To Truly be Known: Go Therefore/Joy in the Mission

Although we are weeping

Lord, help up keep sowing

The seeds of your Kingdom

Your sheaves we will carry

Lord, please do not tarry

All those who sow weeping

Will go out with songs of joy

Psalm 126 by Isaac Wardell

Redeemer 4/12/15

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and said to them, ” (1) All authority in heaven and on dart has been given to me. (2) Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. (3) And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

(1) The announcement: His authority gives purpose and meaning to the mission

(2) The mission:

1. Preach the whole gospel, good news to be communicated. Share itL redemption and restoration
2. Preach it to the nations
3. Preach transformation: baptizing and teaching
   1. conversion: hearing the gospel and responding
   2. inversion: being transformed from the inside out

(3) The promise: How do we carry forward? With God’s power.

GO: Where is he calling you to go make disciples?

CHECK: Check your heart. Do you love the mission or the messiah? Idolatry vs. zeal (enthusiasm with passion in devotion)

GAIN: We know how this ends (Jesus already won the battle). Nothing to fear.  As you go, don’t lose your joy. 

——————————-

Get up, take up your bed, and walk. Go therefore.

What did you learn about God and yourself? God is always with me. He’s promised that. I have absolutely nothing to fear. He’s already overcome. The fear of failure is just an illusion – even if I don’t make it into medical school or this or that, I go on. Moving to another calling. Because the prize isn’t where I end up, the prize is building God’s kingdom. I can do that as a doctor or as whatever God calls me to be. The mission doesn’t start when I become a doctor, the mission starts now.  And even in the midst of our weeping, God is already victorious and we can find joy in that.

Proverbs 3:5-6

After my break-up with Andrew, I found comfort in reading Proverbs.  I sought after God’s wisdom to understand the heart break. The verse that stood out to me the most and eventually became my favorite verse was Proverbs 3:5-6:

Trust in the Lord with all you heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Reading that was the first time I actually heard God speak through the Bible.  It was like at the age of 18, he was teaching me what would be the hardest lesson for me to learn.

He knew that I would have trouble giving him control, especially in matters that required his the most.  He knew that I would be prideful and it would create the very darkness that I would be scared of.  But to this day, I have conquered and am conquering my need to have control.  I am learning to give God the control more and more each day.

Required to Just Stay in the Flow

I realize that helping others and always putting others first means sacrificing crucial time for me.  When I spend time with a friend who needs counseling when I should be studying for a test, I know that my grade will be fine.  For example, helping Wai with Totoro (who is a loyal figure to a girl who has been abandoned all her life)  when I had a physics test the next day or offering to stay in St. Louis and miss school when I have a test the following class period to help my parents (who is overly stressed about the situation) take care of the identity theft crisis, I knew that my grades would not suffer.  I know this, because I have faith that I am being taken care of.

But seek FIRST the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33

I know that caring for someone’s mental health, and essentially their spiritual health, is what is pleasing to God, especially in the circumstance when I am tempted to be selfish.  I am seeking his righteousness first by fulfilling the righteous duties he’s entrusted me with and I have faith that he will take care of the rest — especially when it comes to grades and exams which is just another person’s judgement of my skills.  I would rather have the ultimate Judge judge me for my righteous deeds. However, I understand that I cannot just blow off studying because I know that God will help me.  That would be taking advantage and a misuse of God’s grace – which I, a sinner, am already not worthy to even receive.  I still have to study and I still have to work hard, but I also believe in myself.  I believe I have the capability and capacity to maintain knowledge and be able to regurgitate it when needed.  I also understand the importance of  balance, that sometimes not giving to someone is giving to me.  I’ve learned to listen to my own bodies needs and that sometimes I need to receive from myself too. Thankfully, it just works out that I don’t require a lot. Haha.

Truth is, the ease and length of my osteoPATH is dependent on how I decide to stay in God’s flow. Resisting him and giving Abby control means I’ll have to learn things the hard way, which in turn also means the long way. The path will be more winded.  But if I remove my pride, give God full control of my life, and just stay in His flow, my path will be straight.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6