If you've been a Christian for any length
of time, you've probably heard of the term
missionary, and it's normally connected to
someone traveling overseas to share Jesus
with people.
And while there's some truth to that, I
feel that many believers think that they cannot
do the work of a missionary, mostly because they're not traveling anywhere or going
on any mission trips.
So to clarify, a missionary is someone who
fulfills the Great Commission given by Jesus
in Matthew 28, 19, where he says to "go and make disciples of all the nations."
And many in the church today hyper-fixate on the "all nations" part and think that
they need to travel abroad in order to do
missions work, and I would say that this is
incorrect.
In fact, any Christian, whether they decide
to go on a short-term mission trip or move
to a foreign country or stay in their home country, can choose to do missions work.
So if you're interested in becoming a missionary, follow these four steps.
Step number one, be a trained disciple.
Matthew chapter 9 verse 9.
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man
named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and
he said to him, "Follow me."
So he arose and followed him.
In this passage, Jesus saw a man named
Matthew, who was a tax collector, and told Matthew
to follow him.
And Matthew later became one of the 12
disciples, and he ended up writing the Gospel of Matthew.
So please note that before Jesus gave his
disciples the command to make disciples, he
first told them to follow him.
So if you're someone who is thinking of being a
missionary, first you need to grow in spiritual
discipline just as the disciples did.
Through Jesus, the 12 disciples were
trained how to pray, how to walk by faith, how to
feed and take care of people, how to respond to trials, and how to love God.
So if I were to create a to-do list for
people who want to be trained disciples for Jesus,
I would highly suggest that you gain these five spiritual skills.
Skill number one, learn how to read the Bible
correctly, meaning you know what to look for
when you read, you know how to make correct
interpretations, and you know how to apply
what you read to your life.
And we made videos on how to do this if you want to learn.
Skill number two, learn how to pray diligently and genuinely.
And while we made videos on how to pray,
prayer is only really learned from God through time.
Skill number three, learn how to serve
people with your hands, your mind, and your heart.
Many people at church attend Bible studies,
but don't take the time to volunteer and bless
people with their time, energy, and attention.
Skill number four, learn to fellowship and keep the unity.
Our world today is full of division, and the church is no different.
Christians are prone to gossip, slander, and divide over needless things.
So to learn this skill would train a person's
ability to communicate, to forgive, to humbly
offer correction if need be, and to train
the mind to remember that their enemy isn't
full, but against the higher powers of spiritual darkness.
And skill number five, learn how to preach the gospel.
To be a trained disciple, people need to reach
a place in their faith where they can accurately
teach others about Jesus and the importance of his death on the cross.
So if you're someone who wants to be a trained
disciple, I would consider gaining these five
skills.
Learn how to read the Bible, learn how to
pray, learn how to serve, learn how to fellowship,
and learn how to share the gospel.
And you can learn these either through a
mentor or church leadership, and if for some reason
those aren't available to you, you can also watch our videos.
However, learning directly under someone is what I would suggest.
So once you've had some experience being a trained disciple, move on to step number
two, which is to make disciples.
Matthew chapter 28, verses 19 to 20.
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, teaching them to observe all things that I
have commanded you.
And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Amen.
In this passage, Jesus finished training
his disciples for three years and was about to
ascend back into heaven.
But before he left them, he commanded them, his disciples, to make disciples.
Or in other words, Jesus told them to do
the same thing to others that he did for them.
So how did Jesus make disciples?
Well, there's steps.
Step number one, Jesus chose specific people.
You see, Jesus being God didn't choose 100 or 1,000 disciples.
Instead, he focused three years of time and attention to 12 individuals.
So if you want to take this step, I would encourage you to pray and ask God, who is
that one person that you can take your time to invest in?
And after prayer and waiting on God, you
can approach that person and offer your advice
to them.
And as a side point, guys should be discipled by guys and girls with girls.
And if the person you want to disciple is
a minor, parents should be included in this
conversation.
Step number two, Jesus taught them how to follow God.
For you, this would look like passing down
your knowledge and experience of the five
skills mentioned before and offering any
wisdom that you have so that you can help the person
you're discipling.
Step number three, Jesus was actively involved in their life.
Please note that Jesus wasn't just a teacher
to his disciples, he was also their friend.
They spent a lot of time walking, talking,
eating, serving, singing, and resting together.
So don't think discipleship is all about you being this higher teacher.
It's more about you coming alongside
someone in their life so that you can bless them.
And step number four, Jesus trained them to stand on their own.
Please note that right after Jesus gave
the command to make disciples, he left them.
In fact, Jesus often spoke of how he would one day leave his disciples.
And this fact ought to be remembered because
should the time come and we make disciples,
we should not train them to be dependent on
us, we should instead train them so that they
can have the strength to walk with God on their own.
So how do we make disciples?
We pick people through prayer, and should
they agree to be taught under you, you teach
them how to follow God, you become actively
involved in their life and develop a friendship
with them, and you let them go once you've
taught them all the basics, and you encourage
them to go and make disciples.
Step number three for being a missionary, hear God's call.
Ephesians chapter two, verse 10, "For we
are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
In this passage, Paul explains that
Christians are made by God and that they were created
for good works and that God prepared these good works for them to accomplish.
So please note that not every Christian is called to the same ministry.
Hudson Taylor was called to China, Amy
Carmichael was called to India, and Jim Elliott was called
to a tribe in Ecuador.
And these were all people who tried to teach
people about God so that they can become disciples.
So remember, Jesus said to make disciples
of all nations, and the nation you live in
is in fact a nation, and you can make disciples there.
And by fulfilling that command, you can still be a missionary and do missions work.
However, through prayer and by the leading
of the Holy Spirit, God may give you a heart
for a different country than the one that you live in.
So if you feel like you might be called to a
different country, follow step number four,
which is to take a step of faith.
Acts chapter 8 verses 26 to 30.
"Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,
saying, "Arise and go toward the south along
the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.
This is desert."
So he arose and went, and behold, a man of
Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under
Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, who
had charge of all her treasury and had come
to Jerusalem to worship, was returning.
And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.
And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go near and overtake this chariot."
So Philip ran to him and heard him reading
the prophet Isaiah and said, "Do you understand
what you're reading?"
In this passage, an angel told Philip to go
to this desert, and then the Holy Spirit told
Philip to run up to this chariot.
And so Philip ran alongside his chariot and preached to this Ethiopian official.
And this is what we call taking a step of faith.
Or in other words, looking like a fool in order to do what God says.
You see, normal people don't run up to random moving vehicles to talk to them.
Normal people also don't walk up to people and offer their spiritual counsel.
And normal people also don't sell their
car, quit their jobs, and pack their clothes to
move to another country just so that those people can know Jesus.
So if you feel like you might be called to
another nation to preach to them about Jesus,
I'd recommend that you take a step of
faith and visit at least once, and then ask God
if He wants you to move there to make disciples.
And through prayer and reading God's Word,
see if He wants you to take another step of
faith.
Okay?
So if you want to be a missionary, follow these four steps.
Be a trained disciple.
Make disciples, hear God's call, and take a step of faith.
My prayer is that regardless of whether
Christians decide to move to another country, that they
would choose to do the work of a missionary so that more people can hear.
Jesus loves you.