Doing Your Work as to the Lord, For the Sake of the Unreached (part 2)

continued from part 1

3. Redeem the time by educating yourself about the world.

William Carey was a humble shoemaker before he launched the modern missions movement. While his hands were engaged in constructing footware, his mind was engaged as a student of geography, peoples and movements. He kept a large map in his shop, with information pieced together from his readings. He poured over accounts of Captain Cook’s sea voyages, learning about the globe and dreaming of days when the Kingdom of God would follow the same routes. In the course of the day, he talked often with customers and friends about the world. Today, there are a wide variety of tools available for gaining knowledge about the continents and the movements of God upon them. Patrick Johnstone’s Operation World, and the Global Prayer Digest put out by the U.S. Center for World Mission are two such examples, as well as a growing number of online tools such as the Joshua Project. Utilize idle moments of the work day to pray, think, read and meditate about the work of the Great Commission. Employ and befriend internationals to gain their perspectives on the world.

4. With your professional skills, create platforms for the spread of the gospel.

A huge percentage of the remaining unreached peoples live in areas of the world that cannot be accessed through traditional means. In many of these same parts of the world, doctors, teachers, computer programmers, etc., are in high demand. There is a need for creative thinking about new ways to get Kingdom workers where the harvest is ripe. Christian professionals can train field workers in viable skills. In a globalizing economy, they may be able to use their travels around the world to forge relationships and open up connections for Christian workers. They can make short term trips to places where churches are being established to offer job training or provide credibility. They can be an important part of the Great Commandment which rightly accompanies the Great Commission, seeking to love God and others by meeting the needs of the poor, establishing justice, and improving life in Jesus’ name wherever disciples are being made.

5. Engage in business soberly, with a view to eternity.

Let there be a flavor about the way you do your work which makes it apparent that the stuff of the world which you are dealing with, while good and God-ordained, is fading, and unlike the souls of the unreached, will not last forever. Knowledge of this should create a marked difference between you and the unbelieving. It should not cause you to be insincere or half-hearted, but should give you reason to demonstrate with your speech and action that you are not defined by the temporal things of this world. Hear Paul: “This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let… those who buy [live] as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away” (I Cor. 7:29-31).

6. Be an advocate for missionaries in your church.

Adopt one or more missionaries so that they are not just faces on a bulletin board in the foyer. Write to them. Make their needs known before the assembly. Care for them while they are home through debriefing counseling, resources and hospitality. Show that the brothers and sisters who sent them out for the sake of the Name have a vested interest as co-laborers in their work, because insomuch as they are laboring to see Christ’s name established where He is not known, they are doing the business of the whole Church.

7. Pray, Pray, Pray!

Hold the ropes of those who go and fight against the devil’s schemes by daily, earnest intercession. Pray over world maps for the gospel to run in places where it has never been and land upon receptive hearts, quickened by the Holy Spirit. This may be the most significant work in which senders and goers alike engage: Praying the Lord of the Harvest, the God of the nations, to establish His sovereign Kingdom in every place where Christ is not yet named, for the realization of the inheritance of the nations which has been given to Jesus Christ. May He finish His glorious work and quickly come!

~~posted by Ambassador

Doing Your Work as to the Lord, For the Sake of the Unreached (part 1)

I believe it is Christ’s intention for the task of the Great Commission to be the task of His entire body. There are no exemptions to the call to “make disciples of every nation.” Every true follower of Christ is to follow Him in His mission to gather worship for the Father out of all of the peoples over which He has dominion. But it is also a sensible and biblical expectation that the majority will live out their callings in the normal spheres of business and community, redeeming their various sectors by doing their work to the glory of Christ. The normal Christian life, is, for Paul, to “aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you” (1 Thess. 4:11).

