dailywordofdestiny

The same day you accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord of your life, you were inducted into His kingdom service. Whether you are a new recruit or an officer, you will be called to give witness to WHO it is you are fighting for and WHAT it is that you believe in. God personally decides where your weaknesses are and be assured, He will arrange circumstances that provide opportunity for further training and strengthening in those areas. He also places you where you will be effective right NOW. You are in ACTIVE DUTY from the first day of induction. There will be no time when you can say, “I’m finished and I’m out of here” … until the end of the battle (1 Corinthians 13: 11, 12). Where you live, your job, family, friends; all are part of your personal mission/training field for this moment in time. God has given you weapons of war (gifts, talents, resources, etc.) to take the land you’re in right now for His kingdom and for His glory (Matthew 25: 14-29)!

I want to share a few thoughts regarding the commissioning of Jesus’ disciples for the mission He has planned.

“So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you'” (John 20: 21).

We are SENT by Jesus Christ. We are not sent because of the “needs of the people”, but by the COMMAND of Jesus! The Source of our inspiration in service (Psalm 37: 4) is behind us, not ahead of us. We often tend to sweep everything together in front of us and try to make it CONFORM to OUR DEFINITION OF SUCCESS. The goal is to be true to Him, to His plan. I believe one of the great deceptions today is the “seduction of the secondary”. It keeps us from daily communion with Jesus. We become so overwhelmed with things and needs we see as important, we forget the need for close communication with God’s Spirit who is giving moment-to-moment orders and strategies (Proverbs 12: 15; 22: 17; John 14: 15-17).

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Matthew 28: 18-20).

Jesus did NOT say, “Go and save souls”. He said, “Go…make disciples…” and you cannot make disciples unless you are a disciple yourself. The greatest tool of ministry that God gives to you is “YOU”. WHAT DO PEOPLE SEE, or NOT SEE IN YOU? In John 13: 15 Jesus said, “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (1 Peter 2: 21-24; 1 John 2: 6). Often the saving of souls becomes a passion that is NOT God directed; but is from a personal desire to make converts to our own point of view (Acts 15: 4-11). SALVATION is a supernatural work of God’s. We do NOT do the saving, He does. To become ABLE disciples, we have to KNOW Him intimately in order to become LIKE Him in character (John 14; 7-11).

I have often heard that in a marriage, the couple seems to become even physically alike as the years go by. They KNOW what the other is going to say before they say it and what the other is thinking without asking, and so on. It is understandable because they spend time together and go through many life-events together. Over the years they JUST KNOW all there is to know about their mate. A good disciple will seek that same kind of intimacy with Jesus and over time he/she will become Christ-like in all areas of their life (1 Corinthians 13: 9-12).

“…because they went forth for His name’s sake…” (3 John 5-8).

The key for each of us as missionaries is to be ATTACHED to NOTHING and to no one; EXCEPT our LORD! Jesus was in touch with the everyday things in life but, He maintained an INNER DETACHMENT from the things around Him. He continually looked to God, His Father for every need (John 6: 35-40). When we focus on and maintain our RELATIONSHIP with Jesus, through the presence of His Spirit within; our hearts become filled with His great love. It is HIS LOVE that effectively works in us as we obediently make contact with all those He places around us, RIGHT WHERE WE ARE! (1 Thessalonians 2: 13; 1 John 4: 17-19)

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal knowledge of him. For we are to God, the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life” (2 Corinthians 2: 14-16).