This is part five of a series on how your church can develop a missions program.
We Need to Enforce Our Character in the Local Church (Genesis 24:21, 31, 56)
There is a difference between “being a character” and having character! Eleazar disciplined his life through his decisions, desires and direction. He looked at Rebecca and asked himself if she was the one. He did not make a rash decision. He fasted and prayed for God’s help. At the end of the story, he said, “Hinder me not, as God has granted me success!”
Abraham did not send his servant without giving him the gifts necessary to complete the mission. God does not call us to bring a bride to Christ without the needed gifts or skills to accomplish it.
At times, we need to call our congregation to fast and pray simply for the fulfillment of the Great Commission. If we spent half as much time praying for the lost as we do praying for the sick we would win far more souls, and more bodies would be healed. When we are interested in winning souls, God is interested in our success!
Sir Edmund Hillary’s story of climbing to the top of Mount Everest captivated me when I was twenty-seven years old. In 1952, Hillary was on a team that was defeated while trying to climb Everest. Journalist said it was humanly impossible to climb to the top of the world’s highest mountain. In response, Hillary plastered a large picture of Everest to a wall. He said, in paraphrase, “Look how tall Mount Everest is. But Mount Everest stopped growing long ago. Edmund Hillary has not stopped growing yet. A year from today, I will climb to the top of Everest and hoist the British flag where no one has ever stood before.”
On May 29, 1953, Hillary climbed Everest and hoisted the British Flag on “the roof of the world.” His story inspired me to do all I could to fulfill the Great Commission, and I prayed earnestly for Sir Edmund to come to Christ.
On August 31, 2007, I was privileged to meet Sir Edmund in his home in Auckland, New Zealand, the last person outside of his family to interview him before his death in January 2008. Before I left, we shared the gospel and we prayed together. I asked him, “How can one stay focused in life when there are so many opportunities?”
He thought a moment, then answered in a slow, aged voice, “If we only do what others have already done, we will feel what others have already felt. But if we dare to do something that no one has ever done, we will have a satisfaction that no one has ever had. When choosing our life’s project, if there is no fear involved, we will become bored and will not even finish what we began. After we have decided what we are going to do, we must not procrastinate but do it right now!”
As Christians, our “Mount Everest” is the Great Commission. No Christian generation has come close to reaching this summit. Yet, this can be the generation that climbs to the top and places the cross of Christ to declare His glorious gospel to all nations. When we do what no generation has done, we will have a satisfaction that no generation has had!
The renowned theologian Carl F. Henry said, “The gospel is only good news if it gets there in time!” This statement deserves a prominent place in your church to remind your congregation of the urgency to do all we can with the resources we have been given. It is one of the most compelling statements ever written regarding the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
James O. Davis
Founder of the Billion Soul Foundation
© 2009 Church of God World Missions