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dependence on the Holy Spirit is seen in his
unassailable defence before the council: "We ought to
obey God rather than men... We are His witnesses, and
so also is the Holy Spirit" (Acts 5:29,32).
Satan will not peaceably surrender his
captives. Missionary work is a spiritual warfare. As the
beautiful feet march with the shoes of the gospel
towards the enemy's territory, all the fury of the
principalities, powers, rulers of darkness and spiritual
hosts of wickedness will be turned against them (Eph
6:12,15). Satan will have his agents like Elymas to
hypnotically influence the hearers of the gospel
through sorcery, false prophecy and the like. Only
when the witnesses are "filled with the Holy Spirit" can
they confront the formidable enemy and set the
captives free (Acts 13:6-10; Isa 61:1).
The Bible encourages us to "desire
spiritual gifts" (1 Cor 14:1). The first list of gifts in the
New Testament is given in the context of evangelism
(Mk 16:15-18). Of the gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor 12:7-10),
the word of wisdom (Acts 15:13-21), the word of
knowledge (Acts 8:23), faith (Acts 28:3-6), gifts of
healings (Acts 9:ee-35), working of miracles (Acts
14:3), and discerning of spirits (Acts 16:16-18) are the
most essential to missionary evangelism. God is more
than willing to bestow these gifts on us when we ask
Him (Mt 7:11). Will the Lord of Armies be slack in
equipping His soldiers before sending them to the
battlefront?
3. He directs us to GO
As per the Great Commission we are to go
everywhere preaching the gospel to everyone. But the
condition of one field differs from the other. Some
fields are yet to be ploughed. Some other fields are
ready for sowing. And there are fields already ripe for
harvest. So also the gifts and calling of God vary from
missionary to missionary. Some workers are efficient
in ploughing, whereas others excel in sowing or
reaping (Jn 4:37,38; 1 Cor 3:5-7). The Holy spirit as the
Chief Executive of missionary work decides WHO,
WHERE and WHEN. In His sovereignty He can change
the course and the candidates. Blessed are the flexible;
for they shall not be broken!
The Book of Acts is the textbook on
missions. It teaches us through examples how we can
be successful in missionary outreach if we follow the
voice of the Holy Spirit. The following three incidents
are illustrative.
Evangelist Philip was conducting a
glorious healing campaign in Samaria (Acts 8:5-7). This
was the talk of the town (v 8). Huge crowds were
thronging to hear him and see the miracles. People
were baptized in water and getting filled with the Holy
Spirit (vv 16,17). In the midst of such a hectic
programme and an arduous ministry to thousands, the
Holy Spirit directed Philip to go to the desert of Gaza to
minister to just one individual! (vv 26,29). This may not
appeal to human logic, but the Heavenly Wind blows
where it wishes! Those born of the Spirit must yield
themselves to be borne by the Spirit! (Jn 3:8).
Simon Peter was vacationing with Simon
the tanner enjoying the sea breeze and spending time
in prayer (Acts 9:43; 10:5,6,9). He would have least
expected a missionary call from the gentile world at
that hour. He was a biased Jew. But "the Spirit said to
him, Behold, three men are seeking you. Arise and go,
doubting nothing; for I have sent them" (Acts 10:19,20;
11:12a). Basically Peter was called to be an apostle to
the Jews (Gal 2:7,8). He had no personal liking for the
non-Jews either. But because Christ in the first
instance had given the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven
to Peter, the Holy Spirit urged Peter to inaugurate the
gentile ministry (Mt 16:16,19). Sensitivity to the
promptings of the Spirit is indispensable to fulfil God's
missionary programme.
Paul and Barnabas were two among the
five prophets and teachers in the Church at Antioch.
The disciples of this Church were the ones to be first
called Christians (Acts 11:26; 13:1). Though Paul and
Barnabas would have been such a blessing to this local
Church, the Holy Spirit spoke to the other leaders to
release them for the translocal missionary work (Acts
13:2). The Holy Spirit was so actively operating in this
enterprise that it is recorded that these two men were
"sent out by the Holy Spirit" even though it was
apparently the other leaders who sent them forth
(Compare v 3 and v 4). Which Church does release its
August 2019| www.bymonline.org | page 03