Our Mission by Daphne Delay

OUR MISSION

"...because as He is, so are we in this world" (I John 4:17b).

If this scripture is true (and I believe it is), then we can imitate with confidence the things Jesus said and did.  In fact, Jesus Himself declared, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father" (John 14:12).  When we think about the numerous miracles Jesus performed, we shy away from the thought that we could do the same -- much less greater miracles!  But our confidence should not lie in our ability, but HIS ability in us.  We must never forget that it is "...Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27)!

With that said, the beginning of each new year causes me to re-evaluate my past productivity and future endeavors.  I have to ask myself, "Did I imitate Christ?"  The answer is always yes and no.  Of course, I failed to imitate Him in every arena of my life.  "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).  But on the other hand, I hope His light was seen in me as I applied His Word to my daily walk (and talk).  However, regardless of the successes or failures of this past year, the scriptures instruct us to move on.  Paul said, "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14).  I shouldn't rest on my laurels any more than I should mediate on my shortcomings.  Today is a new day with new opportunities to improve and grow.

So I had to ask myself, "What is your vision for this year?"  I didn't have an immediate answer although it wouldn't have taken me long to put together a list of this or that I hope to accomplish.  No, instead my heart searched deeper and asked, "What is God's vision for me this year?"  I was reminded of the words of Jesus when He said, "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will" (Matthew 26:39).  My list would be of no consequence if it missed the mark of God's desire for my life.

Do you want to know what He showed me?  God reminded me of Jesus' mission statement and then said, "Because as He is, so are you in this world."

Jesus' mission statement can be found in Luke, chapter four.  Immediately after returning from His time in the wilderness with Satan where He was tempted for forty days, Jesus went to the synagogue.  There, He picked up the book of the prophet Isaiah.  "And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.'  Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down" (Luke 4:17-20).

  

Before all who were present in the synagogue that day, Jesus declared what His mission was.  He quoted a portion of scripture from Isaiah, chapter sixty-one.  Jesus knew who He was, who He belonged to, and what His purpose was.  On the road to Emmaus, Jesus had  "...expounded to {the two men with Him} all the scriptures concerning Himself" (Luke 24:27).  Jesus never found it difficult to apply the scriptures to His life.

And we shouldn't either.

As I thought about Jesus' mission statement and God's statement to me, "...as He is, so are we in this world," I mentally compared them to the desires of my heart.  They fit together perfectly.  Any and every thing I want to accomplish is motivated by a desire for freedom.  Whether it be in my marriage, for my children, in my ministry, or for the world - I want the liberty found in God to overshadow everything else.  Not a liberty to sin or to do what I want to do, but the liberty that refers to freedom from bondage, guilt, condemnation, and deception.  Just like everyone else, I want victory.

I read His mission statement over and over.  I looked at it in many translations.  I read it in Isaiah (also in many translations).  I wept as I read each word of His mission realizing that His will for my life is to have His desire to carry out the mission.  After all these years, Jesus' mission hasn't changed. The only thing that has changed is the hand holding the baton.  It's our turn to adopt the mission and carry it out.

Because as He is, so are we in this world:  The Spirit of the {Almighty} Lord {the Master} is upon me {and with me}, because He has anointed {chosen and qualified} me to {deliver and} preach the gospel {to bring Good News} to the {meek, afflicted, and} poor {the crouched and bent down in spirit}; He has sent me to {bandage and} heal the brokenhearted {to announce forgiveness to the prisoners of sin}, to proclaim liberty {and release} to the {physical and spiritual} captives {the opening of the prison to those who are bound} and recovery of sight to the blind; To set at liberty those who are oppressed {downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity; to set the burdened and battered free; to announce forgiveness to those who have been shattered by sin}; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord {the day when salvation and grace abound; when His favor has come} and the day of vengeance of our God {a celebration of God's destruction over our enemies}; To comfort all who mourn {and sorrow}, to give them {a crown of} beauty for ashes, the oil of joy {instead of tears of grief}, the garment {expressive} of praise for the spirit of {weakness or} heaviness {instead of a burdened, and failing spirit}; that they may be called Trees of Righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified {so that He might display His glory through them}. (I John 4:17; Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:18-19)

THIS IS OUR MISSION.

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I Am Only One by Daphne Delay

I Am Only One

I AM ONLY ONE, BUT STILL I AM ONE. 

I CANNOT DO EVERYTHING, BUT STILL I CAN DO SOMETHING. 

YET BECAUSE I CANNOT DO EVERYTHING, 

I WILL NOT REFUSE TO DO THE SOMETHING THAT I CAN DO.

(Author Unknown) 

God has given you and I a voice.  Yet often, we judge the power of our voice by the size of our audience.  I want to challenge that kind of thinking.  It is not the size of our audience that determines the effectiveness of our voice; it is the power behind our "combined" voices that ultimately makes the difference.  In other words, if we are all saying the same thing then there is power in our agreement.

The problem lies in silence.  We must remember SILENCE IS AGREEMENT.  

