The Grand Finale

Arise and See

This will be the final email from me. What all does one pack into a final anything? Where do you leave things? What do you include? How does one finish everything and pass it on? Well, Jesus is a great place to look.

At the end of Matthew, Jesus says this "So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything that I have told you. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of the world.”" (28:19-20) This passage is commonly known as the Great Commission, and it is the banner under which many, many missionaries serve. But those missionaries don't follow that commandment blindly. They also know of an equally important part to fulfilling the commission: prayer and being filled with the Spirit.

In Acts, Luke continues the story as Jesus ascends into heaven. "But the Holy Spirit will come to you. Then you will receive power. You will be my witnesses—in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world." (Acts 1:8) Jesus told them to go and be witnesses, but to wait for the Spirit to come to them first. The disciples therefore stayed in Jerusalem devoting themselves to prayer. For ten days, they prayed for this Spirit to descend on them. For ten days, they fought the sadness of losing Jesus again away. For ten days, they waited. All the while there were stories of Jesus' followers getting arrested and persecuted.

Sometimes in our world it can feel the same way. We feel a calling, or a desire to have a calling, and we pray and pray. It seems like God isn't answering our prayers. We hide behind the walls of our faith waiting for God to reveal himself. Frequently, we may get to day 9 and give up. We think, "Well God hasn't answered me about this job or opportunity, so the answer must be no." And so we give up. Or maybe, "Well, all that seems to be left in this church are people arguing and fighting, it must be time to just leave and go somewhere else."

Now, I am not God (thank goodness!), but I think we are sometimes too quick to give up. It can take a while for God to respond and fulfill his promises. Take the Israelites and their Promised Land. It took them several hundred years to get there. Take Jesus being born. That took several hundred years too. Now Jesus is promising to come back. That has taken thousands of years. God takes his time, and sometimes the answer is just to wait for the Spirit to move you.

What I love most about the Great Commission, and even the wording in Acts, is that not everyone has the same job. We all have the job to be a witness to Jesus, but how that gets practiced can look differently. We aren't all called to go into the mission field and serve in another country. We aren't all called to be pastors or biblical teachers. We are all called to be witnesses.

Witnesses have two jobs: to see and then to testify what they saw. So if Jesus calls us to be witnesses, he is calling us to see his goodness and then share with others his goodness. How do we know when to share? Through prayer. Start with praises. Sing about God's character and deeds. Bask in his glory and just be amazed at all he has done. Then ask for increase. Increase my faith. Increase my strength. Increase my desire to help others. Finally, practice. Put what you're asking into action. If you want more faith, seek out faith. If you want more desire, then help others until it's second nature.

So in this, my final email, I want to encourage you. Arise and see all the Lord has done, is doing, and promises to do. Don't give up hope on day 9. Don't walk away when the river is at flood stage and your promise is just on the other side. Look for God and you will see him. Move with God, for he wants to use you. Be a witness, and to God be the glory! Amen!

Grace and Peace,
Natalie C.
family.ministries@mtmoriahumc.org
Cell: 419.607.3140