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...
Jonah’s God (5) [Jonah 2:1-10] Can you give thanks to God in times of sufferings? I think about Jonah's prayer. Jonah eventually prayed in the stomach of the great fish in Jonah chapter 2 even though he had an opportunity to do so when he was disobeying the command of God, running away to the opposite direction of Nineveh where God wanted him to go and cry against it, and the ship that aboard was about to break up and when all the Gentile sailors were crying out to their own gods. In such a hopeless circumstance that is in the stomach of the great fish Jonah surprisingly offered a prayer of thanksgiving instead of complaining. How can we know this? When we look at the Hebrew word of “prayed” in Jonah 2:1, it was used to express thanksg...