Did you know that Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892) was not only a preacher but a poet? In her husband’s Autobiography, Susie Spurgeon wrote, “If there had been sufficient space available, an interesting chapter might have been compiled concerning ‘Mr. Spurgeon as a Poet and Hymn-writer’” (Autobiography, 4:313). If you are at all familiar with his sermons, you’ll know something about Spurgeon’s love for poetry. He once wrote, “No matter on what topic I am preaching, I can even now, in the middle of any sermon, quote some verse of a hymn in harmony with the subject” (Autobiography, 1:43–44).

From Watts to Wesley and Luther to Cowper, Spurgeon used hymns to form much of his theological vocabulary. But beyond hymns, he also enjoyed other forms of poetry. He read through Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, “that sweetest of all prose poems,” at least a hundred times (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 45:495). Often, after a long Sunday, he found refreshment by having his wife read to him the poetry of George Herbert, “till the peace of Heaven flows into our souls, and the tired servant of the King of kings loses his sense of fatigue, and rejoices after his toil” (Autobiography, 2:185–86).

But did you know that Spurgeon not only loved poetry but was a poet himself? To be sure, his primary calling was that of pastor and preacher, not poet or hymn-writer. But occasionally, we see his poetic gifts on display. When compiling his church’s hymnbook, Spurgeon didn’t mind composing a few hymns himself, especially when he couldn’t find one suitable for his church. From time to time, he published his poems in The Sword and the Trowel. But for the most part, poetry was not a part of his public ministry. Rather, like his prayer life, it was a part of his private devotional spirituality.

Lost Lyrics

Among the other treasures of the Spurgeon Library, we have a plain, time-worn notebook. There is no title page, but the spine reads,

PoemsSpurgeon

Inside are 186 handwritten devotional poems that were composed by the preacher throughout his forty-year ministry. What kind of poems are they? They are, first and foremost, prayers and meditations, reflecting Spurgeon’s theological convictions about God, creation, revelation, salvation, the Christian life, eternity, and much more.

“These poems provide a window into the private and poetic prayer life of the Prince of Preachers.”

These poems are also biographical, many of them drawn from events in Spurgeon’s life. Whether it be theological controversies, the dedication of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, the exhaustion of pastoral ministry, or many other chapters from his fruitful life, these experiences elicited poetry from Spurgeon. In other words, unique among all that he wrote, these poems provide a window into the private and poetic prayer life of the Prince of Preachers.

What can we learn from these poems?

Dependence and Prayer

When you read that Spurgeon preached as many as thirteen sermons a week, largely extemporaneous in delivery and yet full of theological truth and insight, it would be easy to assume that the task came very easily for him. A few hours of preparation on Saturday night, and — voilà! — the sermons are ready. But that’s not what we see in this volume. In poem after poem, we encounter a desperate plea for God to illumine his mind and heart to see Christ. In the poem “Christ Our All,” Spurgeon writes,

Shew us thyself, shew, dearest Lord,The beauties of thy grace;And let us in thy blessed word,Behold thy shining face.Reveal still more of all thy will,The wonders of thy law,And let us while with love we fill,Behold thee and adore. (Christ Our All, 77)

It is true that Spurgeon was an incredibly gifted and experienced preacher (at the age of nineteen, he had preached over seven hundred sermons!). But beyond rhetorical and homiletical skills, Spurgeon knew that his ministry and his own spiritual life depended on God’s grace to reveal Christ’s shining face in his blessed word. He did not take this sight of Christ for granted, but every time he opened God’s word, he prayed for illumination.

Perhaps one of the most painful reminders of Spurgeon’s dependence on God came through his frequent struggle with illness. Especially as he grew older, Spurgeon groaned under the crushing pain of gout and many other ailments that could knock him out for months at a time. In the poem “Sickness,” Spurgeon laments,

Why! Wasting sickness, art thou come?Disease, why venture nighTo take more victims to their home,In fever graves to lie?Wherefore art thou dispatch’d amongThe creatures here below,To track us in the busy throngOr lay the needy low? (199)

This poem is striking because there is no resolution, no earthly answer to these questions of Why? Yet as Spurgeon suffered alongside other sufferers, he could pray that if these trials must come,

May I be ready any dayTo meet thee without fear. (199)

But he did not face these trials alone. Spurgeon’s response to suffering was not simply why but who. Amid all our trials, we have a God who reigns over our suffering and who is with us amid our suffering. In “He is Faithful,” Spurgeon writes,

Thou Faithful One, whose promise stands,Secure when storms and tempests rage,E’en storms obey thy wise commandsAnd for our welfare must engage. (92)

And it was on this Faithful One that he depended.

