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The Spirit of The Missionary: Examining the Ideal Picture of Who an Envoy of Christ Is

Today we would be concluding in this mission month with this Evening Bible School; The spirit of the Missionary. We are looking at the spirit of the missionary. It is often said that every person carries a unique spirit. When we talk about the spirit of the missionary, we are talking about what makes that missionary different, what makes that missionary unique. When somebody comes into this place for example, the person could say “there is a spirit of this organization, there is a spirit of this community.” Meaning that the person has identified something about the way we behave, our conduct, our attribute as a people. He could say “there is a spirit at work in that house, this is a common way that this people behave.” And while we are looking at the spirit of the missionary, we will be looking at important things. We will first look at how that missionary came in contact with that spirit. That’s the first thing we are going to look at.

 

Then we will look at the description of that spirit. So, we want to first look at how a missionary is identified with his or her spirit and the description of that spirit. We will start by observing from Galatians 4 and I will read from verse 1-7. “Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, 2 but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.” An heir or the heir as long as he is a child, is not different from a slave though in true sense, he is the master of all, but will be under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.

 

Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

 

Verse 1-7 of Galatians 4 gave us an introduction of the identity of the spirit of a missionary. It says “as long as the heir is a child, that heir is not different from a slave.” So, the heir even though he is the master of all, he is put and subjected to guidance and stewards until the time appointed by the father. Meaning that, as children of God; God does not, from this Scripture we see clearly, that God will not entrust His estate to a child. God will not entrust His inheritance to a child. God is always about Sons. The heir has full authority in sonship, the heir has full right in sonship. Meaning that every heir in this kingdom is a son. They are potential heirs of the kingdom and inheritance of Christ who have become born again but are still children. So, they cannot lay hold of the things that God has freely given to us, and made available in Christ Jesus because they are still children.

 

What qualifies you for your inheritance in the kingdom is not your age in the physical, it is not your chronological age, but your maturity in the Spirit. That makes us to understand that God is all about your maturity. God will not hand down what belongs to you, until you mature into it. So, in the kingdom, inheritance is not given on face value or by eye service, it is not given by the skin color or how you look. Inheritances are handed down in the kingdom according to your maturity. You mature into your inheritance. And this verse makes us to understand that because of the maturity that is attained, the heir has full authority. And that’s why it says; when the fullness of time came, God gave us an inheritance in His Son. And it says in verse 5: to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” And that brings about a transition, from being slaves to becoming sons.

 

So, missionaries are not children, missionaries are sons. If you will look carefully through the Scripture, especially going to Matthew 28 which I would love us to turn our Bibles to; Matthew 28:18-20. When Jesus was giving instructions in that verse, see what He said; “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.So, I have the inheritance, I possess all that you need. And then it says in verse 19; Go therefore.” Because this is possible in me, authority is in Me, I have it, the inheritance is not lost, it has been regained in Christ. It says: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you”

 

If you see the tone of this statement, Jesus was handing down instructions and authority to a people. When you look at the tone of that statement, was He handing it down to children? No! He was handing it down to sons. And the assignment is clear: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” Meaning that missionaries are special envoys, they are messengers of the kingdom, they are representatives and ambassadors of Christ. This call says; “teaching them to observe all things, I have commanded you and low I am with you always even to the end of the age.” So, we see that the identity of a missionary is clear. The identity of this missionary gave us like a peep into the kind of spirit that this missionary carries.  

 

We have missionaries, but we are looking at ‘the missionary’. Because when you get to a place, and they say “there are boys here”, it is not defined. But when they say “the boy.” It means there is a particular boy in question. In fact, attention is being placed on that person. So, we are looking at “the missionary”, and not “a missionary.” We are looking at an ideal picture of who an envoy of Christ, an ambassador of Christ, a messenger and a representative of Christ. What ideal picture should that person have? What is the kind of spirit that person must carry? And that’s what we are looking at. So, we understood from that place that missionaries are sons because they are adopted into sonship.

