(1)
A MAN CALLED OF GOD
The
man that God uses must be sent from GOD. There is a tremendous
difference between that man and the man who has an opinion
of himself. It is never easy to be God’s man; God’s choice;
God’s chosen for a task. Ten of the twelve died a martyr’s
death; killed with the sword, hanged, flayed alive, lanced,
shot with arrows, stoned, clubbed, crucified and decapitated.
To serve Christ in missions is to be a “dead man on furlough.”
Only the consciousness of the sure call of God can give
you the necessary courage and wisdom for the task. Unless
you are sure of the call of God for missionary work, do
something else! Is there a flickering flame in your heart
for the field of the world harvest? Can you never blot
out the whisper of God for a place, a people, or a ministry?
If you cannot live without it, you have a call from God.
God’s
man will be a man sent from God. There is no room for
the cowardly, the fearful, or the cop-out on the mission
field. God Is looking for men - men of wisdom, men of
courage, men of strength and men of character. This will
mean strength in four areas of life.
PREPARING
YOUR MIND - “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
(Rom. 12:2)
(a)
MENTAL - No man will ever be used of God until
he is willing to learn. He does not have to be brilliant,
but he does have to be open and obedient. The first requirement
for a good leader is to learn to be a good follower. George
Verwer challenges - “Learn how to bury your own plans
and ideas, allowing someone else to make decisions which
you will wholeheartedly carry out. There is no room… for
a person with all the answers.”
Strength
of mind also means study. The command of the Lord Jesus
is to “Lift up your eyes to the fields” - look at the
harvest field. Have you done that? Have you spent time
in study of missionary fields and methods? How well do
you know the needy world you live in? Have you used your
social studies, geography and history lessons for God?
Do you know what areas of the world are most open and
receptive to the Gospel? Have you been faithful in study
of languages, or developed any aptitude you have with
these that you might have other tongues to preach the
Gospel in? Have you loved God with your mind? (Rom. 12:1-2;
2 Tim. 2:15)
Reading
must be an important part of your study habits. Try to
read as much as possible. This will help keep you abreast
of changes and be a store of refreshment, inspiration,
and spiritual uplifting. Regular reading brings freshness
to your thought on life. Subscribe to a couple of Christian
magazines with an emphasis on missionaries or evangelism.
Scan every piece of free literature you can lay your hands
on in missionary conventions for valuable ideas. Most
of all, read biographies and autobiographies of men used
of God. Next to your Bible, these will be the most valuable
and inspiring studies of your life. Nothing will stimulate
you to the work of God in evangelism, missions, or prayer
like accounts of men who moved spiritual mountains for
God. A brief “must” book list is appended to the end of
this tract for you.
PREPARING
YOUR BODY - “Your body is the temple, of the Holy Spirit."
(1 Cor. 6:19)
(b) PHYSICAL - God’s man must be physically healthy.
The mission-field is an energy-taxing task, one that requires
a strong constitution. Every man who wants to be used
of God should be involved in a sport or physical exercise
to discipline his body for God. You have only been given
one body for this life, and it is your responsibility
to take care of it, rest and nourish it properly, and
train it to respond to your mind and spirit. When you
find a sport you can play and like, really work at It.
Play for all and play to win! There will be chances here
also for witness and to develop true Christian sportsmanship
and leadership as well as a healthful, relaxing means
of training your body. Do not overwork your voice, your
eyes, or your digestive system. Learn to really relax.
If you burn the candle at both ends to save a little time
or a few years, you may not have much left to go out for
God with. (1 Tim. 4:8; 1 Cor. 9:24-27; Eph. 6:11-12; Philippians
4:13; II Timothy 2:3-4) Love God with your strength.
Learn
also to develop some skill that requires painstaking,
nerve-wracking coordination; something like playing a
piano or other instrument; touch-typing will also prove
valuable. Discipline must be practiced also in the relaxed
control of body movements; keeping the hands still and
to the sides of the body; firmly shaking hands with warmth
and then letting go; posture kept upright and feet controlled
from shuffling or dragging; stand, sit, and walk tall
without stiffness. Learn to look attentively at people
when you speak to them. Reject the desires to nervously
fidget, and you will begin to break the cycle of habit
to gain poise.
