🌍 Misheni ya Ulimwengu — Sehemu ya 3: Agizo Kuu🌍 World Missions — Unit 3: The Great Commission

Utangulizi: Hati Kuu ya Misheni (Magna Charta)Introduction: The Missionary Magna Charta

Kila msimu wa vuli, watazamaji hujazana viwanjani kuishangilia timu yao ya nyumbani. Kila kocha hupenda kuwasikia mashabiki wenye shauku — lakini ukweli ni kwamba mashabiki hawachezi mchezo. Kamwe hawatoki jasho katika taabu yake; kamwe hawamwagi hata tone moja la damu; hawapigi pasi hata moja wala hawabebi mpira hata yadi moja. Wengi wao hawajawahi hata kucheza. Ilikuwa juu ya mlima kule Galilaya ambapo Yesu aliwaita wanafunzi wake chini ya anga wazi, nchi nzima ikiwa imetandazwa mbele yake kama mandhari kuu, na hapo akawageuza wafuasi wake kutoka kuwa watazamaji kuwa washiriki.Every fall, spectators crowd into the stadiums to cheer the home team. Every coach loves to hear the enthusiastic fans — but the fact is, the fans do not play the game. They never sweat in the grind of it; they never shed a single drop of blood; they do not complete one pass or carry the ball a single yard. Most of them have never even played. It was on a mountain in Galilee that Jesus called His disciples under the open sky, with the grand panorama of the whole country spread before Him, and there He transformed His followers from spectators into participants.

Agizo Kuu la Bwana wetu Yesu ni mojawapo ya vifungu vya kwanza ambavyo mtoto wa mwamini hujifunza kukariri. Maneno haya ni mazito kiasi kwamba kanisa kwa muda mrefu limeyaita "Magna Charta ya Misheni," yaani Hati Kuu ya Misheni. Yesu alisema: "Basi enendeni, mkawafanye mataifa yote kuwa wanafunzi, mkiwabatiza kwa jina la Baba, na Mwana, na Roho Mtakatifu; na kuwafundisha kuyashika yote niliyowaamuru ninyi. Na tazama, mimi nipo pamoja nanyi siku zote, hata ukamilifu wa dahari" (Mathayo 28:19–20, SUV).The Great Commission of our Lord Jesus is one of the first passages a believer's child learns to memorize. So weighty are these words that the church has long called them the "Missionary Magna Charta." Jesus said: "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, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19–20, NKJV).

Usikosee juu ya jambo hili: wazo lenyewe la misheni ya ulimwengu tunalidaiwa na Yesu Mwenyewe. Agano Jipya limejaa maneno na misemo yenye nguvu ambayo imewatuma maelfu hadi pande za mwisho za dunia. Tunapoiunga mkono misheni, tunaliunga mkono wazo lililobuniwa katika akili ya Yesu, lililotangazwa kwa midomo ya Yesu, na kutekelezwa na wafuasi wa Yesu. Basi, mistari hii ina maana gani kwetu leo? Inaonekana wazi kwamba kazi ya kimisionari inadai mambo maalum kutoka kwa viungo vinne vya mwili wa mwanadamu — midomo, miguu, kichwa, na moyo. Wengine wangesema, kwa usahihi, kwamba misheni inahitaji kujitoa kikamilifu; lakini viungo hivi vinne vinaguswa kwa namna ya pekee.Make no mistake about it: we owe the very idea of world missions to Jesus Himself. The New Testament is filled with powerful words and phrases that have sent thousands to the uttermost parts of the earth. When we support missions, we support an idea conceived in the mind of Jesus, proclaimed from the lips of Jesus, and carried out by the followers of Jesus. What, then, do these verses mean for us today? It seems clear that the missionary enterprise makes special demands upon four parts of the human anatomy — the lips, the feet, the head, and the heart. Some would argue, correctly, that missions calls for total commitment; but these four parts are especially affected.

I. Yesu Aliweka Maneno Midomoni MwetuI. Jesus Put the Words on Our Lips

Kwanza, Yesu aliweka maneno midomoni mwetu, naye alifanya hivyo kwa kuwapa wafuasi wake ujumbe. Walipaswa kunena "yote" ambayo alikuwa amewaamuru. Ni ujumbe mkuu ulioje! Msemaji mmoja wa chuo aliwahi kusema kwamba kitu pekee ambacho mtu yeyote anahitaji ili kuwa msemaji wa hadhara ni kusimama mbele ya hadhira akiwa na wazo analoliamini kweli. Kuamini kweli kile unachokisema kutafukuza hofu na kumpa mtu ufasaha wa asili.First, Jesus put the words on our lips, and He did it by giving His followers a message. They were to speak "all things" that He had commanded them. What a tremendous message! A college speaker once said that all anyone needs in order to become a public speaker is to stand up before an audience with an idea he really believes in. Really believing what you are saying will drive away fear and give a man a natural eloquence.

