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In
the more developed world, a great deal is paid to special events that occur in
the lives of individuals, families, nations, and the world as a whole. As Christians we set aside the first day of
the week, Sunday, to remember our risen Lord and worship Him in a special
way. There are other special days such
as Christmas and Easter that we celebrate the birth and resurrection of the
Lord.
We
remember also our own birthdays, special anniversaries, and other family
holidays. Some events are recalled, such
as Independence Day and others that are celebrated less often and are referred
to as Silver, Golden, Diamond, and Centenary celebrations.
I want to call to our attention something that happened
just over 100 years ago. James Chalmers,
the great missionary to the South Sea Islands, was
martyred Easter Eve 1901. A seasoned
missionary, Mr. Chalmers, a newly-arrived young missionary named Mr. Tompkins,
and about a dozen national believers were felled by stone-age weapons while
attempting to reach the savage cannibalistic tribes people of the Fly
River in New Guinea. Their bodies were consumed in a cannibalistic
feast. This event rocked the Christian
world of that day. But now 100 years
later, not so much as brief remembrances have I seen. We do need to remember these outstanding
events in missionary history and pledge that we, too will be willing to give
our lives for the spread of the gospel in this our day. There have been more martyrs for the cause of
Christ in the past 100 years than in all previous centuries of the Christian
church. Are we ready and willing to give
our lives for the cause of Christ?
JAMES CHALMERS
(1841-1901)
What is a missionary? "A
missionary is one who never gets used to the sound of heathen foot beats on the
way to a Christ-less eternity" (author unknown). What is a missionary? Every man without Christ is a mission field. Every man with Christ is a missionary. The following is a quote from Pearl Buck, a
missionary kid in China who made no claim to being a
Christian, but who was a very keen observer:
"The early missionaries were born warriors and very great men. No weak or timid soul could sail the seas to
foreign lands and defy death and danger unless he did carry religion as his
banner under which even death itself would be a glorious end. To go forth, to cry out, to warn, to save
others. These were frightful urgencies
upon the soul already saved. There was a
madness of necessity, an agony of salvation."
What is a missionary?
It is one who imitates Jesus Christ.
One so in love with Jesus that he keeps His commandments: "If ye love
me, keep my commandments." Mark 16:15 is one of the great commandments:
"Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." David Livingstone said, "God had only one Son,
and He sent Him to earth as a medical missionary. Jesus gave his life for the world, so must we
give ours to make Christ known to the world."
James Chalmers was truly a missionary. This Scotsman, when first landing at Rarotonga in 1867, was asked by a native,
"What fellow name belong you?" Unable to say Chalmers, they called him
Tamate. That name stuck, and he became
well known throughout the South Pacific for the next thirty-five years as a
dauntless messenger of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He spent ten years in Rarotonga and then moved to New Guinea in 1877.
The favorite text of Tamate was Revelation 22:17, "And the spirit and the bride say, Come.
And let him that heareth say, Come. And
let him that is athirst come. And
whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." It was the voice he heard as an
eighteen-year-old youth that brought him to the Savior. It was a text most
often used through his long and fruitful ministry.
I.
In
the text he heard the great invitation "come," and he came to Jesus.
II.
In
the text he heard a call to repeat the great invitation, "let him that is
athirst come"-a message that he repeated over and again, and so must we.
III. In the text he found the divine
answer to the thirsting soul. In
February 1879, his wife, Jane, laid down her life. In the hour of his devastating bereavement,
Tamate wrote in his diary, "O to dwell at His cross and to abound in pleasant
sympathy with His great work. I want the
heathen for Christ."
IV. In the text he found free access to
life abundant: "Come take the water of life freely." Jesus said, "Freely ye have received, freely
give" (Matthew 10:8b). Chalmers wrote,
"The first missionaries landed not only to preach the Gospel of Divine love but
also to live it." He was one of the first to see the value of
using national teachers and evangelists.
When told of the danger from disease, wild animals and cannibals, one of
these national missionaries said, "Wherever there are people, precious souls
for whom Christ died, there are missionaries who must go."
V.
In
the text he heard the universal offer of Divine mercy-"whosoever will." God would not offer to all that which is not
needed by all. Chalmers wrote, "The ramparts of heathenism can only be stormed
by those who carry the cross, and I dearly love to be the first to preach
Christ in a place. Romans 15:20, 21.
VI. In the text he heard love's mighty
little word, "come." Before the heathen
can come, there must be someone to go.
The heathen of the Fly River were notorious for their savagery, but this did not keep
Tamate from going to them. On April
18, 1901,
Tamate went to this district with a young, newly arrived missionary, Rev.
Oliver Tompkins, along with some native believers. They were felled by stone axes, their heads
were cut off, and their bodies became a feast to the cannibals. This happened on the evening of Easter.
(Matthew 16:24-25, "Then said Jesus unto His disciples, if any man will come
after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For
whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life
for my sake shall find it.")
In one of his furlough addresses, he said: "Recall the twenty-one years-give me back all
its experiences; give me its shipwrecks; give me its standings in face of
death; give me the surroundings of savages with spears and clubs; give it back
again with spears flying about me, with the clubs knocking me to the ground;
give it back, and I will still be your missionary. ‘I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Behold I
freely give the living water; thirsty ones, stoop down and drink and live." I
came to Jesus, and I drank of that life-giving stream. My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and
now I live in Him.'"
Chalmers' second wife died of malaria in two years. He had
sent her to Sydney, Australia, for treatment, but a short while
later, on his way to join her, he read her obituary in a Sydney newspaper.
Missions is Christ's last command and still is not the
church's first concern. Where do we
learn of missions?
1. The Bible, which is the scarlet
thread, the story of redemption from Genesis to Revelation.
2. Church history, which is the history
of missions from Paul to Polycarp (burned at the stake in A.D. 156 at age 86)
down to the present time.
3. Missionary biographies: books, books,
books. Books can and should be among our
best friends. Spend much time in THE
Book, the Bible. The prophet Habakkuk
introduces his short prophecy with this verse:
"The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see." The Prophet Habakkuk was a man with open
eyes, and because he was a man with open eyes, he was a man with a burdened
heart. Could Christ have been thinking
of these words when at Jacob's well, outside the village of Sychar, he told His disciples to, "Lift up
your eyes and look." Do we have no
burden because we do not look with compassion on a lost world? Are we too comfortable where we are?
4. Many other books are a mine of
treasure more valuable than gold. I have
found one of the great sources of challenge and inspiration to be the reading
of books about missions and missionaries.
How can we drink of that life-giving stream and then by our
indifference withhold it from a perishing world. Remember the definition of a missionary? "A missionary is one who never gets used to
the sound of heathen foot beats on their way to a Christ-less eternity." Do we stop our ears to that heathen foot beat,
to their cries? Do we close our eyes as
they plunge into a Christ-less eternity?
Where are those willing to defy death and danger? Where are those to go forth under the banner
of Christ? Where are those who recognize
the frightful urgency compelled by the madness of necessity, drawn on by the
agony of salvation?
Chalmers cried, "I want the heathen for Christ." Do we?
JAD 11/18/02
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