If you have any questions about any of these teachings, you may  contact Brother Don Ragsdale at the following address: don@skywatchmin.org

EACH MINISTRY SHOULD LOOK AT THEIR MINISTRY AND JUDGE WHAT IS BEING DONE, IS BEING ACCOMPLISHED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SCRIPTURES.

In regards to the missionary's, it is very clear in Scripture what they are to accomplish and enough information is given and even declared that a missionary can judge the effectiveness of their work in a spiritual realm by the Scriptures:

This is the basic foundation that roots each and every missionary in their mission. They need to only to know this Scripture, by the Spirit, and can always use it as the measuring rod of Eternal Judgement of their works. Knowing this Scripture opens their eyes and keeps them from deceiving spirits and deceptive manners.

We will take this Scripture and go into it in such a manner to reveal the Truth, and then with the knowledge, the missionary can apply such knowledge at all times and keep their mission in tact and without compromise.

The missionary MUST judge their work and their efforts and their lives at every turn to see the Light of it and this will keep judgement and darkness from coming into it. Let us begin.

We are to go every where as the Spirit leads us, without questioning why. The Spirit says, "Go". We are to go. While going, we may ask as to the reason and manner of whys, hows, etc. But, our hearts and attitudes are in the going manner.

"be it unto me in accordance with your will." This is the exact manner of our attitude without question or doubt of any form. One must settle this in their hearts before putting their hands to the plough.

And, when times and situations and circumstances points to everything else, that person keeps their hands to the plough looking unto the Author and Finisher of their faith continuously, and continues in the work they have been sent to accomplish. There can be no compromise at this very first step. If you falter, and then look back, your sins become extremely important, for you have violated the very words of Christ Who declared that such a person is not fit for the Kingdom.

This is to be taken very serious. If the Lord should allow such repentance of such an act, the person must remember that they have been forgiven. This does not remove the person from the mission. The forgiveness allows the person to continue the mission, not get out of it. To remove the hands from the plough clearly means the Kingdom is not for them. So, to the very point of and including death, the missionary continues forward....ever going.

The declaration that Jesus Christ has come to set the captive free, to cast out demons, to heal the sick and to raise dead is the root of Christianity. And, God does not restrict it to those who we desire to declare the message to.

The going.....is to preach to all. How can the creation call on the One and Only (Jesus) whom they have not believed in? How can they believe on the One and Only (Jesus) in whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the Word of God.

The great mission is to Proclaim the good news that Jesus has finally come, being foretold thousands of years that He would come. Now that He came; proved Himself to be the Saviour and Messiah to all who would believe and receive Him into their lives; and ascended to His right place, at the Right Hand of God Most High to be Lord of all of God's creation with all authorities, rulers, dominions, principalities and powers in subjection to Him Who lives forever and forever be praised.

The good news in the life of the missionary is the authority the missionary uses to make the declarations to all peoples.

Missionary work is the establishing of the Kingdom of God on earth, through the lives of the Believers. The Kingdom of God lies within a person, in their hearts; and it is spiritual. The missionary goes..preaching that salvation is at hand..and establishes a foothold in the dark regions and lights the Light of Life for those who dwell in the torments of their souls, so that they can see and come out from the darkness.

Preaching means to declare. Living in the foothold that has been established is the proof to those in the darkness that Christianity is in fact, a reality. Preaching is also concluded to be establishing the Kingdom of God. For elsewhere the same message to go makes the declaration that disciples are to be made.

Discipling is the training of those who have embraced the Lord of Glory in their lives. The missionary's task is to set the living example in all manners and give instruction to those who are willing to embrace and listen. The foot hold that has been established in that darkness begins to grow and advance is further made into the dark regions, leading those out into the Light where they can see and then they go forth, bringing evermore of the good news of salvation and deliverance is available through the one Christ Jesus.

The mission is to preach to all....making disciples of the nations.

When the conviction comes upon the new Believer of repentance, there must also come the baptism in water. Throughout the Scriptures there must be a baptism to be a salvation.

Matthew 28:19 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “ Repent and be baptised every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.

