WHY SHOULD WE GO?

"And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."
— Mark 16:15

THE FIRST JOURNEY

My first experience in missions was when I was 18 years old. I went on a trip to Tecate, Mexico. I was from the ghetto of St. Louis, so taking a trip to another country was surreal. To see that there were people who didn't look like me or talk like me, was life changing.

We ministered in shanty towns where peoples' homes were made of trash cans, plastic bags and mud. In order to wash my hands, I had to wash them with soap granules that looked like sand. I could only run the water for a few seconds because clean water was so scarce there.

II visited with an older lady named Esperanza, who treated me like a son as soon as we met. She shared her food with me even though she was restricted to 2 meals per day to feed about 5 people who lived in her home. It seemed as though she was showing more of Jesus' love than we were. I say that because she had nothing to give. Even though she had nothing, she gave generously with what she had in her hand.

Let me ask you a few questions. What's in your hand to give? What resources, talents and abilities do you have to help someone else? If Esperanza had to depend on you for her spiritual nourishment, food, shelter, and clothing, how would she be doing right now?

The Bible says, "to seek first the kingdom of God." The kingdom of God is God's system and God's way of doing things. His way of doing things, may have you leave your comfort zone or things you are familiar with and take you to a dimension in Him that you've never experienced.

THE COMMISSION

We all should know by now that the Great Commission was a command and not a suggestion; and that the reason why we should go is because we were commanded to go. Yet, very few have this revelation I'm about to give you now. Would you like to know the reason, why we can go into all the world? I know that the first great reason, is that Jesus commanded us to go; But do you know why you should be comforted in that command?

In Matthew 28:18-19 it says,18"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.19"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Now when the Bible says therefore, you have to see what the therefore, is there for. Jesus said that all authority was given to Him in heaven and on earth. Go therefore..... Or you might say, because of that, go! The reason why we can go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, is because all authority has been given to Jesus in heaven and on earth.

Could it be , that the reason why you won't go, is because you truly don't believe that all authority was given to Jesus in heaven and on earth? I know people say that Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth; but according to scripture, it is a confirmation of that fact when we go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. When we go into all the world, we are giving proof of the fact, that all authority has been given to Jesus in heaven and on earth.

So we are Christ's ambassadors, excercising His authority, to get His message to the world.

"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us..."

— IICorinthians 5:18

"No one has the right to hear the Gospel twice, where there still remains someone who has not heard it once."

( Oswald J. Smith )

Those of us in the English speaking world are dreadfully unaware that one-third of the world's population is unreached with the gospel. There are still over 3,000 languages in which the Bible has not been translated. And many countries that now have a bible translation still have only fledgling local churches and no resources for widespread evangelism.

There are 70 million people in Turkey for example, and only 2000 believers. In comparison, probably every American town has an abundance of churches, bibles, and Christian bookstores. There is certainly still a need for diligent and persistent evangelism and discipleship here, but our greatest resources should be focused where the need is greatest.

There are only approximately 10,200 believers working to reach the 1.6 billion people who still have no access to the gospel. That is one missionary for every 155,000 unreached people. Doesn't that seem inexcusable? It's not for lack of people or resources that so much need remains. We just haven't been willing to go. We should be sending our money, our time and our willing people to these unreached places.

                ( John Wesley )