Mission with a Message
Happy Resurrection Day! We have a mission because we have a life-giving message. Our task in God’s mission therefore remains the same – presenting the message of whom to trust – The resurrected Lord!
Meet Laos
Others may call it – logo but we know it as Laos (????), the Greek word for “The People” and by implication, God’s people, moving in the right direction and making progress one step at a time.
The missio Dei (a Latin expression for ‘the mission of God’, ‘God’s mission’ or ‘the sending God’) is a quintessential concept for resolving the disparities of views that have long beguiled the Body of Christ about the meaning and significance of mission, and has narrowed the spectrum of divergent perspectives. In a nutshell, God is the initiator and sustainer of His mission. Within the broader mission of God, however, is missions (the specific assignment that is performed by the local church, individual mission agencies, or other missionary organizations like PHGM).
The execution of missions is only possible when the required resource is available, and that resource is people. The responsibility for executing and realizing the goal of missions, therefore, rests on the people of God everywhere. This calls for faithful participation in line with the blueprint of the initiator.
The blueprint is stated in Isaiah 43:6b-7: “… Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth – everyone called by My name and created for My glory, whom I have indeed formed and made.” We are mandated to go out and in collaboration with other God’s children, and through partnership with mission agencies, bring in God’s sons and daughters (both the lost and the found) into the kingdom that they may join to also worship Him.
The scope of our mandate in missions is Africa. The missionary mandate includes and is not limited to direct and indirect participation in worship renewal, evangelism, medical mission, educational mission, and meeting other human needs in the name of the Lord.
“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ [and others that will be brought in through missions], might be for the praise of his glory.” (Eph. 1:11-12)
This is what Laos is about.
When to Pray “Remember me” with Confidence – 1
Mission, from the point of view of our human endeavor, means the committed participation of God’s people in the purposes of God for the redemption of the whole creation. Mission, like salvation, belongs to our God and to the Lamb. We are those who are called to share in its accomplishment.1
The Book of Nehemiah opens with Nehemiah’s inquiry from Hanani, one of his brothers, who visited him in Susa (the land of his captivity where he also rose to prominence) from Judah about the state of affairs in Jerusalem and the wellbeing of “Jewish remnant that had survived the exile” (Neh. 1:2). It is not by chance that the book closes with his prayer; “Remember me with favor, my God.” (Neh. 13:31b, NIV) There is a pertinent lesson in it for anyone that is passionate about fulfilling God’s purpose.
“Remember me” is an expression that erupts from the depth of the soul especially when there has been an antecedent, be it an event or an action. For Nehemiah, the expression of this gusty prayer was the culmination of his unalloyed devotion to God, which reflected in his commitment to initiate, mobilize resources for and see through the shame-reversing project of rebuilding the burnt down gates and ruined walls of Jerusalem, the city of his heritage. Therefore, it wasn’t an ‘anyhow’ remembrance that he craved and prayed for but one that was loaded with God’s favour.
It is pertinent to note that the word that was translated ‘remember’ in that prayer has its root in the Hebrew word zakar, which connotes marking out for recognition and by implication to ‘also mention’. When conflated with the counterpart Hebrew root towb (meaning ‘good’) translated ‘favour’ in Nehemiah’s prayer, the supplication can be rephrased: “My God, mark me out for recognition and mention me (or my name) for good.” This is instructive for every believer.
The first thing that jumps out of this prayer is the indispensability of a personal relationship with God as a precondition for fulfilling our individual purpose in life, with His call for each life at its very core. The account of Nehemiah’s exploits as documented in the entire book is a model of participation in God’s mission which aligns with Christopher Wright’s view of the Bible as “a product of mission in action” i.e. a documentation of God’s mission, in which He demonstrates His continuing grace for reconciliation, redemption, restoration and liberation.
Nehemiah models a missional lifestyle, that places responsibility ahead of prosperity. May we fulfil our ordained destiny in Christ.
(To be continued in Part 2)
Isaiah Okanlawon
Isaiah.okanlawon@praiseofhisglory.ca
1Christopher J. H. Wright, “Word of God and Mission of God,” in Discovering the Mission of God: Best Missional Practices for the 21st Century, ed. Mike Barnett (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 2012), 46.
PHGM/PHGMi Theme: “The Gracious Hand of Our God” (Ezra 8:18)
We grew up singing the song, “For this God is our God; forever and ever. He will be our guide from now even unto the end.” (Ps. 48:14) We have no doubt experienced the power of that song over the years. God has continued to prove Himself in our lives as we continue with that powerful declaration.
He kept us through the highs and lows of 2020 in spite of all the challenges because of His faithfulness to be our God and guide unto the end. He remembered us favorably, shielding us from being victims of the enemy’s ferocious attacks and establishing us as victors. All glory to Him indeed.
We are now in 2021. Hallelujah! We do not know what the New Year holds but we know the One who holds the year and the entire universe in the palm of His hand. He is the One that we have entrusted with our lives and know He is faithful to take us through with His gracious hand like He did for Ezra and the contingent of returnees from exile, to whom He assigned a great task that required a great backing – His Gracious Hand. The task ahead of us in 2021 may be great, as a ministry, as families and as individuals; but we should not fret because the gracious hand of our God is on us (Ezra 8:18). He will raise up the people who will join forces with us, favour us and be used by Him to establish us as victors in all ramifications of life.
Welcome to your season of God’s gracious hand.