Jesus said, "For false christs and false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders so as to deceive and lead astray, if possible, even the elect (God’s chosen ones)" (Matthew 24:24, Amplified).  We have often thought prophets were those who carried a Bible and preached from behind pulpits.  But that is not always the case.  The definition of a prophet is a spokesperson for a particular doctrine, cause, or movement; a person regarded as, or claiming to be, an inspired teacher or leader. Defined in this manner, we might want to step back and look around. 

Some false prophets have a congregation whether or not they have a pulpit or a Bible. They are leaders among us who are speaking things which are contrary to the Word of God.  I will admit it is not always easy to discern, but the scriptures clearly say "...no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:3).   Therefore, this should be our first indication whether something is of God, or not of God.  But when imposters use words like "God" or "Holy Spirit" in their language, the naive and ignorant fall for it assuming their lingo indicates truth.

I recently heard of a celebrity who is endorsing New Age teaching and I am so grieved by it because of their mass following.  People will follow this because it is disguised as something good for them; something spiritual. The naive and the ignorant are the ones in the most danger.  God said, "My  people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..." (Hosea 4:6). That's all ignorance is… a lack of knowledge.  The devil is having a hay-day with people's ignorance!

But I thank God He has given you and I a voice.  I refuse to hear of deception and say nothing.  It is time we rise up and use our God-given authority to speak the truth, and speak it loud.  Do not think that because you are only one person with a small audience, that your voice cannot make a difference.  The devil would like you to believe that lie, but it is far from the truth!  Your voice, plus my voice, plus another's voice, begins to multiply in number and in strength.  Sure, my drop in the bucket may not look like much, but combined with your drop in the bucket it may have just increased by 50%.  

My point is that we are all called to be preachers of Righteousness.  I may just be one, but because I am only one is no reason to remain silent. There are lives at stake.  God is longsuffering, not desiring anyone to perish—how about me?  If my voice keeps one from perishing, and your voice keeps one from perishing, will it make a difference?  I dare say it makes a BIG difference!  We know that the enemy disguises himself as an angel of light and a minister of righteousness for one purpose: "...to steal, to kill, and to destroy" (John 10:10). I refuse to stand by and let him sway the masses just because I’m unsure what difference I am making.

You and I can make a difference.  But only if we speak up; and only if we do something!  

I AM ONLY ONE, BUT STILL I AM ONE. 

I CANNOT DO EVERYTHING, BUT STILL I CAN DO SOMETHING. 

YET BECAUSE I CANNOT DO EVERYTHING, 

I WILL NOT REFUSE TO DO THE SOMETHING THAT I CAN DO. 

Never forget it!  God gave you a pulpit.  It may not look like mine, but you have one.  God has given each of us our own little corner of the world to touch.  And Jesus expressly told us to GO into our world and speak up!  I promise it will make a difference— lives are at stake.

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God's Global Team by Alexandra Fleege

God's Global Team 

(written days after the Haiti earthquake)

Jan 15, 2010

As the past few days have unfolded, amidst the human tragedy we have witnessed in Haiti, it became evident that a rescue task of this size was going to take as many people as possible. The window of time is so short, a few days, before countless more lives would be lost underneath piles of debris in a shattered city. Side by side some of the most horrific images I have ever seen of human suffering and agony was one of the most beautiful, teams from all over the world working towards the same cause with the same purpose, vision and end, to save as many people as could be saved before the window was shut. 

I have no idea outside of what I have seen on the internet how many miracles have transpired over the last few days. The Lord knows, but as I was watching this take place-with prayers and tears- it seemed as though I could see the Lord’s global army, from every nation under heaven.  Everyone was needed for the window of time was short in which people could be rescued and this day was coming to an end. This is how we as the Lord’s army needed to be working side by side with each other, to have the greatest potential possible. To see an Icelandic team of rescue workers pull a woman out of a fallen building, or the French pull a woman who had all but lost hope as she lay under a hotel in ruins. A Brazilian team digging frantically because someone had heard a sign of life (which later turned out to be a nurse underneath a hospital- who was rescued in good condition). The American team taking control of the airport so that the supplies all could come safely or the Chinese who were the first to arrive. No one cared who was from where the world had come together to rescue as many as possible. Of course none of this would even happen without the greatest number of people in this army, those that gave toward the help, people from all over the world. 

Spiritually no one knows how much space is left to repent. How short is the window of time for God’s army??? How many people are in the throes of eternal death and how many of us are working frantically to get them out beneath structures of a lost and dying world. One focus, one vision, one end. As the army of Jesus we are called to rescue as many as possible before its too late. Compassion is a trait of a believer, its in our spiritual DNA because this is how our Father is. Compassion moves you. As we stand underneath the banner of Jesus Christ borders of doctrine, denomination, and pride try to divide us , let His vision unite us with this common purpose, “for all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” Everyone is needed. We are so much stronger together than we are alone-we desperately need each other, it was at the time of the Lord’s greatest need the garden of Gethsemane- He longed for the disciples to tarry with him. Are we again at the time of the Lord’s greatest need?

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