October 24

**** Contact Gillian if you want a final PDF.

3 John 5-8

5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, 6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

Matthew 10:5, 7, 8

5 These twelve Jesus sent out… 7 and proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 …Freely you have received, freely give.

Mission Impossible—our missionaries face a tough task. It is difficult to describe the loneliness, the culture shock, the weariness of speaking and living in another tongue, how ministry often expands to 24/7 lifestyle, how one is always aware their moves are being watched by those they are witnessing to, the spiritual oppression and spiritual attacks, the government and bribes and paperwork, the church problems, the toll on the family, the need to guard against over and under contextualization, the different climate and food and water, etc. Yet, more than that, they know their ultimate goal is impossible for man as our key verse states (Mat. 19:25-26). Opening eyes to the light of the gospel and changing hearts of stone to flesh, raising the dead to life, is impossible. Only God.

And we are called to participate in this impossible task. We are called to financially support (3 Jn. 5-8; Rom. 15:24; 1 Cor. 16:6, 11; 1 Cor. 9:3-11; 2 Cor. 1:16; Tit. 3:13-14). We are called to encourage and prayerfully support (Col. 4:3; Eph. 6:19-20; Phil. 1:19; 2 Cor. 1:11; 3 Jn. 5-8). If we recognize Christ as our Lord, how can we not obey his authority and participate in his mission to spread his name and his glory, teaching and baptizing all nations? He is Lord, and Lord of all the earth!

May we see God’s generosity towards us, and echo his heart in sacrifice of time in prayer, in generosity as Christ is formed in us. Freely we have received all from him, may we freely give for his name’s sake among the nations!

May we see his heart for his name and the nations so clearly that his heart is our drum beat, propelling us out with his same love. For God so loved the world that he sent his Son, and as the Father sent his Son, so his Son sends us (Jn. 20:21). May we see so clearly the beauty and love of Christ, the worthiness of the Lord, and the power of the Spirit that we go on this mission impossible to our own neighbors and support our front-line international workers, in confidence, in a passion that all the earth ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name! (Ps. 29:2; Ps. 96).

Your Mission

·         Pray for our missionaries to keep their eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfector of their faith and of those they are trying to reach, that they may run with perseverance (Heb. 12:1-3).

·         What is one specific way God is calling you to participate in his global mission right now?

Mission Impossible Made Possible—Field Notes

As he serves the persecuted church in the Middle East, a front-line worker is watching the gospel spread and change lives in a predominantly Muslim region.

In his own village, and among the Syrian and Iraqi refugees his church has visited, people are coming to Christ as persecuted believers live out their faith.

“We have new people in our home groups and it’s an opportunity for them to hear the good news,” the front-line worker said. “We have focused in our weekly service on subordination to the Lord Jesus and bearing persecution that could happen to the church.

“For some reason, there is a significant number of Muslims coming to church, especially those women who wear the hijab. We also will go to the streets on daily basis during the breakfast time in the month of Ramadan and will share the love of Christ with Muslim people directly.”

(“Middle East: The Gospel is Spreading,” Voice of the Martyrs)