The Great Commission is not limited.

It’s not limited to those crossing an ocean or a language. It’s not limited to those who have been saved for decades or have memorized entire books of the Bible. It’s not limited to those with certain careers, titles, or personality types.

It’s not limited.

The command to go and make disciples is given to every person in Christ. None of us are exempt.

According to Jesus, our lives are to be spent on mission, and this old hymn reinforces that truth. I hope it encourages you and can serve as a reminder that God has uniquely and intentionally wired you for a purpose—His glory (Isaiah 43:7), His church’s edification, and your highest joy.

What a Gospel. What a Savior. What a responsibility.

Here I Am, Send Me

Words by Daniel March, 1868

Hark, the voice of Jesus calling,
“Who will go and work today?
Fields are ripe and harvests waiting,
Who will bear the sheaves away?”
Long and loud the Master calls us,
Rich reward He offers free;
Who will answer, gladly saying,
“Here am I, send me, send me”?

If you cannot cross the ocean,
And the distant lands explore,
You can find the lost around you,
You can help them at your door;
If you cannot give your thousands,
You can give the widow’s mite;
What you truly give for Jesus,
Will be precious in His sight.

If you cannot speak like angels,
If you cannot preach like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus,
You can say He died for all.
If you cannot rouse the wicked,
With the judgment’s dread alarms,
You can lead the little children
To the Savior’s waiting arms.

If you cannot be the watchman,
Standing high on Zion’s wall,
Pointing out the path to heaven,
Offering life and peace to all,
With your prayers and with your bounties
You can do what heaven demands;
You can be like faithful Aaron,
Holding up the prophet’s hands.

If among the older people,
You may not be apt to teach,
“Feed My lambs,” said Christ, our Shepherd,
“Place the food within their reach.”
And it may be that the children
You have led with trembling hand,
Will be found among your jewels,
When you reach the better land.

Let none hear you idly saying,
“There is nothing I can do.”
While the lost of earth are dying,
And the Master calls for you;
Take the task He gives you gladly;
Let His work your pleasure be;
Answer quickly when He calls you,
“Here am I, send me, send me.”

———————
More from the For the Love of Hymns series:

Part One: Oh the Bliss of the Purified
Part Two: Not Now My Child
Part Three: Take My Life and Let it Be
Part Four: There is a Fountain
Part Five: He Knows
Part Six: All My Hope on God is Founded
Part Seven: In Heavenly Love Abiding
Part Eight: Japheth Song
Part Nine: What Child is This
Part 10: Man of Sorrows
Part 11: Arise, My Soul, Arise
Part 12: The Gospel Brings Tidings

The command has been issued: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” (Colossians 3:16a).

So we read, we study, we meditate, we memorize, we sing. We sit ourselves before the buffet of Scripture and stuff ourselves silly.

Rehearsing the truths of God’s Word one to another helps drill it into our hearts and is part of the process of rooting and grounding ourselves in the love of God through faith in Christ (Ephesians 3:17), because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17).

Bottom line: We need the Word to fulfill the Word.

Singing songs rich in theology and Gospel truth serve this process well.

The following hymn is drenched in truth and causes my heart and eyes to soar to the One who quenched Mount Sinai’s flame and seated us, rebels who committed cosmic treason against our Creator, at His table, robed in His righteousness. Amazing.

This hymn isn’t on CyberHymnal, and I haven’t been able to find when it was written, but it’s beautiful and has helped the Word to dwell in my heart richly this week. I hope it helps you to say the same.

The Gospel Brings Tidings

Words by William Gadsby (1773–1844)

The gospel brings tidings, glad tidings indeed,
To mourners in Zion, who want to be freed,
From sin and Satan, and Mount Sinai’s flame,
Good news of salvation, through Jesus the Lamb.

What sweet invitations, the gospel contains,
To men heavy laden, with bondage and chains;
It welcomes the weary, to come and be blessed,
With ease from their burdens, in Jesus to rest.

For every poor mourner, who thirsts for the Lord,
A fountain is opened, in Jesus the Word;
Their poor parched conscience, to cool and to wash,
From guilt and pollution, from dead works and dross.

A robe is provided, their shame now to hide,
In which none are clothed, but Jesus’ bride;
Though it be costly, yet is the robe free,
And all Zion’s mourners, shall decked with it be.

———————
More from the For the Love of Hymns series:

Part One: Oh the Bliss of the Purified
Part Two: Not Now My Child
Part Three: Take My Life and Let it Be
Part Four: There is a Fountain
Part Five: He Knows
Part Six: All My Hope on God is Founded
Part Seven: In Heavenly Love Abiding
Part Eight: Japheth Song
Part Nine: What Child is This
Part 10: Man of Sorrows
Part 11: Arise, My Soul, Arise

I thought the assignment would be “so easy.”

