The Laborers' Podcast- Missions

Welcome to the laborers podcast. Thank you for joining us tonight. We are going to be talking about Missions. Stay with us.

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Now, let's join our laborers for tonight's broadcast.

Once again, welcome to the laborers podcast. Thank you for watching. If you don't mind, we would appreciate a like a share subscribe and most of all we appreciate your prayers. Thank you guys for joining me.

This is the second episode for the laborers podcast in 2023. How you doing. How's it going guys.

Doing good. Oh.

John your beer big. John your beards back Jack.

Yeah, they don't it don't grow very fast. It's looking good looking good. Thank you. That was just Christmas. Good New Year's good.

Well, I'm glad to be back with my brothers on the laborers podcast and tonight We're gonna be talking about missions and I'm looking forward to hearing what they had to say as they have studied and practiced missions serving the Lord in their local Geographical areas, but before we get started I do want to share with you Hopefully it doesn't take too much time for in each broadcast to share with you friends of the ministry churches Christian business owners ministries that say We like what the truth and love network is doing.

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There they are go check them out guys awesome and Rob.

I've not got to. It'll be premiering the The 20s. I'll be interviewing Ryan Denton the 26. I'm gonna be preparing the kingdom contractors a little promo spot. Can can I play that right now? Absolutely real quick.

Yeah. Okay. Okay. We'll see if it'll work you. I don't know what how this will work me do and present from my end, but I'm gonna hit open Open and then maybe you can add it there. I think you can probably add it.

We are a group of Christian businessmen working together to have very profitable businesses with the end goal of Glorifying God by making tangible differences in our region and around the world for the glory of God.

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Alright, and so that's Jonathan Foster down at the bottom, right?

That's right. That's right. I Know we have big differences little differences. We we stand on the core values of Christianity. But we come together in unity and we're supporting one another we're building each other up for the glory of God.

And that's that's what we're about and I'm this is a blessing to see all this going on and us supporting one another is fantastic. So thank you for doing that. Just to go through everybody. Claude Ramsey here.

I stand theology podcast Tyler Noe. He is bread of the word podcast real talk with big John. Go check him out and and Jonathan. He's gonna be starting a bird a cast. But he's also a vertical life church in Newton, North Carolina.

So check him out. So tonight let's talk about missions. What does the Bible say about missions. And Jonathan helped me out with a lot of the questions this week? So let's start with the first one we want to define missions and I'll start at the top.

But everybody feel free if if you've read other questions and you have you know, you want to dive in on that one. I know some of them. I really want to dive into myself and at least give my thoughts everybody, please take your chance to share your thoughts, but.

But Claude, let's let's define missions. All right, so I'm gonna define it by quoting Burke Parsons. And he said this evangelism isn't the end but a means to the end so I would say missions is the end and Evangelism is the means to the end which God's glorious rescue of his people to know him truly.

Worship him purely enjoy him fully and glorify him eternally. We evangelize in order that God might gather for himself worshipers from every tribe tongue and nation for his glory. Evangelism is a temporary necessity.

Hallelujah, but he Burke Parsons didn't say how I included that Evangelism is a temporary necessity, but worship abides forever. Although we certainly need to be discipled in our knowledge of the gospel and equipped to proclaim the gospel.

We must not forget that gospel proclamation isn't first and foremost a program. It's a way of life. It's not something we only do on a particular day of the week when our schedules allow it. It's something we do every day of our lives.

I would say in short the mission Was given to us by Jesus in Matthew 28 Go and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost. Making disciples of all nations and how that's done is through evangelism.

I.

Want to make a clarification because we. We have branches especially and I know you have someone out of a southern Baptist background as well. And so the southern Baptist are really big on missions. I can't speak for every denomination.

But southern Baptists have always been big on missions and and so. Just to make a distinction. You you have what your your mission is which is you know, you kind of laid that out for us. But then you have what people see when they hear the word missions.

They're thinking missions trips good service service service works, so. Kind of flesh that out. The difference between our mission Missions going on missions and then evangelism. What are the what are the differences?

And anybody can put a tag in right before you do that. Yes, sir I think I think as y 'all think about answering Rob's Question right there. I don't want to distract us from that. I think it's really important for us to distinct make a distinction between the Commission and missions.

Okay, that's really important because We have the Great Commission and everybody wants to use Matthew 28 19 and 20 to define missions so the Commission is is this Really Ascending it's it's ascending.

So really the commissioning of the church Costas is to go unto all the world to go. Sending there's this commissioning and then Jesus gives the mission going to all the world and in the mission is make disciples.