Meditation and Confession

A mark of Spurgeon’s preaching was his meditation on God’s word. Like the Puritans before him, Spurgeon turned the diamond of Scripture again and again to reflect the brilliance of its many facets. But his meditation on Scripture wasn’t only a public performance. It was the fruit of his private meditation on Scripture. We see glimpses of that practice in these poems.

For example, in the poem “Obedience,” Spurgeon marvels at the way the angelic host tremble before God and fly to obey his word. And yet, their fear and readiness stand in stark contrast to human rebellion (could this poem be a meditation on Isaiah 6?).

They all in strict obedience bowAt their Creator’s nod;In awful reverence lie lowAnd listen to his word.Then with the light’ning’s speed, they flyTo execute his word;Perform the summons from on high,His utmost word fulfill.Then why should man of puny raceBe disobedient here,And set themselves before his faceRefusing him to fear? (39)

“No matter how fruitful and famous he was, Spurgeon never forgot that he deserved nothing from God.”

On that theme of disobedience, many of the poems are meditations on human sinfulness, including his own personal sin. One of the qualities I appreciate most about Spurgeon is that his life was free of moral scandal. On the whole, he was a loving husband and father and a faithful preacher and pastor. And yet, when we look at these poems, we see that in the quietness of his heart, Spurgeon was deeply aware of his sin: his pride, impatience, fear of man, doubts, and much more.

A rebel, far from thee I stray.Without excuse I roam.Nothing can now thy justice stay,Or keep me from my doom.I sin, yet know, t’will end in death,And feel that death is nigh.Before thee I will hold my breath,Will but for mercy cry. (70)

No matter how fruitful and famous he was, Spurgeon never forgot that he deserved nothing from God. But even as he reflected deeply on his own sinfulness, he knew where to turn to find grace.

But yet to Calvary I turn,And there behold thy Son.I see on him thine anger burnFor sins which I have done. (70)

Spurgeon preached the gospel not only to hundreds of thousands but also to himself. Before he was a pastor or a preacher, he was a sinner in need of a Savior. This was the starting point of his life, and it made all the difference in his ministry.

Trust and Hope

In the spring of 1861, the magnificent Metropolitan Tabernacle was opened and dedicated for gospel ministry. And yet, Spurgeon knew that his ministry was not about a building but a people. And so, at the dedication of the Tabernacle, Spurgeon prays,

O Lord, another house is rear’dWhere thou delight’st to dwell.Let thy dear name be here revered;Here, let thy praises swell.In adoration, Lord, we bowFor what thine arm has wrought.Thy strength here to thy people show,Nor let us know a drought.Let plenteous showers of grace divineForever here descend;May in this house thy glory shine,And every one attend. (111)

As someone raised in the countryside, Spurgeon could have never imagined being given a ministry with such a worldwide influence. But he had the joy of seeing God take an unlikely preacher and use him to display his surprising power. Throughout these poems, then, are joyful prayers for God to continue doing a mighty work in our day.

Strong Arm, outstretch; the victory take.Who can before thee stand?From every place new captives makeBy thine almighty hand. (125)

But amid his fruitful ministry, and all the toils and hardships that came with it, Spurgeon never lost sight of the end of the story. He typically concludes his poems with the hope of heaven. He knew that he was a pilgrim. This world was not his home. The day would soon come when he would rest from his labors. These poems, then, were his prayers and reflections on his way to the Celestial City.

There was no challenge too great and no trial too painful that heaven would not resolve. Even when his health was failing and so many were turning away from the gospel, Spurgeon knew that Christ would build his church. And so, like a soldier longing for his home, he found comfort and strength in his meditations on heaven.

We’ll walk the streets of heav’n with joy,In praising, all our pow’rs employ,In raising great hosannas to his name,In speaking praises to the heav’nly Lamb.We’ll tell the wonders of his grace to usWho died to save us from the curse,And the arch’d vault of heav’n shall ringWhile countless myriads praise their King.There’s no more sorrows, no more pains.We’ll sing in sweet melodious strainsAnd bid our harps resound the laysThat will not end in endless days. (146)

Poems for Heavenly Pilgrims

In all these qualities, Spurgeon is a helpful model for us. Whether we are new to the Christian life or seasoned in ministry, we want to cultivate this kind of dependence, humility, and hope. As pilgrims on a dangerous journey, we cannot make it alone. But these poems remind us that we are not alone. Christ our Captain is with us every step of the way. He is faithful, and he will bring us home.

