ANTI-MISSIONARY CHRISTIANS

Merriam-Webster Definition for Missionary:

A person undertaking a mission, especially a religious mission such as missionaries who strove to convert natives to Christianity.

(Act 1:8) ... you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

An anti-missionary Christian is a contradiction, as it is impossible to be so. It is impossible for the divine and human forces to put people in such a position not to align them with the missionary cause.

Missionary impulse is the heartbeat of our Lord Jesus Christ sending His own vital forces through the whole body of the church. The spiritual life of God's people rises and falls with the force of those heartbeats.

When these life forces die down, then death follows. Likewise, anti-missionary churches are dead churches, just as anti-missionary Christians are dead Christians. --[E. M. Bounds; The Power of Prayer]

Growing up into adulthood, I had read many stories about missionaries and their travels to foreign lands. Steaming jungles teaming with bugs and snakes, or blazing deserts where dying of thirst was a daily reality. I recall seeing pictures of those who were called to be missionaries. None of the visuals I remember were of men or women who you might call physically reflective of the mission and tough conditions under which they seemed to serve. They looked like regular Joes, or Josephines to me. Not a John Wayne type in sight! This seems to be the stereotype that many hold today when they think about missionaries. It was dangerous, uncomfortable, demanding, and, well.....not very attractive at all!

The word missionary does not appear in the Bible but let there be no doubt, Jesus Himself had great interest in making sure every born-again Christian carries the mantle of missionary to every corner of this earth;

(Mat 28:19-20) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 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. Amen.

For Christians, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was our Lord's promise being fulfilled and from that moment forward, guess what? We all became Missionaries!

If you are still stuck in the mindset that all missionary activity has to happen in some strange land, or far away from home, have heart. Young or old, here is your chance to get some skin-in-the-game.

Share the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with your neighbor at home. Reflect the beauty of God's presence by helping a senior citizen find his lost car in the Walmart parking lot. Volunteer to help repair a set of porch stairs at a private home in your community. Join others in filling food bags for needy area school aged children, and be willing to deliver them to the schools.

Come out of the safety of the church building and venture into the non-sterile surrounding of your own home town. Meet people, talk with them, listen to their issues, and share the beauty of the Holy Spirit with them.

Welcome to the world of the Missionary!

Now, I want you to go back and read again the last two paragraphs of E.M. Bounds article above. Read the paragraphs slowly. Read every sobering word. Then answer the following questions;

Is your church a dead church? Are you a dead Christian?

(Joh 17:16-18) "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. "As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY?