Assembly responsibilities toward missionaries are explored, emphasizing the missionary's understanding of their relationship to the assembly that commends them. The sermon highlights the importance of participation in assembly testimony and activities, using the example of Barnabas in Acts 11:22-26, who was sent to Antioch and ministered to believers. It stresses the need for information, preparation, and a willing heart, drawing parallels with Abraham's obedience and Paul's conversion. The message concludes by detailing the process of commendation, emphasizing that missionaries are sent by the Holy Spirit, not mission boards, and are commended to the grace of God for the work, with ongoing communication and prayerful support from the assembly being crucial.
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I'd like to give some practical suggestions from the standpoint of the missionary, as our brother J.B. Nicholson is going to give us this afternoon from the standpoint of the assemblies. The first of the thoughts I would like to speak about is the participation in the pre-commendation time. And maybe some of you young people who are concerned, you would know the Lord's will for your lives, and I'd like to speak just a little bit about that. participation in assembly testimony. Because when we go out to these lands, we go out because we have the conviction that we're on scriptural ground. We don't go through a mission board.
We don't go assigned by any group to a certain task. And yet we're not freelance workers. We're not independent workers. And this is, I might say, one of the things I would like to emphasize, that is the relationship of the assembly to the missionaries, but I'm working from the standpoint of the missionary's understanding of his relationship to the assembly, which commands him. The preparation would have to do with a participation, first of all. If you notice, I put little letters here. You could just follow that along if you like, or make any notes along the line and questions, too, if you want to.
The first I said the participation in assembly testimony. Because as a functioning member of the body of Christ, there is the opportunity and the responsibility to participate in body growth, if I can use that expression, the growth of the body of Christ, depending on the work of every individual in the assembly. And in participating in the growth of the local assembly, there is participation in the body of Christ, the whole church universal. And so, first of all, I would say this is essentially one of the essential points, functioning ready of the body of Christ to exercise spiritual gifts to build up the local church.
And thus contribute to the work of the church universal. I mean to say all those believers who are members of the body of Christ are bound together with him and recognize him as the Lord, the head of the church, but in participating in the local replica of this, which is a part of it, having the same what, acknowledging the headship of Christ in the local meetings and looking for the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the functioning. These opportunities are ours on a local level to participate in the worldwide level worldwide level of the church. Therefore, on considering the possibility or not considering the possibility, all believers should be functioning members of the body of Christ on a local level and thus on a universal level.
The second point I emphasize in that is available always for cooperation in assembly activities. I was just thinking about some I have dealt with in years gone by who were exercised about going out into the work of the Lord. I remember an incident we had in Philadelphia some years ago when Brother Rogers was here. Is it D.W. Rogers, the old brother who's gone to be with the Lord just recently. I remember so well. There was a brother there and his wife who were exercised, they felt, to go out to the mission field. And as far as I was concerned, I knew there were applying Christians and so on. And they were in the Sunday school.
They'd been teaching you in the Sunday school. But Brother Rogers turned to the brother and said, Have you ever won a soldier Christ? And the brother said, No. Brother Rogers said, Well, don't you think that would be a prerequisite to when did he go out to serve the Lord on the mission for you? And I suggest that there are opportunities for you to show your gifts and your exercise And your knowledge of the scriptures in a gospel way, if you like, in the center school, with young people, hesitation, track distribution, and more practical or more material avenues like construction work, building chapels, chapels, all sorts of things like that in a practical way.
There is, if you like, there's the practical aspect of showing your fellowship in the local church. Leave with me a little bit in the eleventh chapter of Acts. I thought that this example of Barnabas might be a good one to cite the eleventh chapter of Acts. Verse twenty-two. And I quote this as, I cite this as an example of more or less the practical type of work in connection with assembly.
