What Wilt Thou?
Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? This question embodied the life of the Apostle Paul. He was ready to hear and to obey the Lord’s direction... wherever, whenever, however, and whatever that meant. He was continually seeking the leading of the Holy Spirit throughout his Christian life; and God kept sending him, step-by-step, to the next person, to the next village, to the next city, and to the next region.
Why is this particular working and leading of the Lord so scarce and, in many cases, totally foreign to many Christians today? What can be done to remedy this problem?
First, we must see revival in our personal lives! One missions historian concluded of the 1800s,
[This] is the century of missions largely because it has been also, beyond any other, a century of revivals, of quickened and purified spiritual life. In large measure, modern missions are the direct product of revivals.
Second, we must have a restoration of Biblical missions outreach. We are commanded to GO! According to one commentator, the word go means an aggressive warfare. The Gospel army must go to all nations. We have marching orders!
Third, we must return to a daily seeking for God’s direction in missions. History records that at Andover Seminary in 1820, one hundred students regularly met together for the sole purpose of collecting materials concerning missions to “enable each member to determine whether it is his duty to become a missionary.”
Actively seek personal revival! Actively seek to witness to lost souls! Actively seek God’s perfect will for your life! Another Century of Missions will be the fruit of such a worthy pursuit. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?
The Will of the Lord Be Done
These words are found in Acts 21. The account stands as a testimony that God does direct His servants into adverse and dangerous circumstances.
There are some modern-day Apostle Pauls reading this article right now. The Lord of the Harvest still compels you to go where most others would not dare to tread. Let your cry be, “The will of the Lord be done!” and GO without delay.
No door is closed too tightly and no restriction is placed too heavily upon any nation or people for whom Christ died.
And what of us fellow-believers? Will we respond like those of Paul’s company and like those of the house of Philip the Evangelist? When the Lord calls forth one from our midst – pastor or layman, son or daughter, young person or elder – what shall we say then?
Let us reject the call of the cowardly and unbelieving. When the cries of “It’s too dangerous!” or “That country is closed!” or “They kill Christians there!” become so loud as to tempt our Pauls to falter, let us stand as one and proclaim all the louder, “The will of the Lord be done!”
Let us send our Pauls with fervent prayer, financial provision, and a final proclamation:
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before!
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe; forward into battle, see His banner go!