It’s so easy to assume that Missions is a New Testament idea. But it’s not. It’s been God’s heart since the very beginning. His passion for the nations is evident throughout the entirety  of   the   Bible.

Way back in Genesis, God promised Abraham overwhelming blessings. Not so Abraham could live an abundant, selfish live. But so that “all people on earth will be blessed” through him. All people.

In the story of Noah, the promise set forth in the rainbow was God’s covenant with all of mankind – not just Noah’s family. Not just the people of Israel. Not just the Body of Christ. God’s covenant of grace was “a covenant for all generations to come.” All generations.

What was the whole point of David and Goliath? Little beats big? God on your side is the majority? We can do all things through God’s strength? All of those things and more. Ultimately, it reveals God’s heart. David conquered Goliath so “the whole world will know that there is a God.” The whole world.

Then there was Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, the three young Israelites in the fiery furnace. In the end, King Nebuchadnezzar decreed that the people of “every nation will know that no other god can save.” Every nation.

Not only did the Lord spare Daniel’s life in the lion’s den, but “all the peoples, nations, and men of every language” heard about it. The king issued a decree that basically said, “There is no God like Daniel’s!” Every language.

Even in the Psalms we can read of God’s heart for the lost. “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.” All nations.

As you read the Bible this week, look at everything through the Missions Lens. You’ll see things you never noticed before. And you’ll discover the heart of God in a whole new way.

God’s ultimate plan is for all nations to know Him. As Christians, as God-followers, we are called to be a part of His plan. All of us.

(ALECE)

God has blessed you.  Count your blessings.  But don’t stop there.  You are blessed to be a blessing.  God’s intention is that all the nations of the earth should be blessed by the actions of God’s people.  Who have you blessed recently?

If this church was suddenly destroyed and all its members scattered, would God see a need to rebuild it?  Are there groups outside the church that would say, “Well, how are we possibly going to get along without this church to help us?”  I hope they would.  For some churches in some communities, no one outside the church would even notice their absence.

God is working the salvation of the world through us.  It’s our job.  The Jews were not chosen by God for special privilege, but for special service.  It is the same for Christians and for anybody else who receives God’s blessing.  Don’t hoard it…spread it.  Don’t pay it back, pay it forward.  For every material blessing you have received, for the gift of talent or health or land or a kind and loving spirit, for the good news of the love of God in Jesus Christ…whatever it is, you were given that blessing in order that you might use it to bless others.

But please don’t hear this as saying that we cannot enjoy any of the blessings we receive–that we only look at the gourmet meal from the outside and never taste any of it.  Some Christians make that mistake, thinking their own lives are to be barren while they give everything to others.  No, it is a much more gracious plan than that.  It is like the miracle of the loaves and fishes.  As we share the blessing we have, the blessing grows and multiplies until everyone present…including us…is satisfied and there are huge amounts of leftovers still.

It’s the basic lesson we learned in kindergarten.  Share.  One toy lovingly and willingly shared creates community.  One toy hoarded creates tears and temper tantrums.  Wealth and resources that are lovingly and willingly shared creates a grateful and peaceful world.  Wealth and resources that are stockpiled and hoarded leads to poverty and war.  For those who do not profess faith, there is no rule.  But for those who look to the Bible for guidance, it couldn’t be more clear.  Enjoy God’s blessings, count them one by one.  Then pass them on wherever they are needed that through God’s people all the nations of the earth should be blessed.                            (ANNE ROBERTSON)

There have been very few times I’ve ever taken a taxi. That’s because whenever I’m in a big city I always notice  the  rate  charts they post on the vehicle that show they get so much for the 1/10^th mile, a whole lot more for the next 10^th, and even more money for when they get stuck in traffic and have to sit still.

Life is like a taxi cab. The meter keeps on ticking, whether you’re going somewhere or just sitting still.   In   life,  that   meter   is called time. As much as you would like to slow it down or make it stop, you simply can’t. It keeps on ticking at a steady pace.

Nobody likes wasting their money on a taxi that is sitting still. We want to be going somewhere and producing something because we are aware of that ticking meter.

Likewise, when you become mindful of God’s meter, called time, ticking away your life, you’ll become equally mindful to redeem the time.

(SOURCE UNKNOWN)

What has God placed you on this earth to do? What is your purpose? What drives you? What are you living for?

