I want to introduce a world to you or a way of life that exists out there that many of you may not think about or you know little about. In recent months I have come to know more about this life that some live and when you look into it, when you open your eyes to it, it can change what you think is important to you and your life.
How many of you know the life of Jesus and “the way”. I am not talking about some new cult or some jungle living existence with someone who claims to know when the end of the world is going to happen. After Jesus was crucified, the twelve, or the disciples who were continually with Jesus from the beginning of His work, until He rose from the grave, were going through an experience that would transform them into teachers of “the way”. Early on in their teaching, the name Christian wasn’t used; it hadn’t been thought of. What the disciples were learning from Christ is that there was a “way” to God. John 14-4, Jesus said, “You know the way to the place where I am going”. Isaiah 55-8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. John 14-6, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus taught the way to God is through Him, Christ. It isn’t any other way that we want it to be, or think it should be. So as Jesus said it, the disciples said it. They taught “the way”. We are followers of “the way”.
We know that there are four gospels in the bible that were written by direct witnesses to Christ or direct followers of direct witnesses to Christ. The Greek term for disciple is mathētēs. This translates to mean “to study at the feet of a great teacher”, and to “emulate the life of a great teacher”; as I learned from a fellow brother in Christ and referenced also bible.org. The disciples taught as Jesus taught.
What about today? Are there modern day disciples of Christ? Do we still need disciples in the world? Does God still call people to be teachers of “the way”? The short answer is…yes. The most commonly known teachers of the way are the Pastors of the Church. However, there are people out there who go into the world – even places where teaching about Christ is illegal and can cost you your life if caught. These people are on a mission, a mission for Christ, and you will be surprised at the work there is to do and how these mission workers rely on Christ for their every need.
Before I tell you about a couple of these modern mission works, let me give you some statistics about our world. Did you know that there are over 1 billion, that’s 1,000,000,000, people in Southeast Asia who have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!!
IMB’s (International Mission Board’s) mission is to make disciples of all peoples in fulfillment of the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20. www.imb.org. This organization is full of opportunity for anyone to help in missions. Check them out and read their stories, and missions. There are places in the world, right now, where thousands of mission workers are working in secrete, spreading the Word, and if discovered either by governments or other extreme religions – they would be arrested or worse. You will find when learning about this world of missions that the body of Christ is indeed still at work as they were in the beginning. The Holy Spirit is working even now just as it was with the beginning disciples – who became Apostles.
The other group I would like to introduce to you is the New Tribes Mission, or www.ntm.org. My wife and I have gotten to know a married couple, from Brazil, who spent ten years in Africa with a people who never knew of Christ until this couple and others with New Tribes arrived. New Tribes actually has a training facility near Camdenton, MO. This is where young couples, often with babies or young children, complete two years of additional training, beyond seminary or theological college, on how to manage and work into unreached people groups. Papua New Guinea in Southeast Asia is home to hundreds or thousands of independent tribal groups, each with their own distinct language, and each a separate challenge for mission workers. Mission families will commit to spending 20 years living with a group in order to learn their language, to assimilate and be accepted, to create a written language, in order to translate the Bible in writing into their native language. If this sounds like a tremendous task, it is. Without God, without prayer, and prayer by supporters, these people groups would be lost and the mission worker would fail. With God, all things are possible. So, you see, God is still at work, there are real people out there now, who are modern day disciples of Christ. I challenge you to look at these two web sites, read their work, and see their missions. There are people who need support all the time in this work and your prayers. When you talk with these mission workers the first thing they will ask of anyone is to pray for them. Thank you for your prayers, and support.
God Bless
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