Are You a Missionary?

Are you a missionary? If you follow Jesus, the answer is yes! Jesus lived His life on a mission to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus reads a prophecy from Isaiah and declares it fulfilled. He says, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” God the Father anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit, to announce the coming of God’s Kingdom. In God’s Kingdom, all people can know God and enter His presence, where they find freedom and healing. However, this is only possible through Jesus. Because of Jesus’s sacrifice, we are made holy and able to enter God’s presence, and because of His resurrection, we are set free and no longer live as slaves of sin and evil! All we have to do is come to Him. Have you been set free from sin and evil in your life? What do you need to bring to the Lord today?  

Right before Jesus ascended into Heaven, His disciples asked Him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight” (Acts 1:6b-8). The disciples were thinking as we humans do. They wanted to see the physical Kingdom of Israel restored. They wanted Jesus to stay on earth and live as the King of Israel. But the Father had much bigger plans for Jesus. Jesus is the King of all and His reign will last forever. And yet, God called Jesus back to be with Him and chose to use His human disciples to submit to His rule and share the Good News of the Kingdom with people of all nations! And that’s where we come in. Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to live within us— leading us and empowering us to be effective witnesses! We are all called “to proclaim good news to the poor…, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, and to set the oppressed free” (Luke 4:18).

God has a purpose for each of us while we are here on Earth. Do you know your purpose? What is God calling you to do now? How can you share the Gospel of salvation, healing, and freedom with your family, friends, neighbors, and enemies? The Holy Spirit led me to teach as a missionary in Mexico. I am so blessed to be a part of the team at “La Luz,” where the teachers live out the Gospel daily through prayer, service, study, and worship together as One Body. We pray together for God’s will to be done in our school and the lives of our students before and after school and in the evenings. We share the Gospel with students in classes, visit with their families, and share with other people we meet as God leads us. You can be a missionary too! Even if you are not called to move overseas, God has still given you His Holy Spirit to lead you and empower you to serve those around you. If you follow Jesus, you are a missionary. Let’s pray that God will give us His eyes to see those who are in need and give us wisdom, discernment, and power to share the Gospel effectively and to usher in God’s healing and freedom into this broken world.

– Heather Hall, GEM Missionary