GO TELL THE WORLD

by Rev Derrick Lau, Executive Director of MMS. He has many hobbies including having fun with drones.

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And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:35-36, ESV

Jesus proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom and ministered to the large crowds that had gathered around him. The people witnessed the incredible power of divine transformation including the healing of disease and affliction. Naturally, when the hearts of these people were touched and transformed, they became “ambassadors” and went about sharing their experiences to those in their villages and cities.

If we were in that city, I think we would feel and experience the revolutionary heartbeat of those who had experienced the touch of Jesus! The atmosphere would have been earth shattering! And they could not contain that irrepressible discovery within themselves! The spread of that positive energy must have been contagious!

In the same manner, when we have tasted the goodness of the Lord, we would want to share it with our immediate family, community, and nations around us. I had the privilege of sharing the good news with my family members and neighbours, and I recalled vividly my first overseas mission trip when I was in my early twenties!

The trip organised by the Trinity Annual Conference (TRAC) Board of Missions was to Sibu and Kapit in East Malaysia. I travelled with a group of church leaders and members from Singapore. It was truly an eye-opening experience. A different language and culture did not create obstacles as we were set to communicate the love of Jesus to them. We interacted with the youth leaders in Iban with the assistance of interpreters. While we shared the Word of God and ministered His grace, our team received God’s remarkable blessings on our endeavour!

We need to be there to feel the ground and experience the presence of the Holy Spirit challenging our hearts to proclaim the gospel to these precious souls!

Hence, a short-term mission trip (of 1 to 2 weeks) is generally a good start to the path of missions pursuits and maybe, God willing, it could also be a prelude to longer-term missionary service! It provides a window of opportunity to see those that need the redemptive message of Christ and of whom the Lord has laid a conviction in our hearts. It is different from just reading about these people groups and viewing a video associated with them. We need to be there to feel the ground and experience the presence of the Holy Spirit challenging our hearts to proclaim the gospel to these precious souls!

Kristian Stanfill, an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, and worship leader from Atlanta, Georgia, USA wrote:

This is a call, now everybody follows.Go tell the world that Jesus reigns.Go the broken, go to the helpless.Go set the captive free.Come one, come all.Come young, come old.Come everyone.

Then he [Jesus] said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38, ESV

The call is urgent as several MMS missionaries have retired, and some are retiring in the next few years. We challenge you to respond to the call of God to serve in the mission fields.