As believers in, and followers of Jesus Christ, we live with a mandate. It is simple, we are to go into every nook and cranny of our world and proclaim the relevancy of the sacrificial death and resurrection of our King.
It is a daunting task....impossible in scope. The world's population is 6.8 billion and growing by 145 people every minute. Four babies are born every second. Reaching everyone with the word of life is way beyond our ability to accomplish. It is multiplying too quickly. But the good news is, nothing is impossible with God.
The truth that we proclaim is that God has already accomplished the impossible on our behalf. It was impossible for any man to be found right according to God's moral standard. Everyone has sinned to some degree...from murder to the little white lie, its all a transgression of God's law. Hopeless! Yet God sent his only son, born without the bent-towards-sin nature by way of being conceived of a virgin (impossible), to take all the penalty of our law-breaking upon himself. He died with it...he died in my place...with my death penalty. Then, God did the impossible again and raised his Son from the dead! Why? He did it so you and I, our neighbor and co-worker, and the guys and gals on the other end of the planet can experience true spiritual life. He did the impossible so we could be God's friends!
The task of sharing that life with everyone is impossible. But we serve the God of the impossible. So....how do we get it done?
Three Thoughts from the experience of the prophet Isaiah. Listen to how he describes his life-changing experience in Isa. 6:1-8
"I saw the Lord, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim....And one called to another and said, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!' And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said; 'Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!' Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal from off the altar. And he touched my mouth and said; 'Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin is atoned for.' And I heard the voice of the Lord saying 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here am I.'"
The only way we can accomplish anything of value is to understand the True Ministry Begins With God.
A vision of the glory of God is the starting point of all ministry. If we, as Christians--believers and followers of Jesus, do not have a fresh revelation of the glory and majesty of our King, then we have no point from which to launch. Without an experiential knowledge of the glory of God, we cannot reach this burgeoning world.
I must go higher....meaning, I must be jettisoned into his presence...before I can go farther into a need-filled human race.
The only way to get anything done is to understand that True Ministry Is Received Before It is given.
At first hearing, that may sound selfish. However, Isaiah's experience shows us that our own shortcomings, our own sin, our own inabilities, and pride, and self-centeredness, must be dealt with before an outward ministry can make any profound dent in the world. Listen, something happens when we encounter the glory of Jesus. We get perspective....we are broken...and that's good. Our pride in our own brilliance and talents is our downfall. It is the obstacle to the miraculous, and only the miraculous will reach the 5.8 billion that have yet to hear of the hope that we profess. Only when we figure out we're not so big after all can we find the empowerment that we need to get the job done.
Then, the only way to accomplish our mandate is to understand that True Ministry Is Directed By God.
Isaiah received a revelation and ended up freaking out at his own inadequacies. But then God stepped in and made Isaiah right. God cleansed his heart. Then, God stepped aside and challenged Isaiah with a call to empowered service.
Here's the deal:
With a revelation of Jesus comes the PASSION of Jesus.
He desperately wants the friendship of everyone on the planet, and his passion drives him to call to imperfect people like you and me. He calls us to go and tell as many others as possible that Jesus really does love them and will prove it.
With God-sized Passion comes God-sized vision!
With God-sized Vision comes Christ-like POWER!
Since nothing is impossible with God, then nothing is impossible for those who are called by God, for those empowered by God, and for those who have his passion.
Go higher....and you'll go farther. Get with God and stay there until you get a fresh revelation of his glory. With it will come a new passion. Stay there until you get some new power. Then, look out world....Passionate, powerful, purposeful Christians are on the loose!!!
Pastor Jim
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