Wanafunzi waliuamini ujumbe wa injili kwa mioyo yao yote. Tungewezaje vinginevyo kumweleza Petro? — mtu asiye na mafunzo yoyote ya kuhutubu, mtu ambaye imani yake ilikuwa imevunjika hivi karibuni, sasa akisimama kwa ujasiri katika barabara za Yerusalemu, akiwahutubia maelfu. Aliamini kweli kwamba Yesu ndiye Mwana wa Mungu aliyekufa msalabani kwa ajili ya dhambi zake na kufufuka kwa ushindi kutoka kaburini. Aliamini kwa kila nyuzi ya mwili wake na hadi vilindi vya nafsi yake kwamba imani katika Yesu inatoa uzima tele na wa milele.The disciples believed the gospel message with all their hearts. How else can we explain Peter? — a man with no training as a speaker, a man whose beliefs had recently been shattered, now boldly standing on the streets of Jerusalem, addressing thousands. He truly believed that Jesus was the Son of God who had died on the cross for his sins and risen victoriously from the grave. He believed with every fiber of his body and to the depths of his soul that faith in Jesus gives abundant and eternal life.

Pamoja na ujumbe, Yesu aliwapa wafuasi wake pia njia — kwa kweli, njia mbili: kuhubiri na kufundisha. Kuhubiri kulikuwa sehemu muhimu sana ya kazi. "Enendeni ulimwenguni mwote, mkaihubiri Injili kwa kila kiumbe" (Marko 16:15, SUV). Neno la Kigiriki la "kuhubiri" ni neno lile lile linalotumiwa kwa mpiga mbiu aliyetangaza ujumbe wa mfalme. Mpiga mbiu hakuubuni ujumbe wake, wala hakuubadilisha ujumbe wake; aliazima tu sauti yake ili kurudia ujumbe wa mfalme. Tunapohubiri, tunapaswa kuweza kutangaza, "Yesu alisema hivyo." Ujumbe wa msingi wa injili haubadiliki kamwe. Kufundisha ndiyo nusu nyingine ya njia yetu. Tunapaswa kuwafundisha watu kuyashika yote ambayo Yesu alifundisha. Mtu aliyeokolewa hahitaji tu kusikia injili kila Jumapili; anahitaji kuelimishwa ili aweze kufikia uwezo wake kamili kama Mkristo. Na kwa hiyo tunaweza kusema kwamba Yesu aliweka maneno midomoni mwetu.Along with the message, Jesus also gave His followers a method — in fact, two methods: to preach and to teach. Preaching was a crucial part of the work. "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15, NKJV). The Greek word for "preach" is the same word used for a herald who announced the message of the king. The herald did not create his message, and he did not change his message; he simply lent his voice to repeating the king's message. When we preach, we ought to be able to proclaim, "Jesus said it." The essential gospel message never changes. Teaching is the other half of our method. We are to teach men to observe all the things that Jesus taught. A man who has been saved does not merely need to hear the gospel every Sunday; he needs to be educated so that he can fulfill his potential as a Christian. And so we can say that Jesus put the words on our lips.

II. Yesu Aliweka Mwendo Miguuni MwetuII. Jesus Put Movement in Our Feet

Pili, Yesu aliweka mwendo miguuni mwetu. Wanafunzi tayari walikuwa na ujumbe na baraka za Bwana wao. Wangeweza kurudi kimya kimya vijijini mwao na kuvua samaki tena ili kujipatia riziki. Wangeweza kufundisha na kuhubiri kwa wale tu waliokuwa na hamu ya kuwatafuta. Lakini kwa neno moja, Yesu aliweka mwendo miguuni mwao. Alisema, "Enendeni." Injili haisubiri watu waitafute; inakwenda mahali watu walipo. Yesu hatoi amri za kusubiri. Anatoa amri za kuanza safari.Second, Jesus put movement in our feet. The disciples already had the message and the blessings of their Lord. They could have quietly returned to their villages and fished for a living again. They could have taught and preached only to those curious enough to seek them out. But with one word, Jesus put movement in their feet. He said, "Go." The gospel does not wait for men to seek it out; it goes to where the people are. Jesus does not give waiting orders. He gives marching orders.

