You Have Forgotten Me

In my study of the book of Jeremiah today, I came across this accusation: You have forgotten me (Jer. 2:32) This statement is not without justification if one reads the preceding statements:

• They worshipped worthless idols. vs. 5
• They did not ask where is the Lord? vs. 6
• You defiled my land corrupted the possession I had promised you. vs. 7
• My people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols. vs. 11
• They have abandoned me. vs. 13
• They have dug for themselves cisterns that can hold no water at all. vs . 13
• The towns lie in ruins. vs. 15
• They rebelled against the Lord their God even though he was leading the way vs. 17

I could go on, but I think you get the point. The people of God who had once loved him had forgotten him.

Many times, I think that our life is too easy, that we really have no need of God. I am reminded of those persecuted Christians (those whose life and safety really are threatened) and I would suggest to you that they realize how utterly dependent they are upon God and upon his sustaining power, his protecting hand, and his incredible love. Are we not equally dependent?

Several times, Jeremiah charges God’s people with forgetting to call upon him in times of trouble.

 They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD,
who brought us up out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness,
through a land of deserts and rifts,
a land of drought and darkness,
a land where no one travels and no one lives?’ (Jer. 2:6 NLT)

The parallel for us is obvious: Have we forgotten God in our blessed life? Do we feel like we have need of God? Do we call out for him in times of trouble believing in faith for his help?

I know that in my life, I have some pressing needs. Some things for which I need to cry out, “Where is the Lord?” Would you join me today in remembering God and his power to deliver, heal, provide, restore, protect, and love only as our Heavenly Father can? It is time for us to abandon the god of self-reliance and human ingenuity and rely upon God once again as we did at first.

I’m Too Young!

It is Sunday morning. As I sit to write a brief note from my devotional time this morning, I lack confidence. I am starting to read the book of  Jeremiah. As a young man Jeremiah lacked confidence. It is clear that he lacked confidence because of what the Lord said to him.

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
Before you were born I set you apart
and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5 NLT)

Jeremiah instantly responded, “O Sovereign Lord, I can’t speak for you! I’m too young.” (vs. 6) No doubt we all feel this way from time to time. We think, “I cannot speak for you because I am not _______ (you fill in the blank).

God reassures him by saying: Don’t say that! If you  go wherever I send you and say what I tell you to say, I the Lord will protect you and will be with you.

Then, he gave him words to say. Sometimes God gives us easy things to do and sometimes difficult. God shared with him the summary of what he would have to say.

The chapter closes with this:

¹⁷ “Get up and prepare for action.
Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say.
Do not be afraid of them,
or I will make you look foolish in front of them.
¹⁸ For see, today I have made you strong
like a fortified city that cannot be captured,
like an iron pillar or a bronze wall.
You will stand against the whole land—
the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah.
¹⁹ They will fight you, but they will fail.
For I am with you, and I will take care of you.
I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Jeremiah 1:17-19, NLT)

We need to remember that the same God that formed us in the womb and called us to do something great for him will also be with us. We need not fear our age, our background, our lack of education, skills, good looks or amazing personality. The LORD has spoken and no matter the battles, he will take care of you.

I am resting in that as I go to preach God’s Word today.

Pure Heart = Pure Words

Pure Heart = Pure Words

Matthew 12:35-37

35 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. 36 And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. 37 The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you. (NLT)

I love how the NLT translates verse 35. “From the treasury of a good heart” and “From the treasury of an evil heart.” The things that I really treasure I keep in my heart.

“Treasury” in my mind conjures up a chest of things: gold coins, goblets, precious jewels, etc. (symbolically good things. You could insert purity, holiness, love, joy, and peace) But what if my “treasury” is not filled with good things but with bad things: hatred, jealousy, pride, filthy thoughts, etc.? Wouldn’t the words that come out of my mouth reflect that? How can blessing and cursing come from the same source?

The frightening part for me is that on judgement day, I will have to give account for every idle word, (i.e., every word that shouldn’t have been said.). My words will either acquit or condemn me.

My prayer is today found in Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (NLT)

The Secret to Evangelism

I just finished watching, with great interest, an interview of Billy Graham by Greta VanSustern. (There are two parts.)

Greta VanSustern to Billy Graham: “If you have any advice to young preachers today, what’s the advice?” Billy Graham’s response: “Spend more time in study and prayer. That’s the secret of successful evangelism. If you neglect that, you’ve neglected the very heart of God’s call to you.”

