46 Principle 42 - The True Mission of the Church

Principle 42. The True Mission of the Church. The closing words of Jesus Christ to his early disciples for their mission of making disciples of the nations has also become the mission of the church in China. Even the newest converts in the underground church get the immediate burden to tell everyone of the great savior of China and the world. Every Christian is encouraged to witness daily and do the work of an evangelist. Therefore, they do not just rely on a special few as missionaries, but the entire underground church of China is a throbbing missionary movement spreading the glorious gospel of our Lord. In many countries, we have special times to promote the need for missions and the spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet, do we have the same burden for this mission as the early disciples did? May we learn that the entire church, meaning every one of us, is a missionary called to spread this good news to everyone in the nations of the world. The underground church in China has flourished and grown under the continual guidance and dynamic leading of the Holy Spirit of God. May God birth a similar movement all over the world apart from any specific denomination or church. May God raise up all in the body of Christ to be active, unified, and growing in the good news of our risen Lord. In China, there is an urgency to share the good news with others. The thinking is simply that they have received such a wonderful gospel, so how could they keep silent and not share it with others? You can almost hear the believers saying, hurry up, hurry up, let's share this good news with everyone. It is not surprising, therefore, that God birthed in the hearts of these simple Chinese rural farmers a strategy to share the gospel to every closed country westward of China. Many young Chinese believers are going out 100% without provision or money, but trusting in the Lord so that they can share the good news with others. We have much to learn from this example of the urgency to share this good news given to us in God's Son. The Holy Spirit is reminding us to learn from the Chinese church and for each one of us to start witnessing. Here is an easy start. Please examine in 1 Peter, but in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have, but do this with gentleness and respect. A. Revere means to set yourself apart for the Lord so he can use you through his Holy Spirit. Simply pray and say, Lord, I want to be obedient to you. I would like to give my testimony to anyone who asks me. I need you and your Holy Spirit to do the work through me. I surrender to you. Please help me. B. Writing out your testimony. Now we need to get ready. How do we get ready to run in a race for a mile with the prize of a million dollars? Will it be fast right away? No. Will we give up right away? No. Will we practice? Yes. What do we do? Write out in not more than half a page what Jesus means to you and how he saved you. Then memorize your testimony. Please ask Christian friends to listen to your testimony to practice. Here is a song that describes what Jesus did. Oh, what a wonderful, wonderful day I will never forget. After I'd wandered in darkness away, Jesus, my Savior, I met. Oh, what a tender, compassionate friend. He met the need of my heart. Shadows dispelling. With joy I am telling. He made all the darkness depart. Heaven came down and glory filled my soul. When at the cross the Savior made me whole. My sins were washed away and my night was turned to day. Heaven came down and glory filled my soul. You could use similar thoughts to write out your testimony. Or if you have a testimony where you remember the details of how the Lord Jesus saved you, then use those words. Since this is a personal experience, no one can argue with you. C. The next step is to memorize one verse of scripture such as Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Try and use your memory verse if given an opportunity during a discussion. D. Now you are ready to give a defense, meaning an answer to anyone who asks you about your hope. But please do not argue. E. Sharing in love. Please give your testimony with humbleness and respect of the person you are speaking with. It is essential that you love the person and that you do not make yourself to appear better than the person. We are all sinners saved by grace. What is your prize? First, you are vying for a living soul where the word says, what good is it for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul? The soul has a greater value than all the gold, all the diamonds, all the oil, all the money in the world. Furthermore, all the angels in heaven rejoice when a sinner comes to God. Moreover, there is a soul winner's crown laid up for you in heaven which is a great reward for eternity. Now please pray again after having prepared and think of five people that do not know Jesus. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you an opportunity to give your witness to one or more of the five people. The Holy Spirit will prepare the way. After you give a witness, Satan will immediately come and tell you that you have failed. He wants to discourage you from ever trying again. We must understand that there might be good soil or bad soil. Please also understand that maybe you will be planting a seed or you are watering a seed or sometimes God will allow you to harvest a soul. You will always have done the job provided you witness. Only the Holy Spirit can change a man's heart, not you. The Holy Spirit will bring the new birth, not you. We are God's servants as we witness in love and with our lives and our voices. Won't you start now before the night is upon us? It is Jesus's command and he says to you and me, if you love me, keep my commands. And he said to them, go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Editors note, the revival in China continues. Many underground churches still have an abundance of converts and new Christians joining. The tremendous move of God's spirit in the rural underground church in China is evident despite men. As happened in great revivals, past men took control and quenched the Holy Spirit. Some of this is starting to happen in the Chinese underground church. We must understand that the church in China is not perfect. Some leaders are now permitting disunity between house church networks. So one must make it clear that this is a movement of God and thus we have much to learn from God working among these believers. It is also true that when men start to add to what God is doing, disunity follows. Let us pray that the Lord continues the great revival in China in all areas and that the Holy Spirit does not withdraw despite imperfect men.