The tract concerning Water Baptism covers the details clearly. Here, we are seeing how to judge our ministry to be in compliance with the Holy Spirit's instructions given by the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, all Believers are to be baptised as soon as possible, for this is the Word and Work of the Holy Spirit.

The deliverance ministry is one of the most requiring faith and clear spiritual insight and discernment. This ministry of the missionary is absolutely necessary in the establishing the Kingdom of God.

The Holy Spirit flows through the missionaries and ministers that are yielded to Him for the work He has to do. And when it comes to casting out demons many missionaries set aside the task. This is the area of serious responsibility that is not taken into account, for so many excuses, reasons and thoughts of the compromised viewpoint are taken first.

The new Believer must be delivered from the strong holds of darkness in their life. The new Believer must see the darkness for what it is, and the casting out of demons reveals to the new Believer that the spiritual forces are very real and at continuous work. They must see the demons are the forces that controls the lives of the other unbelievers, as well as the societies and cultures. When the new Believer see the darkness for what it is, through the eyes of the Spirit, the Believer will take the darkness to be a serious hindrance in their lives.

The Lord declares"...in my name they will drive out demons;"... this the missionary must see if their mission reveals the demonic world by driving out the demons from the lives of the new Believers. And, it will also show the new Believers that they have been given this same authority and will drive out demons as well.

This is an important part of the missionary's life. And the missionary can judge their mission's success by the fulfilling of the Scriptures such as this important one.

Remember, the Word says "drive out," reflecting that a force has to be applied to exert pressure to overcome. This is all in the spiritual realm and can easily become manifested in the natural. The missionary must realise the actual work involved in the "drive out demons" aspect of ministry.

The missionary may become drained of strength after the victory and must not be concerned if such happens. Rest and prayer will restore quickly. It is clear that virtue will be drained from the missionary in this battle line. But will be filled back up later.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit in a new Believer's life is so very important that the Lord Jesus declares that those who believe who speak in new tongues. The tongues are a sign that the Power of God has come upon the Believer. Having the outpouring of the Holy Spirit among new Believers is a good sign of the Presence of the Lord. It is a good time to also bring into play the other aspects of the ministry, such as the driving out of demons.

Praying in the Spirit is to build up the faith, and the missionary must always train each new Believer in this aspect of faith, the praying and building up which is the manner of Christ. It teaches the new Believer of the required action on their part in their daily battle against the unseen forces acting in the non-believer's lives. The realisation of this will increase their faith.  

This statement is both literal and spiritual. Paul picked up a snake, by accident, and though highly poisonous, it had no affect on him. Not even a sickness for a while and healing to come. It just did not bother him. When you pick up a snake in such a manner, you can be assured that it will not harm you when it bites you.

The spiritual side of this is the deceiving spirit, which is what the snake stands for in this context. Snakes are associated with demons, mainly deceiving spirits. However, the Lord used a snake in the Old Testament to battle the other snakes with Moses turning his staff into the snake. Then, the snake on the pole. during the wilderness times, brought healing to all who looked upon it. That is why the snake on a pole is the sign, world-wide, of the medical profession. The medical sign got the symbol from the events on the Bible.

Deceiving spirits are very cunning, very quick, very deadly in each and every case. Their spiritual bite brings much poison to the victim and their salvation is destroyed. This is how the catholic church is today. It is a giant snake biting those poor souls into believing the lie and the idolatry that is has through the demons. Even their speaking in tongues is of course a deception.

The missionary must judge their works and measure their efforts in this area very carefully. So many are deceived that their work is great and those who are born again are of the Lord, when the spiritual fact reveals the deception. It is important for the missionary to review their efforts against the measuring rod of the Spirit of the Lord in His Word. They must be on guard to see any error and the sprouts coming from the soil showing the dark seed that has been planted.

Very important for the missionary to come to terms with the Lord in this manner. Remember, all of these items have to be in operation in some degrees if the Spirit of the Lord is able to perform His task through that missionary.

The missionary must be willing to start over from scratch when the deception is found. No, they do not quit or give up. They realise the mistakes, talk with the Lord, and receive the new instruction to continue and the Lord will make right from the wrong, and He will still receive the glory and even greater so.