Without doubt, the 92 year-old Billy Graham has been the greatest evangelist and most influential evangelical leader of our time. His large event evangelistic rallies have given millions the opportunity to respond to the good news of Jesus delivered in a clear and concise manner. In Seoul, South Korea he once spoke to 1,000,000 people at one time! Imagine the eternal impact his ministry has had and continues to have through the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He has had audience and been a friend to virtually all of America’s modern presidents and other world leaders as well.

In all of this influence and proven record of effectiveness, when asked about what advice he would give young preachers Graham does not point to method but points to Jesus. ”Spend more time in study and prayer. That’s the secret of successful evangelism. If you neglect that, you’ve neglected the very heart of God’s call to you.”

This is a powerful statement! In our minds, study and prayer are kind of like afterthoughts. A good strategy plus a quick prayer and a biblical message equals success right? Hardly!

I believe this is why we (and I include myself in this) as the church have failed in evangelism. Sure, some have come to Christ but we are not seeing conversions in accordance with the God’s heart for the lost. The pulpit loses its power when the preacher doesn’t spend adequate time in study and prayer.

In the same interview Graham said if he were to do things differently in life he would have studied more, prayed more, traveled less, taken less speaking engagements (at conferences in the. UK , US, and the world) because he needed more time to study to think and to pray. He went on to say that he would spend more time in meditation and prayer and just “telling the Lord how much I love him and adore him and am looking forward to the time we are going to spend together for eternity.” How would I change my routine to free up more time for Bible Study, prayer, and meditation?

We don’t often think of these things (prayer, meditation, and study) as keys to successful evangelism but in reality they are. I am all about strategy but give far too little time to these things. It is not as though they are totally neglected. Yet, if I want to have a more powerful and evangelistic ministry, and a very much do, then I must give greater attention to this.

Impact: It is What You Were Created For, Part Four- Anointed for Service

I question myself frequently? What does God want me to do? Why was I created? What is my purpose in life? What gets me out of bed in the morning? (Besides coffee?) What keeps me going day after day? What is my dream? Can I go out and serve God and still live my dream? What makes me think I can go make a difference? Will God go with me as I live out my dream? Will I be out there doing what I love but not have God’s blessing?

I desperately want to live my dream, be used by God and have his touch upon my life. I want to have the sense that God is there with me every step of the way!

To what has God called you? What has God created you for? What is it that gets you out of bed each day? What is your dream? I am sure that we all have various dreams, desires, and visions of ways we can make a difference. Using your natural gifts and talents plus the gifts and fruit of the Spirit, what could you accomplish for God?

As we have said in the first message in this series, we are created for a purpose: to carry on the mission of Jesus. In the last two weeks we talked about the gifts and fruit of the Spirit. I have over all of these weeks tried to communicate that God wants to use you. I have tried to communicate that we were created and equipped to do good works. The dream that is inside of you is a dream that was put there by God! God wants to take that dream and use it for his purposes.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do

God knew you and created you with certain passions, gifts and abilities. He created you that way for good works. This verse says God prepared these good works in advance. It is our destiny to accomplish them. When we were born again, we were given a new purpose in life: to fulfill the great commission.

There are many aspects to this mission. Some people have more out front types of callings, and gifts. Others have dreams and gifts that are more subtle and behind the scenes. Remember we said that all of the gifts are needed. All parts of the body of Christ are valuable. God wants to take the gifts and abilities you already have and anoint them for service.

Let me tell you about anointing a bit.

Exodus 30:22-25

²² Then the LORD said to Moses, ²³ “Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels [6 kilograms] of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane, ²⁴ 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin [4 liters] of olive oil. ²⁵ Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil.

This oil of anointing was not liquid like cooking oil. Rather, it was thick and very smelly. The purpose of anointing oil was to dedicate things to a special purpose. For example, the items in the temple were all dedicated (set apart) for special service. The oil was used to anoint the priests who labored in the service of the temple. They were set apart for a special purpose. In a very real sense, they were empowered for service.

We believe in something commonly called, “The Priesthood of All Believers.” This is taken from the book of 1 Peter, Hebrews, and Romans.

1 Peter 2:5, 9

⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

We are a holy priesthood, a royal priesthood, a chosen people, holy nation. We belong to God that we may declare his praises. We are to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

These sacrifices are not redemptive sacrifices, in that they do not have any bearing on our eternal destiny. Rather, these are sacrifices of gratitude to God.

