CWOC the Blog

Yesterday at CWOC was Missions Sunday; One Sunday a month where we remind people what God is doing Globally through CWOC and how they can become a part of it. I used several quotes from “famous” missionaries and was asked to get a copy of the PowerPoint that I used.

So I thought, why not just post the whole thing on the blog. And here it is:

Also, here are some great quotes from missionaries and/or preachers concerning missions:

“Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God” — William Carey

“Sympathy is no substitute for action.” — David Livingstone, missionary to Africa

“Any church that is not seriously involved in helping fulfill the Great Commission has forfeited its biblical right to exist.” — Oswald J. Smith

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

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

“If the Great Commission is true, our plans are not too big; they are too small.” — Pat Morley

“A congregation that is not deeply and earnestly involved in the worldwide proclamation of the gospel does not understand the nature of salvation.” — Ted Engstrom, World Vision

“The Church must send or the church will end.” — Mendell Taylor

All quotes taken from a great Missions Website. http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/slogans.htm

In 1 Corinthians 4, Paul encourages his fellows believers to stay the course, and lets them know that things are hard and will continue to be so, for those who follow Christ. In the last couple verses of Chapter 4, he lets them know that he is going to deal with the arrogance that is rising up in the church. He ends the chapter by asking them, “What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit?” Paul then goes on in Chapter 5, “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you…”

Now, put yourself in the place of the men reading the letter. They know what is going on. They knew immorality and  arrogance was going on in that congregation. So, when Paul asks whether they’d like to be approached with a whip or a gentle, loving spirit, which do you think they preferred?

When I was in Jericho a couple of years ago –which for those of you who don’t know, Jericho is Palestinian territory, not Israeli—I met a lady who had a ministry to the Palestinian people. During our conversation, she told me some stories of ministries trying to reach out to the Muslims and how successful or unsuccessful they had been. The lady I met with has a ministry that feeds the people; she meets them where they are. She said, “Roy, ‘shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit’.”

That was the first time I had really put any thought into “how” I should respond to people who didn’t believe the way I do, especially those who have opposed Christianity for any length of time. I saw someone, in this lady in Jericho, who was living out Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” I began to understand that we are to love people first, and out of that love, we will be in a position to allow the Holy Spirit to minister to them.

If you look back through the Bible, God always had compassion on people, even when –or especially when— we didn’t deserve it. For example:

1. Noah: When God sent the flood to destroy the world, He did so out of pain, and only because He had to. “The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.” (Genesis 6:6)
2. Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed: Read this story in Genesis and you’ll find nothing but a loving God who showed mercy time and time again to an entire city that didn’t deserve it. Abraham actually negotiated with God to save the city if 10 people could be found that were righteous. And in the end, only three made it out alive.
3. Moses: Just the fact that God gave the whiny, I’d-rather-be-a-slave-again, Israelites a chance to enter the promise land is compassion enough.
4. Jonah: He was upset because God didn’t destroy Nineveh. In fact, the reason he fled to Tarshish to begin with was because he knew God would have mercy on them. “That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” (Jonah 4:1b)
5. Jesus: One phrase should sum up His compassion, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

Is it any wonder that those who are compassionate towards others, are the ones who have the most influence in people’s lives. When was the last time you responded kindly to someone yelling at you and telling you that what you were doing was wrong and ignorant? Then why do we, at least some of us, think that sharing our faith with others is any different?

It is out of love that we have the ability to share our faith with others. When Hindus or Muslims or Atheists or Mormons or (fill in the blank) see the love of Christ in us, we will be in a position to share our faith with them. But that opportunity comes out of a relationship we build. We must first love people because they are people, and for no other reason. False sincerity or compassion is easy to spot. If we aren’t genuinely interested in others, it will be obvious.

We must make sure that we talk with people, whether or not they are Christian, in love and with a gentle spirit.

royb

Raise your hand if you have ever been on a short-term missions trip (from now on called STMT)? Good, now put your hands down, you look weird raising your hand at home. For all of those who didn’t raise their hand, I want to speak to you first, then to all of the weird “I-raise-my-hand-in-the-living-room” people later.

There are three things that come out of going on a STMT. And I define a STMT as a month or shorter. Those three things are:

1. You get to help other people by serving, either with a building project, food, medical team or drama type ministry to mostly those who would otherwise not be able to get it.
2. You get to a chance to realize the world does not revolve around CWOC or the USA. God is a big God. He works in Africa, Malaysia and Peru the same way He does right here in the good ‘ol US of A.
3. God will impart into you a heart for missions. There are things that touch the heart of God and serving others is one of them. When we give of ourselves, especially when we are out of our comfort zone, we are speaking directly to the heart of God, and that pleases Him to no end.

Without fail, when someone comes back from a STMT they are overcome with emotion and feel like they can take on the world. Why? Because they were a) giving back and b) they were walking with God for a week.

When you go on a STMT you are in a different mindset; God’s mindset. At home you have a job, kids, work, etc… When on a STMT you are there to focus specifically on what God has for you to do. Rarely are we able to do that at home, and if so, only for hours at a time, not days.

But I think to me the most important thing about a STMT is seeing that God is everywhere, and in many instances He is actually able to do more in other countries. In the US we are somewhat spoiled in the sense that if we need food we go to a store and buy it. And if we are running low on cash we can put it on a credit card. In almost every other country, especially poverty-stricken areas, if someone needs food and don’t have cash, they starve. Their dependence on God is at a whole different level. We seem to need God for the big stuff: cancer, salvation of our kids, a raise, new house. They need it for food and shelter, basic stuff.

Imagine having to depend on God for food for your children in order to eat tomorrow, and seeing God provide it. That is why STMTs are important, they remind us that God is more than able to provide for us and loves us enough to do it.

I strongly encourage you to consider going on a STMT the next time CWOC, or another church, provides the opportunity. You will return energized and with a whole new perspective on just how good and big our God really is.

For those of you who have been but a long time ago, GO AGAIN. There is nothing like rekindling a flame that was started in you a couple of years ago. I believe you need to go at least every couple of years or so. It is much easier to hear what God is saying when we get out of our normal routine and do something just for Him. It is like a radio station that has lots of static finally becomes clear.

Just Go, and remember to thank me when you get back for making you do it.

by Roy Bauer, Missions Director CWOC

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