I trust that you enjoyed the ministry of Woody and Charlotte Stemple this past weekend as much as I did. I have always enjoyed their stories of God working in their lives. I was personally very challenged and encouraged by what they shared on this occasion. This was particularly true of Charlotte’s message Sunday morning and the way God is telling His story through her.
You will remember that she exhorted us to have “A Kingdom Perspective” in several key areas of our life. While each resonated with me, it was the section of “Everyday Living” that really struck a chord. She spoke of Christ’s ministry mentioning that much of it happened on the way to other places.
This reminded me of someone who was shared that the “Go…” in Matthew 28:19 [The Great Commission] might be translated “As you are going…” This really brings an entirely different perspective to the work that has been entrusted to us, the Church. As we are going, or living, we are to make disciples.
We are often guilty of thinking of the Great Commission as something “Great” Christians do. We would do better to see it as an “Everyday” Commission which “Everyday” or ordinary Christians do. I think we relegate the missionary work to the people featured in those wonderful books on the Alliance Women’s table by the water fountain in the foyer at church.
Instead, it is God’s desire to have each of His children involved in the task of declaring the Good News. After all, as Peter puts it [I Peter 2:9] that’s why we have been “called out of darkness and into his wonderful light.” We are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God”. As we develop this perspective, we very quickly see that God has a great purpose for our lives that will deliver us from the rampant me-ism that pervades our culture, into a countercultural He-ism. This really is about lifestyle, which is foundational to my call, helping people live lives that bring glory to God.
We are in a place to do that when we begin to see that history, the unfolding of time in our lives, is really His-story. Last week I had the privilege of sharing this message with the elementary and middle school students at Trinity Christian School. You may have seen the article in Saturday’s Dominion Post about a historical portrayal program I wrote for Samuel’s 3rd grade call that we performed in chapel on Friday. I give praise to the Lord for the anointing that was on it.
One mom came up to me afterwards to confirm this. She said that her daughter had been asking how to discern God’s leading for her life. She asked, “How do I know God’s purpose for me?” After she told me how she instructed her daughter this mom went on to ask me if I had any counsel for her. My answer in short was to develop her daughter’s awareness of and dependence on the Holy Spirit. More on that next week.
Suffice it to say, we each need to discover God’s purpose for our living and commit ourselves to it entirely. I hope you are daily discovering the joy of God’s story being told through you. It is the greatest story ever told, and you have a part to play in it.
In Christ,
Pastor Scott
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