A Man With A Mission

Oftentimes, when speaking about missionaries, the name of Paul comes up; in fact his missionary trips and even the routes he took are well documented; however there was a missionary far more effective and true to the mission of saving souls, and His name was Jesus; yes that’s right Jesus. You may think to yourself, Jesus was the Savior, The Son of God, The Messiah or The King of Kings and you are right about all of those; but He was first and foremost a missionary servant. I am a firm believer that understanding is the deficit that plagues the body of Christ coupled with ignorance of the mission, person and practices of the Lord Jesus Christ. God came into the world for two primary reasons; to reveal the true character of God and his love for mankind, as well as to expose without question the sinfulness of man. This action of God brought about the salvation of millions. The missionary journey of Jesus is clearly delineated in the 61st chapter of the book of Isaiah where these words are recorded: The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. Isaiah 61:1-3 (KJV)

Jesus set the precedent for true missionary work by operating in this mantle of anointing that equipped Him for service to others without any hindrance of concern for his own wellbeing or comfort; He was clearly focused on the betterment of others; oftentimes at the risk of his own peril, and ultimately, He would demonstrate the full measure of His love for mankind, in his sacrificial offering of himself for the sin of all mankind. Here is where Jesus missionary work separates from ours, in that we are not capable of giving ourselves for the sins of others since we ourselves were born in sin and shapened in iniquity; however, there remains a true missionary work for the church (body of believers) which was intended to be, and should even now be, and that is that of a living organism, not a religious organization. (Yes there is a difference) Let’s examine some of the sayings and practices of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s start with Luke 19:10 which says; 10 for the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which is lost.

This verse helps us to see that the mission of Christ was motivated by a real purpose, which was clearly for the benefit of others, and not himself; this is not often the purpose of today’s work of missions but rather its purpose is the growth of organizations, cleverly cloaked under the pretense of humanitarian service, yet often without a true anointing that facilitates the denial of self, for the betterment of others. A mere act of kindness will not make the impact of an anointed act of personal sacrifice, to the honor and glory of God. This is evidenced in Luke 21:1-4 and he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. 2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. 3 And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: 4 For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.

The good works, that are seen of men and prompt others to glorify God rather than honor men, are those that reflect the love for God in presenting our bodies a living sacrifice unto God, which is our reasonable service unto God. Giving all that one has is very different from giving what does not cause any hardship or distress; therefore missionary work clearly has a measure of personal sacrifice, that is intended to bring about the betterment of others. Now let’s look at another truth about the Lord Jesus Christ as stated in John 5:31-34 – this verse shows us that it is not the report that we give of ourselves, that carries the weight, but rather the report of those whom we serve. As they give witness to our deeds (works) then we have the opportunity to lift the name of Jesus, that God may be glorified, from the work to which they are testifying.

I would also like to look at a verse that has been my driving force for many years, and even now I constantly draw from it, as I seek to do this work of empowerment and edification of others. Matthew 25 beginning at verse 33; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

This verse makes it clear to me that our shouting, dancing and various forms of praise and worship may serve to edify us, but do nothing to improve the conditions of others; ultimately it is others we are to be concerned about, and not so much ourselves; Paul stated that in his missionary efforts he became all things to all men that he might win some for Christ; I understand this on various levels, but as it relates to the work of a missionary (all believers) I understand it in this manner;

that I must become food for the hungry, water for the thirsty, clothing for the naked and shelter for the homeless; in other words I must DO the works of my father, who desires these things for them and fully intended for us to be his subjects, that would be given the stewardship of grace, to be extended, to those less fortunate and disenfranchised. I was recently granted a note of proverbial wisdom which I have recorded and even posted on my FaceBook page that simply says; “what your hands find to do; is far more important, than what your mouth, finds to say” Bishop Hampton

Let’s also look briefly at Mark 14: 43-46 In this verse I have reasoned, that when we come into the house of prayer and declare that we love God, and we attempt to worship Him in our song and praise, which are often merely songs that are popular, or that we are fond of, or most likely acceptable to our form, or protocol of worship. We then leave that place and continue in our classism, racism or religious discrimination. This I believe is the kiss of betrayal, whereby we turn our Lord and Savior over to the cares and interests of the world, and fail to perform the work of ministry and mission, that He has clearly called us to do; there are  enough resources in the world to greatly reduce the suffering in the world of the masses, but many in the body of Christ, who could do so much more, elect to protect their own comfort and status, rather than to esteem others more highly than themselves. We as believers must not be afraid to put the care of our lives, totally in the hands of God; just as our Lord and Savior did, in service to God through service to others. Lastly I would like to say, in fact I feel compelled to say that I am not writing this to lead anyone to believe I am some authority or precedent of how this life of service to God is to be done for others; I am merely sharing with you my learning, interpretations, and practice of the word of God; this is according to the way I have been led.

I pray for each of us that we might find our place of service to God, through our service to others, for as our Lord has taught us, if we love Him we must feed his sheep; we must perform good works for which we were saved, that we might bring Glory and Honor to the name of our King! Open up the gates of your heart, that the King of Glory may come in and promote the love for God and the service of God through service and stewardship.

May God Bless and Keep You Until the Day of Redemption!

Bishop Hampton