 

Now I want us to go to Romans 8:1, because we are looking at the identity of the spirit of that missionary. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” I want you to be careful about the location. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Why? “who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Verse 8-9. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”

 

This is also validating what we read in Galatians 4. God gave us His Son’s Spirit. Every missionary is called to the Spirit and not to the flesh. But note the Spirit we are talking about, describing from Galatians 4 that we read, verse 1-7 and this Romans 8:8-9, the Spirit of Christ. Every missionary in the kingdom is called to the Spirit of Christ, and not to the flesh, very important. That same Romans 8 we will read verse 14, also buttressing the same point. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” As many that are led, called into the Spirit they are the sons of God, they are the true missionaries. 

 

Because we live in a world where there is a mix-up, we have mixed multitude. In fact, from the early church, Apostle Paul has said it, there are false teachers, there are false prophets, there are also false sons of God. Because the Bible says they are the ones that have the appearance of godliness but they deny the power therein. So, all they have is a form. When you see a false missionary, he has the form of godliness but deny the power. A false missionary is a false son of God.  A false missionary is a missionary that has a form, an appearance, the person says “praise the Lord, hallelujah, the person sits the way we sit, the person composes and pretends for a while”, but the true spirit of Christ is not in such a person. A form of godliness, an appearance of godliness but denying the power.

 

Missionaries in the kingdom are representatives, they are sons of the kingdom. They carry in them the Spirit of Christ. When you come across a missionary in the kingdom, that person carries the Spirit of Christ. I want us to go to Mark 16, because when Jesus was describing and giving the assignment to those that He wanted to send forth, see what He said in Mark 16:15-18; And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” And He said; “these signs, these evidences, these proves will follow those who believe. In My name because they carry the Spirit, in My name, because they have my authority; “they will cast out demons, they will not just have a form of godliness, they will have the spirit and also have the power, they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

 

These are true missionaries. Jesus gave us a description of the missionaries that He was sending out. The man/woman that carries the Spirit of Christ, has the power of Christ. The man, the woman that carries the Spirit of Christ, carries the authority of Christ. So, the spirit of the missionary is the Spirit of Christ. So, if you see any missionary that does not carry the Spirit of Christ, such a missionary is a false missionary. True missionaries are missionaries that carry the Spirit of Christ. Now this Spirit of Christ can be described. Jesus said: “by their fruit you shall know them.” He said: “a tree is known by its fruits.” So, for you to know true missionaries, the fruits of Christ will be evident in their lives.

 

Galatians 5:22-23, giving us a detailed description of the Spirit of Christ. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law” This is the description of the fruits of the Spirit of Christ. So, everyone that calls his or herself a missionary, is one that has the Spirit of Christ. So, let’s say that the Spirit of Christ is the tree in the life that person, that tree has fruits and these are the fruits of that tree: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. These 9 fruits are the fruits of the tree of the Spirit of Christ. When Jesus was going, He said “I will not leave you as orphans.” When I was around you were in my custody, I am going, howbeit, I will not leave you as orphans. You will be in the custody of the Holy Spirit and He started describing to us what the Holy Spirit will do for us.

 

One of the important things He said about the Holy Spirit is that the Holy Spirit will become our helper. And what does that mean? Sometimes we undermine the extent of what the Holy Spirit can do for us. We undermine the capacity of the Holy Spirit. He said “the Holy Spirit will be your helper.” Another translation says; “He will be your stand-by.” Meaning that, anything you need help with in the fulfilment of your mission, the Holy Spirit is there for you. When Jesus was on the earth, anything His disciples needed, Jesus was there for them.  When Jesus said He is going and “another”, does it not talk about a replacement? The things I used to do for you, He will also do for you, when Jesus was on the face of the earth, and they needed to pay tax did Jesus tell them to go into the fields and work? No!

 

He gave instructions on what to do and the tax was paid. When they were struggling to cast out a demon from a boy, what did Jesus do? Jesus came, gave them instruction and told them why they were not able to cast out the demon. And He cast out the demon from the boy. So, Jesus was teaching them, He was leading them, He was comforting them. So, everything Jesus was to the disciples and the apostles, is all that the Holy Spirit is to us. When the mother in-law of Peter was sick, Jesus went to the house laid hands on the mother in-law and she recovered. Jesus felt if your mother-in-law will be the reason why you will not be effective in ministry, I will take care of it. That’s how the Holy Spirit takes care of us. Why? Because we are in His custody.

