I live under a constant burden. The cry of the unreached screams in my conscience day and night. The knowledge of billions perishing in Hell without ever knowing of a Man named Jesus is keeping me awake right now. Well over 40% of our world is untouched by the gospel message of Jesus Christ: and not because they are unreachable! It took Hudson Taylor five months to travel to his mission field. Because of modern travel ability, we can be almost anywhere in the world within less than a week. Why aren’t we going?
Here are some statements that I have either heard or read in relation to my question of “Why aren’t we going?”
1. “I am not called to go the foreign mission field”.
If I had a dollar for every time I heard that statement, I would be a rich man. Here is an honest question: if our obedience to the “foreign” part of the Great Commission is predicated solely upon a “call”, can you tell me of a time and place where you were “called by God” to America? Are you living in this great country simply because you were born here? Does being born in a country constitute the call of God to that country? If God has commanded us to go to all the world, and we who are saved have stayed simply because we were born here, while the rest of the world perishes at a rate of 66,000 souls a day… let me rephrase that…Could we not even take a two-week vacation to go to a country where the gospel is not available and be a witness for Jesus? We do not have to be preachers to be witnesses, do we?
2. “God only calls preachers, right”?
Wrong! While certainly, God does call men into the ministry, all Christians everywhere have a command from God to “go” into all the world. Why are we waiting on a voice when we already have a verse?
3. “What would happen to our churches in America if everybody left to go to the rest of the world?”
First of all, that is not a legitimate concern. It will never happen. But secondly, if it did really happen: if every one of our Independent Baptist folks actually “fell into the ground and died” to self, ambition, comfort, convenience, family, and friends, there would be a revival of souls being saved to fill their spots like never before. There would be a resurrection of fruit like this country has never seen. “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone (are you getting lonely), but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”
4. “If everyone goes to a foreign mission field, then who will go to America”?
God is definitely calling men and women to go or stay in America. There is no doubt about that, and I thank God for everyone who labors for the Lord in the USA in obedience to the calling of God in their lives. I thank the Lord for each of our supporting churches who are giving that we might go both in the States and West Africa. But the question I am posing is “Who will go to the unreached peoples of our world?” If not you, who? If not now, when? If not here, where?
5. “God wouldn’t call me to risk my health, or my family’s health, or our lives, would He?”
As a matter of fact, He already did! He said that if we were going to follow Him, we would have to take up a cross. A cross is an instrument of death! The servant is no greater than his master. He died for us and we should be willing to follow in His steps when called upon. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Friend, until we are willing to take risks again for the cause of Christ, we will remain impotent in this world. We need a generation who are willing “to love not their lives unto the death”. We desperately need young people who will choose to “lose their lives” in order that they might preserve life! We need men and women who will “sell all they have” and “go buy the field.”
On behalf of untold Billions of souls for whom Christ died, I beg you to consider what your part is in reaching the unreached with the gospel? I promise you that God has a larger narrative for most of our lives than what most of us are willing to live.
#underaburden
#necessityislaiduponme
#woeisuntomeifIpreachnot
by James Ruckman