My Jesus I am bound to theeWith chains that cannot break.Thou’st promis’d I shall saved be,And I thy word will take. (26)

Audio Transcript

Welcome back. This new week on the podcast starts off by wrapping up a bundle of recent apologetics questions on the person and work of Christ. We recently looked at six reasons why Jesus had to leave Earth after Easter. Imagine life on earth if Christ were still here with us! He’s not; why not? That was APJ 1978. Then we looked at the question, Why didn’t Jesus have to pay eternally for our sins? Isn’t that the cost — eternal judgment? So, why was his suffering cut so short? That was APJ 1979. And then we looked at the question, Even if the Christian faith is untrue — if the cross and resurrection didn’t happen — aren’t Christians still happier than non-Christians in this life? Don’t our present life priorities make for a more fulfilling experience of this life than the non-Christian’s experience, seeking joy in the world — even if we are wrong? That was APJ 1977.

Related to that one comes today’s question: Why don’t we have more artifacts, more archaeology, or even a more diversified record of historical documents to corroborate the death and resurrection of Christ? Shouldn’t we have more? The question is from a listener named Terri. “Pastor John, hello to you. My question for you is why, in this age, it remains so easy for non-believers to refute the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. If God controls everything, why is the existence of Jesus, and his crucifixion, not made more undeniable? People can so easily say that the events of the Bible are not real. Why did God not orchestrate it so that there were more witnesses, more archaeological evidence, more handwritten accounts? Why did he seem to leave so much room for doubt?” Pastor John, how would you respond to Terri?

I have two main responses to this question. The first is that, historically speaking, the text of the New Testament — the Greek text of the New Testament, the written accounts of first-century witnesses to Christ — is spectacularly reliable. That’s number one. I’ll come back to it and explain why in a minute.

Second, the obstacles that hinder warranted belief — justifiable belief in the truth of those first-century testimonies — are the same obstacles that people experienced who were looking Jesus right in the face and did not believe, in spite of all his signs. In other words, the root problem, today and then, is not and was not the absence of evidence.

Spectacularly Reliable

Now, why do I say that the New Testament accounts of the first-century Christian witnesses are spectacularly reliable? Terri asks, “Why did God not provide more handwritten accounts?” Now, I wonder if people who ask that have any idea what they are saying. Caesar’s Gallic Wars was written about 50 BC, and there are ten surviving manuscripts. Livy’s History of Rome has twenty surviving manuscripts. Tacitus’s Histories and Annals — written about AD 100 — has two manuscripts. Thucydides’s History — which was written about 400 BC — has eight manuscripts. And most scholars of such sources go about their work with confidence that they are in touch with the original witnesses.

Now, according to the Institute of New Testament Textual Research in Münster, Germany, there are 5,800 manuscripts or fragments of manuscripts of the New Testament. Not two, not ten, not twenty, not eight. It is a spectacular wealth of handwritten accounts of what was originally written, and hundreds of them are older than anything we have for those secular histories.

The science of textual criticism that handles these thousands of manuscripts is able to compare those manuscripts and determine with astonishing accuracy what the original manuscripts actually said. Here’s F.F. Bruce — he was from the previous generation; he was alive when I was studying as a seminary student. He wrote this:

If the great number of manuscripts increases the number of scribal errors [copying errors as you go from one copy to the next], it increases proportionately the means of correcting such errors so that the margin of doubt left in the process of recovering the exact original wording is, in truth, remarkably small. (14)

Now, that comes from The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? which you can still get at Amazon. I recommend it. I also recommend Paul Wegner’s A Student’s Guide to Textual Criticism of the Bible, and Craig Blomberg’s The Historical Reliability of the Gospels.

Crucified in History

The remarkable fact is that most historical scholars today — liberal or conservative — believe that the Greek texts that we have in the New Testament are really what the authors wrote near the time when the events actually happened.

“The problem of unbelief is not mainly a lack of evidence, but a deep heart resistance to God and his will.”

Which also means, for example, that when your Muslim friends tell you that the New Testament we have is not the New Testament that was originally written, but a much later creation of the church, you need to know there is zero — I’m talking zero — historical evidence for that claim. They are not making a historically justifiable statement. It is demanded by their faith — not by historical evidence — because they don’t want anyone to think Jesus was actually crucified.