That so the mission is really defined as the task. That we are commissioned to accomplish. So we're commissioned to mission. So commission is being sent To the task of making disciples and then Jesus gives us the instruction of how he wants the mission accomplished.

That's good. We want to commission into all the worlds with the mission to make disciples and how. Teaching them to observe all things. Which I have commanded you Baptizing them in the name of the Father Son of the Holy Spirit and Then I'm with you always is like the security that we have in the mission.

So so we really do have a good text there. But the problem is a lot of times people take that text and say this is the mission. But it's the Great Commission, you know. So sending with the mission and then here's how he wants his mission done.

So I just I just think it's really important in light of like using terms like evangelism. I hate this with guys all the time. Is is it discipleship or evangelism? And I tell people all the time. It's the answers in my opinion is yes.

They're so like close related that you're discipling. And so I tell people I'm discipling people that aren't saved but I am training them in the gospel. I'm developing in the gospel. But I understand I'm Noah playing semantics a lot of times with those guys because they're like well evangelism is the same thing.

It just means you're not saved yet. And then it transitions to discipleship once they are safe as you're making disciples, but Jesus didn't use the word evangelism. He just used go make disciples. So that's that's our mission.

And then evangelism is the vehicle by which we ride. It's the horse that we ride into battle, you know those kind of tools, but I just defining it I think it's important to give some just simple clarification there.

That makes sense.

Absolutely. Yeah. Jump back into Robert's question. Sorry. Yeah. Well and the reason for that question is because of the Misconceptions and uses like you were talking about because we have Missions and then we have the the commission.

And when.

What's been Neglected has been the the gospel in our missions in in some Circumstances, and so that that's why I think it's important to to note the difference. Which which is what you were drawn out?

Yeah, it's how those work together and. So does anybody want to hit on that? How they work together what we're missing. While we can't leave out one of the other talk to us how that works as as we go out what it should look like.

Like that I've always thought about it. All thumbs or fingers, but not all fingers. Your thumb, right?

You a.

Lot of ways. If the missionary isn't an evangelist, what is?

Right.

But not all evangelists are mission. Right while the while the obligation is thankful. Biggest difference between them will be location. Most evangelists go home mid Mid their ministry as most missionaries have extended stance away from we can you can.

As a lot of words, I don't understand but I know that the big difference whenever you're away from home for an extended period of time.

And.

It wears on you a little bit different. And I believe that's not something you take lightly or that's not an officer a role or responsibility. You pick words you won't do there that you just jump into.

You need to be Prepared before you do that. It's a I think it's a call that God puts on your life. Do that. Even Paul said John Mark ain't ready. Right on this disagreed with so much so that they went ahead and took two different trip.

Not to say that John Mark would never be ready. But in that moment all this disagreed with his Purity. I think there's a lot of evangelists. They're really good. That may not make good missionary.

Yeah, I think I think when it comes to the the the Missionary work. I think like you you've made the point there to connect to Jonathan's point that It's a locale, right? It's a it's a for example Indigenous missionaries is an important term, right?

It's a it's a it's a it's an individual who is Familiar with the you know, the I say the climate I'm just speaking of just in general terms right. Not the weather, but they they would be Acclimated to the climate the local climate.

They would be in tune in touch with what's going on in the local town in the local Area, so they would be indigenous or be familiar with the area and familiar to the people.

Yeah, so missions is something that I'm really passionate about so I hope no one tonight. Feels like I come at this as a know-it-all. I am still learning so much about this. I want to press you guys just a little bit on what you're saying.

Okay, okay. So who can quote for me acts chapter 1 verse 8?

Oh.

My. Go ahead go ahead and you will be my witnesses. I Was just reading that in Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth.

You shall receive power when the Holy Ghost has come upon you. Mm-hmm. And then when you have that Holy Ghost, he's gonna make some.

Witnesses or.

Missionaries in the hometown. Mm-hmm and a little further out. For me my hometown may be made in Newton a little further out, North Carolina. Maybe somewhere in the United States. Or even to the uttermost parts of the world.

Mm-hmm, and so I get it. I think I think we've all been raised with this ideology that missionaries when I think of a missionary because I was raised good old Southern Baptists. And In our A's. And Every single Wednesday night at our A's we read about missionaries in a foreign country and they're living in mud huts eating bugs and preaching the gospel and so.

So that's you know, that's a missionary. Yeah, then no one dares want to be a missionary because oh man. That's that's that's that's for this radical people. So there are those that are called to be witnesses.

