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Volume. XXII, No. 8 Our Duty in MissionsDear Readers, Missions Cambodia Our church is organising a “Missions Team” trip to Cambodia in January 2008. The last such “Missions Team” trip was in January 2005. It seems that many hopefuls have given an indication of their intention to join this very important assignment from and for our Lord Jesus Christ. God willing, we may even be able to provide limited medical care to the poor in the towns and villages that we may visit. All team members are expected to arrive in Phnom Penh, the Capital, on Tuesday, 15 January, and depart from Siem Reap on Wednesday, 30 January. They will further God’s Kingdom in Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Siem Reap and the surrounding villages. It is important that our church remains a missions-minded church. A missions-minded church is a forward looking church, and always mindful of the duty to brings God’s message to the unbelievers. Christ’s Great Commission Just before His ascension into heaven, our Lord Jesus gave us The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 “19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world”. There are four instructions in The Great Commission: 1) Go ye, 2) Teach all nations, 3) Baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and 4) Teach them to observe all things. Go ye “Go ye” is a participle and carries the meaning of not a command to go, but the assumption that the hearers will automatically be going. That means “as you are going” make disciples! How many of us are automatically doing this? Sad to say, not many. Most of us are too busy with our family life, work, study, recreation, and unfruitful private time! The Lord’s work is delegated as the last thing in our busy schedule – “when I finished my study”, “when I retired”, “when I am married” or “when my children are married off”. The Lord’s work is actually the most important. We ask God for help – to help us with our study, success in our work, maintain our good health and protection from danger, and guidance for our family that our children may lead good lives – but not many of us will do His work or even encourage our children to enter the Lord’s ministry! This is really sad especially when we call ourselves “Bible-believers”. The cults like the Jehovah Witnesses and the Mormons are doing a better job than us. Let us all wake up, and as we are going on our way, make disciples. Be on call for the LORD! Teach all nations “Teach all nations” carries the meaning, “disciplize”. To “disciplize” means “convert all Gentiles” or “disciple all nations”. Bringing the message of Salvation to a non-believer is not enough. Once the individual receives Christ as his or her Saviour, the work does not end there. The saved person must go through the full process of discipleship, and this includes teaching the doctrines of the Faith, training to live a Christ-like life, and being prepared for The Great Commission! “All nations” makes it abundantly clear that the Commission to the church is NOT confined to the local region, but a worldwide one! Many people say that we should look after our own backyard first. They say that we should do missions work in our city, and only when the city comes to Christ we should then go elsewhere. Did the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ confine their missionary effort in Jerusalem? Infact, the vast majority of the people in Jerusalem did not receive our Lord Jesus when the Gospel was spreading to Judaea, Samaria, and other parts of the Middle East. Today, is Jerusalem a city filled with believers of our Lord Jesus Christ? Of course, it is not. If the Apostles had confined themselves to preaching the Gospel to the Jerusalemites until all were saved, you and I would still be in darkness today. It is our duty, the church’s duty, to preach the Gospel to people in our city, and other regions of the world. Baptizing “Baptizing” is the next step. By baptism, the new converts demonstrate their outward obedience to the Lord Jesus and become members of the local church. Note that they are to be baptized “in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”, and NOT in the Names “of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”. The Scripture teaches that our God is Triune, three persons in ONE nature. The three persons are equal in nature, separate in person, and submissive in duties. Teach them to observe all things The final step is to “Teach them to observe all things“. After baptism, the new believers are not to be left alone. They are to be taught to know more about God’s Word, and to observe all the things that our Lord Jesus had instructed. They are to progress as believers by “Continuing Biblical Education”, by pastor, and church leaders. They must progress from being “baby Christians”, to “university (mature) Christians”. Cambodia Now: Freedom to preach now restricted! Even though Buddhism is the main religion, with 90% professing to be Buddhists, there had been unprecedented freedom for Christian missionaries to carry out The Great Commission in Cambodia. Then, on Tuesday, 17 July 2007, the Cambodian Government introduced a law that ‘curb Christian activities in the country, especially proselytizing door-to-door and in public places. The order said door-to-door proselytizing involving the use of such terms as "God is coming" is not allowed as it might "disturb the people's living or provoke other social instability." The order also bans the use of cash and other materials to convince people to convert from one religion to another’.(Source: http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/412570). Our church and other B-P Churches have not used money “and other materials” to induce people to come to Christ. No doubt there were some Christian groups who did that. We go there to present the Gospel and we have a duty to help them who are in dire straits, but we never tie our gifts as inducements or as exchange for coming to Christ! Let us make a great effort to bring the Gospel of Christ to the Cambodia nation before more draconian laws are introduced to restrict our missionaries and their wonderful work. Many Cambodians have come to Christ, but there is still much work to be done. There are still more than 90% of 14 million Cambodians who have not heard of Christ. Let us not waste our time and procrastinate until the noose tightens. “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest” (Matt 9:37-38).The harvest (Cambodia, and the whole world) is ripe for reaping, but there are so few labourers. Would you pray that the Lord will send labourers (and you) to the harvest field? God bless. ******************************* Special Thanks to our YAF leaders for organising “Street Evangelism” in the streets of Adelaide City. This is the local chapter of our Missions duty. Please pray that the people in Adelaide will receive our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. |
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