But in fact, the crucifixion of Jesus is one of the most historically certain events of the first century. The view that it didn’t happen is highly eccentric from a historical standpoint.

Root Obstacle to Belief

Let me turn now to my second response, which I think is probably existentially the most significant part of Terri’s question. The obstacles that hinder justified belief in the truth of these testimonies today are the same set of obstacles that people experienced who were looking at Jesus in his own day — right in the face, flesh to flesh, eye to eye — and did not believe. In other words, the root problem is not the absence of evidence.

You remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19–31 — the rich man and the poor man. Lazarus died. Lazarus went to heaven in Abraham’s bosom, and the rich man went to torment. In the torment, he says across this chasm to Abraham,

“I beg you, father, to send [Lazarus] to my father’s house — for I have five brothers — so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.” But Abraham said, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.” And he said, “No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead [in other words, if there’s enough evidence; if there’s a sign], they will repent.” [Abraham] said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.” (Luke 16:27–31)

Now, that’s amazing. What it means is that the same inner condition of heart that keeps a person from believing the Old Testament prophets also keeps him from submitting to the evidence of actually seeing someone rise from the dead. That was true then, and it’s true today.

Against the Evidence

You remember the other Lazarus (remember there are two Lazaruses in the New Testament). Jesus raised this Lazarus from the dead. He was dead for four days, and Jesus raised him from the dead to give a sign that people would believe and glorify God. When that miracle happened, some believed — in fact, it says “many . . . believed” in John 11:45. But others went and told the Pharisees. Their response was that they plotted to kill Jesus, and they plotted to kill Lazarus to get rid of the evidence (John 11:57; 12:10).

More than once, people demanded a sign from Jesus even after he had done so many compelling signs already. And here’s what Jesus said to them in John 10:24–27:

The Jews gathered around him and said, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

Here’s what Jesus said to explain that — how a person could come to see Jesus as true. He said in John 7:17, “If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.”

Tell and Pray

The problem of unbelief is not mainly a lack of evidence, but a deep heart resistance to God and his will. Changing that heart condition is a great work of God. We are utterly dependent on it in our evangelism. So, let’s not be deterred in our evangelism by anyone who says there’s not enough evidence to justify belief in Jesus. There is enough evidence. No one spoke like this man. The self-authenticating glory of God shines in the gospel of Christ.

So, let’s tell the good news. Tell it everywhere. Tell it all the time. Tell it as compellingly as we possibly can. And then let’s pray. Let’s pray earnestly — all the more earnestly — that God would open the eyes of the blind.

Lord of the harvest, I pray earnestly that, as obstacles are removed, you would send laborers from this gathering into the harvest that you are preparing among the unreached peoples of the world. (Matthew 9:38)

This morning Andrew Scott sought to overcome four obstacles to involvement in God’s global purpose of putting his glory on display for the salvation of the nations. Those obstacles were:

“I’m not worthy.” Christ has made you worthy.
“I’m not called.” You were made for this.
“I’m not able.” You have Spiritual gifts, Heart passions, Abilities, Personalities, and Experiences.
“It’s not on my job description.” Yes, it is.

I have three more obstacles I want to help you overcome, through positive incentives.

Obstacle 1: Many emphasize civic reform over against soul-saving.

The present emphasis in America is for many on culture warfare and nation-building as the most urgent form of neighbor love. So, missions can lose its urgency before the political spectacle of fighting for the outward forms of American civic virtue.

In 2012 Robert Woodberry published the astonishing fruit of a decade of research into the effect of missionaries on the health of nations. Titled “The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy,” Woodberry’s article in the American Political Science Review defends this thesis: “The work of missionaries . . . turns out to be the single largest factor in insuring the health of nations” (36). This was a discovery that he says landed on him like an “atomic bomb” (38).

To be more specific, Woodberry’s research supported this sweeping claim:

Areas where Protestant missionaries had a significant presence in the past are on average more economically developed today, with comparatively better health, lower infant mortality, lower corruption, greater literacy, higher educational attainment (especially for women), and more robust membership in nongovernmental associations. (39)

There is one important nuance (or bombshell) to all this: “The positive effect of missionaries on democracy applies only to ‘conversionary protestants.’ Protestant clergy financed by the state, as well as Catholic missionaries prior to the 1960s, had no comparable effect in areas where they worked” (40). And “conversionary Protestant” missionaries are those who believe that to be saved from sin and judgment one must convert from false religions to faith in Jesus Christ.

