Saturday, December 3, 2011

The Spirit of Missions

The spirit of missions is populating heaven! That line has such an incredible ring to it. Think about it. And listen to Revelation 5: 9b, "For You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." (Underline added.) Who will be in heaven? People from every tribe, every tongue, every people, and every nation. (Not just folks from your community.) In other words, folks from every part of the earth, regardless of nationality, race, color, ethnic group, etc., will populate heaven. You could say, from an earthly perspective, heaven is international! Jesus did not purchase anything in heaven. Rather He came to this earth and with His own blood purchased from every place those who would populate heaven! That's the spirit of missions. (In this post I will use the "spirit" and "heart" of missions interchangeably.)

Nothing stirs me any more than seeing a group of people from different nations coming together to worship our God. We call it multicultural. We call it an international. But it's also heavenly! The spirit of missions is simply a heart's desire to see folks from other cultures worship and serve the one true God. The spirit of missions is ALL-INCLUSIVE. No race, color, people, group, tribe or tongue is left out!

Even though no group is left out, not one person with a heart of missions can effectively serve all nations! So the Holy Spirit gives people a burden for a particular group or groups.

Our family has been to the Columbia International Festival a couple of times. It is held yearly in Columbia, SC. This 2-day event is simply a gathering of people originally from different nations and ethnic groups to show-case their cultures. This is done through crafts, food, and the arts. I'll have to be very honest. One of the highest of highlights for me was the delicious food. Plus Starbucks had a booth there giving away free little cups of coffee! I would send our non-coffee drinking family members through to get a cup so I could have more! However, the most high highest of the highlights for me was the parade of nations which took place at some point during each day. This included flags from all the nations represented. Even though this was not a Christian gathering, it always brought tears to my eyes to see all those flags, and the people carrying them. What can I say? It's the spirit of missions!

Listen carefully to the next statement. The spirit of missions is not produced from a board or a committee. It is given by the Holy Spirit to those who will receive. Make no mistake about it. God's heart is for people. It doesn't matter whether they live next door or abroad. But also understand God's heart is for ALL people in EVERY place. Most of whom live beyond the borders of your country.


My prayer is that God's Spirit will connect me with people in these last days who share a burden for the nations of the world. Think of what we can accomplish together. I want to be involved in populating heaven with people from all over the world. Because according to the Scripture, that's the way it works. Tell me what you think.

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