The Bible says in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Jesus came with a heart of love for a lost and dying world. Just before His ascension to Heaven He looked to His disciples and said to them, “…Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:21).

The Lord Jesus Christ has commissioned every Christian to take the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. It is very clear in Acts 1:8 that He expects us to be busy spreading His Gospel in our own Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria, and uttermost parts of the earth simultaneously. Our soulwinning endeavors at home cannot substitute our missions outreach to Russia, and our Faith Promise Giving should not substitute our soulwinning fervor at home. God says that He wants us doing all of it at the same time so that the whole world can know.

A few years ago I was visiting Beijing, China for the first time. I cannot describe the feeling of helplessness that came over me when I saw millions of people who had never attended a church, never owned a Bible, and never heard about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I began to pray, “Lord, I would sure like to lead one person to Christ while I am here. I would be thankful if just one could get saved.”

One day, our group traveled on a bus to the Great Wall, spending some time in fellowship. We were given a lady to be our tour guide for the day who would tell us about historical sites, the Olympics, and other interesting facts. I sat in the front of the bus near her, and as we were traveling I began to share with her who we were and what we believed about Jesus Christ. Throughout the day I told her about Jesus. I told her that as the Son of God He never committed sin. I described for her the way that Jesus went up the Hill of the Skull where the Roman soldiers placed nails through His hands and His feet. I told her of His blood that was spilt as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.

Between stops I told her about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I explained that on the third day He arose from the grave. She listened very politely, and towards the end of the day I encouraged her to pray and receive Christ as her Saviour. I reviewed the whole plan of salvation again with her, but she was hesitant. I will never forget this dear lady as she looked me in the eyes and said to me, “Sir, do you really believe this? Do you really believe this?”

Several more times I went through the Gospel and several more times she said, “Do you really believe this?” She had never heard the story that Jesus Christ died and rose again. It was so amazing to her that she was surprised that someone who appeared to know a few things about the Bible could really believe that someone could die and rise up from the dead. I left her several Gospel tracts and links to websites and have prayed for her many times since that she might be saved.

When I think about that lady in Beijing, I am reminded of the great need that exists in the world today. There are literally millions of people who have never heard the message that Jesus Saves, which you and I take for granted. Both the need and the mandate are very clear. Jesus said, “…as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” How can we fill that need and accomplish the mandate of world-wide evangelization? We must go right to the Word of God and ask, “Lord, how have You done it in the past? How do You want it accomplished in the future?”

I. The Context of Missions

Notice the context of missions, which some might call the cradle of missions. Where did it all begin? The context of missions is found in the local New Testament church. The responsibility for world evangelization has not been left to a church group, college, or denomination. Every local church, as the pillar and ground of the truth, has been given the responsibility of world-wide evangelization. Acts 13:1 states, “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch....” Notice that this was a local church, or a called out assembly. These were people in Antioch called out for a definite purpose.

The church at Antioch was founded by those who had been scattered from Jerusalem because of persecution surrounding Stephen’s death. They had left Jerusalem and come to Antioch with a faith in Christ, which faith they had shared with others along the way. The Bible says in Acts 11:19, “Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.” There in Antioch these believers had settled and continued to propagate in Jesus Christ. Barnabas had been sent out by the church at Jerusalem to investigate the report that Gentiles had trusted Christ as their Saviour in Antioch. When Barnabas went to Antioch he saw the grace of God at work in Antioch and he went back and gave report that indeed Gentiles had begun accepting Christ as Saviour. Acts 11:22—23 says, “Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.”

The context of missions is found in a loving church. Acts 13:1 teaches this, “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.” Throughout the book of Acts the presence of the Holy Spirit always produced love, harmony, and unity in churches. These men were from different backgrounds, different cultures, and varied life experiences. But the Holy Spirit of God had brought them into the family of God. These are people who would not have spoken to one another or shared a meal together before salvation. Now they are gathering together with a spirit of love. The Bible says in Acts 2:46—47, “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Here we see that same spirit of men and women loving the Lord and loving one another.

The church at Antioch was an international church made up of Jews and Gentiles. It was a church of different people with different backgrounds. Barnabas was present at this church in Antioch as an encourager. His very name means “the son of consolation” or encouragement. That is why when we started a team, called the "Barnabus Team," from West Coast Baptist College to go to church plants here in Southern California, to go out to the struggling works—maybe some getting a new pastor, others trying to get going again—that team goes out every Saturday and knocks on doors in their cities and on Sunday they preach and sing in the churches. Barnabas was the kind of a guy who always wanted to lend a helping hand. Niger was a teacher and a helper in the church. There was also Lucius of Cyrene. Cyrene is a city in Northern Africa in modern day Libya. We see this man Manaen who was brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and perhaps raised in the household of Herod. This may have been a man in authority. Then of course there was Saul, a Jew by birth. He was a former Pharisee but now a child of God. God had brought together this group of teachers and workers from Africa, Europe, and the Middle East in Antioch to form a local, loving church. It was from this context of believers that God would begin the missionary movement. The Bible says in Acts 11:26, “And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”

