- On a rabbit trail topic from last week’s Obedience episode, this is an encouragement to “GO” when God tells us to.
- Ephesians 2:10 For we are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
- Sometimes we miss those opportunities of good works due to either fear of the task, fear of failing, or not keeping our eyes open for them
- 2 Corinthians 6:11-13 (the Message): Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!
- We are so good at excuses as to why we aren’t able to complete the work. However, those times when you feel like you’re dragging, making little progress, or unmotivated is usually a sign that you just need to keep pressing forward. There is something totally worth it on the other side.
- The Bible is full of many examples of people who are so faithful when God asks them to go:
- The prophet Isaiah
- Isaiah 6:8- Then I heard the Lord asking “Whom shall I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said “Here I am. Send me.”
- Isaiah didn’t even know where God was asking him to go or what God wanted him to do, but he knew God and of His faithfulness so he chose to trust and go.
- Hebrews 11 is often called the “faith hall of fame.” It is full of examples of God’s faithfulness and faithful people.
- Genesis 12 tells the story of God calling Abram to the Promised Land, Canaan. His blessing for his obedience was to become the father of God’s chosen people.
- Hebrews 11:8-10 – It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith- for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.
- The prophet Isaiah
- The Bible is also full of examples of God’s faithfulness with blessings and guidance throughout the entire journey.
- God guided the Israelites out of Egypt
- God guided Abram to Canaan
- God guided and was with King David throughout his many trials
- Psalm 16:7-8 – I will bless the LORD who guides me, even at night my heart instructs me. I know the LORD is always with me, for he is right beside me.
- Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight.
- My journey with this podcast has been guided by God. I literally take tidbits of conversations, books, songs, or the Bible that tug at my heart. I write those pieces down on a list that I am compiling based on different themes. When one theme gets filled enough to consider making a podcast about it, I organize the information to make it flow well and actually make sense. God has provided everything I need for this podcast, all I’ve had to do is just take the next step.
- The hardest thing for me to overcome is the fear of failure.
- This episode has felt particularly rough due to lack of good flow and motivation. Because of that, I feel that Satan has tried to talk me out of continuing. Again, usually at these times is when it is most important for you to push through to get to the amazing part of the adventure that is just around the corner.
- Random side note: It is inevitable that you will mess up. But there is Grace! God is not surprised, He always forgives when we ask, and His plan always comes through despite our shortcomings. Talk about a weight off my shoulders!
- How does the “GO” calling apply to us today as Christians? The New Testament is full of examples of the commands that we need to follow.
- Luke 9:23-24 – And he was saying to them all “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it.”
- We need to be willing to give things up for God, but in doing so we will be so much better off. Once we prove to God we are willing to sacrifice for Him in the small things, He will start to ask us to move.
- The story of Peter’s calling to ministry found in Luke 5
- Peter gave up sleep and a day’s wages to help Jesus preach a sermon.
- Afterward, Jesus asked him to do something totally different than normal. He caught so many fish that it almost broke the net!
- Peter showed great faith and heartfelt sacrifice.
- Luke 9:23-24 – And he was saying to them all “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it.”
- We are not to complain or be grumpy about following our calling. The book fo Jonah gives a great example of how not to go.
- God called Jonah to go to Ninevah to warn them to repent or face destruction.
- Jonah did not want to go, so he ran in the complete opposite direction.
- God sent a storm, which led the Jonah to be forced to be thrown off of the boat.
- God saved/punished Jonah by rescuing him via a large fish.
- Jonah did go to Nineveh, where they repented.
- Jonah was angry that they did and therefore were saved. He threw a two-fold temper tantrum because he didn’t like the situation.
- Why does God ask us to go? To bring others along with us, making them be closer to God.
- Matthew 28:18-20 – And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- Acts 20:24 – But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I receive from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.
- Peter’s obedience in Luke 5 brought along two of his friends: James and John, which gave them all a front row seat to watch Jesus’ rescue plan.
- Pauls’ obedience in following God’s lead has led countless of people to Christ, both past, and present.
- Abram’s obedience to travel to Canaan made him the father of the whole Jewish nation.
- God asks us to go, but He never leaves us!
- Acts 1:8 – but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.
- 1 John 4:4 – You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
- We need to connect the knowledge in our heart to faith in action.
- John Wesley “Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as you ever can.”
- All we have to do is move. We are not asked to do it alone or to map out the journey, just to follow the steps that God lights for us.
- Isaiah 41:9-10 – You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts, and said to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you. Do not fear for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
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