Unto the uttermost parts of the earth. And when God empowers them with the Holy Spirit, there's not a begrudging Obligation there's a zeal. There's a zealousness to a people group just like Paul had a zeal toward the Gentiles.

I he's going to the Gentiles. So he starts his missionary journeys and actually all the Apostles According to history have some form of foreign missionary journey. They end up going somewhere that they preach the gospel.

But is that of a less of a mission than Acts 2. Where they had all things in common. They were breaking bread house to house and they were souls added daily. So which ones the greater missionary the ones that are reaching people at home were the ones reaching people in Africa.

So.

So that's what I'm trying to say is that there is a calling of an empowerment of the Holy Spirit to be a witness and where he Gives some a passion to a foreign country and some a passion to to their back door.

There is still the same commissioning with the same mission. Okay, and so so then we can get into vocational things. Just like you know I think all are called to preach the gospel, but not all are called pastors and preachers in the pulpit.

You know, I mean like that gets into semantics and it's vocational calling. So I praise God for vocational missionaries. Yes, and I think that's what you guys were distinguishing out. There are those vocational guys that there's a unique calling on their life.

That God has sending them to unreached people groups. That's not the universal call of every Christian.

That's right.

But we would I think all agree according to Scripture the Universal call of all Christians is we are all commissioned to be missionaries to be on mission. With the mission to make disciples. Now, the question is where?

So so that's so that's where I like to push back just on our thought processes a little bit of even how I was raised. Because I'm afraid a lot of our churches Don't realize that they are all Empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Missionaries, I tell my kids all the time. My kids are in public school. There's your mission field right there, you know. When you go you have a huge mission field. God has empowered you to be light and salt in that mission field the workforce where you go to work and So I'm I just I just want to make sure I think it's important that we equip people With with that missional living missional mindset that they are missionaries and we praise God for those that God has sent.

And we praise God for those missionaries as he said stay God all I want a good Asian Holy Spirit committing to go said stay at the land, you know. So so now he become a home missionary for a little while.

So anyways, I just wanted to press on that just a little bit does that make sense and yeah. Like I know it all but Missionology is something that is just very near and dear to my heart and.

So I'll share more later. Well, I would like to I would like this found a little bit more on that, but I want to clarify What I was meaning earlier just that we can I think we can move away from that that first set of questions.

Just thinking about the critique of missions in in our lifetime the critique of missions is Going to dig a well. Is that fulfilling the the missions trip that God has sent us on we go and dig a well or?

We you know. Is Red Cross? Fulfilling them, you know the mission of God the missions is often associated with good works service ministry, and that's what it's associated with and the critique is that We go out on a mission strip and we we dig a well or we you know.

We provide food we build something and and we fulfilled we were successful on that missions trip but the critique is Did you Was the gospel present did you use that as a means for the gospel because the the gospel is oftentimes absent in those in those endeavors.

But they feel successful and they claim success because they they did those service ministries because the concept of the mindset is Missions is service work. Yeah, so have we have we got off track and how do we get back on track?

In that area Tyler. Do you have any thoughts?

Well, I was reading Acts chapter 20 earlier today. I might come across that verse address on Facebook. And so I looked it up and it was it was so good and Acts 20 22 through 24 Reads and now I am this Paul speaking and now I am on my way to Jerusalem.

Compelled by the spirits not knowing what I will encounter there. Except that in every town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me. But I consider my life of no value to myself.

My purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of God's grace. When was the last time we heard a mission message cover that verse. There are chains and afflictions waiting for me.

Often when we talk about missions. At least in my personal experience with the more than the millennial youth group crowd we often get almost like this this emotional high when we start talking about missions and We're gonna go be the next Paul and then we read about his sufferings and wait a minute.

I don't know about that. I don't know if I want to go here. I don't know if I want to do this and honestly, there's. There's gotta be a balance somewhere that. Sometimes missions are hard. There was one mission trip.

I went to in high school where I spent the majority of the trip struggling to breathe. There are times where God is glorified in us. Struggling through something like that in us going where it's not comfortable and working in us nonetheless.

And while we're doing home repairs and all of that it was still a segue for the gospel and gospel conversations. But the reality is part of what we should be looking at with these. What we call a mission trip is Being emptied of ourselves as John Wesley once put its spend and be spent in this work.

But to but to what end would the What does being spent look like other than just physical suffering.

And I.

Did that. Yeah, I think that's where I was going with it, you know. Do we do we feel like we were fateful because we're exhausted. Or do we feel like we were fateful because we completed the biblical mission.

Which is evangelism.

Humanitarianism.

Versus.