Paul tells us in Romans to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. As we do this, we express our spiritual priesthood in acts of praise and thanksgiving and in the selfless service of others as we meet their needs.

Hebrews 13:15-16

¹⁵ Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. ¹⁶ And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

As believers we are all priests offering our lives and sacrifices of praise to God. Here we are told specifically to do good and to share with others.

In the N.T. outlines of the offices of the church (Eph 4:11 and 1 Cor. 12:28) there is silence about the priestly functions. There is no mediator between God and man:

1 Timothy 2:5

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

Each believer has the ability and the invitation to go directly to the Father. There is no difference between any members of the body of Christ. All of us can pray for people. We have this idea that the pastor or elders in the church are the only ones who can baptize or lead communion. There is no scriptural support for that.

We all have the same mandate of making disciples. We have different roles and gifts, but that does not make one superior to the other. What does all of this have to do with you?

You were created and gifted for a purpose. As a believer your mandate is to embrace and live out that purpose. Just as the priests were set apart and empowered by anointing with oil, we too want to anoint you with oil.

What is your dream? In what way can God use you? Perhaps you can serve in some area of the church? Perhaps you have let some dream or gifting die. Whatever it is that God is speaking to your heart about right now, that is it.

REFLECTION TIME

Answer the question: If I could do anything for God I would __________.

My answer to this question is: I would like to lead a church planting movement in the Baltic states.

I am asking the leadership team to come and anoint me with oil and ask God to empower me to fulfill this dream.We are going to ask those of you who would like to be anointed for service, to come and

1. Answer that question.
2. Be anointed with oil.
3. We will pray for you.

Impact, Part 3- A Life Prepared for Impact

We are in a series of messages called, “Impact: It Is What You Were Created For” The first week we dealt with the issue purpose and what our purpose is as followers. We concluded that our mission was the same as Jesus’, “to seek and to save the lost.” Jesus transferred this mission to us in the great commission: Go and make disciples of all nations. Last week we talked about spiritual gifts and trying to discover what gift(s) Go had given to us as a church.

We discussed how the Body of Christ (the church) has been uniquely designed by God to be unified, equipped, and serve with a variety of spiritual gifts. I asked you to write down the gifts of the Spirit you each felt like you had or would like to have and turn those in. We created a chart with all of the information on it, except your names. I am very excited about the potential of this chart. It recognizes our desire to be used by God. Think of the potential represented by theses gifts. It is wonderful news.

When I look at my own life I see some areas of deficiency. I see many areas in which I do not meet the mark. I do not love as I should love. I am impatient and proud. I too struggle with issues of sin. (I hate to disappoint you, but it is true.) I too often do what my fleshly desires tell me to do rather than listening to the voice of the Spirit.

The Bible says we are all sinners. The Bible says if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. We all struggle with this problem of sin. Our flesh, our earthly desires, want to dominate our spiritual desire to serve God. It is a constant battle each of us face. Do we discipline ourselves or do we give in and follow the desires of the enemy. His mission is to destroy the work of God in us. He tempts us to sin and render our witness ineffective. We know the good we should be doing but it seems we cannot prevent ourselves from defeating ourselves.

The Scriptures talk about this. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians he lists what the acts of the sinful nature are

Galatians 6:19-21

¹⁹ The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

I am not going to spend a long time talking about each of these proving that these are not beneficial to the Kingdom. It is obvious that these acts of the sinful nature have no place in the believer’s life. Last week we talked about the gifts of the Spirit. Today we want to talk about the fruits of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

All of these things are good and admirable. As the Scriptures so clearly state, “Against such things there is law.” Who can complain about love? Joy? Peace? Patience? Kindness? Goodness? Faithfulness? Gentleness? Self-control?

This lift of fruits could also describe what Jesus is. We could say that because Jesus is loving we are loving. He is peaceful, we are peaceful, etc.

These fruits are the attributes God lives. Also, “fruit” in this passage is a singular noun. This indicates they are to be lived as a whole unit. One cannot pick and choose which one to live. We should live by all of them. The fruit of the Spirit links Jesus personality with our personality. The more I become like Jesus, the more fruit of the Spirit is in my life.

But the question is, how do we quit doing the acts of the sinful nature and start exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit?