I by no means wish to suggest that what is commonly called “secular” work, when engaged in as to the Lord, is unworthy or second-class, or that it is only valuable insofar as it contributes to world missions. Instead, all arenas of occupation are under the Lordship of Christ and are worthwhile and honoring to Him. But I believe that every Christian workman should have a consciousness of the effect of his specific vocation on the work of God to call out a people from every tribe and tongue, this being so central to the mission of the church and the final command with which Christ left us. I also don’t think it is adequate for believers to find fulfillment of Great Commission living solely in the important work of evangelism in their own neighborhoods. The pervasive idea that everyone is a missionary is misleading and confusing. For the purpose of clarity in the church’s understanding of its mission, I think it’s important to draw some distinctions between evangelism within a reached people group, and the apostolic spread of the gospel to places where it has never been. I want to say that Christian believers should see themselves as having a level of involvement in both. The suggestion that the church is comprised of “senders” and “goers” in Great Commission living is more helpful, having no category for uninvolvement, but still leaves the need for an unpacking of what it means to meaningfully participate as a sender. So how can Christian business men, grocers, mechanics and housewives do their work in the name of Christ, to the glory of God, and for the sake of the least reached around the world? Each member of Christ’s body will have to work that out, in sensitivity to the Spirit, in his or her own sphere, but what follows are some beginning ideas:

1. Don’t stockpile. Be a channel for flowing funds to Great Commission causes.

Jesus spoke some hard words to the capitalistic farmer who wanted to build bigger barns for more grain so that he could cushion himself in godless self-dependence and consume on his own lusts. “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:20-21). When a nation is at war, its citizens tighten the belt and streamline in order to free up dollars for the cause. Where the church is engaged in the mission of Christ, everyone contributes. Right now, a pitifully small amount of money goes toward the spread of the gospel among those who have never heard (only about 5% of Christian giving goes to overseas missions, and of these funds, less than two percent is focused on planting churches among the unreached). Oh, for more business savvy Christian men and women who are more shrewd than the money-handlers of this world, because they do their buying and selling with a view toward increasing the flow of dollars into sending preachers to the unreached! I’ve heard recently of two small enterprises which have been started by Christian believers, the proceeds of which are going entirely to world missions. Could that be a worthy personal or family project for you to establish by faith? In your occupations, labor not to be rich. Labor to be rich toward God by making Christ your treasure and storing up riches in heaven in part by releasing funds for the advance of His Kingdom among the unreached.

2. Make it easy for believing employees to go.

How many Christian business and parents have, even inadvertently, prevented those whom God has called from going because they challenge them toward climbing up company ranks, but never to consider leaving it all behind for the sake of the gospel? Or how many employers have made it too difficult for employees to take vision trips, reduce hours for pre-field work, etc? Have an atmosphere around your office, store or workshop which says to believing employees and prospective employees: “If the call of God is upon you, it would be a joy to see some of you go to work among the least reached. It is a noble calling which I would support and facilitate in whatever ways I can.”

To be continued in tomorrow’s post.

~~posted by Ambassador

A Challenge from the Third World

Yesterday’s post stressed that we Westerners should not abandon our involvement in cross-cultural missions. Yes the “Third World” is more and more doing a fantastic job in spreading the Gospel of Christ.

Today I thought we could ponder the fact that the “Third World” should challenge us in the West. We are so comfortable and so blessed monetarily, that we easily become complacent.

Recently I came across an excerpt from a book by K.P. Yohannan of Gospel for Asia. The book is The Road to Reality, and the excerpt was entitled “K.P. Yohannan on Shallow Commitment vs. Biblical Christianity”. It will be fitting for us to meditate on these words from a native Indian who is transforming India through indigenous missions.

All too often, we are willing to be “students of Christianity”, rather than disciples of Christ. The fact is that most are substituting “learning” and “information” for practical obedience. Never in history has there been a society with so much “information” about God, but so little real knowledge of the Holy One. Right doctrine without right living is worthless in the sight of God.

Obviously, the gap between Biblical Christianity and the way we live today is a very big one. The amount of time the average believer spends before a television, reading worldly novels, and in recreation, is amazing.

