“MISSIONARY NOW”
The Canadian Field Missionary department is promoting the reading of the book, Christian Service, during the next year. Every month we will be publishing a summary of that month’s readings. We would like to encourage everyone to read this precious material. If you would like to receive the monthly guide, write to us to i[email protected].
You can also follow us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/InternationalMissionarySociety.
We publish daily messages based on the same book. May God bless you richly, is our wish and prayer.
Can You? Can I?
“And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto Him, saying, Master, we would that Thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And He said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? They said unto Him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on Thy right hand, and the other on Thy left hand, in Thy glory. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” Mark 10:35–38
How many times have we, sons and daughters of the living God, audaciously demanded of our Heavenly King, our Elder Brother and Living Example the very same thing? Lord, we would that Thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And how many times, has the Saviour of man, with sorrow in His heart and sadness etched onto His kind face, replied with the very same words He used to explain to His disciples the price of their petition, that simple truth, “ye know not what ye ask.” For, you see, beloved brethren, it is not enough to belong to Christ only, but to His work as well, His purpose, His great love for the human soul, and the salvation of such. “In order to enter into His joy,” Inspiration tells us, “…we must [be willing to] participate in His labours for their redemption.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 142
As we can easily behold in the life of Jesus, His life was one of service—dedicated, perseverant, unflinching service. His meat was to do the will of Him that sent Him, and to finish His work (John 4:34). It was this joy, the joy of seeing souls redeemed by His sacrifice that prepared our loving Saviour to valiantly face the cruel death that awaited Him. It was this joy, this satisfaction, knowing that He was being sent of God for the redemption of humanity that filled the Son of Man with the strength and courage necessary to face His darkest hours—the hours which, because of His infinite sacrifice, we may never have to face. Glory to the Son of God, Amen.
Times are fast coming upon us, in which the children of God will be tested to the utmost, their faith strenuously proved; “[For] here is the patience of the saints, . . . they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. God must finish the work of preparing us for Heaven, He must remove all dross so that we too, can stand “without fault before the throne of God.” Revelation 14:5. By this time we must have already reached the high and holy standard of the character of His dear Son, which begs the most important question in the life of mankind today. How? How can erring human beings attain the perfection of Christ in their own daily lives? The Spirit of Prophecy leaves this point perfectly clear in the mind of the sincere soul. “In order for us to develop a character like Christ’s,” the servant of God writes, “we must share in His work.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 142
Before the laying of the foundation of the world, the Divine Council had already provided for the redemption of man, should he willfully sin and separate himself from God. And even then, Infinite Wisdom understood that man himself had a work to do, if He was ever to once again rise above his own sinfully-inclined flesh, and the insinuations of his ever present foe, Satan. In doing for others what Christ has done for us, we ever keep the presence of the Lord alive in our hearts. In stretching out a compassionate hand to the fallen, the broken-hearted, the discouraged and hopeless we honour and glorify our Risen Master.
“That . . . which we have heard,” wrote the beloved disciple, “which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; . . . declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us.” 1 John 1:1, 3. Christ’s disciples were so filled with love for their Master, for everything He had shown and taught them, everything from which they had been freed, that they could not help but diffuse the heavenly fragrance of love and peace to all whom they came in contact with. In this same way, Christ asks us to win the world for Him; to be a light in this world of darkness. Yet, a light in and of itself makes no effort to shine, it simply is. In the same way, “God does not bid [us] to make an effort to shine. . . . He desires that [our] souls be [so] imbued with the principles of heaven, [that] as [we] come in contact with the world, [we] will [naturally] reveal the light that is in [us].” –The Ministry of Healing, p. 36. Through a natural flowing of Christ’s indwelling presence within, souls can be snatched from the enemy and won eternally for heaven.
The Spirit of Prophecy states that, “Everywhere there is a tendency to substitute the work of organizations for [that of] individual effort. . . . Multitudes leave to institutions and organizations the work of benevolence; they excuse themselves from contact with the world, and their hearts grow cold.” –The Ministry of Healing, p. 147
In John 20:21, immediately before breathing on the disciples the Holy Ghost (v.22), Jesus commissions the disciples to go forth in faith, even as He Himself was “sent”. He promises them peace, yet not as the world giveth, but as only Heaven can impart. Thus we can see, yet again, the relation between peace for the human soul and the work of personal outreach. Although the disciples were a collective, an organized body, and worked in unity, Jesus sent them as individuals that completed a whole. What Peter had learned through his disgrace and restoration, was different from the experience that Thomas learned through his lack of faith. What John had learned through love, Matthew had learned through the joy of leaving all for the Master. Each disciple’s experience was unique, as unique as the souls to whom they, and only they, could minister to. This same principle applies to the missionary effort today.
My beloved brother, my beloved sister, only you can do the work that God has asked of you, no one else can fill your place in the ranks of Christ’s militant church. “The real character,” Sister White writes, “of the church is measured, not by the high profession she makes, not by the names enrolled upon the church book, but by what she is actually doing for the Master, by the number of her persevering faithful workers.” –The Review and Herald, September 6, 1881. May the Lord’s Spirit ever accompany us, and lead us not only to the souls desperately in need of His love and forgiveness, but impel us to reach out to them and be the blessing they have waited all their lives for, Amen.
Canadian Field Missionary Department