God. The question should not be, "Will I be kept safe wherever I go?" but rather, "What is on the Lord's heart for me to do?"

If Jesus decided to go the way of least pain, He would have never gone to the cross. There is no place of greater blessing for you than in the center of God's will. You must stop to count the cost, but remember one thing - the privilege of serving God always outweighs the price! "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospel's shall save it." (Mark 8:34-35)

10) "Although in the past most countries freely allowed foreign missionaries to come, most people in other lands now resent them. Why should I go where I'm not welcomed?"

Did you welcome the Gospel before you were saved? The Word says that we should save some, "snatching them out of the fire," (Jude 23) Some people just don't want to be saved! That's exactly why we need to go to them. The more unwelcome, the better. If they resent Americans, then you have an opportunity to show them that Christian Americans can be humble with the love of Jesus in their hearts. For the Word says, "He who is wise wins souls." (Proverbs 11;30)

11) "But I could not afford to get the training, and raise the necessary finances to place myself (or my family) on the field."

Don't worry, God'll help raise the money you need. Wherever God guides, He supplies - even if it means helping you get a job! Problems and worries about finances are usually only a surface excuse when it comes to obeying God to go. In your heart you know He'll make a way for you!

12) "But I don't have any special talents or abilities that would qualify me to be a missionary."

Then you're just the person God is looking for! Sure God can use nurses, teachers, accountants, and mechanics on the field, but it always blesses God to greatly use the one who seemingly has nothing to offer. It is this person who has the opportunity of purely representing Jesus in the endless "common" tasks that are part of the daily life of a missionary. "When I am weak, then I am strong." (II Cor. 12:10; also see I Cor. 1:26-31)

13) "But how could I commit myself for years and years to go to the field without having a chance to see what it would be like?"

It is true that in past generations a foreign missionary had to make almost a lifetime commitment before he could go to the field. Then in most cases, he had to go to college for at least four years, and then seminary for two to four years before he could even begin his missions training and service. But today there are missionary organizations that have short-term programs for people who want to receive training and find out what serving God in other countries is like. These programs last from a few weeks to a few years in length. So now there is an opportunity to "take a look" before making a much longer commitment.

14) "But God wants me to stay in this country and prosper. The reason the rest of the world is so poor and unconverted is because their heathen religions and idolatry have caused them to live in ignorance and poverty, without God's blessing."

This has to be THE most selfish reasoning I've ever heard for not going - and I've heard it! Of course they live in ignorance and poverty, that's just the reason you should go - to bring the enlightenment that comes from knowing the truth about Jesus, and to bring them the true riches of knowing Christ. If you don't believe that the reason God has blessed you with abundance in this country is so you can be a blessing to others - then you have never understood the Gospel of Jesus Christ! "Freely you received, freely give." (Matt. 10:8)

15) "I'm just not ready to make that kind of a sacrifice and commitment."

Ah! That's just the point. That's probably the underlying reason for almost every one of the above objections. In fact, you might just as well have said, "I'm not willing." You need to decide whether or not you are a disciple of Jesus - that is the question. If you are His disciple, then "you are not your own...you have been bought with a price." (I Cor. 6:19-20) And if you truly love Him, then you will not feel bondage, you will feel incredible excitement at being chosen to represent Him in the world! To be a servant of Jesus Christ, an ambassador, a missionary, is the highest calling a man or woman can attain to!

Now what are you waiting for??

What Is A Missionary?

A Christian missionary is a person whose passion is to make the Lord Jesus known to the whole world. They are completely under the command of King Jesus, and they will go anywhere, under any circumstances, for no pay, with poor living conditions and food, even though no one ever notices. They know that their Sovereign is watching every minute, and that is the only reward and joy they seek.

We see in the Bible that all Christians should continually be seeking every opportunity to lead the unsaved to Christ no matter where they are, for this is the privilege of every believer. But I believe that too many people use the word “missionary” too lightly - it's a term that has become misused in our everyday “Christian vocabulary.” Too many justify their not obeying the call of the Lord to go to the front lines of the battlefield, by saying they are “missionaries where they are.” I believe that “being a missionary” in the truest sense of the word is taking the Gospel where it has never been before, or at least to a different culture or a different language group. A true missionary is someone who will risk everything for the sake of the lost of this world.

Of course, as in every battle, not everyone can be on the front lines, for there are many things that are needed to aid those who are. But you must be clearly called by the Lord to stay away from those front lines before you can be assured that you are in the will of God. It is obviously true that many Christians are called to reach out to the lost in the ghettos, red light districts, and homosexual communities in their own areas. And there are always those faithful wives and mothers who diligently let Christ be known to their doctors, plumbers, and P.T.A. groups. These things bless God's heart, there's no doubt about it. Someone who loves Jesus should always be ministering His love no matter where they are. But every Christian should always be willing, ready, and “on-call” to leave everything at the command of their General, and go to a different “battlefield” to war against the king of darkness, bringing healing and light to “free the captives.”