Galatians 5:16, 24-25

¹⁶ So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Live by the Spirit. That is the key to not gratifying the flesh’s desires. The Spirit desires good things for you and your life and testimony. If we will follow his voice and obey we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. The fruit of the Spirit are developed over time. You don’t plant a seed and expect to immediately produce fruit.

Verse 24 here talks about crucifying the sinful nature with its passions and desires. The word “crucified” refers to a single crisis experience in the past. For the believer, the crucifixion with Christ represents the definitive break with the flesh. This idea was introduced earlier in the book of Galatians.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Paul says that our old life has already been crucified with Christ. We no longer live, but Christ lives in us. As people of the Spirit, we need to make a clean break from sin, the world, and the flesh. But in what sense have we been crucified? How does this crucifixion take place? What is our role in this crucifixion?

Our crucifixion is always related to the cross of Christ. We have not crucified ourselves, but we have been crucified in Christ. By faith we are able to participate in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Christ’s experiences have become our experiences.

The Ephesians were told to put off the old self and put on the new self. The Romans are exhorted to stop offering the members of their body as instruments of unrighteousness. They must not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. The object here is to live in holiness as a way of life; to live according to the Spirit.

What does all of this have to do with IMPACT? We said you were created for impact, gifted for impact, and now we are saying you need to be ready for impact. If your life does not reflect the character and attributes of Jesus, our impact will be rather small.

The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. Sometimes we really do not act very much like Christ. When people see us today, what do they see? We must continually put to death the desires of the flesh because Jesus has already given us the victory in these areas.

There is a way of escape from every temptation. We can exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. The sinful desires of the body must be crucified with Christ.

What would it be like if you refused to give in to temptation? What would it be like if you were patient, if you were gentle? What would it be like in your family if you showed more goodness and kindness? Imagine the difference we could make in our work place by having and exhibiting joy.

What if we would all better reflect Jesus? What if we all lived according to the Spirit? What if we all had more of the fruit of the Spirit in our everyday lives?

REFLECTION TIME

How does having the fruit of the Spirit in our lives help us impact our lives?

Impact: It is What You Were Created For, Part Two- Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual Gifts

The Body of Christ (the church) has been uniquely designed by God to be unified, equipped, and serve with a variety of spiritual gifts.

For a long time I was confused about what Spiritual gifts are. Were they just for the super spiritual? Pastors? Charismatics? Pentecostals? When and where can and should they be used? What is the proper role of Spiritual gifts in the church today? Does everyone have the same gifts? How do I Know what gift I have? How are spiritual gifts related to natural talents?

Are spiritual gifts for wild-eyed fanatics? We are all fearful and curious about things we don’t understand or have never been explained to us. Some spiritual gifts are incredibly supernatural. Our worldview categorizes those things as extremely unusual. It is easy to see them as, “Okay for Bible times, but not for today.”

This problem is compounded when we see and hear all sorts of well-intentioned, but mistaken, Christians doing and teaching things that are clearly non-biblical. These questions are understood quite clearly by looking at the Scriptures in a broad way.

We are going to be looking at many Scriptures today from three passages.

God has uniquely designed us to be unified as the Body of Christ. (Romans 12:4-6, 1 Cor 12:4-6, 11-27, Ephesians 4:1-7)

There are some who feel that one gift is better than other. There are some who see themselves as more important.

The Scriptures consistently use a metaphor for the church: the body of Christ. A body is a whole unit, each having its vital parts. Each of us has different roles and gifts but each of us is vital to the fulfillment of our overall purpose: To make disciples of all nations!

Every person has different gifts and it is the Holy Spirit who determines who has what gifts. Rom. 12:6, 1 Cor. 12:11, Eph. 4:7

Spiritual gifts are given so the church can be equipped. Ephesians 4:11-16

Spiritual gifts help us to be ready for to fulfill our mission. I believe that God has given the Body of Christ, world-wide, all the gifts necessary to fulfill our mandate. If you break that down further I feel that the Spirit has given Kelyje the spiritual gifts necessary at this time to fulfill our mandate. We often times focus on what we don’t have. Let’s begin to look around at what God has put in you, me, and those around us.

There are basically three lists of spiritual gifts in the N.T. They can be found basically in three passages: Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4. I want you listen carefully to them as I go over them, and see if you identify with any of them. Take the list home and pray about it.

Dr. George O. Wood, amongst others, has put them in categories. I will use his breakdown, descriptions and observations as a guideline in today’s message.