Muda mfupi uliopita mtu mmoja ninayemfahamu alikuwa amepangiwa kazi jeshini huko Texas. Aliendelea kusubiri amri mpya za kumpeleka Colorado. Alijua kwamba Colorado ndiyo kituo chake kijacho, lakini hakuweza kuondoka mpaka amri zile ziwe mkononi mwake. Katika Agizo Kuu tumepokea amri zetu za kuanza safari, na kwa hizo Yesu aliweka mwendo miguuni mwetu. Paulo alieleza jambo hilo hilo katika kitabu cha Warumi: "Jinsi ilivyo mizuri miguu yao wahubirio habari ya amani, wahubirio habari za mema!" (Warumi 10:15, SUV). Fikiria kwa kitambo miguu ya watu kama Paulo na Petro — michafu, migumu, iliyopasuka, na yenye malengelenge. Hata hivyo ilikuwa mizuri, kwa sababu ilibeba habari njema za Yesu Kristo. Kwa wale wanaoipokea injili, miguu ya wamisionari wetu ni mizuri kweli kweli. Nasi tunapaswa kwenda kila mahali tukihubiri injili — si katika mji wetu tu, si katika eneo letu tu, si katika nchi yetu tu, bali hadi pande za mwisho za dunia.A short while ago a man I know was stationed in the service in Texas. He kept waiting for new orders to send him on to Colorado. He knew Colorado was his next station, but he could not leave until he had the orders in hand. In the Great Commission we have received our marching orders, and with them Jesus put movement in our feet. Paul made the same point in the book of Romans: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!" (Romans 10:15, NKJV). Consider for a moment the feet of men like Paul and Peter — dirty, rough, cracked, and blistered. Yet they were beautiful, because they bore the good news of Jesus Christ. To those who receive the gospel, the feet of our missionaries are beautiful indeed. And we are to go everywhere preaching the gospel — not only in our own town, not only in our own region, not only in our own country, but to the uttermost parts of the earth.

III. Yesu Aliweka Maono Vichwani MwetuIII. Jesus Put a Vision in Our Head

Tatu, Yesu aliweka maono vichwani mwetu. Watu wasipopata maono, hawajui kamwe wanakokwenda. Kuna hadithi inayosimuliwa ya ndege iliyopeperushwa nje ya njia yake na upepo mkali. Rubani msaidizi aliuliza, "Tuko wapi?" naye rubani akajibu, "Sijui, lakini tunakwenda kwa kasi nzuri." Kanisa lililojaa shughuli lakini lisilo na maono linakwenda tu kwa kasi nzuri kuelekea mahali popote.Third, Jesus put a vision in our head. Unless men can catch a vision, they never know where they are going. The story is told of an airplane blown off course by a strong wind. The co-pilot asked, "Where are we?" and the pilot answered, "I don't know, but we're making good time." A church busy with activity but with no vision is only making good time to nowhere.

Yesu alikuwa na maono. Yalikuwa maono ya kila goti kupigwa na kila ulimi kumkiri Yeye kuwa Bwana (Wafilipi 2:10–11). Watu wa ulimwengu wanatofautiana kwa rangi, kwa asili, kwa lugha, kwa hali ya hewa, na kwa desturi; hata hivyo wote wamejumuishwa katika amri hiyo, kwa maana wote ni wenye dhambi. Wote wana nafsi, wote wanahitaji neema ya Mungu, wote wanahitaji Mwokozi. Tunachohitaji leo ni maono mapya ya ulimwengu ulioungana katika Kristo. Ni lazima tuwe wakweli: kanisa halijaenda sambamba. Ukristo unakua kwa mamia ya maelfu wakati ulimwengu unakua kwa mamia ya mamilioni. Labda sababu moja ya kushindwa kwetu kwenda sambamba ni ukosefu wa maono. Tumeiteka miji kwa ajili ya Kristo, na hata mataifa kwa ajili ya Kristo, lakini bado hatujauteka ulimwengu.Jesus had a vision. It was a vision of every knee bowing and every tongue confessing Him as Lord (Philippians 2:10–11). The people of the world differ in race, color, language, climate, and custom; yet all are included in the command, for all are sinners. All have souls, all need God's grace, all need a Savior. What we need today is a fresh vision of a world united in Christ. We must be honest: the church has not kept pace. Christianity grows by hundreds of thousands while the world grows by hundreds of millions. Perhaps one reason we have failed to keep pace is a lack of vision. We have captured cities for Christ, and even nations for Christ, but we have not yet captured the world.

