What is the ultimate goal of Missions - Ashley
If you were to stop and think about the main goal of missions, I believe most people would conclude the purpose is to see souls come to Christ. Seeing people accept Christ as their Savior is a very important aspect of ministering to others. God has commanded us to “…Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.” (Mark 15:16) We should desire for God to open the hearts of people in this lost world, so that they can understand and accept the Gospel. However, should this be the ultimate goal of missions? Should we base our spiritual successes or failures on how many people come to Christ?
In II Corinthians 2:14-15, we find our answer to these questions. “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish.” If we are telling others about Christ, whether or not they come to salvation, we are a sweet savour unto God and we are accomplishing what He intended us to. God receives glory if someone accepts Him as their Savior, or if they reject him. We triumph in Christ through every situation! He receives glory in everything because His Word is being proclaimed, and seeds are being sown in the hearts and minds of those who hear it. There is no way to measure the impact we have on someone. The testimony of God, the verses of Scripture we quoted, the words of Christ we have spoken to them, are all things we leave with a person we witness to. Those seeds have been planted and who knows when someone else may come along to water the seeds. Maybe, not today, or tomorrow, but sometime down the road that person may come to know Christ through the words we spoke unto them.
So what is the ultimate goal of missions?? Is it to see hundreds of thousands of people come to Christ? No, even though God could perform that miracle, I believe the ultimate goal is for Christ to receive glory through every situation. No matter what the outcome may be, we are put on this earth to share the Gospel, and through proclaiming His Word, we give glory and honor to God! “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
Revelation 4:11
posted by LBC Teen Missions Trip @ 8:37 AM
3 Comments
3 Comments:
Ashley,
You did a phenomenal job on your article. Thanks for again pointing us to focus our attention on the glory of God! We must never get away from that being the one, all consuming desire of our hearts. We desire to preach Christ in order that the Lord might be exalted and lifted up. Thanks for the encouragement.
Pastor V.
Ashley,
I second the comments of Pastor V.!! I marvel at how the Lord can use us, all of us, to impact this needy world for Jesus Christ. As Jesus pleaded in John 4:35 "...that the Lord of the Harvest would send forth more laborers into the fields", Ashley, I pray that the Lord would call you into His service in some "field", where ever that may be! I also pray for all the members of the Lighthouse Baptist Church teen mission trip to Puerto Rico this July, 2008. May the Lord of the Harvest receive praise and glory!! Dad
Dear Ashley, Thank you for this article, the Lord has many plans for you to become a vessel for His glory. The ultimate goal of Missions is to glorify God, proclaim and live His Word and to pray for the Holy Spirit to move the hearts of those who hear the Word of Life. Thank you for being a blessing.
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