“What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Mathew 10:27-28
This week has been full of deep and sometimes profound spiritual moments. Or in this Sunday’s case absolutely humbling moments. Before I begin this story, please excuse the embarrassing nature of this experience.
On Sunday morning as I prepared to preach, sitting in my chair hyping myself up for my third sermon thus far, my heart was filled with an abundance of pride. But God, being rich in mercy, decided to humble me greatly. Moments later pain, racking my stomach, and with a few minutes left before I preached, I decided to figure out my “downstairs” issues downstairs. However, I was very wrong. It was not a minor issue. With time running out, as I heard my cue coming up through the floor upstairs, I panicked and rushed up the steps, grabbed my Bible, and prayed a quick prayer of humility as I stepped up to the pulpit. I stood there in silence starring at my notes, but I could not push the words out of mouth. I was trusting in my words not God’s perfect word. I again humbled my heart, thanked God, and truly surrendered the sermon to him. And God took over. I’ll never know how my sermons were used for God’s kingdom, but I do know that in this sermon, I shared the gospel with passion. I think I saw some tears shed, and by the end, as I sat down, I was crying too. I felt convicted, tired, and in awe, as I praised God for the sermon he just spoke. Not me. In the sermon one of the main points are targeted was walking in obedience and surrendering to God’s commands. Something our team has been learning a lot about.
At this training for missions, one theme has been extremely dominant. You can be on missions, sending others, or disobedient. Two passages that speak to this are Hebrews 10:38-39 which says “but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” and Matthew 10:32-33 which says, “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” When faced with being obedient to God’s call to share the gospel to all nations When faced with being obedient to God‘s call to share the gospel to all nations (Great Commission) We can either respond in faith or fear. In fear, we can dread the persecution, the discomfort, the loss we will experience for the cross. And often this fear holds us so that persecution, a key factor of spiritual warfare, which the devil twists so that the fear deters and disheartens us, isn’t even necessary since we aren’t being faithful and obedient. If we don’t go out, if we don’t exit our comfort zone, if we don’t preach the gospel to all nations, no persecution will come. We are not acknowledging God before men, therefore, according to Matthew 10:33 what will be his response? The nations are in need of the good news. They have a disease and they’re crying out for the cure. Will we really stand by, disobey our king, and watch as those around us fall into eternal darkness. We must do something, we are commanded to. When we respond in Faith, we will suffer persecution, we will experience doubts and fears, and we will get to the point where We will ask the question “ is Jesus worthy of my life?” And all I can point you to is from the experiences of my life, from the salvation I have received, from the saints I have questioned, He is worthy. He is abounding and faithful, and he is ready to do work in you. Obey his calling, go on a short term, missions trip, and let your eyes be opened to his purpose. He can do mighty things in your relationship with him, but only if you respond in obedience. Do not let fear rule you, take the leap, she is worth every risk, and his love is one that needs to be heard.
Along with these lessons and sermons, some other spirit filled moments have been;
-The testimony of a faithful mother in poverty, as she wept in joy, for what God had given her. -Two people coming to Christ through a communal prayer meeting, and street evangelism.
-Genuine praise and surrender as me, and a few others from my team, stood drenched in rain, singing worship songs to God.
-God humbling my heart when I needed it the most.
-And answering my prayers during doubtful times. These answered prayers came when I asked God for clarity in where to go for my longer term trip, and for strong spiritual mentors to lead me and walk along side me, showing me what living as a missionary looks like. God answered my prayer within the hour. As I walked in from my quiet time the first words I heard was that there was a new option for the longer term trip. The trip details challenge believers and encouraged them to be ready for trials. And the couple that leads it has a reputation of being very good at pouring into those around them. God heard me and he was making my way clear. Praise him for that peace.
On more funny notes, this week as I played frisbee next to the ocean, we had a slight mishap. Me, and my teammates, David and Brooke, were throwing it around in a triangle when Brooke decided to throw it as far as she could. In kind words, not the best. The frisbee caught some air, and at a pitiful speed it drifted over the edge of the walkway and into the murky channel below. I, panicked, and quickly took my shoes and socks off, emptied my pockets, and jumped in right as the disc began to sink. Next ensued, trying to find a way out, as I was loudly coached by 13 Filipinos, who were hooting with laughter as I failed to climb up a slick pole to get back to where I was before. Finally I got up, soaking wet, stinky from the nasty water, and laughed at the whole experience. Because that’s the only thing I could do.
Some other Highlights from this week were;
-Riding up a mountain on a motorcycle (basically a rollar coaster ride)
-The view from Vipers Peak/hiking down the mountain
-Teaching from “Joel”, a guest speaker
-Kasei’s and Brooke’s testimonies
-Late night talks with different people on my team
-Singing for a youth worship event
-And an early birthday’s dinner for “Haley, Maggie, and Holly”
Some prayer requests are;
- For continued humility and trust in God
- For clarity in my next steps of life
- For wisdom in dealing with the random drama that comes from being on a team
As I come to a close, I just want to say how thankful I am for what God has done in my life. And a big part of that, especially this month, has been done through our two ministry leaders, Karen and Rose. They have shown us the meaning of being bold in one’s faith and have really exemplified so much of what it looks like to abide in God and follow in obedience. Praise God for them. And praise God for what he is doing in you. Before you leave this post, take a second and consider, “ Are you really willing to sacrifice everything for God? For the Gospel. For Obedience. I’ll pray that if you are not in that place that you will seek God and find him full of love and patience, as he will lead you on these hard paths, of righteousness, for his name’s sake. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