Twenty-two. When tidings of these things came to the ears of the church, which was in Jerusalem, they sent forth Barnabas that he should go as far as Antioch. They sent him on an errand. We have the news of Antioch, how the things were happening there. And the Lord was working in verse twenty-one, the hand of the Lord was with them, great numbers believed, and turned to the Lord. And so the assembly of believers in Jerusalem heard about this, and the apostles heard about this. And so they called Barnabas and said, Barnabas, go down, find out about this at Antioch. A practical aspect of the preparatory work of Barnabas, who was later commended as a worker.
You don't have to turn to it, but you remember in the fourth chapter of Acts, verses thirty-six and thirty-seven, Barnabas had already been interested in the Lord's work. He had some property, but he decided he wasn't going to keep that property for himself. There was need in the work of the Lord, and so he took the land and sold it, and then took the money and laid it at the apostle's feet. That idea of personal participation in the work of the Lord. And I thank God for the many who are in business and who are giving the Lord his share and considering the Lord in the use of their funds. Again, I can speak as one without ulterior motive in any sense. It's just passing on word that this is a terrific ministry for all to participate in the unselfish sharing of funds.
But I suggest that as someone who might later be commended to think of participating in the financial needs and in the the ordinary errands and the ordinary activities of the church, including under our verse A there, for example, these definite opportunities to which you can give yourself to the work of the Lord, but always in association with the local assembly. And then staying in the same chapter a little bit, then verse twenty-three, when He went down there to Antioch.
When he came to Antioch, this is Acts, verse eleven, twenty-three, when he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, rejoicing that the Lord is blessing. Soldiers say dear in Antioch, and he was glad. And he exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cling to the Lord. He's exercised about ministering to believers that they might be faithful and be built up in the faith and cling to the Lord. He rejoiced in that as well. And I went and put in the number three year ministry in the gospel and to strengthen believers. And we have the example of that in Acts, eleven to twenty-three. And in the gospel, in twenty-four, he was a righteous man.
And this, of course, suggests his manner of life, his personal character. A man who is able to minister the script, minister the word, whether it's a platform ministry, or whether it's a personal ministry, is according to the gift the Lord gives. But in any case, he knows the Scriptures. He's a man who studies the Word. He digs into the Scriptures to be able to have something to give to others. In the Gospel here in the twenty-fourth verse, he was a righteous man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And many people were added to the Lord through his ministry. This is Barnabas. down there and preaching the word of God, interested in all it has to do with the assembly in Jerusalem, and yet he himself feeling that drawing of the interested people yonder in Antioch, and he ministers to them in the gospel and to the believers that they would cling to the Lord.
And of course, his being there resulted in Saul coming to be at Antioch. And we have that in verse twenty-six, twenty-five. then departed Barnabas to Tarsus to seek Saul. They're seen guided by the Lord. The Lord knows all about it. He said, get Saul right down there and link him up with Barnabas and he's going to call them. And when he had found them and brought him to Antioch, it came to pass that for a whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught many people and the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. And they continued. His personal life was exemplary. He was known for his godliness and his spirituality and faith, verse twenty-four.
His own personal life was exemplary. He's an avid Bible student, loving and obeying the word and giving it out to others. And one who is exercised about serving the Lord, perhaps in a full-time capacity in some field, would want to know what it is to wait on the Lord, to know the Lord's strengthening as he supplicates his throne. So here we have in verse twenty-six in this passage, we have that Barnabas and Saul stayed there with the assembly, residents if you like. This is passing on to young people, residents being staying in the assembly, not this going hither and thither, but associating with the assembly in a loyal way, building up the assembly and relating activities to the growth of the local assembly.
And there was There were the two of them, Paul and Barnabas. They assembled themselves with a church, taught many people, and they were called Christians there at Antioch. There's a suggestion for any who are exercised, be a part of the assembly in reality. Bear a burden. Put your shoulder to the task and use the gifts God gives to you. I'm going to go into my second point, which is information. First was participation, and then I go on to information. Abraham. He went out. This is Hebrews eleven, eight. He went out not knowing whether he went.
