ARISE CHURCH!

Andre de Vries www.africa4jesus.com I have come to a new realization of the urgency of missions and of my calling which is Matthew 28:19. Yet, this calling is not only mine. It is the mandate of the Church, its leaders and of all believers! It is what is needed in order for Matthew 24:14 to happen. Missionaries are ushering in the Second Coming of Christ. They are on the front lines dying alongside our brothers in the persecuted churches of the world. These are today's heroes of the Christian faith - the pastors who walk from church to church in the blistering sun, the elders that withstand the beatings for belonging to the faith, the children ousted from communities and labelled as dirty 'Christians', who fear the night their mother or father might not return home due to martyrdom and the believers who are locked up in cells prepared to die for Christ but certainly never denying Him. Missions should be - amongst others - the topic of daily prayer and it should be a passion within the heart of every believer. It should be the driving force of every church denomination across the world and it should be the task (whether sending or going) done faithfully by pastors... that they may lead by example. I hate this feeling of helplessness - helplessness for those that perish daily without Christ. Yet, let me also say this; I feel not enough. I am sure that I can empathize and sympathize and care and pray and cry and intercede and plead and pray and pray and pray much more before God for the lost, for missions, for the persecuted and for our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus! I hate this feeling of knowing that my brothers and sisters are raped, beaten, put into steel containers in the desert sun and murdered for the faith while I sit in the West trying to raise an army to go and help. This is just taking way too long! It is just not happening fast enough! I certainly do not try to rush God and I also understand that His timing is beyond us and that He can never be late. But when we stagnate in missions, which is a commission and order, then I say: Arise Church, and come out of the slumber that has held you captive for long enough! I am disappointed in Church and Ministry leaders - of which I am one. We have forgotten God's passion for the lost and that He has appointed us to bring the multitudes in that He may receive all glory and praise that is due to Him. For too long missions have been put on the lower order of the day and have even been removed from the priority lists of so many churches. I am a believer today because of missions! And so are you! We are fighting the fight today because of the missionaries who toiled before us, the apostles that died so that we may receive the Good News! Not for one minute do I prioritize the task of missions greater than the Task-Giver, namely Jesus. But the time has come to speak up, not against one another but against this slumber and comfort that has immobilized the Church for too long now - especially in the West. As believers and pastors we have been engulfed by worldly sys-tems and appointments, making Church a business and the Pastor a Director. We have exchanged intercessors for Board Members and have replaced the Missions Fund for the Building Fund. We should be dedicated to the love and glory of Christ and His 'system' of which the Great Commission is one of the most important aspects. The Church should be a safe haven for the lost, a home for the believer, the engine room for strategizing global missions and the sanctuary where believers can glorify the Name of the Lord. Oh dear friends, our outlook needs to change! Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). I say, arise Church and come out of your comfort zone given to you by wealth. If your faith is based solely on prosperity, then why did Christ choose crucifixion as a means to bring about the end of His time here on earth? Why did every disciple except John die a martyr's death? The power of the cross is displayed when amidst the worst of suffering, we are still able to worship God and find joy within Him because of the righteousness that we now possess. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Here the word witnesses means martyrs! Paul and Silas (Acts 16:16-34) with all their righteousness even combined displayed nothing of the “Health, Wealth, and Prosperity Gospel” that we see enslaving the Church and believers today. Beaten and imprisoned we see them still joyous. We see them faithful though tried and faithful though tested. We see them Healthy in Christ, Wealthy in Christ and Prosperous in Christ! They are focused on their calling! They are passionate about God's Glory and the people groups that lay ahead of them that needed to hear the Good News. They were rooted in the message of the cross and not the message that nothing bad could ever happen with them or that their big house was on its way, all they needed to do, was just to claim it. This type of wealth has cheapened the Church and weakened its foundations. If only we could see every pastor educating his congregation on global missions. If only we could see denominations embracing the Great Commission with a new eagerness and zest that sends shudders into the depths of hell. If only each believer would educate himself / herself on global missions and go from passive to passionate! If only the Church would arise and come out of her slumber and comfort! IF ONLY...