Mission – Get Involved!
By Ted N. C. Wilson
We are living in a time of unprecedented change. God asks His remnant people, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, to prepare the way of the Lord, to receive the power of the Holy Spirit through the latter rain, and to be involved in His mission.
It is time for the final loud cry. . .the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels’ messages. Each of us is called to partner with the Heavenly Sower, Jesus Christ, in participating in the mission of the church to proclaim God’s last message of love, righteousness, redemption, and the prophetic warning heralding Christ’s soon return.
Total Member Involvement means everyone doing something for the Lord! Everyone a sower, everyone involved in mission, everyone saying, “Yes, Lord, I will go and proclaim your Word!” As our 2022 General Conference Session theme says, “Jesus is Coming! Get involved!”
The gospel of Mark, chapter 4, records Jesus speaking to thousands by the Sea of Galilee. Around them on the plain and hillsides beyond, the listeners could see sowers and reapers busily casting seed and harvesting the early grain.
Using the scene as an illustration, Jesus said, “’Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirty-fold, some sixty, and some a hundred.’ And He said to them, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’” (Mark 4:3-9, NKJV)
“The sower sows the word” (Mark 4:14). Matthew 13:37 indicates that the Sower of good seed is the Son of Man, Jesus Christ. In that wonderful volume, Christ’s Object Lessons, page 36, Ellen White says, “His servants in like manner must go forth to sow.” It is our privilege, as followers of Christ in these last days of earth’s history, to partner with Him in His mission by sowing seeds of truth.
The passage continues. “And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts” (v. 15). The precious Word of God falls on the ears of inattentive hearers like a hard pathway that has no depth.
Verses 16-17 say, “These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately, they stumble.”
This seed cannot find deep soil to grow. Since the roots do not go deep into the soil of communion with Christ every day, persecution and temptation take their toll. “Many feel a sense of estrangement from God, a realization of their bondage to self and sin; they make efforts for reform; but they do not crucify self” (Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 48). Stay close to God and resist being a “stony-ground” hearer.
“Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (vs. 18, 19). Again from Christ’s Object Lessons: “Grace can thrive only in the heart that is being constantly prepared for the precious seeds of truth” (p. 50). Stay close to the Lord through a study of the Bible, the Spirit of Prophecy and constant prayer.
“But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit; some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred” (v. 20). God intends that all of us will be “good-ground hearers” trusting implicitly in the righteousness of Christ, and saying, “Lord, I Will Go” sow Your Word. Everyone has a part to play in God’s last great mission of warning and hope.
“Jesus is coming! Get involved!”
Ted N.C. Wilson is the President of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
Heart Challenge
Every sermon we hear, every Scripture we read, God is sowing seeds. Often it is very encouraging, at times it can be challenging, but we can rest assured, that God’s powerful Word will do its intended work in our hearts and lives if we let Him, that is if we receive the Word, digest it, keep it, and do it.
The purpose of receiving God’s word and letting it transform our lives is so that we can share its good news message with the people around us. The Divine Sower makes us co-laborers with Him. Will you open your heart to receive His seeds today? Will you join His mission to share His seeds with whoever He brings across your path?
Prayer Requests
● Pray for a fresh understanding of God’s Word and for an open heart so that the Word can reshape your personal beliefs and values.
● Pray for our brothers and sisters in Shanghai.
● Pray for courage for our church members in Russia and Ukraine.
● Pray for a children’s book and magazine that have recently been written specifically for the Ukrainian people, that these special resources will be timely and reach many hearts for the kingdom.
● Pray that the appeal “Jesus is Coming! Get Involved!” will take urgent priority in your daily life.
Resources to Go Deeper
How to Be Part of Total Member Involvement
Join 24/7 United in Prayer
Join other believers from around the world praying together on Zoom during the 40 Days of Prayer: https://247unitedprayer.org