Now, are we taking Abraham as the example of this or not? I mentioned here, and excuse this personal mention, I really was going to have that as a sort of supplementary question. handwritten note, but it got into the printed matter of the Dean's family in nineteen seventy-nine. When we were called of God to go to Africa, there was no question about it. The way the Lord called me as an individual is a story in itself, but remarkable. I knew the Lord wanted me there. To give up my career in advertising, which I was most interested and enjoying and was on my way to a junior partnership before twenty-one in a company, the Commercial Art and Engraving Company in Los Angeles.
The Lord called me and called my father, and we went out. But oh, how little we knew about Africa. Oh, how little we knew about what we were getting into. Neither of us had any knowledge of a foreign language. The Spanish in high school, that was about all I had. And we didn't know how we were going to live or what we were going to do. We were pretty much totally ignorant of what the Lord was calling us to. And yet, the call, we have no question about it. And the brethren in the local assembly there in Oakland, California, they saw that too. And my father and mother and I were commended, and the two children went along as well as part of the family. My father said to me, Bill, when we get out there to Africa, we're not going to live in these grass huts.
We're going to build bricks. You know they made bricks in Egypt. They took mud and they made it and they put straw in there. We're going to make adobe bricks. He didn't know that word adobe then, but we make adobe bricks and we're going to build houses. Well, that was pretty good. I thought that was a good idea. Yes, Dad, we'll do that. Well, we did. Actually, we went out there, but we found that those who went to join there already had adobe brick houses. They weren't living in grass huts either, because the living conditions is important for, are important for a missionary, that he's in helpful conditions in order to continue on in the work. That I learned when I went out to Lowe and I lived in a temporary house that meets and had no...
I was alone as a single man and I ate any time I felt like it and any sort of food I could get without too much attention. But the health of the missionary is important. I can just mention that too. A person who has some definite hindrance from a health standpoint should not consider going to these mission fields where health is important. And I can praise God after all these years how gracious he has been in giving health in the work, physical health in the work. So my point here is information is needed. Abraham went out not knowing whether he went. He left all the wonderful civilization.
He went into the desert. He went to the Lord. And that's commendable. But in our day it's possible to get information concerning the mission field. And I consider this very important indeed. However, the condition of heart should be ready and willing to go, wherever the Lord can use, where there's a need that fits your capabilities and your exercise. We won't take time to look it up. The time passes so quickly, but X-Nine you know Saul on the road to Damascus didn't know the Lord, but he found him there in the road to Damascus when the shining light cast him down.
as he was on his way to imprison the Christians up there in Damascus, and he fell to his feet. And he said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Who art thou, Lord? I am Jesus whom thou persecutors. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? We could speak on that passage at some length, but you know the passage as well as I. But this is the attitude of Christ, approaching commendation, a willingness to give yourself no matter what. If the Lord calls you to Alaska, okay, it's Alaska. If the Lord calls you to some of the islands of the Pacific or someplace, or some distant land, some unpleasant land, or is our brother Dick Tapworth to a land like Iran, and the Lord says, And he's a man who has experience in radio broadcasting and programming, and he goes to Iran.
And even right now, he's trying to make tapes younger in Los Angeles to send back to Iran. The country has gone to pieces, and yet the vision is still there. When I heard this about Dick Papworth, I wrote him a letter, and I said, how would you like to come out and give us some help in getting a studio ready here at Yankundi? You can give us some help in programming. He said, no, I'm going back to Iran just as soon as I can. And in the meantime, I'm getting tapes to send across the TWR radio back into Surah Iran. Lord, what will I have me to do? And the other example, which is a classic and nothing new to it in your mind, I'm sure, the sixth chapter of Isaiah, when Isaiah saw the Lord lift it up, his train filled the temple, and Isaiah...
recognize his own lack, his own need, insufficiency, but the Lord dealt with him there and the Lord cleansed him. And the Lord said, whom shall we send and who will go for us? And he replied, here am I, send me. So there is a necessity for readiness. Now quickly over these other points, because I'm not giving you references to these. This is more or less from experience and passing on things that we'd like you to know if you're exercised and seek perhaps commendation as the Lord may devise.
