By His Grace, I Am What I Am

Ezekiel 22:30 "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none"

It is an established truth that missionaries are ordained from the beginning of  time. The movement of Christianity in this world is based on a personal contact with the living Jesus, and that is what makes a successful missionary - one who has seen Jesus in one way or the other. For example, the apostle Paul, on his way to Damascus, met with Jesus face to face. After that personal encounter with Jesus, Paul was never the same, and no wonder he had such a tremendous success in his missionary works.

To be a successful missionary, a Christian should have a personal encounter with the Lord so as to have a personal witness. A personal encounter with Jesus will assure that a Christian has experienced the power of  God probably having been delivered from bondage of one sin or the other, so that you may understand the need that other people in bondage of sins are going through, and let God use you to deliver others. You may have received or witnessed a miraculous healing, which strengthens your faith so that you can tell others to have faith and believe,  and also be willing to lay hands on them for their own healing.

Mark 7:32-35  " And they bring unto Him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech Him to put His hand upon him. And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers into his ears, and saith unto him, Ephophata, that  is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened,  and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain."

Missionaries should be ready to be used in any area of the evangelical pursuit.  Those called out of their local city, state, or country must be prepared to expect anything. Just because you are a trained nurse, for example, does not mean that you will only be needed in the hospital. You may be needed to head a bible study group, pastor a church, assist in a crusade, or participate in a revival.  You may be asked to do just about anything , so please understand that obedience to and reliance on the Holy Spirit are very important. We know that God is faithful, and that we can do all things through Christ Jesus that lives in us.

Be prepared to walk on foot, live without comforts and luxuries that you are used to, be prepared to  sleep under the trees, get your body and mind immuned to diseases, acquire an open mind to all foreign foods, foreign people, different languages, different cultures, traditions, and opposing religious beliefs.  Ask God to give you a new heart to love all people of all races, a compassionate heart to care enough to embrace them in order to bring them to know the love of Jesus. Missionary works are all about: going, and doing, and telling.  Consider this scripture verse:
John 20:17  "Jesus saith unto her, Touch Me not; for I am not yet ascended to My father: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God."

Missionaries are born, not made.  If your mother did not give birth to a missionary, Jesus can give birth to a missionary.  You already know that whoever is born of the Spirit is spirit, and that person is always ready to go and always is on the run for Jesus.  The instruction is 'Go and say unto them'. So, it is my utmost desire in this work to appeal to the saints of God who do not yet practice Mark 16:15 to start praying for a ministry from God.  This work will endeavor to answer such questions as how to acknowledge a missionary call from God, how to acquire the necessary training to be a successful missionary for the Lord, how to remain saved as a missionary, and much more.

The Bible says in Matthew 9:37 that the harvest is plentiful, but truly the laborers are few.  The harvest is not in the church.  The fishes are out in the field, and most of them are hurting.  God can use you to reach these people. Just say, "yes" to Jesus when He calls you.  May God richly bless you and reveal His plan for you as you read this book.