 

Remember where we read in Esther 2, the women were in the custody of Hagel and everything they needed, including allowances, Hagel gave to them. Was Hagel the source of the resources? No! But he has been instructed, he has been empowered, he has been released and commissioned for that assignment. The same way the Holy Spirit has been commissioned to help us on our mission on the earth. So, we are not alone. That’s why Jesus when He was concluding His statement in Mark 16, He said; “low I Am with you always” is Jesus physically present with us? No! But He has not changed His mind about that statement because, the Holy Spirit has been commissioned.

 

So, the Spirit that empowers, that strengthens the missionary is the Spirit of Christ; the Holy Spirit. Every missionary is as weak as his engagement with the Holy Spirit. Every missionary is as powerful as his engagement with the Holy Spirit. Missionaries that you see doing great things, actually fulfilling their mission, is because they have made up their minds and they have positioned themselves to engage the Spirit of Christ in their mission. That is why the Holy Spirit is here, that is why He was commissioned to help us. That is why there is no mission, that is bigger than the resources that He has made available. When Jesus was saying “go into all the nations and disciple them”, He was not looking at our limitation, He was looking at the capacity of the Holy Spirit that Has been commissioned for that assignment. That is why we should not shrink back in fear, our boldness in the mission field, is the boldness we have received from our engagement with the Holy Spirit.

 

He said “He is our helper.” Who helps you on the mission? The Holy Spirit. When things are not going the way you want, who comforts you in the journey? The Holy Spirit. You can’t do this life without Him. You can’t do this mission without Him; He is the Spirit of the missionary. If your mission is to pray for nations and intercede, you can’t do it in your strength. The Bible says “It is the Holy Spirit that makes intercessions for us through groanings that cannot be uttered.” He helps us to pray. If your mission is to preach the word, it is the Holy Spirit that enables you, that opens up your mouth and fills it. He is your helper. So, as missionaries on the earth. We can do little or nothing without the Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit of the missionary. Every missionary commissioned by God, can only succeed when they are led by the Holy Spirit. Every missionary on the earth can only arrive at their destination haven submitted to the Holy Spirit.

 

The Holy Spirit has modus operandi for every missionary. Modus operandi talks about method of operation. You can’t engage the Holy Spirit without His fruits. The Holy Spirit flows with you to the degree which you flow with Him. So, there is a method of operation of the Holy Spirit. There is a guideline. Modus operandi can be defined as “a particular way or method of doing something.” So, in the kingdom, in your mission, that you are collaborating with the Holy Spirit to fulfil on the earth, there is a modus operandi for it. There is a particular way or method of doing it. So, the fruits of the Spirit, talks about the modus operandi or the rules of engagement of the Spirit. It talks about the internal rules and directives that the Holy Spirit gives to you on your mission.

 

It is always about what goes on inside you more than what goes on outside you. The reason why many of us in the church miss out on this modus operandi is because we are too focused on showing it on the outside than we are about it transforming us on the inside.  And the way the kingdom has been structured, we live our lives from the inside-out, not from the outside-in. So, the modus operandi and the rules of engagement of the Spirit are:

 

Number One: Love! Unselfish concern for others, affection for pthers is one of the major rules of engagement of the Holy Spirit. You can’t walk with the Holy Spirit and you walk outside love. It won’t work. So, to walk with Him, you must walk in love, it is part of the rules of engagement.

 

Number Two: Joy! You must be glad, there must be joy overflow. The Bible says; “and with joy will draw water from the wells of salvation.” Joy is an important rule of engagement if you will collaborate and walk with the Holy Spirit in the fulfilment of your mission. You must be joyful and that’s why Apostle Paul said; “rejoice in the Lord always and I say rejoice” because joy is important, it is a rule of engagement. He understood it. 1 Corinthians 13 apostle Paul understood that without love, even though he prophecies, even though he does mighty miracles and he gives his body to be burned without love which is the principal rule of engagement, it does not amount to much. The mission can’t work. These are the rules of engagement. You can’t engage the Holy Spirit and you engage Him outside love. You can’t engage Him outside joy.

