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What We Believe
- THE
BIBLE
is the inspired and only
infallible and authoritative written Word of
God.
- Our Biblical Basis for WORLD MISSIONS
- There is ONE GOD, eternally existent in
three Persons:
- God the
Father
- God the
Son
- God the Holy
Spirit
- In the Deity of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, His virgin birth, His
sinless life, His miracles, His vicarious and atoning death, His
bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the
Father, and His personal future return to this earth in power and
glory to rule.
- The only means of being cleansed from sin is through
repentance and faith in the precious BLOOD OF JESUS
CHRIST.
- The redemptive work of
Christ on THE
CROSS
provides SALVATION in response to believing prayer. This SALVATION includes spiritual salvation, physical healing for the body, protection, deliverance, safety and soundness.
- The Baptism in THE HOLY
SPIRIT,
according to Acts 1:8 and Acts 2:4, is given to believers who ask for it, for the primary purpose of "POWER" to be a witness of Christ. We believe in the Biblical evidences of the baptism in the Holy Spirit -- including praying in tongues and the gifts of the Spirit.
- In the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, by whose
indwelling the Christian is able to live a HOLY LIFE.
Enabled by God's grace, it is the believer's responsibility to walk in
PURITY AND HOLINESS before the Lord.
-
In
the BLESSED HOPE - the
rapture of the Church and the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- In the RESURRECTION of both
the saved and the lost, the one to everlasting life and the other
to everlasting damnation. Because of this and Christ's GREAT COMMISSION in Mark 16:15...
- The SUPREME TASK of the Church is the evangelization of the lost.
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Our Mailing Address:
Harvest
Ministry
P.O. Box 727
Hood River, Oregon 97031
For more information, please
contact:
Jon & Ann Dunagan
Phone & Fax:
541.478.2777
The purpose of Harvest Ministry is
to help fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus Christ to "Go into all the
world to preach the Gospel." Harvest Ministry is passionate about
winning souls, and is committed to going wherever the harvest is most
ripe, and wherever the Lord directs... Primarily, this is accomplished
through International Gospel Outreaches (especially in East Africa and
other third-world countries), National Evangelism Team Support
(N.E.T.S.), and encouraging other Christians to become actively involved
in world evangelism.
OUR BIBLICAL BASIS FOR WORLD MISSIONS
By Ann Dunagan
 Mark 16:15 is known as “The Great Commission.” These final words of Jesus to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” are often-memorized and overly-familiar, but our Biblical basis for missions is not limited to this one verse! God’s heart for all nations–and our obligation as His followers to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth–is a central theme through the entire Word of God.
God’s Scarlet Cord - Extending from Genesis to Revelation!
When Joshua and the people of Israel entered Jericho–even during this time of Israeli military conquest–we can see God’s compassion for ALL people. By faith, Rahab the prostitute believed in God; by faith, this Gentile woman extended a scarlet cord through her window on the wall; and by faith, she and all the friends and family members gathered in her house were saved from destruction. This scarlet cord is God’s grace and mercy for all people–fulfilled through the saving blood of Jesus Christ and intertwined throughout the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.
We see this scarlet cord after Adam and Eve sinned (the father and mother of all people on earth) –when God clothed them with the skins of an innocent animal. We see it during the first Passover–as even Egyptian families who put the blood of the lamb over their doorways were saved. We see it in the book of Daniel–as God revealed Himself to the mighty kings of Babylon and Persia; and we see it interwoven throughout the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah. We see this scarlet cord in God’s unrelenting call to Jonah, and all through the Psalms of David (the man after God’s own heart.).
It is true that a person’s “last words” are important, but God’s heart and focus did not suddenly change as Jesus ascended into heaven. As He rose into the clouds, it was not like Jesus dropped a “last-minute-change-of-plans” on His followers: “Oh, by the way, there’s just one thing I forgot to tell you...”
When Jesus came to earth, His birth was announced to Jews (the shepherds) and Gentiles (the wise men) as angels declared “good news of great joy” which were “to ALL people.” As He was dedicated in the temple, Simeon’s prophetic word included, “I have seen Your salvation, which You have ordained before ALL people, a light to the Gentiles.” During Jesus’ first recorded sermon, in the city of Nazareth, Jesus included two Old Testament examples of God’s heart for Gentiles: Elijah and God’s provision for the widow of Zaraphath and Elisha and God’s healing for Namaan, a captain of Syria. Jesus then read a prophecy of Isaiah and said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” He was claiming to be the Messiah–of Jews AND Gentiles–a concept totally contrary to Israel’s preconceived ideas! For generations, they had longed for a Messiah to deliver them and bring them glory. –It’s no wonder why they wanted to kill Him!
God’s Mission Revealed through Jesus Christ
Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus revealed God’s heart for all people. Yes, He was sent first to the lost sheep of Israel; but He also ministered to a Samaritan woman, healed a Roman centurion’s servant, delivered a Gadarene demoniac and fed 4,000 people in a Gentile city. Even on the cross, one of His final acts of ministry was to offer God’s salvation to a Gentile thief.
Throughout His teachings, Jesus gave stories and analogies to convey God’s love for the whole world. He spoke of His call for laborers in the harvest, His command to launch deep and fish for men, and His challenge to welcome more guests to the wedding. Jesus spoke of a shepherd earnestly searching for his lost sheep, a woman stopping everything to look for her lost coin, and a father running to embrace his prodigal son. Jesus then shared about the tremendous JOY in heaven when one sinner repents! If lost sinners matter to God, and matter to heavenly angels, they should matter to us!
The Great Commission...and Great Confusion
In many Bibles, a little fine-print “disclaimer” right below our Great Commission in Mark 16:15 often brings Great Confusion regarding the validity of these verses. Some Bible translators discredit these verses by stating, “Mark 16, verses 9-20 were not included in the two most reliable ancient Greek manuscripts, the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus.” However, these scholars usually do not tell you that these same “most reliable manuscripts” also lack Genesis 1-46, Psalm 105-137, Hebrews 9:14 to 13:25 and all of I and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon and Revelation! If the final verse in Mark’s gospel was Mark 16:8 (as they claim) it would seem to be a very abrupt and unlikely ending; besides, these verses DO appear in the vast majority of ancient Bible manuscripts, they were quoted by at least two important church fathers whose writings predate these two manuscripts, and this same Great Commission can be found in ALL the other gospels and in Acts! (See Matthew 28:19, Luke 24:47, John 20:21 and Acts 1:8.)
We once heard a testimony of a man in Communist China who had access to ONLY one page of a Bible: the final page of the book of Mark. With that as his only scripture, this man received Christ and began preaching and leading many others to Jesus. In time, these believers gathered together and grew to become a strong and healthy church. The scripture verses they had were life to them and life-changing to many!
Throughout the remainder of the New Testament we continue to see God’s scarlet cord of salvation–from Philip preaching to the Samaritans and the Ethiopian in Acts 8, all through Paul’s letters to both Jews and Gentiles, and concluding with John’s end-time vision of “all nations, kindred, and people, and tongues” worshipping together in heaven (Revelation 7:9).
Even in our map section, often several pages highlight missionary journeys! It is not hard to find our Biblical basis for world mission; it is hard NOT to see it. The scarlet cord is like the red ribbon on our Bible - it extends from cover to cover!
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” JESUS CHRIST - Matthew 24:14
Note: Bible manuscript facts are from Dake’s Bible Commentary and The Defender’s Bible.
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© Copyright 2004: Harvest Ministry - Jon
& Ann Dunagan
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