Lt. Colonel Karol Seiler | Is Everyone a Missionary?

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If you are looking for a short message of hope to challenge you and brighten up your day. Subscribe to heartbeat wherever you get your podcast or visit Salvation Army downcast. He and and and and a and I'm sure Bernie got Col. Carol with us this week to be here glad you're here last week we began our new series on missions and we discussed a global view of how the Salvation Army goes about mission work this week were going to discuss an interesting question that came up as we were developing this series and I think it came up last week in the series 2 in that it is everyone a missionary yet it's an interesting question because I think most of us as Christians might quickly say well yeah of course we are. But there's more to it is being a missionary calling like to teach.

We don't all have the same callings and gifts that's that's hash this out. What you think. I agree with that. I think that just as pastors and evangelists, teachers, all of those areas are specially called by God for a ministry missionary is a special call of God for a distinct ministry. So Jesus set apart his 12 disciples heard the apostles and he sent them out to his own people, Israel, and later he set apart others like Paul and Barnabas to be apostles to the Gentiles than the idea of being sent is central and both of those cases, so the apostles in essence were the first missionaries at home and foreign missionaries, but what they were sent to do that ordinary Christians might not be asked to do this. What is different about them because they were commission first probably fine with the 12 apostles that they left their secular occupations. They set those things aside and they were devoted specifically to teaching and preaching and in addition, the, the second missionaries the foreign missionaries were being sent to cross both geographical and cultural boundaries to win Gentiles to Christ and I think that's what sets us apart from those who are being sent as missionaries.

Sure, I think, to we have usually been particularly in the United States. There such a disparity between economic position in life you can have in our neighborhood here in Atlanta we can go one block and be an extremely wealthy part of our community and the other direction. One block you could be in a very poverty-stricken part of her community so missionaries being missionaries at home is just as important, you know, was considering it abroad and that we have the example in the apostles and the teaching of you mentioned Paul and Barnabas you can be a missionary. Even if you get put in the prison life I think is all believers. We are called to be missionaries, but I think you made is this this calling to full-time ministry right that sets us apart and that sets missionaries apart and God has a purpose for each and every person and individual purpose that may take you someplace foreign to to minister and to serve in that way I don't want us to mess however the very basic of the fact that we are all called to preach the gospel or to to communicate the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ and services just like you mentioned right where we are service just where we are. Those are important things but I think what you touched on was very, very important, is that call to full-time ministry and there are people who serve in other countries and other ways to they may go to another country to do another job but then they are still sent their sent and in a way to live the gospel and right of this is something that is important to me is the idea of the body of Christ.

You've got a local church you're involved in a local community and maybe that church sends you out so that wherever your serving.

You've got support. Whether that's prayerful support, financial support, or some other practical support, but I like that idea because we do missions trips within the United States just to other communities you where you can teach your young people or people that otherwise don't know what being a missionary is all about.

I love that about the Salvation Army.

We've got resources. We got boots on the ground in so many different communities.

Last week you mentioned you were all around the world think the number this week is 135 countries around the world were were established working and even more nuts.

That's an incredible opportunity, and I think it is really important point to it takes the body of Christ. We all have different gifts or different things that we can contribute you now and maybe you can't go. Maybe you can even be the want to go into the next neighborhood and minister, but you have the resources to do that and you can go to another country but you have the resources to help someone get there. That's part of the unity of the body of Christ, so individual challenges that a missionary might face in regards to going abroad fulfilling the calling that God has on their life.

Think one of the challenges is always a financial challenge is having the kind of financial support that they need to continue their ministry in the country or in the place. Even within the United States that they choose to serve that cannot be self-supporting and Christ asked his followers to die to themselves and to take up their crosses and follow after him. In Matthew 16 and taking up the cross and dying to self are not comfortable actions and I believe that Christians should always be willing to step outside their comfort zone.

In any situation that God may place the man, whether that's the missionary or the person who's supporting them and I think that Christ calls his followers to stop seeking earthly riches and to not worry about the future and to lift sacrificially and often we say well I'm not going so I don't need to live sacrificially, but if we are going to support the work that Christ is called us to do. Whether that's to go or whether were staying home and I believe that we still have to live sacrificially to seek the good of others, and all of that runs contrary to the what this world is telling us to do.

You know were supposed to feather our own nest worse has to be building up our own bank accounts and them buying bigger homes and furnishing them beautifully and comfortably. But that's not what were called to do as Christians.

So whether were leaving the country to work as a missionary and an underdeveloped country. More simply stirring up the courage to talk to our fellow workers about Christ, we can have confidence that God will not leave us or forsake us for doing what he's called us to do and I wonder if maybe a prayer that we can print our own lives. As Lord, stir in my spirit. How you want me to give and what you want me to give to regards her food. Who do you want to give to what missionary do I need to be supporting and mastering in the spirit in our hearts.

I mean, you can't go wrong. That's God's heart as he speaks to our heart. When you hear the story of a missionary hidden lady comes to your church or maybe you're just having a conversation with someone who is doing some kind of a ministry, whether in this country or somewhere else and you feel that connection with them.

I think that that is God storing your heart to give to them to supporting them. And that's the body of Christ working at its best.

If you have questions about how to support someone that's interested in missionary work or you want to know more about what the Salvation Army is doing in missions. Contact your local Salvation Army reach out to us right here at Salvation Army. Some.org.

Give us a shout we will do everything we come to give you some information or point you in the right direction and we actually have a world service office that can tell us even more about what's happening around the world with micro banking and all kinds of different things that were doing in communities work Salvation Army has hospitals and has programs for people to go without basis in trenches for sure you trenches helping specific the Salvation Army's mission doing the most good means helping people with material and spiritual needs to become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army visit Salvation Army USA.org to offer your support and love to hear from you.

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