The cradle of missions is the New Testament church. Every local church must view itself as a center of world missions because that is exactly what God intends every church to be. I thank God for groups like Baptist International Missions Incorporated (BIMI) who help our missionaries go out on deputation. They teach missionaries how to put together a slide presentation. They send out field representatives to encourage missionaries on the field. They prepare financial statements and take care of income tax returns. Groups like BIMI are invaluable in helping the local church, but they will never replace the local church. God has deemed that the local church is the sending agency of the New Testament missionary. There is no greater institution than the local church. I would rather be the pastor of a local church than the president of a denomination or even the President of the United States of America. It is a high and holy calling to be a part of God’s program for reaching the world! The cradle of missions is your church, and this church, and local churches that hear the Holy Spirit and send the missionaries out.

II. The Calling of Missionaries

We see the context of missions, but notice the calling of missionaries. How do missionaries figure out when and where they are supposed to go? Some people have mistaken thoughts like, “missionaries must be the ones who could not be pastors.” Missionaries are not second-class citizens in the kingdom of God. I am humbled every time I am around these men and women who leave the comforts of home and go to places of great sacrifice to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Acts 13:2 says, “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” Did you notice that phrase, “…I have called them”? There is something in the Bible known as a calling. The Holy Ghost still calls people and speaks to people. The calling of the missionary was in a sanctified time. It was when they were ministering to the Lord. They were gathered for self-gratification as the seeker-sensitive, selfish modern church often gathers. They were not there to say what men wanted to hear. They were there ministering to the Lord. The reason we preach Bible messages and sing godly music is to minister to a holy God, not to impress the world. The focus of these servants was on the Lord as it should be.

I remember living in Korea as a teenage boy. We lived in the country-side outside of Seoul. Every morning I would be awakened by a particular sound around 4:30 am. It was the sound of the monks in the Buddhist temple not far from our house. They would pound on a gourd, which looked something like a pumpkin. They would let a gourd dry out and became very hard, drill a few holes around it, and then paint it. Every morning the monks would make their way into the Buddhist temple and begin to pound on the gourd. They would chant something like the Navajo Indian witch doctor. It is interesting to me how many false teachers have similar groanings and chantings. They would say their prayers to their stone god.

After we moved to a different location, I remember being awakened by a different sound. This time is was the sound of the bell of a church. It would begin about the same time, 4:30 A.M. All throughout South Korea the bells began to ring. One day I asked a pastor friend of mine, “Why do the bells sound, and why is it that so many Korean Christians go into the church before going to work? Why is it that they pray at such an early time like that?” The pastor said to me, “Oh, before we accepted Jesus the Buddhist monks would get up and they would pound the gourd in the morning and call us to pray to our ancestors. But now that we have accepted Jesus as our Saviour we feel like we should do at least what we did before we were saved.”

The modern day church has become laid back in its attitude. It has added rock-and-roll music and taken away mid-week Bible study and soulwinning. These types of churches are not seeing young people with the attitude, “Here am I Lord, send me.” They are not sending missionaries around the world. Why? The carnal church is drowning out the voice of God with its self-centered “worship.”

God is calling missionaries from sanctified churches that are focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. The church is to be a group of separated people. The men in the church at Antioch were believer priests who were worshipping God. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5).

Not only were these missionaries called in a sanctified time, but they were also called in a sacrificial time. The Bible says in verse two, “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” This church was not thinking about themselves. They were not thinking about what was going to happen at the church potluck, or the church soccer game, or the church athletic event. They were saying, “Lord, more than anything we want to know You. More than we want a Big Mac, we want You! More than we want to have fun this afternoon, we want to know You!” God is looking for Christians who are willing to set aside a Big Mac once in a while so a missionary can go to the field. They were a sacrificial church.

Adoniran Judson, the first Baptist missionary sent from America said, “The motto of every missionary, whether preacher, printer, or school master, ought to be ‘Devoted for life.’” Christianity is not for sluggards or cowards. It is labor, sacrifice, and death to self so that the Gospel may go forward. If you are serious about your relationship with God, and you seriously desire to know Him and to serve Him, then He may speak to you. If your mind is on other distractions, and other relationships, and other things you want to do in this life, you may miss the very voice of God today. Charles Spurgeon said, “If there be any one point in which the Christian church ought to keep its fervor at a white heat, it is concerning missions. If there be anything about which we cannot tolerate luke-warmness, it is in the matter of sending the Gospel to a dying world.” Spurgeon was saying, “Let other things suffer in the church, but don’t let missions suffer!” We must be red hot about getting the missionaries around the world.

