This past week I traveled to Dallas for the executive meeting of the BGCT, I had the opportunity to sit specifically in the missions committee meeting, as I listened to the report, and the many different ministries that are mission focused and their goals, a couple of questions came to mind; of the different plans that the convention has in the many ministries that focus on missions. What can FBCWeslaco do? Where do we fit in those missions? And as I asked myself these questions a verse came to mind. 1 Chronicles 16:24
The words in this verse in the Old Testament “declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among peoples” many times when we think of missions, we associate them with the New Testament. But missions have always been part of God’s plan for the salvation of all mankind, the mission for God’s people to preach the name of the Lord among all the nations has been the intention of God since he called out Abraham from Ur of the Caldeans, to go and make a nation that would bless others.
A nation that would be the example to others, a nation that others would desire to be like because of the relationship of God with this nation. Today as Christians, we are this nation, that must declare his glory among the nations, people should look at us and desire to be close to God by seeing our relationship with God. By this the first question is answered, FBCWeslaco needs to declare the glory of God to the nations. I believe that this is the mission of all Christians, not just our church, but if we know our mission then we can focus ourselves knowing where we fit in missions, with this in mind we can focus our attention on God and his heart for missions, God desires for all to come to repentance, for all to reconcile, but many have not had the blessing to hear about God and this salvation, the declaration of the glory of God has not reached all the nations. By nations, I mean the different Ethos, or different ethnic groups, that have never heard the name of Jesus, as Christians we are to go to the nations to share the gospel, we don’t necessarily need to go overseas to reach the nations, in our country, we have the opportunity, to meet peoples of the many nations, and all we have to do is just talk to them.
This month we are starting our series titled “What kind of church are we getting into us?” my prayer is that we can be a church that wherever the Lord takes us, we can be the church that declares his glory among the nations, that we can declare the good news of salvation, to our neighbors to strangers alike, that God may give us grace with the different Ethos we meet in our daily walk, that the people who meet us would want to be part of the family of God by seeing the church that’s in us as a church that glorifies God. I hope that we can be the church that declares the glory of God to the nations and by declaring his glory many may come to salvation trough Jesus.
Finally, I would like to encourage you to pray for God’s purpose on your life in missions, and that when the Lord answers that prayer you can join us in the many different missions that we will be part of, in the near future, being local or international; may you have a blessed weekend, may the Lord show us where he wants to direct us in missions and create in us a heart for missions .
Pastor Luis Rodriguez