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...
In their distress “But in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them” (2 Chronicles 15:4). It is easy to be discouraged when we are in distress. If we falter in times of trouble, we are showing that our strength is limited (Prov. 24:10). Therefore, we should not be discouraged. Rather, we must cry out to God in times of trouble (Ps. 120:1). We must always strive to pray in times of trouble (Rom. 12:12). In doing so, God will answer us (Ps. 120:1). When we look at Chronicles 15:4, the Bible says “in their distress”. Here, “in their distress” means in those day of Israel when “it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil” (v. 5). In those days “One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress” (v. 6). At that time the people of Israel we...