"Lighting the Fire"
Jotting – Week 7

Learn What God Wants for You

There are many places we can be sent: to school, to the store, to the outfield, to the director’s office, to the secretarial pool, to the manager, to the doctor. But none of these reaches the magnitude of being sent by God. Being sent always implies doing another’s bidding, carrying out someone else’s commands or requests.

Jesus was sent by the Father just as He said, “For I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38) and “Jesus answered, ‘My teaching is not My own. It comes from Him who sent Me’” (John 7:16).

Jesus spells out clearly the purpose for which He was sent. Read the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10. Then read verse 10 again: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

Jesus’ seeking was done as He traveled from town to city, from country roads to village synogogues. He sought out 12 men who became His disciples and trained them for apostleship. During their time of preparation, Jesus sent them to the “lost sheep of Israel” (Matthew 10:6) with the news that the kingdom of God was near. He warned the 12: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).

Jesus sought out those He loved and those who loved Him and wanted to hear His word. He sought out those who were poor, lame, blind, in mourning, meek, pure in heart, those who were struggling spiritually. And always, Jesus enriched the ones who followed. He enriched them and instructed them and opened the kingdom of heaven to them. He sighed over them and prayed over them. He put them down to lift them up. And finally, He gave His life for them. He conquered death for them, rising from the dead to declare His victory for them over sin and Satan.

In Acts 2 we read how Jesus sent the Holy Spirit so His followers would have the knowledge and the power to do the work He had prepared them to do–and that He had prepared for them to do.

In John 20 we read how Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection to tell them, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you” (v. 21).

God has a job for His Church on earth–and that means you and me. What God wants for us is to do the work He has prepared for us to do. The amazing thing is, God prepares us for the work He has ready for us to do. “For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do Ephesians 2:10).

That work has everything to do with getting the word out about Jesus. God desires that all people come to repentance and a knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. That work has everything to do about telling others how much God loves them. That work has everything to do with expanding the kingdom of God so that people of all races, nations, tribes, and tongues, will come into a relationship with the living Lord.

That work has everything to do with being a witness to what Jesus has done. In Acts 1:8 Jesus said, “... you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (emphasis added). This isn’t a choice, friends. Jesus didn’t ask; it isn’t a true/false test; it isn’t a wish.

What kind of a witness we are for the Lord depends on how we live our lives, how we conduct ourselves, how we show the fruit of the Spirit, what words come out of our mouth. In whatever we say and do, others watch, especially if they are not Christian and know we are. So, what kind of a witness will you be today? What kind of Gospel message will you send?

To become the kind of witness that clearly proclaims Jesus and His love for all people, we must learn what God wants us to do, what gifts He as given us, how God has prepared us for the work, what ways we work best at sowing the Word. Quiet, introspective, active, friendly, good with words, good with actions: what are things we can do right now? What are things that we need to be trained for? Where and how can we be trained to be better witnesses?

Here are some practical ways to witness, to reach out to people with the love of Jesus (without collaring the next person we see):

Place a (flame) sticker somewhere on your clothes, purse, briefcase, etc., that you will see it several times a day. Use it as a visual reminder that you are a witness for the Lord Jesus. Whenever your eye catches it, do a quick self check: What did I say to that store clerk when I had to wait an extra four minutes? How did I treat my secretary/boss/manager/coworker during the meeting? How did I send my children out the door to school this morning? Did I show love/gentleness/peace/... to the person who irritates me?

Talk to people at church you haven’t met. Ask how long they have attended (Trinity). Ask what they like best about the worship service or what they might need prayers for. Make it a goal to talk to (2) previously unmet people every Sunday. Keep a small notebook in your pocket or purse to jot down names and other helpful information as soon as you walk away or are in your car. The following Sunday, review the information so you can call those people by name and reconnect in a positive way.

Offer to call on  visitors and guests who have come to your church. Take along a loaf of bread, a plate of cookies, a Bible, etc. Just tell them, “We’re glad you came.” Then look for them the following Sunday to say, “I’m glad you came again.”

With other congregation members, take a church-neighborhood survey: discover what people need and what they would like to find at a church. Take notes. Then plan how your church can offer programs or services to meet these needs. Visit those same people and say, “We have what you need...”

Ask the congregation–through the evangelism committee or task force–to determine what workshops or training events need to take place, what can be offered right at your church–and make yourself available to help them happen.

Carry small Bible portions with you to distribute to store clerks, wait staff at restaurants, cashiers at fast-food places, ticket takers at toll booths, neighbors out for a walk, car wash attendants, those sitting next to you on your next flight–just about anyone you meet. As you hand these to people, say, “I have a gift for you.” Bible portions are available for as little as 30 cents a piece (ordered in large quantities) from the International Bible Society: http://shop3.gospelcom.net/epages/ibsdirect.storefront . Inside each Bible portion (the gospel of John is a good one to start with), attach contact information about your church. For more information on this project go to http://www.txdistlcms.org/jander/GospelOfJohn/GospelOfJohn.htm .

Involve other church friends in a neighborhood project: clean up the neighborhood; on a street corner near the church, offer free water bottles with church information attached; give away free crosses or Bibles in a store parking lot (check first with the management); hang Bible portions on doorknobs in the neighborhood around the church inviting people to Lenten services and a free meal.

Become more involved in what goes on in your own neighborhood. Do the people who live next door, across the street, and around the corner from you know Jesus as their Savior? Have an open house letting people know you will be serving a dessert along with having a discussion about Jesus. Be open to answering questions they might have.

Find out what churches in your area are doing to support inner city or urban or other ethnic ministries. Volunteer your time to teach an ESL class or an inner city Sunday school class.

Take the youth group, your family, a Sunday school or Bible class to help clean up the neighborhood around a struggling sister church in the urban areas. Or take these groups to distribute shampoo, deodorant, toothbrushes and toothpaste, blankets, food, and Bible portions, etc., to the homeless.

When donating canned goods or other supplies to outreach ministries, add tags on the goods that say, “Given in the name of Jesus.”

When someone asks why you do good things, say simply, “I do it for my Savior Jesus.” Or “I do it because I’m a Christian.”

Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor” (Luke 4:18, 19).

Pray: Lord, You have prepared work for me to do in Your name to extend Your kingdom and to let others know that You are the Savior of the world. Prepare me now to carry out the task You give. Let me be a voice for those who need prayer, a welcome for those who need a friend, a hand for those who need help. Give me eyes to see the opportunities, a heart to respond, and hands in willing service. In the name of Jesus, let me reach out to others. In His name. Amen.