We don’t accept “the nail” because it would mean death to our “self.” We demand instead the pleasure our desires for self gratification. And we have found “shepherds” and Bible teachers who will give us a “feel good theology” to match and justify our lives of sinful rebellion. Much of this “Santa Claus religion” is centered around a horrible distortion of Bible doctrine. It denies the demands of the Gospel and says, “You can have the good life NOW, and heaven besides!” It tickles our ears to hear this religion taught. It promises us the services of a god who exists to solve all our problems; making us happy, healthy, popular, successful and rich. This sounds like the false promises of Baal or the idol gods of paganism.

It is obvious that Jesus will have no one among His followers who is wanting to put comfort, family ties or security in this world, ahead of His kingdom. Jesus is saying in effect, “I offer you what I have; hardship, hunger; labor, loneliness rejection, sweat, tears and death. I’m a stranger and pilgrim in this world, and if you follow Me you will have to break away from the clinging attachments of this present life.” There is no place in His band for those who are not willing to accept inconvenience, sufferings, and uncertainty. This is still the price of following Christ today, just as it was then.

How many of us need to confess our adulterous love affair with the world? I fear for the nation and people whose Christian churches have forsaken holiness, and separation from sin and the world. The “spiritual thermometer” of most churches is so low, that a new believer has to become a backslider to feel at home. When the Lord calls you away from this mess of lukewarm, half hearted, plastic Christianity, you can be sure that many will say you are an idiot.

“Dear Lord, we acknowledge that our commitment to You is so shallow. We say we love You, but our actions betray us. Open our eyes so that we see time and eternity as You see them. Forgive us for forgetting we are only strangers and pilgrims on this earth. How foolish we are, O Lord, to store up treasures on this earth and fight to save our lives and preserve them, when You tell us we will lose our lives if we try to do that. We ask You, dear Lord, to forgive us and help us to walk in Your footsteps; forsaking all, denying ourselves, carrying our crosses daily and loving You supremely so Your causes might be furthered in this dark and dying world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

A final note: you can request a free book: Revolution in World Missions from GFA’s website. The book will challenge you anew in regards to missions, and it reveals Yohannan’s passion to equip the Indian church to reach the many unreached groups within India itself.

~~posted by Bob

Testimony of an Iranian Martyr

The following paragraphs were excerpted from the testimony of Mehdi Dibaj. He was an Iranian convert to Christianity who endured 9 years in prison for the charge of being an apostate. He ended up dying for his faith.

In jail, Mehdi Dibaj endured 2 solid years of solitary confinement, suffered repeated beatings and mock executions. His wife even divorced him and renounced the Christian faith upon being threatened with stoning. Yet in the face of such hardship, while still in prison he wrote these words.

I have always envied those Christians who were martyred for Christ Jesus our Lord. What a privilege to live for our Lord and to die for Him as well. I am filled to overflowing with joy; I am not only satisfied to be in prison…but am ready to give my life for the sake of Jesus Christ.

In December of 1993, he wrote a defense submitted to the court of justice. The following is that entire testimony.

With all humility I express my gratitude to the Judge of all heaven and earth for this precious opportunity, and with brokenness I wait upon the Lord to deliver me from this court trial according to His promises. I also beg the honored members of the court who are present to listen with patience to my defense and with respect for the Name of the Lord.

I am a Christian. As a sinner I believe Jesus has died for my sins on the cross and by His resurrection and victory over death, has made me righteous in the presence of the Holy God. The true God speaks about this fact in His Holy Word, the Gospel (Injil). Jesus means Savior “because He will save His people from their sins.” Jesus paid the penalty of our sins by His own blood and gave us a new life so that we can live for the glory of God by the help of the Holy Spirit and be like a dam against corruption, be a channel of blessing and healing, and be protected by the love of God.

