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This week, we welcome the Crossroads Youth Group to share in their Mission22 experiences. The week focused on two aspects of mission work. The first part of the week was Getting Closer. They were prompted about their walk with God and how close were they to the Lord in order to love others authentically. During his time on earth, Jesus did some pretty amazing things. And we could recount all the miracles and the teachings and yet, Jesus did one thing that we could easily miss. Jesus got alone with God the Father through prayer. He got closer.
In biblical days, an armor-bearer was one who actually carried the shield and armor of his leader as he went into battle, often acting as his personal assistant. The term itself originally meant to figuratively or literally lift up, support, or simply help. The basic attitude of a Modern Day Armor-Bearer is one of servanthood. We are called to lift each other up, to support one another, to encourage, equip, and strengthen each other for the fight of faith. Therefore, it's no surprise the general functions of an armor-bearer: attend to, minister to, care for, help, be of use, assist, benefit, promote, support, make easy for, nourish and encourage are found in the formal definition of "serve”. We all need an armor-bearer as we walk the Christian walk.
If you were asked to make a choice and you could either choose life or death, you probably would adamantly say, “I choose life.” Good choice! Now, what if having that life meant putting your all into a relationship where that person would protect you, provide for you, love you, and even die for you? Are you all in for life? God has arranged it all, everything so that you may have life and it is through His Son, Jesus Christ. Life comes through Him, by putting your all into a relationship with Him.
As fellow Christians we’re not supposed to wait to see what happens, we are to be what does happen. The tomb is empty, we’ve been told the good news that Jesus is alive and yet, we’re walking away. Until we come in direct contact with Jesus and have a conversation with Him do we truly recognize who He is through the Word of God and ultimately we have communion with Him. But it doesn’t end there. We are to be lit on fire with a passion so great that His story continues in and through our lives.
God’s love manifests in our lives through the words and works of His people. When Jesus said He came to give us life abundant, He was not necessarily talking about money or things that the world deems important. He was speaking about receiving more and more of His love— to be blessed to overflowing so that it ends up pouring out in the lives of others. As we move closer to the cross of Christ, may we take on an attitude of gratitude for each word spoken and each deed done with love from the Father.
As we have journeyed these last weeks through discovering our dream and keeping focused on the things God has planned for us to do, you may have found that your role has changed, your desires have changed, and your assignments from God have changed. They have moved from your desires to what God desires for you. But there is one thing God fully desires is that we all finish well. Getting to the last lap of a race is not the same thing as completing it! The Bible has a lot to say about perseverance in order to cross the finish line.
Belief in the power of positive thinking is not the same thing as an inner wisdom and unwavering confidence in Christ. It doesn’t come from believing in ourselves. True optimism, true belief is in getting our minds right on the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. It comes from biblical convictions about the nature of God and knowing that He loves us and has an exciting plan tailored for just us. Getting our mind right is part of being able to recognize that God is working in and through us to accomplish His purpose.
We’re moving forward with our God-given dream and are focused on Jesus. What else would we need as believers, followers of Christ? Well, it takes a bit of risk. Most of the time when we think about risk, we think it is a negative thing. However, as we will discover this weekend is that there is the Safe Zone or the Faith Zone. If God has given you a dream, do you really think He will let it fail? This is where stepping out with a bit of risk and a whole lot of Faith ought to be how we walk in this world.
So, there’s a dream God has given you or maybe a dream that has been rekindled by last week’s Sermon and Study. Now what? Our next step is to focus on the one main thing in life that will keep us moving forward to obtain it. It sounds simple! Yet, in reality, it rarely comes easily. The push and pull of everyday life make take away some of the excitement we once had. But that’s why we must learn to Remain Focused. Fix our eyes on Jesus and the promise God has given to get us through.
The Wisemen long ago were guided to the house where Jesus was in order to worship the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the light of the world. Let’s think about that Light. Light cannot be anything other than what it is. It's bright; it dispels darkness; it enables people to see what they are doing. If we look at the moon it glows, but it doesn’t glow because it has a light, it glows because the sun’s light is reflected by it upon the earth. When we follow Jesus, the Light of the world, we are to reflect His light in the world.
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