"If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?" David Livingstone
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Jim Elliott
"There are three indispensable requirements for a missionary: 1. Patience 2. Patience 3. Patience." Hudson Taylor
"The greatest form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and helpless." Billy Graham
"There are four things that we ought to do with the Word of God - admit it as the Word of God, commit it to our hearts and minds, submit to it, and transmit it to the world." William Wilberforce
The above are quotes by disciples of Christ who took the Great Commission very seriously.
David Livingstone was an Scotchman who forsook his comfortable home in Glasgow in order to take the Gospel to Africa as a medical missionary in the mid-1800s. He once said, "I place no value on anything I have or possess except in relation to the kingdom of Christ." He spent from 1840-1873 devoted to bringing the joy of Jesus to the interior of Africa. Many of the time he spent away from his wife and five children. He died an English hero, buried in Westminster Abbey. Did he consider his commission to service to God a sacrifice? Not at all, even though he sacrificed much of what we would consider the "good life."
Jim Elliot was a young man who graduated from Wheaton College in 1949. While at Wheaton, Jim felt such a compulsion to share the Gospel with those who had not come to know Jesus that he would take the train into Chicago and spend the afternoon at the train station, ready to share with anyone that he could the good news of salvation. Eventually, Jim felt called to travel to Ecuador to take God's Word to the Quichua Indians and specifically the Waodani tribe that lived in the deep jungle interiors. Jim and the other missionaries of Mission Aviation Fellowship spent months preparing and learning as much of the Waodani language as they could from a young Waodani woman who came to them for help. The Waodani's were an extremely violent and vicious people who had been cut off from society for centuries. But Jim and his team were "commissioned" to take the Word to them, and they took their commission deadly serious, as they were massacred by the tribe upon their second arrival. But the seeds planted on their first meeting, as well as with the Waodani woman whom had converted to Christianity through her relationship with the team, brought salvation to this tribe who now serves as light in the dark Ecuadoran jungle. Steve Saint, son of Nate Saint who was the pilot for Mission Aviation Fellowship continues to work with the Waodani's. He calls Mincaye, one of the tribesman who killed his father, one of his closest friends. "I came to speak God's carvings," Mincaye says, as Steve translates from Wao tededö into English. "Carvings" is the term the Waodani use for the Bible. "God tells us to teach the other people." Disciples making disciples.
Billy Graham is a household name in the United States and in many other parts of the world. He has been the primary proclaimer of God's Word in the 20th Century. His evangelical crusades have brought the word to millions of people. He has said, "My one purpose in life is to help people find a personal relationship with God, which, I believe comes through knowing Christ." From the late 1940s up until today, he continues to stand for the Gospel. He has spent the majority of his life away from his family in order to ensure that others have the opportunity to know that they are loved, forgiven and saved through the blood of Jesus. He knew his commission, and he fulfilled it.
These three, Hudson Taylor and William Wilberforce quoted above, along with many, many more dedicated evangelists have responded to the Great Commission with absolute dedication and resolve.
Have we all been called to commissions of this magnitude? Probably not. But we have all been called. Are we taking our commission seriously? Do we realize that eternal futures are at sake? Or are we too self-minded to care enough for others to ensure that they have the knowledge necessary for them to understand the love, joy, and peace that is available to them?
I pray to love others more, and to be ready to share, at any opportunity, the reason for the hope that I have within me.
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Jim Elliott
"There are three indispensable requirements for a missionary: 1. Patience 2. Patience 3. Patience." Hudson Taylor
"The greatest form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and helpless." Billy Graham
"There are four things that we ought to do with the Word of God - admit it as the Word of God, commit it to our hearts and minds, submit to it, and transmit it to the world." William Wilberforce
The above are quotes by disciples of Christ who took the Great Commission very seriously.
David Livingstone was an Scotchman who forsook his comfortable home in Glasgow in order to take the Gospel to Africa as a medical missionary in the mid-1800s. He once said, "I place no value on anything I have or possess except in relation to the kingdom of Christ." He spent from 1840-1873 devoted to bringing the joy of Jesus to the interior of Africa. Many of the time he spent away from his wife and five children. He died an English hero, buried in Westminster Abbey. Did he consider his commission to service to God a sacrifice? Not at all, even though he sacrificed much of what we would consider the "good life."
Jim Elliot was a young man who graduated from Wheaton College in 1949. While at Wheaton, Jim felt such a compulsion to share the Gospel with those who had not come to know Jesus that he would take the train into Chicago and spend the afternoon at the train station, ready to share with anyone that he could the good news of salvation. Eventually, Jim felt called to travel to Ecuador to take God's Word to the Quichua Indians and specifically the Waodani tribe that lived in the deep jungle interiors. Jim and the other missionaries of Mission Aviation Fellowship spent months preparing and learning as much of the Waodani language as they could from a young Waodani woman who came to them for help. The Waodani's were an extremely violent and vicious people who had been cut off from society for centuries. But Jim and his team were "commissioned" to take the Word to them, and they took their commission deadly serious, as they were massacred by the tribe upon their second arrival. But the seeds planted on their first meeting, as well as with the Waodani woman whom had converted to Christianity through her relationship with the team, brought salvation to this tribe who now serves as light in the dark Ecuadoran jungle. Steve Saint, son of Nate Saint who was the pilot for Mission Aviation Fellowship continues to work with the Waodani's. He calls Mincaye, one of the tribesman who killed his father, one of his closest friends. "I came to speak God's carvings," Mincaye says, as Steve translates from Wao tededö into English. "Carvings" is the term the Waodani use for the Bible. "God tells us to teach the other people." Disciples making disciples.
Billy Graham is a household name in the United States and in many other parts of the world. He has been the primary proclaimer of God's Word in the 20th Century. His evangelical crusades have brought the word to millions of people. He has said, "My one purpose in life is to help people find a personal relationship with God, which, I believe comes through knowing Christ." From the late 1940s up until today, he continues to stand for the Gospel. He has spent the majority of his life away from his family in order to ensure that others have the opportunity to know that they are loved, forgiven and saved through the blood of Jesus. He knew his commission, and he fulfilled it.
These three, Hudson Taylor and William Wilberforce quoted above, along with many, many more dedicated evangelists have responded to the Great Commission with absolute dedication and resolve.
Have we all been called to commissions of this magnitude? Probably not. But we have all been called. Are we taking our commission seriously? Do we realize that eternal futures are at sake? Or are we too self-minded to care enough for others to ensure that they have the knowledge necessary for them to understand the love, joy, and peace that is available to them?
I pray to love others more, and to be ready to share, at any opportunity, the reason for the hope that I have within me.
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