A. What Is Biblical Mission? “Biblical mission means more than simply going overseas to plant churches or spread civilization. It means the church participating in the ‘mission of God (Missio Dei)’ and seeking the restoration of God’s rule and glory throughout the whole earth. Mission is not a program that begins with human enthusiasm; rather, it is the heart of God that runs throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and is a fundamental reason for the church’s existence. Let me clearly summarize five essential principles of true mission as presented in Scripture. 🌍 1. The Mission of God (Missio Dei) The subject and initiator of mission is not human beings but God. In order to save fallen humanity, God first comes to us, sends His Son, and sends the Holy Spirit. He is the “missionary God” who sends. Biblical basis: “As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” (John 20:21) Key meaning: The church acknowledges that God has the initiative in mission and serves as His agent, obed...
“And because the gracious hand of my God
was upon me”
“And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the
king's forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the
citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will
occupy?" And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king
granted my requests” (Nehemiah 2:8).
Do you believe that God is good? Do you believe that a good God will work
together for good despite the difficulties and adversity you are facing? (Rom
8:28) Are you experiencing the goodness
of God even in the situation you are facing? (Ps. 34:8)
Last weekend while my father-in-law was in the
hospital, my wife called me and told me what she was thinking. As I listened to her, I couldn't say anything
because it was a very difficult situation.
At that time, there were words that God the Holy Spirit reminded me of,
so I exhorted my wife, 'Because our God is good, all these things will work
together for good, so let's trust in our God'.
Also, I told my wife that right now we do not know how God is fulfilling
His good will, but let's acknowledge by faith that all of these situations are
being done within God's good will. In
doing so, I told my wife that surely God would allow us to taste God's
goodness. How did this sound to my wife? If my wife is lacking in faith, surely she
will not taste the goodness of God at all while seeing this and that situation
with her physical eyes, such as her father suffering from illness and her
mother suffering in one way or another. However,
if my wife had stood firm in her faith, she would have agreed with me, even
partially experiencing God's good hand in this situation. And my wife will persevere with her faith,
praying and waiting for God's good will to be done.
If we look at today's text, Nehemiah 2:8, we will find
Nehemiah who received the help of God's gracious hand. He prayed to God, “Give your servant success
today by granting him favor in the presence of this man (King Artaxerxes)”
(1:11), and with God’s gracious hand helping him, King Artaxerxes granted
Nehemiah's request, and the king was pleased to send Nehemiah to Jerusalem
(2:6). Furthermore, he gave Nehemiah two
letters not only to have the governors on the west side of the river allow
Nehemiah to pass through to Judah (v. 7), but also to have Asaph, the overseer
of the king's forest, clear the gates of the camp belonging to the temple in
Jerusalem and beam timber was given for the Jerusalem wall and Nehemiah's house
(v. 8). Having tasted God's goodness in
this way, Nehemiah safely arrived in Judah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem
(v. 11). Nehemiah, who arrived safely in
Jerusalem, had been living in Jerusalem for three days (v. 11), and because God
had moved his heart (v. 12), he secretly looked closely at the walls of
Jerusalem to rebuild them (vv. 12-16). Then
he later told the people of Judah how God's gracious hand had helped him and
what King Artaxerxes had told him (v. 18).
When he did that, the people of Judah said, “Let us start rebuilding,”
and all tried to do this good work with all their strength (v. 18). The people of Judah, who were trying to do
good things like this, had people who were doing evil things, opposing the
rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem (vv. 10, 19). They despised Nehemiah and the men of Judah
and also laughed at them (v. 19). However,
Nehemiah was confident that the God of heaven would make him and the people of
Judah prosper (v. 20). And according to
his conviction, God helped Nehemiah and made Nehemiah succeed in rebuilding the
walls of Jerusalem (6:16). In the end,
God's good hand helped Nehemiah, and God made him prosper.
When God's good hand helps us, we can prosper. Even if the adversaries arise and despise and
ridicule us, if God's good hand is with us, we can do God's good work. Because God is good, He is the God who causes
all things to work together for good. In
the end, the good God helps us with His good hands to achieve His good will, so
that we can prosper. I hope and pray
that you and I can taste this goodness of God.
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