Motivational (Romans 12:6-8) These gifts explain the motivation of people in the Body of Christ to minister to one another.

Prophecy- Speaking for God and sometimes predicting the future.

Service- Practical ministry to needs

Teaching- Systematic and accurate teaching

Encouragement- A person who is called a long side someone to help

Giving- The giver has the special ability to see and respond to needs by giving.

Leadership- To set a course of direction and unify people for the accomplishment of work of the Lord

Mercy- The merciful person reaches out and administers the redemption and inner healing of Jesus

Spirituals/Manifestational (1 Corinthians 12:7-11)

Wisdom- This is when someone speaks a message of wisdom.

Knowledge- Not book learning but a message of divine knowledge

Faith- It enables a person to believe for and extra demonstration of the power of God.

Gifts of Healings (both gifts and healings are plural in the Gk.)- These people administer different types of healing in many different ways.

Miracles- Miracles demonstrate God’s power in unusual ways, especially in the realm of nature

Discerning of Spirits- Allows the person to determine whether or not a person brings a spiritual message from God.

Tongues- Differs from personal tongues. Refers to tongues in a public setting.

Interpretation of Tongues- This gift is the ability to interpret the gift of tongues.

Ministry (1 Cor 12:27-31, Ephesians 4:11-13) These gifts refer to an office in the church.

Apostle- An apostle is someone who is sent to take the gospel to a place where there is no strong church.

Helps- The special ability to invest talents in the life and ministry of others.

Administration- The ability to articulate a vision and unify the people of God to accomplish it. Differs from leadership in that the details are pulled together.

Evangelist- Special gift of sharing the gospel in such a way that men and women respond to follow Jesus.

Pastor- Assumes the responsibility of the spiritual welfare of God’s people. Pastor literally mean shepherd

Other Possible Gifts (1 Corinthians 7:7, 13:3, 1 Peter 4:9)

Celibacy- Being able to remain single and not suffer undue sexual temptation.

Voluntary Poverty- The unique ability to empty themselves of all assets for the care of others.

Martyrdom- One-time only gift of offering your life as a testimony to the ages.

Hospitality- Reaching out to others and making them feel comfortable and loved.

10 Observations

1. These gifts are for all Christians
2. Love must reign over all of these gifts (1 Corinthians 13)
3. Given for the benefit of the body and for Jesus’ work in the world.
4. Gifts should not be confused with spirituality.
5. Spiritual gifts often times match natural inclinations and abilities.
6. Spiritual gifts can be developed.
7. The use of each gift will be confirmed by the body of Christ.
8. The use of a gift comes from a combination of desire, prayer and need.
9. Only a few of them occur in a church service. Small groups are a great place to learn.
10. The Spirit wants to work in our daily lives.

(The lists of gifts, descriptions, and observations were adapted from Living in the Spirit: Drawing us to God, Sending us to the World by George O. Wood. This is an excellent resource for those interested in the person and work of the Holy Spirt.)

The Scriptures teach that our life should be given to serving God. (Romans 12:1 Ephesians 4:16)

We were created for Impact!  Living sacrifices! A sacrifice is something that is totally dedicated or committed to the cause. In the O.T. animal sacrifices atoned for the sins of the people but they needed to be repeated over and over. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, paying the price or our sins, so there is no need to offer additional sacrifices. Paul instructs us, here before this long passage on spiritual gifts that we need to say to God, as an act of spiritual worship, to offer ourselves as living sacrifices.

We need to live in the purpose for which we were created. When we do this we will have Impact!

The gifts listed in Ephesians 4 are given to the church for the building up of the church. We need to “reach unity” in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God. The gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher are give so that we as a church might become mature. This passage says we the goal is the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. None of us are there yet!

It also speaks of being tossed back and forth, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, leadership should speak the truth in love. We can all grow up into him who is the Head. As the Body of Christ, our source is Jesus!

The whole body is joined together. Every part grows and builds itself up in love. But every part is doing its work. The point of the gifts is to unite, equip, and serve.

What could you do if you thought you had the gift of encouragement? What could you do if the body of Christ confirmed you had the gift of administration? What could you do if you recognized that latent ability within you that could have significant IMPACT?

Imagine if we as a body individually understood our gifts and encourage one another to use them? What could happen if we were being built up and equipped for ministry to our world when we leave this place? Imagine the gifts and talents in this room? Imagine the IMPACT!