When I think of this matter of missions, I think of what F.B. Meyer said, “The church that is not a missionary church will be a missing church when Jesus comes.” If we do not keep missions at the forefront we will soon begin to die off. You show me the church that has cancelled their soulwinning, their missions conference, and their winter revival meetings, and I will show you a church that has announced its demise. Let us keep missions at the forefront for the glory of God!

This sacrificial church wanted to make sure that they did not let this great movement falter because of their lack of dedication. Jesus spoke of true Christian dedication in Matthew 10:34-37, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.” Was Jesus saying that someone should not love his or her family? That was not the point. Jesus said you ought to love Him so much that all other kinds of love are faulting in comparison to the love that you have for Jesus. Antioch was the beginning of the modern missionary movement because they were in love with Jesus Christ. It is not until we are in love with Him that we will be willing to give, and go, and do what God has called us to do.

In the late 1700’s a man named William Carey, a humble shoe repairman, got a burden for India. As he worked he would stare at India on a world map he kept in his shop. He left for India and spent forty-two years there translating the Bible into twenty-five different languages. Recently when I was preaching in Ireland I went to a museum to see some ancient papyri that contained the Scriptures. As we were studying some of those Scriptures and seeing their relationship to our Bible I noticed a Chinese Bible over in the next case. It was one of the earliest copies of a Bible in Chinese, and it was printed in India by a man named William Carey. In the middle of another continent while ministering to different people, God had burdened that man for the Chinese.

It does not matter where you are. You could be in the middle of Montana or the Mojave Desert. If you have a heart for God, a passion for the world and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, God can touch you. You can make a difference in this world for Christ! William Carey began to do what God had called him to do. He became the Father of Modern Missions, because he was a man willing to sacrifice himself for the work of God.

This church was a sanctified church, a sacrificial church, and also a speaking church. There was someone speaking at this church. Notice it in verse two, “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” Notice it there, “…the Holy Ghost said…” Do not let that scare you. We know the Holy Spirit speaks today through His Word. We know that He can impress and burden our hearts. Understand though that the Holy Spirit spoke to this sanctified and sacrificial church. There have been many times I have heard men speak in church without hearing the Holy Spirit speak. That does not mean it was the preacher's fault, it may have been my fault. My mind may have been cluttered with other things. It is only in certain types of churches and with certain types of Christians that the Holy Ghost both speaks and is heard. We need to hear God speak, and we need to listen when God speaks.

We are living in a world that is in desperate need of the Gospel. The world is depending on Christians who will hear what the Holy Ghost says. Look at that verse, “…the Holy Ghost said…” How many of you agree with me? When He starts speaking I don’t want to miss it. The E.F. Hutton & Co stock brokerage firm ran ads that said, “When E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen.” When God speaks are you listening? I cherish those words the Holy Ghost speaks to me, because without His moving on my heart, there is no ministry. Without the Holy Spirit moving on your heart, missions would not exist.

Andrew Murray said, “There is need of a great revival of spiritual life, of truly fervent devotion to our Lord Jesus, of entire consecration to His service. It is only in a church in which this spirit of revival has at least begun, that there is any hope of radical change in the relation of the majority of our Christian people to mission work.” You see, Andrew Murray said exactly what this text teaches. Unless there is a spirit of revival and an openness to the Holy Spirit, we will never do what God has called us to do. We will not even desire to listen to the Holy Spirit of God.

This was a church listening to the Holy Spirit who said, “…Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” God did not call prayerless men; He called praying men. God did not call idol men; He called serving men. God did not call fleshly men; He called spiritual men.

Missions is not the sideline of the church. Missions is the front line of our responsibility. There are people today in need of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit is speaking, but are you listening? The context of missions is the church. The calling of the missionary comes to the spiritual church from the Holy Spirit of God.

III. The Commencement of Missions

How did it all get started? West Coast Baptist College has a graduation service called our commencement exercises. Why? It is the beginning of ministry for the graduates. How did the full time ministry begin for these first missionaries? Notice verse three, “And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.” Missions begins with prayer. Some people that you would view as the most unlikely candidates for great usefulness for God will be mightily used by God if they know how to pray.

They recognized the calling of God through prayer, and laid hands on those whom God had called. When we have an ordination service and place our hands on young men who have been called to ministry, we are not conferring upon them the calling. We are recognizing the Holy Spirit’s call upon their lives. We want to be a part of the calling by sending them forth to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The missionary movement began with prayer, but there was participation by the servants of God. This is why we say every Christian must be a part of a missionary movement. Verse three states, “And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.” That local, loving church sent them away.

They were sent to go preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Bible is very clear in Romans 10:13—15, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” How can they preach unless they are sent? Every believer ought to say, “Lord, use me as a preacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” How can they hear unless somebody preaches to them? It is the responsibility of the local New Testament Baptist church to go. If we cannot go then we must send. We must help others to go and participate with our prayers.