 

Number Three. Peace! You must have inner peace. Peace that subdues, forbearance, peace that subdues situations. When things are going on the outside, you must have your inner peace. Nothing missing, nothing broken, you are still looking steadfastly at God. Your attention is still on God. It is part of the rules of engagement. You can’t engage the Holy Spirit outside peace. You must engage Him in peace because He is the Spirit of peace.

 

Number Four. Patience or longsuffering! How do you act while you are waiting for the promises of God to come to pass in your life? Are you jittery? Are you saying all manner of things? Can you endure? That’s part of the mission, you can’t survive the mission field if you don’t have longsuffering, you don’t have patience. The Scripture says; “and with patience we will be able to obtain the promise.” So, we can’t obtain the promise of our mission without patience. It is part of the rules of engagement.

 

Number Five. Gentleness or Kindness! It talks about your heart of compassion. Many of the things Jesus did when He walked on the face of the earth, were driven by compassion. He will look at the people and He will have compassion on them. And those were the things that drove the mighty moves of God in the ministry of Jesus. Compassion is part of the rules of engagement. These are like wings in which the Holy Spirit rides in our lives to help us fulfil our mission. We ride with it with the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit flaps His wings and He takes us on a ride, you must be able to balance on His wings and these are things that makes you obtain that balance. Gentleness, kindness, compassion, they must be in action. You must show it, you must live it. And you can’t give what you don’t have. It has to come from inside you.

 

Number Six. Goodness! You must have the virtue of goodness. Benevolence. It is part of the rules of engagement. You can’t have a successful mission without these things. And they all sum together as one. That is why it’s called the fruit; you can’t separate them. You can’t say number one to five I can do, number six to nine, no! they are one, they are in unity.

 

Number Seven. Faithfulness! Faith, loyal commitment. Your commitment to God, your commitment to the word, must be unwavering. Faith; you must believe God; you must be loyal and committed to Him. It is an important rule of engagement. And these are the things.

 

Number Eight. Meekness! Meekness talks about humility of heart. You must humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, you must submit yourself to God in humility. These are the things that makes you as a son to please God. Without these you cannot please God, you will not be pleasing to Him. Humility of heart, because God resist the proud but He gives grace to the humble.

 

Number Nine. Self-Control! Self-control does not come if you don’t have strength in your spirit. So, self-control talks about the strength of your spirit and character. How strong are you in the Spirit? That tells of how much you are able to practice self-restraints and temperance. These are the things that are required for a successful mission. This is the description of the Spirit of the missionary. The missionary that God calls for the assignment is one that has love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control. These are the rules of engagement, these are the method of operation, the modus operandi of every mission that God assigns His sons. If you don’t operate within these rules, your mission is not acceptable to God.

 

That’s why in 1 Corinthians 13 apostle Paul was talking about the fact that these things are empty without love, I can’t amount to much, I can’t do much. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith” Do you see descriptions of spiritual gifts? Even though I have all these fantastic spiritual gifts, if I don’t have the virtue, the fruits of the Spirit, He said I am nothing. So, a missionary that does not possess in entirety the Spirit of Christ, is nothing. Even though you possess the biggest auditorium in the entire universe, have branches in 200 countries of the world, if you don’t have love, if you don’t operate within the method of the operation of the Holy Spirit, you are nothing.

 

It says; And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” Any mission outside the method of operation of the Holy Spirit profits nothing. Any missionary outside the rules of engagement of the Holy Spirit is nothing. No matter how big your cathedral is, no matter how many people are following you, if you are not led by the Holy Spirit, you are nothing. That’s why we are going to be praying that prayer we prayed in Esther chapter 2:

“Lord help me to stay and remain in the custody of the Holy Spirit. I will not operate outside His rules and instructions for my life.”

 

Amen!!!

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