Kuna hadithi ya zamani ya mchoraji aliyekuwa akichora upendo wa Kristo kwa watoto wa ulimwengu. Alikuwa amefanya kazi yake bora kuliko zote, lakini usiku mmoja aliamka akamkuta mgeni akibadilisha picha zake. "Acha," alilia, "utaiharibu!" Mgeni akajibu, "Tayari umeiharibu. Ni nani aliyekuambia kwamba nyuso zote mbinguni zingekuwa nyeupe?" "Siku zote nilifikiri hivyo," mchoraji akasema. "Ulikosea," mgeni akajibu. "Nimetumia baadhi ya rangi ulizozisahau — nyekundu, njano, kahawia, na nyeusi. Kwa maana wadogo hutoka katika nchi nyingi kuitikia mwito wangu." Tunahitaji maono ya mwito huo.There is an old story of an artist who was painting the love of Christ for the children of the world. He had done his finest work, but one night he awoke to find a stranger altering his pictures. "Stop," he cried, "you'll ruin it!" The stranger replied, "You have already ruined it. Who told you that all the faces in heaven would be white?" "I always thought of it that way," said the artist. "You were wrong," answered the stranger. "I have used some of the colors you forgot — red, yellow, brown, and black. For little ones come from many countries to answer My call." We need a vision of that call.

IV. Yesu Aliweka Mzigo Mioyoni MwetuIV. Jesus Put a Burden on Our Heart

Mwisho, Yesu aliweka mzigo mioyoni mwetu. Wale walio na maono vichwani mwao watakuwa pia na mzigo mioyoni mwao. Wale waliopata maono ya ulimwengu uliovutwa kwa Kristo watakubali kwa furaha jukumu la kuwatuma wamisionari. Kwa maana wamisionari hawawezi kujituma wenyewe; ni lazima watumwe. Katika Matendo 13 tunakuta ibada ya kwanza ya kuwatuma wamisionari, kusanyiko lote likiwa limekusanyika: "Ndipo walipokwisha kufunga na kuomba, na kuwawekea mikono, wakawaacha waende zao" (Matendo 13:3, SUV). Mungu huwaita baadhi ili waende. Wengi wameacha nyuma familia na marafiki kwa sababu ya mzigo wao kwa ajili ya waliopotea, nasi tuna wajibu wa kujihusisha nao, kuwaombea, na kuwategemeza. Lakini si kila mtu ameitwa kwenda. Yesu aliposema "Enendeni," alikuwa akisema na kila mmoja wetu — na ni lazima tukumbuke kwamba wale wanaotuma wana majukumu mengi sawa na wale wanaokwenda.Finally, Jesus put a burden on our heart. Those who have a vision in their head will also have a burden in their heart. Those who have caught the vision of a world won for Christ will gladly accept the responsibility of sending missionaries. For missionaries cannot send themselves; they must be sent. In Acts 13 we find the first commissioning service, the whole congregation assembled: "having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away" (Acts 13:3, NKJV). God calls some to go. Many have left behind families and friends because of their burden for the lost, and we are obligated to identify with them, pray for them, and support them. But not everyone is called to go. When Jesus said "Go," He was speaking to every one of us — and we must remember that those who send have as many responsibilities as those who go.

Tuna jukumu la kujihusisha na huduma zao. Kundi lolote linalomtuma mmisionari kisha kumsahau linapaswa kuona aibu mbele za Mungu. Tukiwatuma, wao ni upanuzi wetu; kazi yao ni kazi yetu, na kazi yetu ni kazi yao. Tuna jukumu la kuwategemeza kwa maombi. Ni lini mara ya mwisho ulipomwombea mmisionari? Ni wangapi kati yetu wanaoweza hata kutaja wamisionari watatu au wanne kwa majina yao? Huenda wamisionari wetu wanajiuliza kwa nini hawaoni matunda zaidi; mtu anapaswa kuwaambia kwamba wanaotuma wamezima umeme. Na tuuwashe tena. Na tuna jukumu la kuwategemeza kwa matoleo yetu. Wanaokwenda hutoa maisha yao; wanaotuma ni lazima wahakikishe kwamba kazi haikwami kwa kukosa msaada. Kila mwaka baadhi ya wanaojisikia kuitwa kuwa wamisionari hukataliwa kwa sababu kanisa haliwezi kumudu kuwatuma. Ulimwengu uliopotea unalilia ujumbe wa Kristo, lakini mara nyingi mno hakuna sauti inayosema nao — na wengi wataishi na kufa bila kumjua kamwe Mwokozi, kwa sababu hakuna aliyetumwa.We have the responsibility to identify with their ministries. Any group that sends out a missionary and then forgets him should be ashamed before God. If we send them, they are an extension of us; their work is our work, and our work is their work. We have the responsibility to support them in prayer. When was the last time you prayed for a missionary? How many of us can even name three or four missionaries by name? Our missionaries may be wondering why they are not seeing more fruit; someone should tell them that the senders have turned off the power. Let us turn it on again. And we have the responsibility to support them in our giving. Those who go give their lives; those who send must see to it that the work does not stall for lack of support. Every year some who feel called as missionaries are turned away because the church cannot afford to send them. The lost world is crying out for the message of Christ, but too often there is no voice speaking to them — and many will live and die never having known the Savior, because no one was sent.