REFLECTION TIME

1. Discuss around your table the list of gifts that have been presented.
2. Write down and turn in, anonymously if you wish, the gift(s) of the spirit you believe you have or desire to have.

Impact: It is What You Were Created For, Part One- Created for a Purpose

Created for a Purpose

Life is confusing sometimes. I think often about the reason for my life. There are many potential reasons I was created. Was I created t be a good father, husband, and pastor? Was it to make some important product? Was it to be holy? Was it to become a Bible expert?

Then I consider what I am. I am a missionary. When I say that, a certain image comes to your mind. “Missionary” comes for the Latin word for sent. In essence, I am sent. But that raises a lot of questions. What was I sent here to do? Feed the hungry? Clothe the naked? Build buildings? Preach on the corner? Lead Bible studies? Just exactly what was I created for? Why was I sent to Lithuania? I can think of all sorts of good things for me to do as a missionary.

I know that many of you are asking the same thing? Why am I here? Why was I created? What does God want from me? Why has God put me on this earth? Why has he made me like this? Why do I have the job I currently have? Why can’t I do what I really want? All of us are experiencing some of these questions from time to time. Everyone would like to know their purpose.

Over the next four weeks we will be working on this theme. The title of our series is: Impact: It is What You Were Created For

Today we are going to talk about why we were created. I believe we were created for Impact!

I want to define what I mean by “impact.”

Impact is an action, activity, or message that changes someone, something, or a situation.

Let me qualify what I am going to say before I begin talking about this too much. I believe and declare that ultimately we were created to have a relationship with God through his Son Jesus. We were created to worship and to be in his presence.

At the same time we were also created to be a people and individuals who impact our world. I want to make a difference. I want my life to mean something. God didn’t just create us to grow up, get married, and have 1.5 children, work for 40 years and get cancer and die, all the while trying to enjoy life. No! God created us to impact the world around us.

You can find this in virtually every book of the Bible. God chose people to make a difference, to make an impact. Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Daniel, Joshua, Gideon, Esther, Deborah, all impacted their world in significant ways. You may not think that you could have the same kind of impact as these, but since God will be with you there is a possibility. God can do great things with your life if you will live it with his purpose in mind.

When we think about the purpose of our life it is important to understand that it is directly related to Jesus’ purpose. Jesus was clear about his purpose: Even at a young age Jesus was clear about his mission.

Luke 2:49- Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?

Upon his entering into ministry he stood in the temple and read from the scroll of Isaiah.

Luke 4:18-19- ”The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Jesus again declares why he is has come to earth.

Luke 19:10- For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.

Jesus sacrificial death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead was the means by which Jesus could save the lost. The lost are those that have turned their hearts away from God. He took the sins of the world upon him. He took our punishment upon himself. He defeated the death! He rose from the dead so that we could live a life with purpose. If Christ is not risen our life is meaningless.

When Jesus left earth for heaven he gave us an assignment. He gave us a purpose! It is clear that Jesus is passing this mission on to us:

John 20:21- As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.

This is extremely clear. Jesus was sent to seek and save the lost. So we too are sent to ……..

During the last supper he shared this thought with his disciples:

John 15:16- You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.

Chosen and appointed to go and bear fruit that will last. Jesus’ statement is not only applicable to the disciples, but to us as well. We are chosen by God- Think of that! Appointed- We have been given assignments.We are sent- To fulfill our mission we must go. To bear fruit- there is little doubt that what is being referred to here are souls. The souls of men and women, boys and girls are the only thing that will last.

And finally, we have the Great Commission:

Matthew 28:18-20- Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing 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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus has all authority and commands us to go. We are to make disciples of all nations. We are to baptize them. We are teach them to obey.

This is our assignment! This is our purpose!

This is a corporate purpose an overarching purpose for the church of Jesus Christ! This is also an individual purpose. Each of us is unique and we have our own particular role in fulfilling this purpose. Every person can IMPACT their world.

We have been given a ministry.

2 Cor 5:18-19- All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

We are to carry a message of reconciliation to the lost people we know. We can impact our world if we will make this message a priority. Now, I bet you are thinking, “I am not an evangelist!” “I cannot share my faith!” Well, I am only going to ask you to knock on one door this week.

No, I am not!

However, I do want you to begin to think about what positive contribution you can make to the world in which you live. What would happen if you intentionally started thinking how God could use your natural talents and gifts for his purposes? What if you were to say, “God, here I am use me in whatever way you like. Would God use you to impact your world? Remember, not all significant impact is accompanied by fireworks.