I mentioned the condition of heart is necessary, and then a compilation of facts, statistics, and so on. I would call this as well documentation. I was teaching a class in Canada, in Toronto, many years ago. in the Nehru's Bible school, Past Class and Missions. And I have a little room on one of the floors there, and people came for interviews there. A young man came with a very loving girl, and he said, we're thinking of getting married. And I'm a doctor, and we're searching to find out where we can serve the Lord on the mission field. We'd like to get all the information you can give us about Central Africa.
And he was getting from the Orient, he was getting information. From South America, he was getting information. And he wanted all the information from me. Compilation or the documentation. This brother eventually and his wife, we had the joy of having him come out to Nyankundi and start a hospital, which he called Taraja Congo Hospital. That is Hope Hospital in Zaire. He and his wife came out and served until the time of independence when there was confusion and went on later to do a doctorate work in Canada. Then quickly, the population wouldn't know about the language.
What kind of a language you would have to learn at that place if you're exercised about it? And the culture, the attitude of the people, and statistics about other evangelicals in the area. You're going into a section where you're going to be in complete opposition to... Evangelical groups, other evangelical groups today, should know these things before you get to the field, because we've seen many people who come out without these things, and they are disillusioned, or they have entirely another idea as to what they'll find. And you realize that there are many casualties, first-term casualties, and I think it's partly because of lack of information. And then you should know the details of existing assembly-committed work and workers.
and the government attitudes. They work well for missionaries coming at the present time. And I would say, for example, in our field of Nymcundi and Lola and Itende and Akokora in the field there, they would expect someone coming out with the gospel would always have something else to communicate in the way of a skill, a craftsman of some kind, or medical, there was medical training, or perhaps Yes, craftsmen who can build or who's a mason or a carpenter or something like that. One has some skill to communicate, perhaps radio technology, perhaps something to do with teaching, or perhaps a real exercise about children, but also interested in other things than the preaching of the gospel.
Not that I'm putting that on the second level, but that's in definite priority, but to expect in the third world, at least, They expect that you come to contribute to their well-being by teaching them to function well. Then another information, consultation with fellow missionaries from that field. The need of workers, value of a person with your qualification. I put it here, the value with inquirers qualification. You may have some special qualification. You may be a computer programmer. I'm not just sure that you'd fit right into Yankundi at that particular point, but there are certain things that you could perhaps fit into.
If you know how to program a computer, perhaps you have other skills that would just fit into the work there. And then to go, in consultation, you should know the attitude of nationals. For example, you should know that the way we went out in nineteen twenty-nine, and we sat on a kind of a throne to begin with, And we were the judges and the solvers of the problem, the troubleshooters. They wouldn't expect that nowadays because they have, in many of these countries, they would refuse to have someone from afar take a position of domination. So we should not be dominating, as Paul says in Second Corinthians chapter one, verse twenty-four.
If you want to glance at it, but I'll just give you the meaning of it. Not as dominating, but as helpers. This is Paul's attitude at the Second Corinthians one, twenty-four. They weren't a missionary, but not to dominate, not to come and be one of Cuba, as we would say in Swahili, the big man. It's not that at all. Going into humility to fit in and even take, accept the leadership out. one who has a lot less education than you, but who is a Christian, a born-again believer, perhaps an elder in the assembly, and you don't go out there and figure, well, I'm a missionary, so I'm automatically an elder in the local assembly out here. Not that attitude at all, but in humility, coming to serve.
As CMML says, you're serving for Jesus' sake, and that's the same attitude the new missionary coming to the field should have. Of course, in First Peter five, verse three, the injunction of Paul was ignored as being lords over God's heritage, but being in samples to the flock. I would like to get through this, so I'm going to push it right fast for you now, so please follow along with this outline if you have, with local assembly elders for comments and suggestions. You're getting information. You're telling the elders now, what do you think about that mission field? Do you know any workers there? Do you know about the needs there? And communicating with the assembly elders.
