Excuses We Make to avoid What God has Called Us to Be, Missionaries and Ministers

Have you ever felt like being a missionary is for those who had a divine experience in which God spoke from the heavens and said go to another country and spread the gospel. If you believe the above statement you are likely to believe that being a missionary is for the called elite. In order to debunk this myth we need to redefine the missionary calling. First of all, Jesus gave the great commission to all Christians. No where in scripture can you find Jesus saying that you are to follow me and choose whether or not you will participate in spreading the gospel. When you share the gospel you are performing the acts of a missionary therefore, you are a missionary. Did you know that all christian are ministers?. 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. There are however missionaries and ministers who are called to minister and share the gospel has their chosen career path or prime source of livelihood. In summary, we are called to be ministers of the gospel. Even though we cleared up the issue of are we called to be missionaries. There are some who will not go outside their community because they feel that some kind of earth shattering divine revelation needs to happen in order for them to go on a mission trip. God does give divine confirmations that we should do something but we often predetermine what a calling looks like. We wait for an audible voice to say "go and do my will" but in reality a calling is an experience that comes in many different ways. Some people hear a small still voice, some have an "ah ha moment" in which God show them how they can be used to share the gospel and some have a moment a conviction after hearing a message or reading Gods word. We must spend time in prayer and actively be looking for how God will reveal His will. Another excuse that can be used is that I am not skilled in ministering. If this is what you think about ministry you need to rethink ministry and broaden your definition. On the mission field local or foreign there are opportunities to use a wide variety of skills to minister. If you do not feel adequate verbally sharing the gospel, you can share the gospel with service ( construction, nursing, cleaning, playing with children). The more you find out about the needs of others the more your definition of ministry will broaden and you will also see more opportunities to minister. There are many mission opportunities out there, short term ( a week or two), long term, local or foreign. To quote Henry Blackaby, " we need to find out where God is working and then join Him on the process".