Why Go?

Jesus commanded all believers to be involved in the Great Commission. The Great Commission of our Lord is the greatest plan ever given to men, by the greatest Person who ever lived, concerning the greatest power ever revealed and with the greatest promise ever recorded.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ “

But did you know that the Great Commission wasn’t commanded for the first time in Matthew? In fact, as far back as Genesis, the Great Commission weaves its way throughout the Bible as one of the major themes - God’s plan to redeem a lost world using his children to spread the news.

The clearest and earliest account of the Great Commission was God’s call to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.“

How would God bless all the families of the earth through one man, Abraham?

God’s first method would be through the nation of Israel. In Exodus 19:5-6, God gives Israel its national purpose. “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Israel was to be a nation of priests, an intermediary nation by which the truth of God would be transmitted to the other nations. This truth is repeated in Isaiah 49:6, “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” Israel was to be a light to the nations, God’s servant, so His salvation might reach the nations of the earth.

Jonah is just one example of a missionary sent by God from the nation of Israel to be a light to another nation. Jonah forgot his purpose in life and ran from God’s direction but God went to great lengths to get Jonah to turn around and take the message of salvation to the Ninevites.

Unfortunately, too often Israel forgot its national purpose and became more concerned with self preservation. Let us be careful that we do not do the same. God said He would bless Israel and make them a blessing. They wanted to be blessed but often did not want to be a blessing. How often do we get preoccupied with God blessing us rather than being a blessing!

Secondly, God established the church to take the message of salvation to the ends of the earth. The missionary mandate was restated with ultimate authority by Jesus Christ and recorded in all four gospels (Mt.28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:46-49, John 20:21) and the first chapter of the Book of Acts (Acts 1:8). It is clear from the book of Acts that the church was fully aware of the missionary mandate. The church could not provide salvation (only God could do that), but they could proclaim it. And that is precisely what they did! The history of the early church is a history of mission. Every chapter of the Book of Acts deals directly with the proclamation of the gospel and extension of the church.

Nothing in the Book of Acts suggests that God saves without using humans to proclaim the gospel. In fact, sometimes God went to great extremes to get people to proclaim the gospel.

Examples:
• God sent an angel to tell Philip to go down to the Gaza road and then directed him by the Spirit to witness to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8).
• God sent an angel to Cornelius, not to preach the gospel to him, but to tell him where he could find a preacher (Acts 10).
• What about Paul? When the Lord Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, he did not proclaim the gospel to him, but rebuked Paul for persecuting Him and resisting God’s drawing. Stephen and the ones Paul had persecuted had already preached the gospel to him.

The Scriptures give us no reason to believe that God brings the gospel to men and women apart from people. It is important to realize that we are not only God’s plan for bringing the gospel to the nations - but we are His only plan in this present age. Don’t wait for a mystical “call” from God. Be like Isaiah who after hearing God’s general call for someone to go, asked if he could be the one! “Here I am Lord, send me!” (Isaiah 6:8) God’s call throughout Scripture is clear.

Read more about the history of missions here
and continued here

Read an insightful article about the Great Commission

If Scripture’s clear mandate from beginning to end isn’t enough to convince you, perhaps this will help. “No one anywhere in the world is doing all right apart from Jesus Christ.” (Dr. Warren Webster, missionary to Pakistan) Not one person apart from Christ will spend eternity in heaven. Every one apart from Christ is lost, separated from God, without Truth, hope, or meaning.

But Jesus promised that the end would come once every people group had heard the news. “And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14

And Revelation shows a clear picture of believers from every people group. ‘After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”‘ Revelation 7:9-10

Presently, about 2 billion people are considered “unreached” - they have no access to the gospel. There are no national church movements in their country, no one to tell them about Jesus Christ and his offer of grace and salvation. God has given us the privilege and the responsibility to do something about that. There is no question, God’s promise that every nation will hear will be fulfilled. The question is, how will you be involved? Will you sit on the sidelines, watching as God raises up others? Or will you willingly go, pray, and give to reaching the lost of our world. Could we be the generation to complete the task of the Great Commission and see it fulfilled? It will not happen without us and without sacrifice.

Knowing her stubborn heart and seeing the judgment she would undergo, Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 13:34). In the parable of the prodigal son, God is pictured as a father rejoicing at the restoration of a lost son (Luke 15:11-31). In Romans, Paul says that he is so burdened for his lost countrymen that he wishes he could go to Hell in their place (Romans 9:1). These are examples of response in light of the condition of humanity. We pray that we would be people who would respond like Jesus and Paul - having compassion for the lost that would drive us to action.

In addition to God’s mandate through Scripture, the lost condition of humanity, there are many other reasons to answer the question, “why go?”.

• An opportunity to invest as much of your life as possible in that which lasts for eternity.
• There are hundreds of thousands willing and able to be businessmen, nurses, teachers, engineers, but only a handful who are willing and able to be missionaries. “Do not give yourself to that which others can and will do but give yourself only to that which others can not or will not do.” John Mott (leader of the Student Volunteer Movement)
• The promise of eternal rewards. (2 Corinthians 3:11-15, 1 Thessalonians 2:19)
• An opportunity to live and work with men and women who passionately pursue God and His glory. It’s contagious!
• Stepping out of your comfort zone causes you to rely heavily on God, stretching your faith muscles.
• A front row seat watching God’s miraculous hand at work in the nations and through history.
• An opportunity to glorify God by proclaiming his gospel! God is glorified when we present his message and speak well of him.

The question is not should we be involved, but rather how. How can God use me in being a part of helping to fulfill the Great Commission?

There are a number of ways you can be involved in the Great Commission. You can Pray, Go, Give and Send.

Prayer

Jesus commanded us to prayer for laborers to be raised up.

In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

As we pray, God brings our heart in line with His heart. God’s heart is for His Gospel to be taken to all people, everywhere. We can pray for laborers to be raised up and for the Gospel to spread rapidly around the world. Devote yourself to praying for the world - regularly commit to joining your campus corporate prayer times, choose a different country to pray for each day, pray for the missionaries you know in other places, or get creative and find your own way to be involved through prayer in the Great Commission!

Go

If we haven’t made it clear already, let us reiterate - there are thousands of ways you can be involved in going to the world with the gospel! Click here to see the opportunities with Campus for Christ.

Give

Matthew 9:37-38 “Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’ “

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

It costs money to send laborers, print materials, and develop ministries that impact people with the Gospel. Consider giving to the Great Commission. Support your local church, but dream of how God could use you to impact the nations with the gospel through the money he has entrusted to you.

Click here to give a gift or learn more about giving.

Send

John Mott said, “He is not so profitably employed who does the work than he who multiplies the work of the doers.” Some people God has called to be used by Him to raise up multitudes of others to go to the ends of the earth with the Gospel. If it is your vision to send others, then dream big. Think strategically and put yourself in places where you can really encourage others to go to the ends of the earth. But remember, sending and going aren’t mutually exclusive. Often it is easier to encourage others to go by inviting them to go with you as you take short term trips to other places. You may want to consider regularly going in order to send effectively. However God specifically leads you, have a vision for the world in sending.