Don’t
be lazy. Divorce yourself from the armchair life. You
may not find modern comforts abroad; eliminate things
that can make you soft. On the other hand, sleep is important.
Don’t waste time sitting up late, letting talk drift by,
or stay up late spending half the night to finish some
exciting book. Curb the lust to finish and you will not
be up late in the morning. The King’s business is, of
course, a different matter. Discipline rest, and free
time.
Food
is not just a case of likes and dislikes. Learn to like
what you are given, unless it will cause actual physical
harm. The ability to eat without flinching may mean much
to people of another land whose friendship you are trying
to win. Be grateful for whatever God provides. Eat enough
to keep you strong, but never make a god of your appetite.
Learn to go without.
Begin
your self-discipline with simple things; tidiness of clothes
and room is a good place. Can you imagine Christ with
untidy clothes and His belongings in a shambles? Wash
out the bathtub or basin after use, make your bed as soon
as you get up neatly and tidily. Hang up your clothes,
clean the tools you use and put them beck in their proper
place. This will not only be excellent training for discipleship,
but will help you save much time and trouble later on.
Do
the difficult at once; begin with the hardest tasks. Stick
at them, despite interruption, and stick with them until
they are finished. Get rid of them first, and the rest
will all be easier. Be determined not only to conquer
that boring assignment or job, but to wring a blessing
out of it! Say to it, “I will not let thee go except thou
bless me!” Learn to choose the hardest tasks, to do what
others leave undone. Begin with ordinary home tasks like
washing dishes or cleaning rooms, mowing lawns or ironing,
cooking or sweeping. Go into them for Jesus sake, and
learn the glory of doing the difficult and finding joy
in hardness.
PREPARING
YOUR SOUL - “You shall love the Lord with all your soul…”
(Matt. 22:37)
(a) SPIRITUAL - Above all other training, you must
be strong in the Lord. God has used the unlearned and
ignorant, the physically weak and frail, but He can never
use the unspiritual man. E. M. Bounds says it succinctly
- “Men are God’s methods; the church is looking for better
methods; God is looking for better men.” All that we are,
formed in the crucible of experience under the hand of
the Lord is the raw material for revolutionary faith.
This will mean priority attention to the spiritual character
of our lives.
The
Bible is of course, foundational. The man of God must
spend time to read it, study it, memorize it, and practice
it. He must be preeminently a man of one Book. God’s will
is revealed in His Word. If you will devote your love
and your life to knowing and obeying God and His Word,
you will not miss His will or direction. Do you spend
time in the Word for your spiritual life? How much time?
Do you know enough of the Bible to give a few minutes
summary of books like Ezra, Judges, Nehemiah, or Philemon?
Could you teach for half-an-hour on any one book of the
Bible for a week? Do you have a memorization program?
How much do you know of the whole Bible? Have you ever
read it completely through? Do you know enough about it
to summarize its basic message in two sentences? If you
were now deprived of your Bible, how much of it could
you write out from memory? You should study this Book
of books as if you will never get another chance to within
a year.
Study
the Scriptures by marking them, commenting in the columns,
underlining verses. Outline what you read. Ask yourself
questions. Do not leave the Book until it has blessed
you. Begin a study notebook, and file in it everything
you learn of value for God. Think about Scriptures until
they become a part of you. Fill your mind and thoughts
with it.
Study
the men that God uses. Out of all the hundreds of preachers,
theologians and ministers, God has simple, but searching
tests for value. Are they wise to win souls? Then they
are qualified with the wisdom of Heaven. Learn from such
men. Study their lives and their message. The Lord Jesus
gives two further tests - “They should bring forth fruit,
and their fruit shall remain.” If a man has a godly vision,
and a life that pleases God by devotion and prayer, he
will draw souls to Christ. If any man has been taught
of God the knowledge of truth, he will not only win souls
to God, but those he wins will persevere for Christ. Pay
special attention to those men of God in the past or present
whose ministries show both. They have learned of Heaven;
study them.