Gospel preaching and so I've been preaching straight through the book of Luke for almost a year now. We're about halfway through. Been we're doing Bible reading right now. So you're all come by halfway through the book of Acts right now.

I Don't. I think the problem with either case is if you do in either or you miss the mission Jesus. Jesus preached the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. Then he's also healing the sick and feeding the hungry.

So you don't see an either or in his life. It's always a both and and I think so we we have a Long-term commitment, even though we do a lot of short-term missions. We have a long-term commitment to a village in Honduras and With the exception of Kovac years I've been going four and five times a year to that village to that same place over and over and over.

And we feed a hundred and twenty kids five days a week there. We built a school and we've got a hundred and sixty kids in the school because we found out 80 of that village can't read or write they they had terrible water and so we pop water in from over a mile away up the mountain and.

The water runs down the mountain and it had so much gravity forces blowing their pipes apart. So then we had to put in a retention tank, you know.

So.

I could go on and on and on with stories about the humanitarian effort that's been put in there. But the most important effort has been when we started working in that village. It's been almost I think it's been eight years ago now that we started working there.

There was a 16. No, he's 14 as a 14 year old kid there. That just hung on to our coattails, it didn't matter where he went and so fast-forward this young man Now is our pastor in that village. He is the church master in that village and now the church oversees.

All of those ministries we gave it to the church. So now that every aspect of those. Necessities to for them to be able to develop in culture and get out of poverty. Every one of those things now the gospel is actually the center of that and we have we have the church that now has a school with 160 kids with all Christian teachers that actually Honduras pays for and and like so so we have a public school with all Christian teachers.

And so they're in the midst of that school 160 kids learning to read and write learning math and science and history and all the things that's normal but they also have in-depth Bible study every day and all across the board and so.

So when I think of missions in that I have been on both I've been on the horrible end of both of those things where where I've been on trips that you know we did nothing but humanitarian things and. And I love the sovereignty of God because he does stuff.

Anyways, a glass of cold water in Jesus name can go a long way and I love that but that's not an excuse. I've also been on the other side of mission trips. That that we've been to unreached people groups and people starving to death.

I mean literally hungry and diseased. Nobody thought about healing or feeding them as Jesus would or had no compassion their only thing was they wanted to stand on the stump and preach repent or go to hell and.

And it was embarrassing because they weren't interested in hearing the gospel. They're hungry and so so that's. There's a tension there so Tyler said it right there is a balance if we ever get to either or in our mission locally or foreign my opinion we miss the mark of the biblical model that we have as Jesus demonstrated it the apostles demonstrated at the early church demonstrated it of How the gospel is to go forth because we always see Both and as the gospel goes forth to make this and so I just think.

Really important to keep attention there and then you're right Robert if it gets out of balance. No, the Red Cross is not on mission for Christ, right? That's that's a humanitarian effort, right? You know, so so I think we should say what things are and and lost people do tremendous humanitarian effort things and.

And some of our church events that we send people mission look no different than Then secular events, you know. So anyways, that's just my heart. So I'm sorry. I don't mean to jump in again, but that's I Think you guys see what I'm saying.

You guys are saying the same thing. Yeah. No, that was good. That was good.

And honestly, I'm just sitting here listening these pastors hash this out.

That was that's exactly where I was going. Yeah, that's exactly right. Yeah. So going back to go ahead.

Yeah, I would just add to that that that distinction is so important and to articulate that distinction. It's like that's Going just to help with the physical needs is secular humanism. The world does that with one another to a degree?

In that in the sermon ten shekels and a shirt by Paris Reed head I pulled up the transcript to that and he asked this question. He says I ask you what is the philosophy of missions? What is the philosophy of evangelism?

He's connecting him. And then he says what's the philosophy of a Christian and he talks about his experience of going that you know to Africa. He said he went to primarily improve on the justice of God.

So I think I think missions as as any Work set out good work as Defined in the scriptures set out by the Christian to do that that Christian individual or That Christian group should be very well versed right?

We're not just sending them out and just saying do this, but they should be very well versed in The scripture itself so that they can have that balance Jonathan so that they can understand that The the physical needs don't outweigh the spiritual needs both are.

What I mean both are a necessity.

It just made me think about to examine. I thought about two examples. You go back to the founding of our country or before that and it makes me think about the Mayflower. Mayflower compact. You know the Mayflower compact.

They say we're going for the glory of God in advancement of the gospel. And and what do we celebrate now the humanitarian aspect of it? Just the eat just the eating part but that's that's how God was was found.

