Be Sent Out

As I was praying the other evening with another missionary God led us to pray for those we have influence with in the American Church. I also prayed that He would give us a platform to share on this topic, so I praise God for an answered prayer!

People are falling away from Christ because they are not taking the step of being sent out that being a disciple of Jesus demands. It is clear throughout the Gospels that Jesus disciples were sent out consistently while He was alive and after His resurrection [Luke 10:1-3; Matt 10:5-8; Acts 6:5-7; Acts 13, 14, 15]

Here is what I see happening… I (state your name here) go to church most of the time, pray semi-frequently, study the word semi-frequently, and even occasionally serve at my place of worship. Is this merely how I have allowed Christ to affect the pattern of my life? Or am I giving Him unrestricted Lordship of my life? Will I allow Christ to truly challenge me and take me places I wouldn't be compelled to go otherwise [Acts 20:22]. If I do not apply the knowledge I become so FULL of head knowledge that I literally get overstuffed and want to go to 'sleep' (like on Thanksgiving). This is the point at which people want to change churches (rational being the messages are the same and they aren't getting anything out of them anymore, worship doesn't do it for me anymore, etc.) or just move on altogether.

Jesus NEVER intended for us to just continually get filled with head knowledge and never GO OUT and use it! NEVER! Look at the pattern throughout Jesus' life. He would preach and then show them miraculous things, then He would send them out to do the same. Then He would gather them back together, ask them how things went (to show them that there faith could sustain them in those and even more difficult situations), teach them more, then SEND THEM BACK OUT!

We have experienced this in school as well. Even in basic courses we don't just learn from a book. At some point we are required to do a project or lab work. Why? Because they know that the only way for us to completely understand the lesson is for us to go experience it. In this example you are doing it under the supervision of the teacher, but later on if you continue in your learning you will be required to do field work, where you will take the knowledge and creativity that you have and complete a new project out in the field. This is what Christ calls us to do. Allow Him to give us creative input as we must trust in Him (because we finally are living in full faith) and apply the knowledge we already have to bring Glory to the Father. This is how Christ lived. This is how His followers will live.

One of the reasons we need to be sent out is that the bible doesn't make sense fully in our cultural context. Many of the stories cannot be understood unless we go to different places where we are able to apply the message in a different setting. For example, If we live in an urban setting, parables about vineyards and harvest time can only be imagined, we miss many, many insights because we have never labored in the soil.

Begin with your own life… When was the last time you allowed God to send you out to apply your knowledge in a new way? I would highly recommend to all followers of Christ to take a short term mission trip to a different country. You will begin to fulfill the final command that Jesus left us with, you will grow in ways you CANNOT by staying at home and you will understand the Gospel message in a new way.

You have more power than you think if you will just wield it! Go for it! Don't let anyone tell you you cannot. You can! I believe in you! God believes in you! If you have the Spirit of Christ in you then you can do ALL THINGS!

The Battle Rages On

We are engaged in a VERY REAL BATTLE.

Now I know that this is probably not an epiphany to most, but hang with me here, because I think the Holy Spirit was speaking to me...

It struck me that if we are engaged in an active, literal, battle, what should every action look like? Imagine if this was a physical battle (i.e. we are living in a war zone with enemy troops all around us) If you look at it from this military stand point, wouldn't our lives be different? I think if we look at our lives in this light we would demonstrate some of these characteristics in every aspect of our lives:

- we would be highly aware (rarely get complacent)
- Interactions with our officers/enlistees (read church leaders/volunteers or followers of Christ) and with our opponent (Satan and those following his influence) would be very strategic
- Every action would be completed with urgency
- Every opportunity would be considered an opportunity to either advance or be advanced upon

We who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ (our General) need to first gain the awareness to look at EVERY interaction with a person as an opportunity to either advance the kingdom, or continue in the status quo. And let me break this out here because I think this is REALLY IMPORTANT...

Maintaining the status quo with someone who is either:
- not a follower of Christ (a lost soul),
- a back-slidden Christian (one who is completely complacent) or
- a Christ follower who's walk has plateaued

IS BEING ADVANCED UPON!!!

Imagine if a physical enemy had their opponent convinced they were not in a war. They would be able to walk right in to town un-detected and take over! The enemy would love nothing less than to have their enemy have a bunch of people who did not know that they were in the middle of a battle.

There are people all around us who are being slain and we are not even paying attention!?!

Yet, We have the advantage of knowing the outcome! We KNOW that our Father wins!

So lets make every action count! Lets take every opportunity to inflict damage on our enemy by showing and proclaiming the love of Jesus Christ with boldness! Lets stop hiding behind the barracks of our four church walls and take the fight to the enemy! Lets band together as a body, a literal 'Band of Brothers' and stake our Fathers flag in our streets, our neighborhoods, our region, our nation, our WORLD! Why are we hunkered down and on the defensive? Lets get out there and start inflicting some mortal wounds on our enemy by passionately proclaiming the name of the one true God, by reviving past brothers, and by saving the lost!


Will YOU join me?

If you are with me let me know! What else can we do to damage the enemy?

Welcome to my blog

Hello and welcome to my blog. My name is Jeremy Wight. In this post I will try and explain my intentions for this blog, and what to expect.

I believe that technology, if applied correctly, has the potential to unify us in ways that up until recently could not have even been fathomable. For example, with one quick message I can communicate with ALL of my friends and family all over the world. I have the opportunity to be mentored by the likes of John Maxwell, Michael Hyatt, etc. people that in no other circumstances would have the time to be personally mentoring me. In turn, I have the incredible opportunity to mentor others all over the world. Crazy to think about!!!

I believe I have something to give that is of value to others. I want to be as effective as possible at delivering that value, and I believe that this is one tool that will help me to accomplish that goal.

So what is it that you have to give? I'm glad you asked :)

- Insights that God has revealed to me through His Holy Spirit
- Devotionals
- Leadership Guidance

The above items will be the 'meat' of my posts. I will also spend time updating you on what God is doing in my life. God desires us to encourage one another. I hope and pray that God will use me to encourage you to: seek to KNOW the God of the Universe more and more, experience His CRAZY Love, and last but definitely not least, share the same with others.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post and please connect with me via Twitter, FaceBook and your Blog. I truly want to build a relationship with those I come into contact with.

Blessings!

Jeremy Wight