What is your mission? How many do you have? How can you accomplish them?
Your Missions
When I say Resourcing the Mission most people probably think in terms of a short term EquipUs mission trip to some far off place. We do resource that kind of mission. But Christians have many other missions. You are called to a certain standard of living. Obedience to those standards is a mission in your life. We all share the big picture missions:
- Love the Lord with all your heart (First and Greatest Commandment)
- Love your neighbor as yourself (Second Commandment which is like unto the First)
- Live a missional life – As the Father sent Me, so I send you (First statement of the Great Commission)
Within the framework of those big picture missions, we each have more specific life missions:
- You may be married – that mission needs resources
- You may be a parent – that mission needs resources
- You should exercise your spiritual gift(s) in your local church – that mission needs resources
That list could be much longer, but you get the idea of big picture missions vs. more specific missions. So, Resourcing the Mission is everything from encouraging and equipping people to share the Gospel to writing a devotional blog that helps with day-to-day missional living.
News Flash!!! – You Can’t Accomplish Your Missions
Please don’t be discouraged by that. It is a necessary reality if your mission(s) is to be accomplished. ???
Resourcing the Mission – Promises
God gives us promises. We are predisposed not to believe promises. That problem doesn’t end when we become disciples of Jesus Christ. Let me give you a quick example. A believer is overly concerned with the worries and cares of day-to-day living. He/she can’t focus on the big picture mission(s) because they are preoccupied with finances, saving, investments, retirement, etc. Those are necessary things, but when they consume us what we are saying by our actions is this:
God, I trust you for eternal salvation, but this day-to-day stuff is too important for me to let it go.
We have a problem believing God’s promises! I challenge you to read the entire Gospel of John. If you do, you will see a major theme: Believe!
Renewing the Church – 1 promise & 1 believer at a time!
In John’s Gospel you will find a very familiar promise of Jesus:
I am the Vine, you are the branches…Apart from Me you can do nothing.
And you already want to argue that this is not a promise. Yes, it is! I’ll show you why in a second. Our problem with promises, and their incredible value to us, is we are used to dealing with people (like ourselves). People fail. Some intend to mislead while others are just fallen, imperfect folks doing their best. God is so different than that we have trouble comprehending it. Notice:
God is not a man that He should lie, not a man that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
That’s from Numbers 23. These two truths form a very helpful starting point for all of us. God cannot lie to me and I can’t do anything worthwhile apart from Him. Here’s the Burnett paraphrase:
Our abilities, talents, thoughts, and supposed strengths do not matter. Get over it and get used to dependence. God is not blessed to have me/you on His team. God has freely promised us everything we need. Believe it and start acting like He tells nothing but the truth!
What are some of the essential things you have been promised? We will continue this thought in the next post.