Founding our country was to Glorify himself and promote the gospel. And then also as you guys were speaking. I was saying about how you know, these gospelist mega churches today. They're really not churches at all.

They're just like Jonathan saying they're just humanitarian. Aids you go in for a feel-good sermon, but without the gospel, they're just a humanitarian service. You're just feeling good for that day and you're left to go to hell.

That's without the gospel. Yeah. So Jonathan was also taking us to our next question. When does one become a missionary and then wrapped up in that. We've touched on this a little bit. Is it isn't an office a role or is it a universal call and I think Jonathan was.

Jonathan was leading us in that. Direction is a universal call for all Christians. And when do we become missionary?

So the nuances Jonathan said I'll jump in here on this really because again because what Jonathan's Jonathan stated there at the beginning was very good. Very are a very good articulation of that that difference.

So I think it would be nuanced into. Not so I would say every Christian is called to evangelize not necessarily in a quote-unquote like Jonathan said earlier, you know in an office at the office of elder pastor teacher not every Christian is called to that.

But every Christian is called to proclaim the gospel. And it doesn't have to be a special organized event it doesn't you know have to be a Specific setting. You can be at Walmart. You can be at Home Depot.

You can be on the job site you can be wherever you are and communicate the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to anybody and everybody we come in contact with. But that specific I don't think it's a like like and it did I understand.

You correct Jonathan. You were saying it's not an Official office or role.

Or so so that brings up another conversation when it comes to the office role, yeah, for example the word Apostle. There's a dual meaning in Scripture for the word Apostle. We had the twelve Apostles.

But then the word Apostle could simply mean sent one. Hebrews talks about Jesus our Apostle, right? You know, so it's sent ones. So. So I said that's the reason I thought it was really important to unpack commission and mission.

Yeah number one who's been sent and number two. Who's been sent to do the mission? And so again, I. The attempt that I'm trying to make is to demystify missions. Yes that we've made it. We've made it something that you do on a special occasion rather than the lifestyle of the mission of Christ.

Mm-hmm, and so.

So.

So yes, I do believe. Especially when it comes to foreign missions unreached people groups. I work with a group of guys from India. You know as a Thomas, sorry, that's the basketball player.

Sorry.

Anyways, he he has a ministry To a group of pastors there that considered themselves missionaries to their own country. They go to the to the hyper Muslim and the hyper Buddhist places Knowing they're going to die.

And his ministry is to raise funds and support for the wives and the children of these guys That have a special call in their life that they're going to go into dangerous places and they they know there's a high probability They're going to die.

Yeah, so so that's an incredible calling and That's a guy with a specific mission. So and then those who are carrying out a mission is who we would call missionaries. So so that that's a unique specific Gift and call to be a martyr to to go into dangerous places to put your life on the line and especially Knowing that your life is going to be on the line.

But notice the definition that I said just a second ago of defining a missionary. I slid it in right there if you didn't notice that okay, a missionary is someone That has a specific mission and responsibility that has been commissioned to do something.

So which Christian? Does not have the commissioning to do a mission.

None.

Right.

Right. So the mission is to evangelize the right so in to make disciples. So then we would have to say all Christians Should have the mindset to say I'm a missionary. Now if we have the mindset that I'm a mission in my opinion, by the way again, I don't want to be so like Dogmatic about it.

I'm just convicted about.

It.

Praise the Lord and I'm okay if people disagree, but I'm just saying I I really believe When do you become a missionary is I'm also answering this is the moment that Christ regenerates your heart now he has commissioned you with a mission and You if you are a have a commissioning and a mission.

When you go do that mission and your missionary. What I would say is the ones that I would not call missionaries or Disobedient people. I wouldn't call them a missionary because now they're disobedient.

So you're either disobedient or you're missionary and there's really no in-between and Then the unique part of that is then praying and seeking the face of God. Okay, God, where? Specifically do you want me to be a missionary?

So that's where I would say there is those general Missionary as you go as the commissioning says as you go through every day of life. Go be on mission. That's just as you're going. So we call it in our church wherever you live work or play.

Your own mission wherever you live work or play you live in your neighborhood. Where you work and you go to the ball field you go to beach wherever where you live work or play. We're on mission to make disciples to evangelize to make disciples to reach the lost to share the good news of Jesus.

But I will say that there are those just like Paul did and just like the guys I'm talking about in India or the ones That are to us and they have a right to be Recognized as a this seems like a higher calling.

They are missionaries with a different mission. So they're on that mission and that mission is more costly Than what my mission is right now my mission to be a pastor of a local church. And calling to be that missionary to Newton, North Carolina, they don't cost me nothing.