Spend
as much time with men of God as they will allow you to.
Ask God to open the way to get to know them personally,
so you may learn from them, then be bold to use the opportunities
God gives you. Many will spend time to answer your questions
or share with you their own vision. Pray for them in their
ministries. Learn from their successes and their mistakes.
Dig into history and compare your spiritual development
with others used of God. Never be satisfied with your
progress. Ask God for holy ambition to be mightily used
of Him. Dare to believe for things never achieved before;
never rest content on the spiritual status quo.
Strive
for accuracy in thinking and speaking. Do not exaggerate
stories or add to facts to make people more impressed
or amused. God is a God of truth; do not tell “Christian
lies”. Do not pretend or pose. Your life will be on public
display in the ministry; let it be real. Learn from God
when and what to speak, and the value of silence. Never
break a confidence. Do not fear to speak the truth, even
if it leads to trouble. When God says “speak” give His
whole message, in love and honesty, without favor or fear
of an individual or a meeting. You must be God’s man with
God’s message; if you have nothing from Him, say nothing
publicly.
PREPARING
YOUR RELATIONSHIPS "…Love your neighbor as yourself."
(Matt. 22:39)
(d)
SOCIAL - The greatest asset to spiritual unity
is the ability to get along with others. The man who would
have revolutionary faith must discipline his life to act
and not to react concerning the influences of others on
his life. You will face many points of difference with
others at work in the Master’s fields; points of temperament,
culture, understanding, methodology, or theology. These
may be used as a blessing or a barrier. If you will learn
God’s way of action when faced with differences making
the possibility of trouble, you can grow very quickly
In God. There is a simple, but far-reaching way -
Use
pressure to criticize yourself, not others. Recognize
that the spirit of criticism is sin before God, and the
quickest way to destroy essential unity. Argument, resentment,
self-defense, or anger have no place in the Christian
life. You must use these pressures to die to your own
self-seeking rights and accept this discipline as from
the hand of the Lord. You may be neglected or ignored;
slighted, brushed aside; your opinion’s not asked, your
reputation not recognized, your position or authority
not considered. The success, reward, or honor goes to
another instead of you, when you felt you worked for it
or earned it. You were kind, gave help to someone - and
got no thanks or gratitude. Your advice was ignored, or
not even asked in a matter where you were an expert.
Perhaps
you and a friend share the same room. He is slow, extravagant,
and untidy, when you are quick, economical, and clean;
or you are steady, generous, and flexible while he is
hasty, stingy and finicky. Or some little thing has come
up that threatens to damage your day; it is too hot or
too wet; someone interrupts you in the middle of something
important; an awaited letter doesn’t come; the clothes
don’t fit, the meal isn’t right, the pen won’t work? You
are tempted to pick on somebody who adds to the pressure
and let him have it! But if you are, a disciple of Christ,
and are in training for revolutionary faith - you cannot
afford the luxury of such sin (and it IS sin!) You must
conquer through Christ, for unless you are changed you
will never change your world. Memorize these two scriptures
and let them burn into your daily life: “The Son of Man
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and give
his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) And, “Judge
not that you be not judged.” (Matt. 7:1) Amplified and
applied in principle, these two verses tell you:
(1)
Not to live expecting to receive from others, but only
from God; to live instead to give without hoping for reward
- to minister, and not be ministered to. Let all the trials
of life be simply tests allowed by God to put your love
of “being ministered unto” to death. Prove to Christ that
you will love and serve Him whatever others do:
(2)
To live with a spirit of trust towards your brothers and
sisters in Christ. Not to trust their own human frailties,
but the Christ in them. Jesus said, in effect with this
verse, “When tempted to criticize another, turn it on
yourself and leave the other alone.” If you recognize
the beam of resentment or criticism in your own life,
deal with it; then you will either forget your brother’s
mote and rejoice in the work Christ is doing in and through
him, or you will see how the Lord Jesus has dealt with
your own failures, and recognize that He is quite capable
of dealing with the minor faults of others.