This area is also literal. If someone poisons the water or the food, the Lord will see that the poison is not able to harm them when it enters the body. This is a guarantee from Jesus, Himself. This does not mean to test the Lord! It means if it is unknown by you and the Spirit has not warned you, the Lord will see that it will not harm you, to His glory.

The spiritual aspect of this is when the darkness gives them the dark waters of poison, or deception, it will not harm the missionary nor the Believer. It is a promise that the Lord will see that the deadly poison of deception to be null and void in the life of the missionary. This means the poison entered, but it shall not prosper to the extent of design. And, it will not hurt the ministry, once you are aware of the poisoning effect and act upon it.

Many ministries are destroyed or closed down due to the poisoning of the ministry by the dark angels. That is because they failed to hear the Spirit in the matters or was unwilling to yield to the Spirit in the matter. Either way, the destruction came not because of God's promise being broken by God, but by the missionary.

The missionary must always be sensitive to the Holy Ghost in all matters. It is a continuous serious time when in the mission field. There is no holidays nor vacation while there. It is pure decisive battle plans at all times. The soldier, when sent to scout out the territory, must be deliberate and dedicated at all times, less the enemy finds him out and destroys him.

The same is true with the missionary. The dark angels look at the Light coming through the person and starts looking for a way to enter into and plant the destruction seeds. The missionary must continuously judge their ministry, their lives in every manner, and their thoughts at all times, while in the mission field. Failure to do this will bring the fiery darts of despair, torments, and anguish.

Keen awareness in the spiritual realm will prevent such defeats and will always bring victory at every turn. Jesus, our Lord set His jaw like flint. He has a purpose. He went to fulfil that mission given. No poison was allowed by him to drink. He continuously refused to drink the thoughts of darkness.

The missionary must have the courage to lay hands on the people who come for healing. They must never get tired nor afraid of laying hands on the sick. They must pray and listen to the Spirit's counsel in the matter. They should not lay hands on a person quickly, but pray and see what the Lord says.

The laying on of hands without seeing the spiritual condition of the person will at times bring about a shock, especially when the demons laughs at you or shouts at you. The missionary must be aware of the devils' schemes in this matter. Sincere people need prayer and sincere people will get well.

The missionary, during their meetings, is sensitive to the Lord in dealing with prayers for the sick. And, it is a case by case consideration. If at a mass rally, and the Lord is present and He says to pray for them, then go fully encouraged to lay hands on all and expect all to get well. Some then, some later.

It is not the missionary's consideration whether or not they are healed. It is their concern that follow the leading of the Spirit and lay hands on the sick. The missionary must remember that it is the Holy Spirit's task to heal, and the missionary's task to lay hands and offer the prayer in faith to believe it.

When there is not any healing, then the missionary has to begin measuring the work and the Spirit of the work, to see the error. For the signs of laying hands on the sick and they will get well, must take place if the Spirit is there and the missionary is in obedience to the Spirit.

CONCLUSION

The manner of the missionary must always be measured by the Scriptures. And, if the missionary will let their lives be so measured, they will find a greater success and more victories waiting for them at every turn. It is clear the Lord will work with the missionary and confirm His Word by the signs that accompanies it. There will be signs that accompany the missionary who is true to the Lord's commands.

When we do not comply with such Scriptures, we deny the Holy Spirit's place in the ministry. We must comply with the Scriptures for the Holy Spirit has been sent forth to fulfil the Word of the Living God sent into all the earth, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Most High Living God.

The missionary can study the Scriptures with the Holy Spirit, and He will show the missionary what the Spirit has been instructed to do. Then, the missionary yields their members over to the Holy Spirit for the task He has been sent....to prepare the Bride to receive her Lord and Master, King Jesus!

The missionary has been sent from Heaven with a mission. To go and make disciples of Jesus Christ so that there will be faith on the earth when He returns.

Behold! ... He comes soon! Prepare the way in the hearts of the people to receive the Great King of all Kings, Lord Jesus Christ.

Missionary, fulfil your mission!

1 Sept 95