The task was simple: engage someone in conversation—asking about her life, work, class load, or even her past or dreams for the future—and then don’t interrupt a single time while she shared.

I’ll never forget receiving this assignment as a junior in college. I considered myself a good listener and was excited for what I expected to be an easy A.

Then I learned how often I was prone to interrupting.

It was the next day, as one of my dear friends shared her heart over a mug of coffee, that I quickly realized this assignment was, in fact, not going to be easy for me. It became apparent how natural it was for me to interject my own stories as people shared theirs. I wanted to show I identified, but Anna didn’t need my points of identification, she just needed someone who would love her enough to push their own words aside and listen.

Three years later, I now see how God used that assignment to begin teaching me more about the Gospel I said I believed and the way it directly correlates to serving others with our ears.

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger… –James 1:19

Sitting with Anna in that small cafe on campus, my pride took a much-needed blow by the stinging reality that I was neither quick to hear or slow to speak, but I had yet to discover the Gospel implications behind that reality.

LISTENING HELPS US LOVE OTHERS

It is through words people give us their stories and hearts, so why would we not take time to learn to cherish that gift and represent Christ well by listening well?

We must discipline our flesh (which includes our tongues) and cultivate the art, gift, and mission of listening. This is counter-cultural and, while foreign to most people, extraordinarily like Jesus, who didn’t just tolerate people’s stories, concerns, or requests, but listened, assessed, and gave them exactly what they needed most. He still seeks to operate this way through His body, the church.

One of the best gifts you can give someone is open ears and an engaged heart at the same time. Roaring into every conversation with our guns fully loaded with the “right” answers to fire at people is not always the most helpful or loving approach to serving others and being a visible representation of God to them.

Some people are verbal processors and they might answer their own questions as they continue talking, so it’s often best and more beneficial to give them freedom to remove their verbal cargo and not rush to give them specific chapter and verse. And sometimes people are so overwhelmed that what they need most is not a five-point sermon or a drill of proper doctrine, but the cathartic gift of silence and eyes full of love when they’re braced for condemnation and a tongue-lashing (this is especially true when creating space for repentance and confession of sin and struggles).

We must also remember that listening isn’t passive. It’s an active and self-sacrificing role that, according to Janet Dunn, “invites another person to exist.”

With open ears, solid eye contact, and a phone put away, you’re telling someone, “I see you. I hear you. I’m championing you across the table and in the midst of your struggle or victory. You are not alone.”

LISTENING SPEAKS

When genuine, listening speaks of love, humility, kindness, compassion, and concern. It speaks of the Gospel and that we have something greater than ourselves to live for, so we can quiet our souls enough to interestedly listen to others.

Listening forces our dependence on the Holy Spirit and silently affirms that He, not our words, is what the person beside us needs most. We listen to Him through His Word and Spirit and then, when the time comes for us to speak, our words are more likely to be seasoned with salt and ready to point our listeners back to Him, because listening mainly speaks of the Gospel.

For the ways listening speaks of the Gospel and for more content like this, check out the free RTM Magazine on iPhone, iPad,Android, or on the web.

The September/October RTM Magazine is all about the Gospel and relationships.

Interactive content includes articles about marriage, parenting, listening, relating to God in a smart phone society, and our desire to fix people.

Find these stories and other helpful resources in the new {free} RTM Magazine.

I remember the day.

I remember where I was sitting.
I remember what was happening.
I remember the exact moment God seared the nations on my heart.

God wrecked my pre-established life plans at the 2010 Passion Conference in Atlanta.

Before Passion launched the End It movement to shine a light on human slavery, they had Do Something Now, a campaign which God used tremendously in my life to quite literally expand my horizons and burden my heart for His global glory.

As I listened to Louie Giglio and a panel of other influential Christian leaders, God pulled me another step outside of myself and opened my eyes to see more of His heart for the world than ever before.

I applied for my passport the day I came home.

Two months later, I was on a plane headed to Ecuador to share the Gospel in my first overseas experience during a spring break trip with my university’s Baptist campus ministry.

And now, six years later, God has taken me on short-term trips to six countries on four different continents for the purpose of serving His global church and joining with them to bring more worshippers to His throne.

There have been some extraordinarily awesome trips and some excruciatingly painful ones. Some that seemed to be led by the Holy Spirit and others that seemed more like we humans were producing more trouble than triumph.

Those trips have been with different organizations and different leaders and, taking what little I’ve experienced, I have set out to write the five things I would most like to tell those who have humbly taken me and others abroad for the sake of God’s name among the nations.

1. Thank you for loving the God of the nations and taking us to Him in the world.

Thank you for being mindful of the reality that “The church of God does not have a mission in the world. The God of mission has a church in the world” (Christopher Wright), and teaching us to join Him in His activity around us, whether in our neighborhoods or across the world. Your love and zeal to make Jesus’ name hallowed on earth as it is in heaven spurs us on and creates an eagerness to follow you as you follow Him.

