You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:15-19 – NASB95)
Thank you! Words cannot express how grateful I am to be involved at a church that is so committed to world missions. From our Missions Team [Committee] that meets on the first Tuesday of each month, to our Missions Prayer Team that meets every Thursday morning, to our LIFE Groups each sponsoring one of our missionaries, to our monthly Missions Offerings that go to specific needs, to our Missions Budget that supports mission agencies and missionaries all over the world, to our own Mission Agency Shepherding The Nations that trains and resources church leaders, pastors, and church planters in a growing number of countries, to our Missions House where our missionaries can stay for free on furlough… this church is committed to World Missions! Thank you, thank you, thank you for being sensitive to the Holy Spirit and obedient to the mandate of our Savior. Your generous investment of your time, talents, and treasures is impacting the world for Christ.
If you think I’m exaggerating, read what our missionary John Glass wrote to me recently after he received a financial gift from our church:
Just wanted to thank you for the incredibly generous personal gift the church sent us. You guys are the ultimate Mission church I have ever seen in my entire 37 years of Missions. Your generosity is truly overwhelming.
That is music to my ears! Why is this so important to me? Read the following points and look up every passage.
- God’s mission is to reach & bless the whole world with the Gospel of Jesus (Gen. 12:3).
- God the Father gave everything (His own Son) to reach the world (John 3:16; Is. 49:6).
- Jesus devoted His entire earthly life to missions (Mk. 10:45; Lk. 19:10; 1 Tim. 4:10).
- Five times after His resurrection Jesus commanded us to carry on the mission of reaching the entire world (Mt. 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15; Luke 24:46-47; John 20:21; Acts 1:8).
- People who do not hear and respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ will spend eternity in hell (Dan. 12:2; Mt. 25:46 [note you can either have “eternal” life or “eternal” punishment – both are of the same duration]; John 3:36; 5:28-29; Rom. 1-3; Rev. 20:11-15).
- God will ultimately reach the whole world with the Gospel, and it will bring Him eternal glory (Rev. 7:9-12; 21:24). To be devoted to this is to be devoted to the winning cause of all human history!
- If we are true believers of Jesus and understand the grace & love of God in Christ, we will be compelled to go out as ambassadors to reach the world for Jesus (2 Cor. 5:15-21). We will not do this only as individuals but also corporately as a local church (Acts 2:42-47; Phil. 1:27; 2:14-16; Col. 1:24-29; 1 Thess. 1:8; Titus 2:11-15).
- The job is not done! At least 70% of the world’s population does not know the Lord Jesus and the guarantee of eternal life. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came to give His life a ransom for many then told us to go out and make disciples of ALL the nations. THE JOB IS NOT DONE!
It is my prayer that the Lord will help us in the days ahead to be even more devoted to reaching the world (locally and globally) with the Gospel. It will require sacrifice on our part, but the eternal rewards far outweigh the costs. Thank you for your active participation in world missions through The Bridge. To God be the glory great things He is doing!