The goal of a true missionary is to please and glorify their God by delivering the whole world into His hands and under His rule. It doesn't matter where they are stationed, for they are always at home in their Father's arms, no matter what the landscape or the language may be. They are only “aliens and strangers” (I Peter2:11), and they are not concerned with trivial things like location or comfort. They are God's soldiers, perhaps hidden to our eyes, but always evident to His. Please, seek Him to see if you might be privileged to take the Gospel to those who have never heard it.

What Shall I Do?

Be Available - Abandon yourself to God and to His call on your life. Tell Him you will go anywhere and do anything that He shows you as His will for you.

Be Informed - Don't hide behind ignorance. Gather all the information you can so you can pray and seek the Lord intelligently. Subscribe to missions publications and make it a priority to know what's going on in the world. If you know where the needs are, it will be easier for you to meet some of them.

Be Inspired - Checkout our booklist and get hold of some inspiring biographies of Christian missionaries. You'll find out that most "missionary greats" are just common people who decided to let their love for God and their love for the lost overrule their own desires in life - allowing God to use them in bold and wonderful ways.

Expect An Open Door - Expect God to give you an opportunity to fully serve Him through this new information you are exposing yourself to. Then when He opens the door - walk through it!

Missions Booklist

The following is a suggested list of excellent books that will help you to learn more about missions - the need, the burden, the lifestyle, and the ministry. Check with your local bookstore - they can order them for you if they don't have them in stock.

Anointed for Burial -The story of a young American couple from Dallas that the Lord sent to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, while the city was falling to the communist forces of Pol Pot. They held crusades while the city was being bombed and shelled and experienced a remarkable revival among the Christians of the fledgling Church in Cambodia. They miraculously escaped on the very last plane out of the country just before the terrible persecution that was to follow. - by Todd and DeAnn Burke; Logos.

Bruchko - There remarkable story of Bruce Olson. As a 19-year-old American boy, he followed the call of the Lord against incredible odds into the jungles of Venezuela. Near death after being shot with an arrow, he recovered and, all alone, without the help of any missionary society, he evangelized the savage Motilone Indians. - by Bruce Olson; Creation House.

Peace Child - The contemporary story of a man who went into a tribe of stone-age cannibals whose source of tribal pride was seeing "who could be the most treacherous." Don Richardson and his family lived an incredible adventure among these people and brought them to know and love the true Peace Child. - by Don Richardson; Regal.

Operation World - A Handbook For World Intercession - As well as describing the economic and religious status of each nation, this book tells you what is currently being done to bring these people to Christ. It is an effective prayer tool since it is full of statistics and specific prayer requests for each nation. - by P. J. Johnstone; Send The Light Publications.

The General Next To God - The moving and exciting story of William and Catherine Booth and the founding of the Salvation Army in the slums of England. - by Richard Collier; Fontana.

Through Gates Of Splendor - The story of Jim Elliot from Portland, Oregon, who was one of the five martyrs killed by the Auca Indians (1956) in the jungles of Ecuador. This story will grip your heart and change the way you personally live. - by Elisabeth Elliot; Spire.

Eternity In Their Hearts - This book gives a remarkable insight into the vast opportunities of world evangelism. It shows many factual instances of groups of people who, through their ancient folklore, are totally prepared to receive the Gospel. They are literally waiting for and expecting God to show up. All they need is someone to lead them to the truth. - by Don Richardson; Regal.

Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret - Hudson Taylor was the pioneer of modern faith missions. His life is an incredible adventure as we follow the story of the founding of the China Inland Mission in the 1800s. - by Dr. & Mrs. Howard Taylor; Moody

Key To The Missionary Problem - Although written as a response to the Missions conference of 1901, this summons to action for missions is as burning and contemporary as when first issued. This is a book of great intensity, which sounds forth a rousing and solemn call to new activity, fresh consecration, and more abundant prayer for the cause of missions. - by Andrew Murray; Christian Literature Crusade.

God's Smuggler - The exciting, true account of one man's dedication to Christ, and burden to bring God's Word to those behind the "closed doors" of the Iron Curtain. - by Brother Andrew; Spire.

1) Once Around Jericho by Roberta Winter; William Carey Library Publishing.
2) Ibid.
3) World Christian Encyclopedia by David Barrett.
4) In the Gap, What It Means To Be A World Christian by Dave Bryant; pg. 121.
5) U.S. Center for World Mission (USCWM), Pasadena, CA.
6) Avon Annual Report 1981.
7) Amway Corporate Compendium 1982.
8) USCWM, Pasadena Ca.
9) Operation World by P.J. Johnstone; STL Publications, 1980; pg. 91
http://www.lastdaysministries.org

Just Go!

2006-11-26T01:20:00.000-08:00

Matthew 28:18-20	And Jesus came up and spoke to them, 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 the Son and the Holy Spirit,
	teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."