Critical Mission

Hello blog-readers. Thank you for being here... where I just ramble about how amazing God is and pray and hope that it encourages you to chase harder after Him. Today in church the message was on... wait for it... missions. Boy I knew I was gonna cry, I always do about this topic... and to top it off I cried the whole first set of worship (Doesn't help they played my favorite song - This Is Our God by Hillsong)

Anywho, now that you know I cried a lot today. I just want to share with you all what the Lord has been doing in my heart and life. 

I am obsessed with the Gospel. I can NOT believe that God loves us SO much that He came down on earth to walk with us, heal us, bring us joy, teach us, and then after all that He dies a brutal death on the cross for the sins of the WORLD. He brought hope, joy, freedom, healing... and then He died. BUT then He rose! 3 days later! And death was defeated and He was glorified. 

When I think about how much God loves me it hits me... it really does, but I don't start weeping like a small child until I think about how much God loves the world. He wants the world, He came not to condemn the world but to SAVE it. There are so many people out there who don't know about this amazing, loving, freely giving, rescuing God! That blows my mind! I am so fortunate and blessed to have already heard about this God, how much more should I want people to hear as well! It's like a restaurant... whenever I have people visiting from out of California I know that I have to take them to In-N-Out, cause it's the best! That's how I feel about the Gospel.. I have already tasted the love of Jesus Christ, whoever hasn't... needs to! It's that good! I can't keep quiet about it or I can't stop giving out directions on how to get to In-N-Out for those who have never been!

Missions has been forever on my heart since I first went to Haiti... but now it's a totally new flame I can't even describe. Let's think about it... the death & resurrection of Jesus is AMAZING. And without it we would have no Gospel, but have you ever thought about why Jesus left 40 days after He rose? He rose from the grave, defeating death and later ascended back into Heaven. He left! Why?! Why couldn't He just stay and start the whole kingdom of Heaven on earth jazz... 

But Jesus chose to leave.

I think Jesus left because there was something critical for His disciples to do. There was unfinished business. And He tells us just what He wanted done, and He said He would not return until that business was completed. This was not something new that He hadn't told them about. Jesus had spent three years preparing His disciples for this critical mission. He spoke about it constantly, and in His last days with them He promised them the Holy Spirit, a helper and comforter, would come with power to be their guide. 

The unfinished business is what most Christians call the "Great Commission" which is

" And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
(Matthew 28:18-20)

and earlier in Matthew 24:14 Jesus says "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." - He ain't coming back till everyone has heard! 

That's our job! That's our purpose! That is the ONE thing He commanded us to do besides Love God, Love others... go into the WORLD and preach the Gospel! Then He will come back! He is patient, desiring all to come to repentance, and in Romans we know that those who HEAR the Word of God and BELIEVE ARE SAVED! How can one be saved without HEARING the Word of God?? We must speak, they must hear, then He will come.

There are so many Christians, especially in America/Orange County that are "missing" something in their walk with the Lord, they are hungry for more... this commission is that "more" you are desiring! That is how we were wired and how we were made! If we aren't actively engaged in the Great Commission we are missing out on the very thing He created us to do.

How compelling... How radical. I hear that all the time, "that is kinda radical don't you think?" - this earth is not our home! We seek a city that is to come, He is preparing a house that is to come, our home is "to come!" I would much rather invest my entire, vapor/fleeting life in eternity than in the vapor itself. I want to live every day radically poured out for the Lord and not concerned about the things of this world because I could die tomorrow! Let's be real... what if you die tomorrow? Are you going to be happy with how you lived your life? Or are you spending to much time investing in your "future" that isn't actually guaranteed to you!?

 Are you going to run into the Savior's arms at the gates? Or are you going to try and sneak in the back way? Is He going to know you when you arrive? When I get to Heaven I want to hear "well done my good and faithful servant"...

Shouldn't we all be radicals?!

I don't understand how radical could be a bad thing... He is all in for us, why not be all in for Him? He gave His life for me, the least I could do is live for Him. When I get to Heaven's gates God isn't going to ask me what I did with my life, He is going to ask me what I did with His Son's. 

May we be a radical generation, poured out everyday for the Lord, God may You stir in our hearts a new flame for Your Gospel, a new prayer life that stands in the gaps for missionaries, countries, and people who have never heard the Word of God, may we be people who speak so that others may hear! May we take the Gospel Message You have given us into every aspect, location, and relationship we have! May we run hard into the world with it, for we know that we have rest coming for all eternity. Help us Father to see the world as You do, to love the world as You do, help us to freely give and sacrifice as You do so that they may taste and see that You are good God. Fill us with Your Spirit, compel and commission us into the world. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 

"I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world." 
John 17:15-17


This song will make you cry. Give it a listen. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5iGjfIbL18