2. Thank you for recognizing we signed up for a mission trip, not a vacation.

We’re here to serve God and people. To sightsee and explore are perks, not necessities, so thank you for stewarding our schedule to maximize the limited time we’re with the beautiful people in that area. Adventure is what you make it and we can always return if we want to see the sights. Thank you for focusing our hearts and attention on the kingdom and God’s glory and not just landmarks and geography.

3. Thank you for not acting like you have it all together.

We can relate to struggle so when you let us see that it immediately connects our hearts with yours. On the other hand, when you act like you have it all together and nothing bothers you, we can’t relate to that pseudo-perfectionism. In fact, it just causes more division between us. Clothing yourself in humility and allowing us to see the real you—including the times before and during our trip when you don’t know what’s happening any more than we do—helps us 1) see Christ and 2) know how to pray for you, and we desperately want to help you fight the fight of faith as much as you want to help us do the same. We don’t need you to have it all together. We need you to show us Christ. Thank you for recognizing you do that more in weakness than strength.

4. Thank you for asking us how we’re doing and what we’re seeing God do.

It’s always a gift when someone asks those questions. Thank you for giving us that gift and letting us use our voices. And when you actually take what we say and implement it, you empower us to continue using our gifts not just for the Lord but also for the team (which, in turn, honors the Lord). Thank you for giving up control and delegating, letting us share the burden and feel the responsibility and weight of the mission we are called to. Thank you for remembering we might process things differently than you or others on the team and for listening to us and seeking out how to best utilize and get the most out of our strengths.

5. Thank you for all the things you do that no one but God sees.

From ordering plane tickets to organizing communication with contact people to corralling the team in airports and buses to diligently praying over us and the work: you are so appreciated. We don’t fully understand how much effort it takes to do even a weeklong trip across an ocean (or state). I’m sorry for all the questions we asked that would have been answered if we had just let you continue talking. Thank you for your patience with us and for the hours of work and sacrifice that you have made for the glory of God, the smoothness of our trip, and the joy of those we’re going to serve alongside. Your grace-driven labors have never been wasted or in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).

For more interactive content and resources like this, download the free July/August RTM Magazine. 

By Monica Hall

Often, there is much underlying fear when it comes to deciding how women can and should lead in the church.

Women in complementarian churches who have obvious spiritual gifts of leadership may fear being squelched, being dismissed, or not permitted to lead in any capacity. Sadly, there are contexts in which this is a valid concern. Just as male headship can be distorted by sin into overbearing male dominance in the home, this can also happen in the church if the leadership is not carefully walking with the Spirit. When women are not taken seriously simply because they are women, they will stop seeking avenues to exercise their gifts, and every area of the church will be dysfunctional as a result.

This dilemma of how women should serve in the church can also cause the church as a whole to respond in fear. Scripture clearly teaches that there are indeed some limits on the ways women can serve. However, some churches may be so fearful of violating those limitations that they move the boundary line further and further in until women are not allowed to do much of anything. This is not always due to a distortion of the teaching on headship, as mentioned above, but instead could simply be from fear of inadvertently letting a woman step out of bounds. These churches may have unwritten rules that women are not permitted to pray publicly, speak in a business meeting, give testimony, or read Scripture during the worship service, etc.

When churches refuse to recognize that women are completely capable of serving outside of the nursery and the fellowship meals, they are perpetuating the argument of egalitarians and unbelievers alike that the complementarian teachings of headship and submission result in the degradation of women.

Churches that distort the teachings of gender roles in the church—whether by a sinful dismissal of the capabilities of women or by a fear of overstepping the bounds of Scripture—will be stunted, unhealthy churches. How could they be anything otherwise, when they are neglecting to exercise the gifts and abilities of half the church body?

There is yet another reason women may fear being held down in church service even in churches that value and celebrate the gifts of women. Perhaps this unfounded fear has nothing to do with church culture but goes all the way back to the Garden. After the great Fall, God said to the woman, “Your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you” (Gen. 3:16). This is where the battle of the sexes began, and since that day, women have had a desire to dominate men, generally speaking. A flip side of this is that they also have a fear that men will end up dominating them.

A woman’s fear that she will be undervalued in her church may simply be a result of that fateful day in Eden. If this is the case, she needs to confess that fear to the Lord and ask Him to help to think on things that are true (Phil. 4:8), specifically that her church leadership would probably rejoice if she steps up and volunteers her abilities for the good of the church body. Then she needs to obey the prompting of the Spirit, offer her service, and serve joyfully within the appropriate boundaries of Scripture.

For the rest of the article and for more interactive content and resources like this, download the free July/August RTM Magazine.