Friendships
should make us easier to reach by others, and more understanding
and helpful. Exclusive friendships are unhealthy. Marriage
may well be God’s gift to you, but be sure you do not
take this for granted, and walk very softly before God
before you make any final decisions in the matter. There
are some fields of service that can be best done by a
team, and others where a single worker can far better
do a certain task, especially in a new or dangerous field.
Pray much about this matter, and expect God to give you
a definite word. Popularity is often dangerous; attracting
people to one’s self, while the more subtle pressure of
influence can be a powerful, though unconscious factor
to draw others to the Lord Jesus. Never seek the former;
live near to Jesus and let Him use the latter. “He made
Himself of no reputation.” (Phil. 2:7)
If you are wrong, confess it. It will be humiliating,
but honest; no-one ever loses standing in the eyes of
those he is trying to help by being honest. If you take
offense easily, do not go out for God thinking it will
not matter. Jesus humbled Himself. He did it deliberately.
Live to the Lord, caring little for the praise or blame
of men. If misunderstood, go direct to the one concerned,
humbly and frankly to correct it. Be willing to learn
from the older and the younger, from those you minister
with and from those you minister to.
(2)
A MAN OF ORDINARY FAITH -
Revolutionary
faith is ordinary faith. Ordinary faith is just a simple
loyalty to the Word of God, both written and living. Do
you believe the word of god? You will never make it in
missions unless you can say an unqualified “Yes!” If you
do not believe it to be reliable, for Christ’s sake and
for the sake of others, get out of the ministry. God will
never use you, honor you, or guide you until you stand
with all you have on His Book and His Son. The two are
united; you do not love God any more than you love His
Word; you do not obey Him any more than you obey His Word;
you do not believe Him any more than you believe His Word.
The issue is simple; either it is true, in which case
you can confide in the God Who gave it, and expect Him
to direct you; or it is not reliable, in which case you
will have to guide your own life; God may not.
IF
YOU BELIEVE IT - nothing shall be impossible to
you! There is no barrier outside of unbelief; revolutionary
faith implies only a fulfilling of every condition, which
means a literal obedience to the commands of Christ; and
simply applying the Scriptures in any case where you find
yourself in similar circumstances. God is no respecter
of man; what He promised for one man in one situation
He promises for all men at any time in the same circumstances,
providing the same conditions are strictly fulfilled.
Your whole life should be thus geared to be in God’s place
at God’s time with God’s message. Every provision will
be met, if you will but dare to prove God! He will always
justify your obedience fully and wonderfully to bring
glory to His Name. The greater the task, the more glory
to His Name and He does the impossible through your obedience
to Him!
Do
not let the methods of men color your outlook and corrode
your trust. Through the centuries, God has always found
men who dared believe He could direct and provide without
the necessity of fleshly schemes. Living by faith is always
living without scheming. Do not look to man for help.
Follow the men who starred history, and you will see their
lives flow with the power of Christ because they dared
depend wholly on Him! Read the stories of George Mueller,
Norris Groves, Robert Morrison, Hudson Taylor, C. T. Studd,
Brother Andrew, David Wilkerson, and see what God has
done before and can do again through you! “If God be GOD,
then SERVE HIM”… and know the thrill of revolutionary
faith!
David
Brainerd (Moody Press, Chicago, 1949);
Hudson Taylor (C.I.M. London, 1959);
C. G. Finney (Revell NY 1873);
Portrait of a Prophet (C. W. Hall, Salvation Army, NY
1933);
Shadow of the Almighty (Jim Elliot, Harper, 1933);
God’s Smuggler (Brother Andrew; Revell, 1968);
C. T. Studd (C. L. C. Penn 1903-4);
The Cross And The Switchblade (David Wilkerson; Pyramid,
NY 1963);
God’s Fool (George N. Patterson)
PDF
Version
Revision
1.1 © 1968, 2000 Winkie Pratney.
Contact at Box 876 Lindale TX 75771
You
have had a sense of destiny. You have never known quite
where you fit in to life. Dissatisfaction with living
as you are marked you. You longed for someone to show
you the way. You cried out for meaning.