I feel that early in any exercise you may have concerning a field, you communicate with your elders to feel that you're a part of this assembly. And even when you go across the seas or wherever you go, that you're still very definitely associated with them in this work. And you want to have your contact with the elders that they may be up to date in your exercise. Explain your exercise of interest. And then correspond with... able, reliable missionaries, or senior missionaries on the field. I mentioned men, senior men, because sometimes from a friendship standpoint, some of the sisters are happy to invite people, more or less as friends and not coming as workers perhaps, but it's good that I feel that they correspond to me with senior men on the field to get the information and to show this to the elders.
Now this is a little facetious and under sea. If you want to get some information from missionaries, send a donation and get on their mailing list. That's a good idea from several angles. And then invite the missionary to come and visit you on furlough. I have several letters right now. When you come on furlough, will you have lunch with us? So I've got at least four lunches lined up already. And then the key point, here are some points. Let me emphasize this. I trust you all have copies of the prayer handbook. This is to us a wonderful thing because it's from this we know that people are praying for us all over the world. So be sure and use a prayer handbook.
And if you have interest in missions at all, use it every day. Don't say, I have one. It's on the shelf. I remember when I used to go and visit Squire's house there in Pittsburgh and he had how many six children? About three adopted children on top of that. And every day, when they had their breakfast and read the scriptures and daily light most of the time, actually, they had the prayer book. And this child read the prayer book that day, the prayer handbook, and this one and this one. And you hear some of those people pronouncing Kaliya Joglu and some of the others on there was really something, but they all knew the missions. And there's one of those daughters. It's a doctor now. She has her degree. And I think we'll have her in Yankundi.
That was quiet. corresponds with missionaries, invite them to visit, prayer handbook, CML, Missions Magazine. This is a must. I was over in Bermuda and I found that people don't know about the work that's being done and they would like to know, but they don't have copies. They put one exception, a Missions Magazine. We hope to correct that. And then in the Missions Magazine, there's a very valuable study month by month, they know your missionaries, and you can buy the whole thing. I've forgotten the price, six dollars and fifty cents or something. You get the whole thing together for all the fields through CML or through everyday publications up there in Canada.
These are essential. This is the source material of information. Use under God, produce like-minded assemblies of the same doctrinal and fellow supporter. Because when we go out of the mission through, it's because we're convinced that we're on scriptural ground in our home assemblies. And we go out to the field, determined under God to preach the gospel and minister the word so that those believers who gather together will gather in the same simple way, without the question of a clergy, without the question... of organization and all the things that go with a denominational structure, simply as believers.
It's good to know, as the missionary activities of these workers who are out there, produce assemblies that are the same type of assemblies as doctrinal and infellowship order as those of the assembly that has commanded you and those that are in fellowship with you. Frankly, I feel this is very important indeed. Now, quickly, commendation, because after all, my brother is going to carry this subject farther than I, because that really concerns more the assembly, and I'll not take from Brother BJ's ministry. But you should notice the difference between the mission boards appointed and the assignment and assembly commendation.
We have no mission board whatsoever, and we have no assignment from anybody. Our assignments come from the Lord. The Lord sends and the Lord directs. We've proven that in the years on the mission field. The simple scriptural precedent we have, and we must turn to the passage, although it's, we can't go into it as full perhaps, but many have. Acts thirteen. We notice that these men who had been active in the work of the Lord in the assembly are now the ones whom the Holy Spirit has chosen. The Lord is sending them. In verse two, Acts chapter two, as they ministered to the Lord, they were serving the Lord and fasted.
They were waiting on the Lord. They were before him worship and praise and adoration the person of the Lord. As they ministered and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them. And when they fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. I like rather a translation that says they loose them and let them go or they release them. This brother or sister who has been active in assembly testimony and has been working for the Lord is now exercised about going elsewhere and there is a sense of conviction on the part of the assembly and notably the elders in the assembly that certainly this is a call from God.