In response to this kindness, He has asked me to deny myself and be His fully surrendered follower, and not to fear people even if they kill my body, but rather rely on the creator of life who has crowned me with the crown of mercy and compassion. He is the great protector of His beloved ones as well as their great reward.

I have been charged with “apostasy!” The invisible God who knows our hearts has given assurance to us, as Christians, that we are not among the apostates who will perish but among the believers who will have eternal life. In Islamic Law (Sharia’), an apostate is one who does not believe in God, the prophets or the resurrection of the dead, We Christians believe in all three!

They say “You were a Muslim and you have become a Christian.” This is not so. For many years I had no religion. After searching and studying I accepted God’s call and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ in order to receive eternal life. People choose their religion but a Christian is chosen by Christ. He says, “You have not chosen me but I have chosen you.” Since when did He choose me? He chose me before the foundation of the world. People say, “You were a Muslim from your birth.” God says, “You were a Christian from the beginning.” He states that He chose us thousands of years ago, even before the creation of the universe, so that through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ we may be His. A Christian means one who belongs to Jesus Christ.

The eternal God who sees the end from the beginning and who has chosen me to belong to Him, knew from the beginning those whose heart would be drawn to Him and also those who would be willing to sell their faith and eternity for a pot of porridge. I would rather have the whole world against me, but know that the Almighty God is with me. I would rather be called an apostate, but know that I have the approval of the God of glory, because man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart. For Him who is God for all eternity nothing is impossible. All power in heaven and on earth is in His hands.

The Almighty God will raise up anyone He chooses and bring down others, accept some and reject others, send some to heaven and other to hell. Now because God does whatever He desires, who can separate us from the love of God? Or who can destroy the relationship between the creator and the creature or defeat a life that is faithful to his Lord? The faithful will be safe and secure under the shadow of the Almighty! Our refuge is the mercy seat of God who is exalted from the beginning. I know in whom I have believed, and He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him to the end until I reach the Kingdom of God, the place where the righteous shine like the sun, but where the evil doers will receive their punishment in the fire of hell.

They tell me, “Return!” But to whom can I return from the arms of my God? Is it right to accept what people are saying instead of obeying the Word of God? It is now 45 years that I am walking with the God of miracles, and His kindness upon me is like a shadow and I owe Him much for His fatherly love and concern.

The love of Jesus has filled all my being and I feel the warmth of His love in every part of my body. God, who is my glory and honor and protector, has put his seal of approval upon me through His unsparing blessings and miracles.

This test of faith is a clear example. The good and kind God reproves and punishes all those whom He loves. He tests them in preparation for heaven. The God of Daniel, who protected his friends in the fiery furnace, has protected me for nine years in prison. And all the bad happenings have turned out for our good and gain, so much so that I am filled to overflowing with joy and thankfulness.

The God of Job has tested my faith and commitment in order to increase my patience and faithfulness. During these nine years he has freed me from all my responsibilities so that under the protection of His blessed Name, I would spend my time in prayer and study of His Word, with a searching heart and with brokenness, and grow in the knowledge of my Lord. I praise the lord for this unique opportunity. God gave me space in my confinement, brought healing in my difficult hardships and His kindness revived me. Oh what great blessings God has in store for those who fear Him!

They object to my evangelizing. But if one finds a blind person who is about to fall in a well and keeps silent then one has sinned. It is our religious duty, as long as the door of God’s mercy is open, to convince evil doers to turn from their sinful ways and find refuge in Him in order to be saved from the wrath of the Righteous God and from the coming dreadful punishment.

Jesus Christ says “I am the door. Whoever enters through me will be saved.” “I am the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the father except through me.” “Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Among the prophets of God, only Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and He is our living intercessor for ever.

He is our Savior and He is the (spiritual) Son of God. To know Him means to know eternal life. I, a useless sinner, have believed in this beloved person and all His words and miracles recorded in the Gospel, and I have committed my life into His hands. Life for me is an opportunity to serve Him, and death is a better opportunity to be with Christ. Therefore I am not only satisfied to be in prison for the honor of His Holy Name, but am ready to give my life for the sake of Jesus, my Lord, and enter His kingdom sooner, the place where the elect of God enter everlasting life. But the wicked enter into eternal damnation.

