I owe this post to the United Methodist Youth Fellowship of
Pangasinan Central District so it is just proper from me to thank and to
commend them for exerting much physical, financial, and intellectual resources
just to ensure a GOD-glorifying, Christ-centered, Spirit-filled,
Scripture-saturated, grace-dependent, and faith-sustained Christmas Institute.
I salute you.
This is the second CI wherein there is an integration of three
Christian biographies in the activities. I was honored to handle last year’s
study on Martin Luther (the other two were John Wesley and George Whitefield).
This year, I was again asked to exalt Christ in the life of William Carey, the
father of modern day missions.
Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. (Heb. 13:7)
If I will remember William Carey, consider the outcome of
his way of life, and imitate his faith, I will most especially reflect on eight
observable attributes which I will represent using the letters of MISSIONS.
Majesty of Christ
Just like Isaiah (in Isaiah 6:1-8), Carey had a deep sense
of the majesty of Christ, seeing Him as altogether lovely and worthy to be
served.
“Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” Great things are only expected from the great. And great things are only rendered for the great. “Expect great things from [the great] God; attempt great things for [the great] God.”
In the last visit of Alexander Duff to the missionaries before William Carey died, he talked a lot of Carey’s works. He received a gracious rebuke: “Dr. Carey this.. Dr. Carey that.. Dr. Duff! You have been speaking about Dr. Carey; when I am gone, say nothing about Dr. Carey — speak about Dr. Carey's Savior.”
Just like the great Apostle Paul (1 Timothy 1:15), William
Carey seriously considers his sinfulness.
“I see more and more of my own insufficiency for the great work I am called to. The truths of GOD are amazingly profound, the souls of men infinitely precious, my own ignorance very great and all that I do is for GOD.”
“Nothing of any importance except to my shame, a prevalence of carnality, negligence, and spiritual deadness; no heart for private duties, indeed everything seems to be going to decay in my soul, and I almost despair of being of any use to the heathen at all.”
Carey has an extraordinary love for languages and he also
has an extraordinary gift to learn new ones. He mastered the Latin grammar in
six weeks. An old French book gave him the ability in three weeks to read
French with ease. In an incredibly short space of time he had acquired a
knowledge of Greek and Hebrew. At 21 years of age Carey had mastered Latin,
Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Dutch and French.
When Carey died at 73, he had seen the Scriptures translated
and printed into forty languages, some he translated by himself while others he
supervised. He used his supernatural capability in trying to remove the
language barrier in reading the Bible.
Salvation of Souls
“I care not where or how I lived, or what hardships I went through, so that I could but gain souls for Christ. While I was asleep I dreamed of these things and when I awoke the first thing I thought of was this great work. All my desire was for the conversion of the heathen, and all my hope was in GOD.”
“A wretched, poor, and helpless worm, on thy kind arms I fall.”
“When I compare myself with my work, I sink into a point, a mere despicable nothing.”
The worm lived 41 of his 73 years of living as a missionary to
India who did not return home.
Occupation in the Highest
Before he became a missionary, Carey was a shoemaker. He
drew a world map on brown paper, hang it on his wall, wrote notes on every
nation. He had a thoughtful consideration of this calling, of this work.
“I would not abandon the Mission for all the fellowships and finest spheres in England. My greatest calamity would be separation from this service. May I be useful in laying the foundations of Christ’s Church in India; I desire no greater reward, nor can conceive higher honor.”
Nearing Reward
The Bible is filled with promised rewards. It is not a sin
to desire these rewards. However, for Carey, seeing heaven filled with saints
as fruits of missionaries’ works is a reward in itself.
“What a heaven will it be to see many myriads of poor heathens... Who by their [missionaries’] labor have been brought to the knowledge of GOD. Surely a ‘crown of rejoicing’ like this is worth aspiring.”
Sufferings’ Purpose
In his 41 years of missionary work, he...:
- first seven years with no converts;
- plunged into depths of depressions;
- buried 2 wives, one went insane;
- buried 3 kids: 2 daughters and a son;
- almost died due to malaria and dysentery.
Suffering is not a hindrance in glorifying Christ. Instead,
it is an agent in glorifying Christ. The Bible says in Romans 8:17, “…we suffer
with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” When we keep on
serving Christ amidst pain, the world will be astonished and be pointed to the
Savior who is infinitely worthy of all our sacrifices.
Download: Lecture Powerpoint Presentation