And so they fellowship together. and recognizing that the Holy Spirit has called this individual, and knowing the background, having good knowledge of their conduct and of their spirituality and their zeal in the work, and their avidness in scriptures, in studies of the scriptures, they express their fellowship and they use them and let them go. I go quickly along from this. The initiative is the Holy Spirit. Set with me, I have called. Verse two, recognition of responsibility by godly men after fasting to implement the Spirit's call. And so they're commended to the grace of God for the work.
I'd like to point out, we sometimes hear about people being commended for work. I don't think that's strictly spiritual or spiritual. The scripture seems to be that they're commended to the grace of God for the work, or they're commended to God for the work to which he'd called them. Just notice that as a small technical point, if you like. They're not commended to the work, but they're commended to the Lord, and they're loosed and let go, commended to the Lord, and the word of His grace. In other words, the responsibility to recognize that this individual is called to God, and the assembly recognizing this, they lay their hands upon them.
They give them the right hand of fellowship, as we have in Galatians, as Paul is writing in chapter two. They give them the right hand of fellowship, and they let them go. It isn't that they lose interest in them, but they're releasing them from the good luck they were doing in the assembly. They're willing to get along without them as far as their presence there in the assembly is concerned. They lose them and let them go. They are not commended to the work, but they're commended to the Lord. And I mentioned the verse twenty-six in fourteenth chapter. If you'd like to look at that twenty-six, the fourteenth chapter in verse twenty-six.
Well, first of all, they're commending elders. They're commending elders. They ordained elders. They indicated elders in every church, the apostles. And when they had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord. They commended them to the Lord on whom they believed. And after they had passed through these other places and preached the word, they went down to Talia. Then verse twenty-six. From there they say to Antioch, where they had been commanded to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.
Now that, of course, is the wording that we have in Scripture and certainly is the best way. They commended them to the grace of God for the work. They're before the Lord. They're the Lord's servants. The Lord's going to take care of them. The Lord's going to provide for them. Let us go on. We have the key under one commendation. Express fellowship. Touched hands, right hands of fellowship. acknowledge the call to be of God, they release them from fact to local responsibilities, they let them go. Not sent by the church, they're sent by the Holy Spirit. Now the practical significance is the assembly associated and the Spirit's call.
They know the life of the people, the stability, and they know the their godliness and their preparedness and perhaps the qualifications they have to fit into the program out there. And they let them do it, but there's an active participation of the assembly in their going forward. And there's a continued interest and care as an extension of the local testimony. I consider that when we go out in association with assemblies in this land who've commended us and who are in fellowship with us and helping us in the work, that we are out there as part of the work. It's not that seal that separates between us. We're still one. And you are interested in it as well as we.
We have a continued interest in prayer for the extension of the local testimony to a distant land. This is an extension of the local testimony to a testimony in a distant land. And this, my brother would probably give more time in this connection. Then the obligation of the missionary after commendation to confirm the assembly's confidence by dependence on the Spirit. And I was going to speak about the guidance that they have, Paul and Silas, when they were seeking guidance, where they were to go and when they were to go, when the Spirit forbid them not to go into Titania. And yet they had a cause of going to Europe, waiting in the Lord. And that type of waiting in the Lord is what the commanding assembly expects of the believers as they go forth, very definitely continuing the dependence on the Holy Spirit.
And to remember that the brethren and sisters are in close association. The work of the brother on the mission field is associated with the assembly. And the success, his name and reputation, success or otherwise, is linked with them. And then again, just a little facetious, and yet really learning it too, I was going to mention connection with guidance, for instance, Philip, how he was in Samaria there, and the angel of the Lord sent him to meet that rubic on the Gaza Road. And when he got there, the Spirit told him to join up.
There he found a literate African reading the scriptures but not understanding them. Who is the prophet in Isaiah fifty-three as he was reading there? Who is the prophet if he speaks of himself or some other man? Going as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before shears is done, so he knows it. Open it's not his mouth. Well, there's Philip with exact timing. The Holy Spirit sent him, and he got to the very verse he needed help on. How can I understand except some man helped me? Guidance of the Holy Spirit. So Philip climbs into the chariot, and he preaches unto Jesus. And the man's saved, and the man's baptized, and he goes on his way back to Ethiopia rejoicing. Wonderful thing. We know this in a very practical way.