Thus Woodberry points out that, even though missionaries have often opposed unjust and destructive practices like opium addiction, and slavery, and land confiscation, nevertheless “most missionaries didn’t set out to be political activists . . . [but] came to colonial reform through the back door.” That is, “all these positive outcomes were somewhat unintended” (41).

The implication is that the way to achieve the greatest social and cultural transformation through missions is not to focus on social and cultural transformation, but on the “conversion” of individuals from false religions to faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life. Or to put it another way: missionaries (and pastors and churches) will lose their culturally transforming power if they make cultural transformation their energizing focus.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person — though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die — but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (Romans 5:6–9)

Incentive: This means that the missionaries that will do the most good for eternity and for time — for eternal salvation and temporal transformation — are the missionaries who focus on converting the nations to faith in Christ, forming healthy, faith-maturing churches, and then from that root, teaching them to bear the fruit of all that Jesus commanded us (Matthew 28:20).

Obstacle 2: Missions seem hopeless as countless hearts grow cold.

The end of the age is near when the love of many will grow cold and lawlessness is multiplied and wars and natural disasters will increase, so there is little hope for missions to advance with any significant triumphs.

And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:4–14)

“It is not ‘cold’ Christians who will take the gospel to all the nations in the last and darkest days.”

It is not “cold” Christians who will take the gospel to all the nations in the last and darkest days. It will be white-hot lovers of Jesus who are ready to be killed for the name. Where will they come from? Your churches. Do not surrender to the notion that the love of many growing cold means your love or your church must grow cold.

Incentive: We have biblical assurances that in the darkest final hours, Christ will lead his faithful, martyr-like witnesses to triumph in finishing the Great Commission.

Obstacle 3: Leaving comfort for hardship appears foolish.

If I leave all that is familiar, giving my whole life to an unreached people, I will lose so many enjoyments of secure, healthy, comfortable life in America, and meet so many hardships, that I’m not sure it will be worth it.

“Whatever is lost for the sake of Christ and his gospel will come back to you a hundredfold.”

Incentive: That is not true. Consider these nine biblical responses.

First, whatever is lost for the sake of Christ and his gospel will come back to you a hundredfold. No matter what — or how much — you sacrifice, you cannot wind up with less.

Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Mark 10:28–30)

Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:39)

Second, this life of earthly enjoyments is as short as a mist breathed out on a winter morning, but pleasures at God’s right hand are forevermore.

What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. (James 4:14)

Moses chose to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. (Hebrews 11:25)

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.” (James 1:9–10)

All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. (1 Peter 1:24–25)

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)

Night will be no more. [The servants of the Lamb] will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:5)

Third, though all forget you or even turn against you, if God is for you, what can man do to you? He who did not spare his Son will give you everything you need.

If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:31–32)

Fourth, if you lose your audience, and there is no one to rejoice with you over small successes, know that millions of angels are rejoicing in the presence of God.

I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. (Luke 15:10)

Fifth, if you feel alone, with no one even aware of you (let alone praising all the good that you do), remember your Father sees and will reward you.

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. . . . But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:1–4)

Whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord. (Ephesians 6:8)

Sixth, if you feel that what you accomplish is small and that you are wasting your life, remember that absolutely nothing done “in the Lord” is wasted.

My beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)

Seventh, if you feel that it is simply too hard to keep on giving and giving while you get so little return in this life, while people back home are recognized and blessed for the good that they do, remember: you will be repaid at the resurrection.

But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. (Luke 14:13–14)

Eighth, if you think, “Yes, I get rewards in the life to come, but the folks back home get rewards in the life to come and get pleasures in this life that I miss out on, and I’d like both,” remember: there is greater reward for greater sacrifice.

This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17–18)

“A life devoted to rescuing people from the wrath of God through faith in Christ is precious in eternity.”

Ninth, when the thought of loneliness threatens to overwhelm you, go deep through the promise of Jesus and experience this reality: “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20)

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:4–6)

Overcome Obstacles with Incentives

A life devoted to rescuing people from the wrath of God through faith in Christ, and building their faith through healthy churches, is precious in eternity and powerful in time.
In the darkest last days, Christ will have a white-hot people for himself and will lead them in triumph to finish the Great Commission, even at the cost of their lives.
Whatever you lose by leaving the familiarity and security and comforts of your own people for the sake of Christ, it will be worth it, and in the eternal day you will never regret it.