Stephen Grellet, Mkweka (Quaker) maarufu, aliwahi kuhisi mzigo na uongozi wa Roho Mtakatifu kuwahubiria injili wanaume wa kambi ya wakata-miti huko Amerika. Lakini alipofika, aliikuta kambi tupu, kwa maana wanaume walikuwa wameingia ndani zaidi msituni. Akiamini hata hivyo kwamba Roho alikuwa amemtuma, alisimama katika ukumbi mtupu wa chakula na kuhubiri hubiri lake, likisikiwa, kama alivyodhani, na kuta tupu za jengo na miti mirefu peke yake. Miaka mingi baadaye, alipokuwa akivuka Daraja la London katika giza la jioni, alisimamishwa na mtu aliyesema, "Wewe ndiye mtu ambaye nimekuwa nikikutafuta miaka yote hii." "Lazima kuna kosa," Grellet akasema; "sijawahi kukuona." "Hapana," mtu yule akasema, "lakini je, hukuhubiri katika kambi ya wakata-miti katika msitu wa Amerika? Nilikuwa nimerudi kuchukua msumeno uliokuwa umeachwa nyuma, na kupitia ufa katikati ya magogo nilikusikia ukihubiri. Nilihukumiwa moyoni kwa ajili ya dhambi, nikapata nakala ya Maandiko, nikajifunza njia ya uzima, nikaokolewa, na nimewaleta wengine pamoja nami katika ufalme wa mbinguni." Neno la Mungu halirudi bure. Tuna jukumu la kulituma — na kuyaacha mavuno mikononi mwake.Stephen Grellet, the noted Quaker, once felt a burden and the leading of the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel to the men of an American lumber camp. But when he arrived, he found the camp deserted, for the men had gone deeper into the forest. Believing nevertheless that the Spirit had sent him, he stood up in the empty mess hall and preached his sermon, heard, as he thought, only by the bare walls of the building and the lofty trees. Years afterward, crossing London Bridge in the evening gloom, he was stopped by a man who said, "You are the man I have been looking for all these years." "There must be some mistake," said Grellet; "I have never seen you." "No," said the man, "but did you not preach in a lumber camp in the American forest? I had gone back for a saw that had been left behind, and through the chink in the logs I heard you preach. I was convicted of sin, I got hold of a copy of the Scriptures, I learned the way of life, I was saved, and I have brought others with me into the kingdom of heaven." The word of God does not return void. We are responsible to send it out — and to leave the harvest in His hands.

Hitimisho: Amri Zetu za Kuanza SafariConclusion: Our Marching Orders

Na kwa hiyo tunaona kwa nini Agizo Kuu ni amri za kuanza safari kutoka kwa Yesu. Yeye ndiye aliyeweka maneno midomoni mwetu. Yeye ndiye aliyeweka mwendo miguuni mwetu. Yeye ndiye aliyeweka maono vichwani mwetu. Na Yeye ndiye aliyeweka mzigo mioyoni mwetu. Yesu alisema, "Kama vile Baba alivyonituma mimi, mimi nami nawatuma ninyi" (Yohana 20:21, SUV). Kuna kazi kubwa ya kufanywa. Swali si tena kama kazi hii ni yetu; swali pekee linalobaki ni sehemu gani tutakayoishika ndani yake — kwenda, kutuma, na kuomba.And so we see why the Great Commission is a set of marching orders from Jesus. He is the One who put the words on our lips. He is the One who put movement in our feet. He is the One who put a vision in our head. And He is the One who put a burden on our heart. Jesus said, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you" (John 20:21, NKJV). There is a great work to be done. The question is no longer whether the task is ours; the only question that remains is what part we will take in it — to go, to send, and to pray.

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