When we go preaching the gospel, we pray that souls may be prepared for the word. We don't go out just really, really. We go out with prayer that, Lord, prepare hearts to receive the good seed, to accept it and profit by it. Commendation is not a mule ticket. The missionary serves a sovereign Lord. The assembly has missed you and let you go. They're going to be interested. That's all right. And the responsibilities of the assembly, that's another part of this subject. I'm speaking about the missionary. As far as the missionary is concerned, he's looking at the sovereign Lord.
He knows the needs of his servants and provides in his omnipotent way. He's omniscient and his omnipotent praise of God. The missionary must realize he's been commended to the grace of God for the work. He's to look to the Lord to supply his needs. He's not on salary. And this is something I'd like to, I believe this very sincerely in my heart. I know there are exceptions to this, but I believe this is the pattern. He's not on salary. No guarantee financially incumbent upon the assembly. I realize that some assemblies have taken the stand and say, no, sorry, brother, we'll take care of you.
We'll send along so much every month or something like that. But as far as the position of the missionary is concerned, and the position we ourselves have held through the years, is with the Lord. And the Lord knows our needs, and the Lord provides far abundantly above all when we ask or think. So when she's out in faith in the living God, your heavenly Father knows. Commendation, and this is also facetious, number four in the South Line, commendation is not a laissez-pacé. This is something we're always hearing in French. Laissez-pacé. Let them go.
Let them go. Laissez-pacé. Or perhaps it's, we might say, an open testimony, or we might say a passport. You're commended, all right, if you have a passport to the assemblies, you go to any assembly because you've got this passport. Now, this is an error. And I have moved of individuals who have sought to be commended by some little assembly in order to get the status of being a missionary so they can travel around the assembly and solicit funds. Now, I said under A here, there's a right and a wrong here. Orderly commended workers need the prayers of the saints of God.
And new workers are unknown, often have painful experience in the first few years. And so there's an avenue in which they're recounting an exercise, an expectation of working in the blessing of the Lord, will get the prayer fellowship of the saints, not to think about the finances of it. Some of my friends in missions is working in our areas. They can't come to the field to work in that mission or that mission unless they have the guarantee support of this church and that church who will give them so much and they must have so much and so much. Well, we don't have that. We just go out trusting the Lord in fellowship with an assembly.
And, however, I want to be sure that I'm not sounding as though I'm discouraging visiting other assemblies to give exercise. Certainly the giving of prayer cards to people, pray for them is certainly what we want. We want the prayers of God's people. There's no guaranteed salary in most of the commended missionaries' lives. It's just trusting the Lord's supply. And you get down on your knees and you pray, the Lord takes care. Do the thing in a spiritual, scriptural way, and the Lord will bless. Recurring the exercise and expectations of working in the blessing of the Lord can in this prayer fellowship of the saints of God and other assemblies and the commanding.
Paul and his companions, and those of Paul and his train have experienced gracious collaboration and interest in fellowship of numerous individuals and assemblies. You realize that fellowship is not only the missionary's food. It also involves the work he's engaged in. And sometimes it's the work developed and becomes a big work. Perhaps it's a printing establishment, printing Christian literature and having to buy all the the printing materials out of the country with outside funds, and there's no possibility of exchanging the local money for foreign funds, the Lord will have to provide, or the work can't go on.
Let's say the point is good to have many who are praying, who are praying, and the Lord will provide, the Lord will provide, as Paul and his companions were ministered to from Macedonia and Macedonia and other places in a wonderful way. Remember that his continued residence in the mission land requires the continued fellowship of the commanding assembly. Because if, and this is not, this is a practical, these are practical remarks I'd like to give you here very briefly. I'm going to read it actually. The assembly is responsibly before the Lord and the government for his conduct. This assembly has communicated. Praise God for Christian missions in many lands who are in the point between, if you like, as representing us directly to the government.