May the shadow of God’s kindness and His hand of blessing and healing be and remain upon you for ever. Amen. With Respect,
Your Christian prisoner,

Mehdi Dibaj

He was released Jan. 16, 1994, due to the efforts of Armenian Christian Bishop Haik Hovsepian-Mehr, who himself was killed that same month. Mehdi Dibaj was abducted and killed for his faith just six months later in June of 1994.

Don’t hesitate to read his full testimony, along with other facts about the suffering of believers in Iran and elsewhere, by going to this page. Amazingly, Dibaj was just one of 156,000 Christians martyred for their faith in 1994 according to David Barrett, professor of missiometrics at Regent University (from a Campus Journal article referenced in the article linked to above).

Have you counted the cost? Are you willing to die? Will you pray for suffering saints, and for the victory of God’s Kingdom in all lands for all peoples?

~~posted by Jack

Book Review: The Art of Manfishing, by Thomas Boston

Thomas Boston, a Scottish Puritan of the eighteenth century, produced at the beginning of his ministry what was to become a classic expression of the Puritan, and indeed the Reformed, attitude towards evangelism. Today we know this passionate and soul-searching meditation as The Art of Manfishing. Anyone who has ever been brought to despair by the lack of success attending his ministry, or the dullness of heart which he often finds seeping into his soul, would find much balm in these weighty words, written by one who truly feels that of which he speaks; and who knows, moreover, where the healing and hope is to be found.

The caricature of Puritanism as a condemnatory and passionless religion of self-satisfied curmudgeons could scarcely be further from the reality, as Boston’s little treatise convincingly demonstrates. Within its pages are to be found deep humility, a passion for souls, and a desperate desire that God be glorified. This is Puritanism at its best; and even at its worst, Puritanism has much to offer the modern church, as she pursues her task of evangelizing the lost. It is primarily in two particulars that we, as modern evangelists, stand to learn from the scripturally-saturated reflections of Thomas Boston.

The first of these is humility. True humility, which ever despairs of oneself and looks to Christ alone for succor, is always in short supply. Thomas Boston habitually and systematically taught himself to remember his own weakness and apply to Jesus for aid. He did not consider his own conversion as certain, unless the Savior should lay hold of him; and so he was ever mindful not to base the likelihood of the conversion of those to whom he preached on their own merits. Precisely in proportion as he despaired of all human effort in evangelism, he leaned upon Christ; which is an attitude as likely to be put to much use as it is unlikely to be found.

The second particular is genuine fervor for lost souls. Rare is the man who can cry out with true and empathetic passion for the lost sheep of his homeland. This the apostle Paul did, as you may remember from Romans 9:1-5. More to the point, this is what Christ did, when he wept for Jerusalem, and was stricken with compassion for the scattered multitudes. If we would follow Christ, we must be affected as he was affected. This eminently Christ-like love is a sovereign gift that serves always as the foundation for a Christ-honoring evangelism. If we would be true “manfishers,” let us cry out to Christ for a measure of this same spirit!

Perhaps this humility and passion, which are so evident in Boston, sprang from his conception of the ministry of evangelism. He saw conversion not as a glib, one-time decision, but an often long and always weighty process of being broken down by the law, so that one might be bound up by the free grace of the Savior. And he saw this process, moreover, as a supernatural affair, impossible to be counterfeited by human measures, and occurring ever as a testimony to God’s surprising power and grace. This may well be why Boston, who loved Jesus much, so desperately desired the conversion of souls. It may be why he was so ardently devoted to pursuing Christ in his evangelistic office. It is certainly why he was so humbly inclined to despair of himself as he looked instead to the one who alone is able, for all his strength both to persevere, and to preserve the gospel free from corrupting influences and motivations. In all of these particulars, we would all do well to drink deeply from the same spring.

