Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. For those of you who know me well, this statement may come as somewhat of a surprise. I have a passion to reach the lost for Christ, and I will be the first to passionately tell you about it. This passion not only reaches to every corner of our country, but also to the regions of the world where the gospel has never been proclaimed before, to literally millions of people groups, or nations. Missionaries are critical as long as one person on this earth has not heard the message of the Gospel!
So, why make an opening statement such as the one above? To use the words of the theologian, John Piper, “Missions exist because worship doesn’t.” From his book, Let the Nations Be Glad, he continues, “When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.”
Revelation 4:8 gives reference to the four living creatures praising God day and night. We, too, shall worship Him continuously once we enter into His glory forever. The few songs we sing on any given Sunday are merely a warm-up for an eternal worship service. Whether you play a musical instrument or not, sing or don’t sing, prefer contemporary over traditional or visa-versa, there is one Truth that is constant. If Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, you are guaranteed to worship Him forever upon your departure from this earth.
The title of this devotion is not a plea for a decrease in missionary efforts. If anything, for now, missionaries are needed more than ever before. As long as we live in a world where Jesus Christ is not the Lord over all people, missions cannot afford to sit in the shadows. It must be a priority. Missions must walk boldly and confidently into the oppressed areas of the world that so desperately need Jesus.
However, in order to declare His glory among the nations and to tell His wonderful deeds among the peoples (Psalm 96:3), we must worship God. How is it possible to share Him if you do not worship Him? If our passion for God is weak, our missionary efforts will not bear fruit. Worship and missions are a “hand in glove” relationship, respectively.
Our hearts and minds should always have this attitude of worship from Revelation 15:34 (NASB), “Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; for all the nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”
Copyright 2020 Michael Callahan Ministries, LLC
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