Oswald Chambers' The Key to the Missionary's Work and the Master's Orders

Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ’All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . .’ —Matthew 28:18-19
The key to the missionary’s work is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the lost.
1. GO on the basis of Christ's AUTHORITY, the revealed Truth of His sovereignty, not on the basis that if we don't go, the lost will not be saved.
2. To go - means to live
2. Jesus does not say, "Go into Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria.."
3. He says, "You shall be witnesses to me [in all these places].."
4. It is a matter of BEing, not GOing
5. The way we keep going is through abiding in Christ. "Where we are placed is then a matter of indifference to us, because God sovereignly engineers our goings."
He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world —1 John 2:2
The key to the missionary’s message is the propitiation of Christ Jesus— His sacrifice for us that completely satisfied the wrath of God.
A missionary is someone
1. who is immersed in the truth of that revelation,
2. whose message is for the whole world,
3. and who is bound by marriage to the stated mission and purpose of his Lord and Master.
Paul did not say, "Woe is me if I do not preach what Christ has done for me," but, ". . . woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!" ( 1 Corinthians 9:16 ). And this is the gospel— "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest —Matthew 9:38
The key to the missionary’s difficult task is in the hand of God, and that key is prayer.
1. The key is not of work, nor of common sense, medicine, civilization, education, or even evangelization. The key is in following the Master’s orders— the key is prayer.
2. The key to the missionary's task is not in a particular place - it is generally in the world,
into His harvest.
3. No Christian has a special work to do.
4. A Christian is called to be Jesus Christ’s own, "a servant [who] is not greater than his master" (John 13:16 ), and someone who does not dictate to Jesus Christ what he intends to do.
5. Our Lord calls us to no special work— He calls us to Himself. "Pray the Lord of the harvest," and He will engineer your circumstances to send you out as His laborer."

Abbreviated/Organized from Chambers' My Utmost For His Highest (October 14-16)

Service to the Lord, seen as His (nature of) Revelation and My (nature of) Response

Recent circumstances have me reflecting upon the nature and meaning of Service. These are a few excerpts from Oswald Chambers.

"The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. The call of God is an expression of His nature; the service which results in my life is suited to me and is an expression of my nature..."

"...Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life."

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