The history of missions is the history of answered prayer. From Pentecost to Hay Stack Meetings in New England; from the days of Robert Morris in China to the martyrdom of John and Betty Stam—prayer has always been the key in missions and revival. If we are not praying today then the job will never get done for world-wide missions. It is a big job, and without Him, we can do nothing.

A missionary was speaking on the East Coast during the Iranian hostage crisis. America was gripped. People could not believe that our citizens had been taken hostage. A missionary stood and said to the church, “How many of you have been praying for the fifty-two American hostages in Iran?” Four thousand hands went up. “Praise the Lord,” he said. “Now, put your hands down and let me ask another question: How many of you are praying for the 42 million Iranians being held hostage to Islam?” Four hands went up. It is tragic when someone is held hostage by terrorists and governments, but the world is held hostage by sin today. We must pray that someone would go and tell them how Christ can make them free.

I have heard people say that they want to have a greater heart for missions. Jesus has told us exactly how to have a heart for missions. He said, “I want you to place your heart, your life, and your money into the cause. When you do you will have a greater heart for missions.”

Nate Saint gave his life trying to reach the Auca Indians. He said, “People often ask us why in the world we would waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they, too, are investing their lives. And when the bubble has burst they will have nothing to show for the years they have wasted.”

The church sent them away with prayer, and they sent them away with support. No doubt finances, food, and prayer were all a part of the process of sending those new missionaries to the uttermost part of the earth.

William Carey started out with just six supporters, but he ended up staying forty-seven years. He set in motion the entire modern day missionary movement because of those six faithful partners to whom he said, “I’ll go down into the dungeon of the deep. I’ll go down and preach the gospel. I’ll go down if you hold the ropes.” We must hold the ropes for those who are down in the dungeons of the deep preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The church sent them away with prayer, support, and with a purpose. That purpose was to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Notice Acts 13:23, “Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:” At every stop along the way it was always about Jesus.

In Australia several years ago, a dear missionary brought over a group of men with him from Papua New Guinea to a Bible conference. One of the men was the governor of the state where the missionary serves. I found out through the course of the conference that the governor was not a Christian man. He had heard it was a spiritual leadership conference, and he came to hear lessons on spiritual leadership. During one of the morning sessions I preached on the subject of the pastor’s family. That man listened very intently. After I was done preaching he came up to me, took me by the arm and said, “I need to speak to you about what you just spoke about.” I said, “Yes, sir.” He said, “I don’t think I understand what you are saying.” I could sense by his question that he had never been saved. I took this man with another Christian brother into the office, opened up the Bible, and showed him what Jesus Christ had done for him. After about thirty minutes, that governor from Papa New Guinea accepted Christ as his Saviour. I will never forget what he did afterwards. He looked up at me and said, “Now I can be a better husband for both my wives.” We took that man out to the missionary and told him, “I’m just here to win them; you will have to disciple them from this point.” There are a lot of different people with a lot of different problems but they all need the Lord. Everywhere that Paul went he ran into different people groups and different cultures. He dealt with all kinds of sin and immorality and wickedness, yet at every stop his message was the same—Jesus.

David Livingstone’s travels covered one-third of the continent of Africa. It is said of David Livingstone that during his thirty-three years in Africa that he was tormented by disease, theft, attacks from natives, attacks from soldiers, the loss of his supplies and possessions, and the loss of his own wife. David Livingstone once said, “People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply acknowledging a great debt we owe to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny? It is emphatically no sacrifice. Rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, danger, foregoing the common conveniences of this life—these may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing compared with the glory which shall later be revealed in and through us. I never made a sacrifice. Of this we ought not to talk, when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father’s throne on high to give Himself for us.”

It does not matter if you are an assistant pastor in Wyoming, or a missionary in Germany, or if you are teaching in a Christian school in Connecticut. No sacrifice can compare to the Cross of Calvary. He could have simply called ten thousand angels and said, “Take me away,” but He didn’t say it. He didn’t come down off that Cross. He stayed there, and He suffered and He bled, and He died in excruciating pain, and He bore the sins of the world in His body—so that we might have a home in Heaven!

I do not know what God might touch your heart to do, but do whatever He is asking you to do! Listen and be faithful to follow Him. William Carey said, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”

The context of missions is the local church. Thank God for the church and never belittle it. The calling of the missionary came when the Holy Ghost spoke to a people who were willing to listen. The commencement of missions happened with prayer, and support, and a purpose to win the lost to Jesus Christ. If God is calling you to stay and be faithful to the church, follow His leading. But if God would lead you into this matter of taking the Gospel to a lost and dying world, don’t settle for anything less! When the Holy Ghost speaks just say, “Reporting for duty, Lord. Where do You want me to go? Who do You want me to tell?”