Confronting Our Realities – II
Do you not know that God entrusted you with that money… to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to help the stranger, the widow, the fatherless; and indeed, as far as it will go, to relieve the wants of all mankind? How can you, how dare you, defraud the Lord by applying it to any other purpose? (John Wesley)
It was highlighted in the last edition that the three prongs of missions, namely; GOING, GROANING and GIVING are indispensable and inextricably symbiotic. It is not possible to sincerely engage in any of these without first having the burden to see a change in the present deteriorating conditions of missions and missionaries. The big challenge is; how sincerely burdened this generation of believers is for this all-important kingdom agenda.
Another reality that the Body of Christ needs to confront is the continuous systematic deprivation of missions and missionaries with requisite resources needed for sustainable missions reach.Nehemiah realized that the task ahead would be impossible without adequate support and sufficient access to material resources. He then requested for a letter from the king that would be given to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, “that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted the request. (Neh. 2:8)
The Godhead remains our perfect model of missions.He clearly demonstrates that there can be no missions without giving. Missions started with the giving of the only begotten Son of God who laid down His life willingly that we may not perish (John 3:16). It can only be sustained by giving in all its ramifications. That is,the sacrificial release and dispatch of human, financial and material resources to mission fields.
God created and owns every resource on earth in all of its fullness (Ps. 24:1) from which man makes wealth. The symboliccattle on a thousand hills (Ps. 50:11) are only a little fraction of it. In His sovereignty, He chooses to distribute them to men and women as He deems fit, believers and unbelievers alike (Matt. 5:45). You then wonder how on earth the unbeliever uses the same wealth to fight against Him like Saul of Tarsus or execute rebellious agenda in kind.
The thought being shared here is not about why God would do that. It is about why He gives believers the power to make wealth. Paul unfolded it in I Cor. 9:11 -12: “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us [missionaries in this case] will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.” This is the purpose of the resources at the disposal of the believer! It is therefore not about ownership on our part, but stewardship of those resources for which we are accountable to the Owner – God.
Missions communities need decent water, educational facilities, health care assistance and church buildings. Missionaries need upkeep support, funding for children’s education and means of mobility to navigate the unbearable rural terrains and road network. These can only be met when believers give sincerely and sacrificially. Missions and missionaries need our support and not sabotage.
Unfortunately, it is not only the likes of Sanballat, Tobiah and the Arabs in the days of Nehemiah, but many Christian individuals, families, and church leaders, that are sabotaging God’s agenda in missions today. You are either supporting or sabotaging missions with your action or inaction. It is time to confront this reality. Where do you stand?
Pst. Isaiah Okanlawon
Isaiah.okanlawon@praiseofhisglory.ca
Confronting Our Realities – I
You probably have tasted a sweet and sour sauce before just asI have many times. The sweetness comes from ingredients like fruit, syrup, or sugar, while the sourness comes from acidic ingredients like lemon, vinegar, lemon, or other souring agents. Experience in Christian Missions can be likened to the type of sensation or feeling that comes from tasting this type of sauce, which I would describe as “sweetness tinged with sourness.”
The reality of the state of Jerusalem at the time when Nehemiah was in a foreign land and serving as King Artaxerxes’ cupbearer could also be said to give a sweet and sour feeling. Nehemiah’s position was amiable, enviable and influential as it gave him access to the king, though with caution and a lot of risk. Little did he know that God was preparing him for a mission of confronting the reality of the sorry and embarrassing state of Jerusalem and its broken wall.His assignment would be the execution of a project that would entail reconstruction, restoration, renewal and revival in the land of Judah.
Prior to the visit of his brother (Hanani) to Susa, Nehemiah had fond (sweet) memory of Jerusalem, but this became tinged with pain on hearing that the Jewish remnants that had survived the exile and were back in the province were in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem was also broken down, and its gates had been burned with fire. (Neh. 1:2-3)
Dearly Beloved, the account of Nehemiah about the miserable state of Jerusalem, its wall (and by inference its security and pride) and its people is analogous to the present reality of Christian Mission, which lies in ruins and its wall continually breaking down. And its important the Body of Christ comes to terms with this reality. It does not take rocket science to accept this fact. It is evident everywhere and across all nations and cultures. How do we explain the alarming rate of missionary attrition, with missionaries quitting both on local and international scenes? How do we explain the ironic situation of the expansion of mega-churches while missionaries are giving up due to lack of support in all its ramifications and the resultant vacuum being taken over by other faiths that do not have the Gospel? This ought not to be so.
I am convinced that God has placed the Nehemiahs of our time in various places and positions of influence and has been sending His Hananis to them through various means, to communicate the message of confronting this reality and do something concrete.
The three prongs of missions, namely GOING, GROANING and GIVING are inextricably symbiotic and indispensable. It is not possible to sincerely engage in any of them without first having the burden to see a change. The burden of seeking a solution moved Nehemiah to first groan about this new experience of sweet memory that is being tinged with sadness.He spent the period of four months seeking the face of God in prayer, fasting and thinking about different ways he could return Jerusalem to its place of safety and glory.He understood the secret of winning in the public square by first fighting in his private corner. Consequently, the time that he spent seeking the face of God must have been harrowing but the future reward obliterated that temporal pain.
When we sow in tear, like Nehemiah did, we shall also reap the harvest with joy, no matter the negative views of those that hate to see the result of our resolve. (Psalm 126:6). This is the thrust of GROANING for missions and missionaries. Are you ready to play your part?