There are over 600 commands in the O.T. Law. Jesus took all 613 commands and condensed them down to just two! He said love God supremely, with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. That’s the crux of the law, according to Jesus.

There is something that comes before your ability to love God. It is the recognition that God loved you first. In 1 John 4, the apostle says: “We love, because He first loved us.”

Only God’s love can meet the deepest needs of your heart. Depending on people to supply what only God can supply will leave you lonely and frustrated.

What is the key to unlocking this love? Making Jesus the Lord of your life. His lordship releases a new capacity for sacrificial love to flow out of your life. Once we surrender to Him and begin to experience His love, then we can truly begin to love our neighbors.

If we get right with God first, the second part of The Great Commandment falls into place.

The last words of Jesus in Matthew 28 explain what we are to be doing in the gap between His First Coming and His Second Coming.

We carry out the Great Commission – to make disciples – with the Great Commandment at heart. So we go out as witnesses, with hearts of compassion, especially for those who are in need.

These two greats joined together add up to a great life purpose.

Are you ready to embrace a big vision for your life – a purpose-filled vision?

Jesus understood His life mission. At age 12 He said, “I must be about My Father’s business.” And 21 years later, dying on the cross, He said, “It is finished.”

If there’s just one more person in heaven because of your influence, your life will have made a difference for eternity. Look around at your mission field. Ask God to show you who He may have put in your life to tell about His love.

What is the value of a single soul? If just one person in heaven says, “Thank you. I’m here because you cared enough to share the Good News,” that will be beyond any other thing you may have achieved on earth.        

(MARK ELLIS)

“I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law of Moses? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.”  (Galatians 3:5)

The Galatians knew that they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed, not when they obeyed the law. People still feel insecure in their faith because faith alone seems too easy. People still try to get closer to God by following rules.

While certain disciplines (e.g. Bible study, prayer) and service may help us grow (and these should never be neglected), they must not take the place of the Holy Spirit in us or become ends in themselves. Christ must be the foundation of our faith.

The Holy Spirit gives Christians great power to live for God. Some Christians want more than this. They want to live in a state of perpetual excitement. The tedium of everyday living leads them to conclude that something is wrong spiritually. Often the Holy Spirit’s greatest work is teaching us to persist, to keep on doing what is right even when it no longer seems interesting or exciting. The Galatians quickly turned from Paul’s Good News to the teachings of the newest teachers in town; what they needed was the Holy Spirit’s gift of persistence. If the Christian life seems ordinary, you may need the Spirit to stir you up. Everyday offers a challenge to live for Christ

Because the God who sent the law also sent the Spirit, the by-product of the Spirit-filled life are in perfect harmony with the intent of God’s law. A person who exhibits the fruit of the Spirit fulfills the law far better than a person who observes the rituals but has little love in hrs or her heart.

(LIFE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE, NEW LIVING TRANSLATION)

The greatest struggle in the Christian’s life is a control issue. We want Jesus to be Lord but we don’t want to lose control of our lives. We want to call the shots. Jesus is Lord – conditionally. That is, He is Lord as long as His will and direction agree with what we want.

As someone once said, “The problem with a live sacrifice is that is continually climbs off the altar.” This is the crux of our problem. As soon as we give ourselves to the Lord we are taking back what we gave Him – we climb off the altar. “I” keeps control, maintains lordship.

Is there an answer to this wrestling, up and down life. Well, the way to ensure that the sacrifice remains on the altar is to kill it. Galatians 2:20 reveals how this is done for us: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” “I” is crucified and we are raised in Christ. “I” is not obliterated, rather given true life and made subservient to Christ’s Lordship. He is our life; our identity; our Lord. He is the ground to our being. We are freed from self-domination. We are liberated from self-obsession. We are emancipated so that we can fully love and serve God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. J.D. McClurkan stated it well: “There is a sinful self to be crucified with Christ; a true self to be realized in Christ; and a human self to be disciplined by Christ.”

John Wesley had believers pray a prayer in a Covenant Service. It is the prayer the Christian who longs to be done with the great battle over lordship and be sold out to Christ. It is the prayer of all that have been crucified with Christ. It is the prayer of every Christian:

“Lord, I am no longer my own, but Yours. Put me to what You will, rank me with whom You will. Let me employed by You or laid aside for You, exalted for You or brought low by You. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, You are mine and I am Yours. So be it.   AMEN.”

Keep close to Jesus.

(PASTOR GERALD WHETSTONE)