~~posted by Zioneer

Ponder the Pashtun

• Twice the population of Australia; more people than Argentina, or Canada, or Spain
• With population estimate of 40-45 million, the patriarchal Pashtun people of Afghanistan and Pakistan constitute the largest segmentary tribal society in the world
• Almost evenly distributed between southeast Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan, the Pashtun are largest people group in Afghanistan (‘Afghan’ being a Persian term for ‘Pashtun’), and the second largest among the 386 people groups of Pakistan
• Main ethnicity of which the Taliban is comprised; Taliban ‘fiqh’ (jurisprudence) deriving from ‘Pashtunwali’ (pre-Islamic Pashtun tribal code of ethics) as much as from medieval applications of ‘sharia’ (Islamic law). [The Taliban came into existence in the mid-90’s as a reformist reaction to the immoral and corrupt post-Soviet warlords; they enjoyed initial popularity with the majority of the Afghan population as well as surprising military success; the Taliban national stronghold was toppled in 2001 by Coalition forces following 9/11, yet they remain a strident and noteworthy revolutionary force in present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan]
• Sunni Muslims, adamantly and violently opposed to any other religious expression
• July 2007 est. of 100-200 mostly ‘secret’ believers among all 40-45 million Pashtun
• No known indigenous fellowship (church) of Pashtun believers exists in all the world
• Only a handful of church planting efforts exist among the Pashtun; more churches and ministers and Gospel resources exist in northeast Ohio (where I live) than in all of Afghanistan and Pakistan combined (200 million people/400+ distinct people groups)
• Despite intense political and geographical isolation, there remain ample opportunities and platforms for outreach among the Pashtun: both in Afghanistan and in Pakistan (various kinds of relief work and infrastructure development: well digging, water management, solar energy, computer training, road construction, English education, agricultural and livestock development, medical, dental, physical therapy, etc.; business enterprises: micro-loan management, economics training, transportation, mountain climbing, photography/journalism, tourism; etc., etc.)
• Like usual, the problem isn’t any lack of opportunity or ‘open door’; the problem is our tunnel vision, our ignorance, our apathy, and our enslavement to comfort
• May God help us and move us and cause us to love the Pashtun! And He will…

(Resources: Wikipedia, Joshua Project, and the Pashtun Advocacy Network. Photo borrowed from this article.)

~~posted by Jack

25 for 25 Million!

Twenty-five for 25 million!  Among the 25 million Kurds in Central Asia, there are only 25 known mission workers of any evangelical denomination or nationality.  (If you think I’m exaggerating, then read it for yourself on IMB’s stellar website.)

How many individuals are on staff at your church? How many Gospel-preaching pastors and laypersons are there in your particular community?  Surely, the ratio is better than 1:1,000,000!

Now the stinging question: Why?  After nearly two millennia of Gospel expansion and Church growth, why is there so little being done to reach the Kurds?  Is it just me, or does there seem to be an ocean of saints around the rest of world sleeping in happy oblivion? 

No, I’m not naive about the difficulties involved in reaching the Kurds.  They are an Islamic people marked by intense political and geographical isolation.  Their homeland encompasses more than one war-zone.  And for the most part they don’t want you to come!  Loving Kurds is no cake-walk.  

Thankfully, no one is more serious about reaching the Kurds than God Himself!  He has already purchased Kurdish worshipers at Calvary (see Revelation 5:9), and in His time He will send forth more laborers into “Kurdistan” (eastern Turkey, northern Iraq & Syria, northwest Iran, and western Armenia) and flood the people’s hearts with the knowledge of the glory of Christ (Mark 13:10, Romans 10:14-15, Habakkuk 2:14).  The Kurdish Harvest will happen!  The question is not “if,” but “when”.   

Therefore, I wonder…are you number 26?

~~posted by Jack