But nevertheless, in the last point, eventually, the assembly is responsible to the Lord and the government for its conduct. The assembly is obligated to provide funds for his repatriation, in case of disqualification. The missionary has trouble in the field. He's got to come back. The assembly has to provide for his repatriation. And if you know that, there's a responsibility to the assembly in that way. He's sent out by the Lord. He has the fellowship of the assembly, but from a legal standpoint, this is the situation. While CMML may come in and hold the situation and say the situation, something that has to be done quickly, nevertheless, it's the assembly that has the responsibility to cover it.
The assembly is obligated to provide funds for its repatriation in case of disqualification. The assembly may ask a worker to return from the field they've deemed necessary. He must maintain the continued commendation of the assembly. He's been commended and recommended and continued on. And now I'm going to this other point quickly. Communication. This is the responsibility of a missionary. Must be regular and frequent. Regular conversation includes prompt acknowledgement of financial health. Irregularity is a disservice, harmful for relations with a commending assembly. One brother came to me years ago and he said, won't you talk to so-and-so?
You'd know her name if Isaiah told you. She never writes. We send her something every month. We never hear from her. Tell her to write. Right on, talk to her. Now she's the letter-writingest person I ever saw. and the assembly is delighted, and they're really right with her, and many other assemblies too, and she's doing a big work on the mission field today. Then essential to stimulate intelligent time in prayer, missionary remembered regularly in prayer, the assembly needs current facts for intelligent intercession. Another matter is to communicate, but rather than take time to speak of that, I recommend Dr. James Rennie's article on communication in global strategy.
I trust you all have global strategy because in that you have information that I feel is very, very valuable. If you have any exercise about serving the Lord, get a copy of global strategy and read it with your Bible open and following. So these are some points I've mentioned. I'm going to skip right over those. Dr. Renner's article in Global Strategy. And then further on, prayer answers, communication. use of colleagues. And one little point, and this could better be in Joe B.' 's presentation, assembly elders going out to visit the field, see what's happening.
Buy yourself a round ticket. They'll take care of you when you're there. You'll be able to eat and everything. Go and see it yourself. Go and see it yourself. You can go and see. You might read in the current No, it isn't occurring now. The February missions magazine will read out an article there by Lee Null, whom I know very well in Colorado Springs. Read out, he went to the mission field to see for himself. And read his article. Very, very good. And this is a suggestion for, well, I better keep it on the missionary basis. The missionary asked the elders to come and visit him too on the mission field. I report, need additional missionaries, report on the street.
debtor to avoid inaccuracy in writing or too hard communicating the facts. I've seen things that have come out in print that didn't happen at all. They were going to happen. It looked like they were going to happen. They got into people's letters and they got into print. Not in missions. I'm not thinking of that particularly, but I suppose there too. But I know things that looked like was going to be like that and get a word off. There's too hasty communication without all the facts. The eighth one is important. Deal, detail, financial needs only when demanded by the assembly. Communicate any exercise which may lead to a change of location or work.
And particularly if there's any deviation in the things most surely believed among us. If you feel that the Lord would have you teach something else than your home assembly is teaching, you tell the elders right away because you're on your way out. Or at least they're going to call you back to communicate with you. But this happens sometimes and it brings disaster to the testimony in that area. Now I'm not going to talk much about vacations. I don't know who called partial or vacation anyway, but I had to get titles here that ended in ION, and so I took that, Alph Gibbs way, you know. And I suggest the advisability of local leaves every month, every year for the missionary, and shorter terms for the missionary.
because he has a definite responsibility, Acts fourteen, twenty-six, how he comes and tells you what God's doing on the mission field, and then the possibility of an extended visit, integration into the assembly. Assembly elders have spoken to me about this, and it is for the glory of the Lord that later they have a recombination and a confirmation of confidence to return to the work.