Most significant impact is accomplished by intentionally

doing small things over an extended period of time.

99.6% of the people in Lithuania are not Evangelical Christians? That leaves the rest of us to impact them. You can do something major for the Kingdom of God. As a church we can do something important that will help us fulfill the assignment Jesus gave us.

It is why we were created! What would it look like if we began to work toward impacting our city, our friends, and our co-workers by living our life intentionally for the good news? Are we living our lives in such a way that we are impacting our world?

REFLECTION TIME

1. Prayerfully consider and write down some area in your life where you feel you could make an impact on your world?
2. Ask God to speak to you this week about how to do that.

Apostolic Function and Teams

I just finished reading Alan R. Johnson’s Apostolic Function in 21st Century Missions. I found the book to be quite intriguing on a number of levels. While he summarizes the book’s message at the end, “Go where the church does not exist” he goes out of his way to balance his arguments in favor of a holistic approach to missions.

Johnson addresses many issues but one that particularly caught my eye was his comment on Banks’ work:

He summarizes that nature of Paul’s church planting band as a grouping of specialists identified by their gifts, backed by sponsoring families and communities, with a specific function and structure focused on preaching the gospel, founding churches and helping them to mature. (68)

This is exactly the model Kandra and I are excited about. We believe that God is forming a team of gifted specialists, each with a specific function. We will found churches and help them to mature and multiply all across the Baltic states!

There is an excellent diagram on page 92 (Figure 4, Possible Models of Apostolic Function)

Pray with us for this to become a reality in the very near future.

Sharpening My Focus

Sometimes you just have to focus on one thing! Kandra keeps reminding me that men, in general are not multi-taskers. (If you disagree, you will have to take that up with Kandra.)

As most of you know, during our last four-year term in Lithuania, we concentrated on planting (starting) a missional church called, Kelyje. Our focus was postmodern, post-Soviet, and post-Christian Lithuanians. This was our primary passion and focus.

Towards the end of our last term I was asked to serve as the national director of Teen Challenge in Lithuania. I did so for about three months. During my absence the directorship was assigned to a national. It was agreed that upon my return I would again take this mantle of responsibility.

When I was in the US (Dec, 2008-March, 2010) I shared with churches across America my vision for Teen Challenge and for Church Planting. Actually, I had a very difficult time in my spirit with the idea that I would be responsible for these two major ministries. I could not give the appropriate attention to either one.

Additionally, my Area Director, Norm Edwards, asked me to pray about leading a potential team of church planters in the Baltic states of Lithuania (where I am currently located), Latvia, and Estonia. This team would target those the national church is not reaching, the postmodern, post-Christian, post-Soviet people in the Baltics. I accepted this position realizing that it was a lot of work and a huge responsibility, but also my passion.

Recently, after much prayer and discussion, I have come to the conclusion that I can only do one of these jobs. Perhaps it was my ego or my unwillingness to make a difficult decision that caused me to hold on to these two responsibilities.

When I considered which of the two I would do, I chose church planting. My reason for not accepting again the Teen Challenge directorship is simple. While there is much work to be done Teen Challenge will continue to move forward without me as leader. There is momentum, energy, and passion for this ministry in the national church. Teen Challenge already has a staff of over twenty people, and for the most part is self-sufficient.

Church planting on the other hand, both here and in the other Baltic states, may not move forward without my passion and vision. So far Kandra and I are the only Assemblies of God missionary couple in the Baltics working on planting churches. If we do not plant the church, who will?

Out of the fog of trying to multi-task, has come a clear picture for Kandra and I. We are to lead the Baltic Church Planting Team. This means we will continue to work on developing the church called Kelyje. Secondly, it means we will be searching actively for additional church planters. Thirdly, we will begin to think in larger terms as to how to reach the urban centers of Riga and Tallin. Fourthly, it means my involvement with Teen Challenge will be reduced to influencing from the sidelines as a member of the board of directors.

To those of you have been praying for us and supporting us we would ask you to continue. Now more than ever we need your prayers. In many ways I feel so unequal to the task! I know God is with me but, I’m just saying!

Sharpening my focus also brings me to the matter of communication. I will update this blog weekly and post reminders to my Facebook and Twitter profiles. Those are great ways to stay connected! Check out our blogroll to connect.

David