The Heart Matters

 This first appeared in NeoNews in October 2008. I have republished it as it first appeared.

… Awaken the dawn!

 

On Saturday, August 18, 2007, it was another typical morning in Northeast Ohio. The sky shone bright with light; the air seemed rather thick, perhaps from the early morning dew and the humidity of the “Dog Days of Summer”; a sweet fragrance lingered in the moist air. Creatures were buzzing about with activity. A new day had dawned.

Yet, in Cuyahoga Falls on that particular morning, things were anything but typical. The sun did shine, but the light shining was not the sun. The air was thick, but thick with anticipation and a burden; oh, and the fragrance – oh so sweet – was not morning glories (or even coffee and donuts), but the sweet aroma of Brothers and Sisters busying themselves with God’s mission. Indeed, a new day had dawned for NeoXenos as people gathered together to pray for God’s Will to be done – throughout the world!

 

From Psalms 108:2-3

Awake, harp and lyre;

I will awaken the dawn!
I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the peoples.

And I will sing praises to You among the nations.

 

Representatives from all our cell groups were in attendance. After a “killer” spread of breakfast delights (Yes, there were bakery fresh, honey glazed donuts), each attendee collected valuable information on what God says about world missions and about praying for missions, why missions are important to our church, how to build a mission’s ethos, and how NeoXenos intends to financially support missionaries.

Greg started the meeting off with prayer followed by a teaching on God’s perspective of missions and why we should pray for His will to be done no matter what. His teaching focused on why we should care and why even pray.

WHY SHOULD I CARE?

The last thing Christ said to his disciples before he ascended into heaven was:

“… 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.” – Acts 1:8

When you are about to leave someone for a long time and never see them on this earth again (Yes, kind of like death-bed last words), your last words are going to be the most important and lasting.

WHY PRAY PERSISTENTLY?

The answer to this question was found in Luke 18:1-8 in the story of the persistent widow. Jesus told this parable “to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.” Basically if an unrighteous judge would grant this lowly widow what she repeatedly asked for because she wore him down “…will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?” Yes, God does want us to petition Him again and again; it matters that we care.

BROTHER (OR SISTER) CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?

In a word, “Yes!” You can spare a dime. That’s why we are implementing the “What’s-That-In-Your-Pocket Fund”. Each Cell Group leader will be collecting spare change to bring to the monthly World Missions Meeting. Please bring your spare change to your cell meeting and it will be added to our World Missions Fund. Or, better yet attend the next meeting yourself! The change will be counted and sent to a missionary family – the Gibson’s of World Team for starters.

WHAT CAN I LEARN AT THESE MEETINGS

For starters, you will learn that Cuyahoga Falls and Stow, Ohio, or even the United States of America, are not the center of God’s Plan.

From Isaiah 45:22-23

 

“I invite the whole world to turn to me and be saved.

I alone am God! No others are real.

I have made a solemn promise, one that won’t be broken:

Everyone will bow down and worship me.” (CEV)

 

You will gain a broader perspective of God’s mission – of God’s planned future. You will have the opportunity to learn about other people groups and the actual mission’s work going on among the “unreached”. You will learn how to effectively pray for those lost and those presenting the gospel to the lost. You will learn to care!

 

PERSPECTIVE, PERSPECTIVE, PERSPECTIVE

 

In January 2008, The Perspectives Class will be offered at the Green Campus of the Akron Chapel. Provided is a link for that class: http://www.perspectives-neo.org/. This class is an excellent opportunity to build your budding burden and to build relationships with fellow Christians. This course is intensive and a bit pricy, but those who have taken it say it “changed their world” and “opened their eyes to eternity.”

 

SO WHEN’S THE NEXT MEETING?

That’s easy. It is the third Saturday of each month!

---

Additional Information

This article was first published in September 2007. It is republished as it first appeared.

It was November 1987, an icy Saturday morning. I remembered promising Amy that I would go to the prayer meeting. Sure — I’d heard of the Great Commission – “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nation”, but who am. I lived in Columbus, had no money and a vague concept of the power of corporate prayer, not to mention I was rather self absorbed. As we drove there I wondered: Why am I going to this meeting? The warehouse will be cold. Will there be coffee? How can my prayer possibly further God’s great plan to bring all peoples to Himself? Hey, maybe that cute guy will be there. Maybe this isn’t a total waste.

Twenty years later I realize that meeting was one of the best days of my life and it certainly wasn’t a waste. God works with you through His Spirit right where you are. He totally awakened me from my slumber. I had been asleep and had not cared. My eyes finally were opening to who God really is. He is a God of love – a God of missions – a God to all peoples! The greatest commandment and the Great Commission seem to sum it up in this dynamic.

“A Healthy World Christian is someone who obediently integrates the Great Commission with the Greatest Commandment – loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving others as yourself.”

Chip Weiant, CEO of a Columbus Corp.

SO WHAT DOES ALL THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ME?

The key to that lays in Acts 1:8. Often we read it this way:

… and you will be my witnesses first in Jerusalem, and in then all Judea and Samaria, and finally to the ends of the earth.”

This misunderstanding leads us to believe that first I have to reach my neighbors and build the “Jerusalem Church” so to speak. But the passage actually says to be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. We are commanded to do both at the same time reach our local communities and the extra local and yes the “ends of the earth” too!

Recall what happened to the church in Jerusalem when they were only focused upon themselves. They did not intend tofulfill that commandment. They were not only scattered through persecution and internal strife, but they also did not grow as the Gentile churches did who raised up and sent missionaries early on in their churches.

So what this means for NeoXenos is growth! Growth both in personal maturity and in love, but dare I say even in numbers. A church that is focused outside of itself often experiences amazing growth and inspires its members to “GO.”

Remember that prayer group I attended . Well it grew in numbers and in vision. A majority of the attendees were either senders to the missions field or were sent into the mission field. The body as a whole developed a burden for the lost – not only those from their “Jerusalem,” but also “to the ends of the earth,” as stated in Acts 1:8. A home church in Columbus sent 14 people to work on the mission field and the rest worked as senders through both prayer and financial support. God uses prayer meetings to accomplish His work!

WHY SHOULD I CARE FOR THOSE PEOPLE?

As Jesus has commanded, NeoXenos has a vision to actively partake in this global ministry. Now is the time to kindle the fire that missionaries like Seann and Amy Gibson sparked. There are 23 million Taiwanese and 16 million are considered the working class. It is estimated that 70% of the Taiwanese populous are of Chinese religions, 26% are Traditional Christian, and only 2% are Evangelical Christians with most of the Christians coming from the upper class.

Many Christians have misconceptions about reaching the lost. Some believe that God will somehow mysteriously bring “the elect” to Him while others, perhaps influenced by the universalism of our modern culture, have bought into the belief that God will somehow save the lost through general revelation as he is loving. But scripture stands against this:

Romans 10:14-15

But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

John 14:6

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

OKAY BUT NOW WHAT?

We are having a monthly missions prayer meeting. People who do not come into a relationship with Christ are condemned to eternal separation. There is no gentle way to state this. It is our responsibility to take this message to all who have never heard about Him!

The meeting will start with a light breakfast for those who wish to fellowship. Then, comes the joyous work of sharing the burden of reaching the lost both through strategic prayer and through sharing personal burdens for lost. Also, we will pray for and encourage those who desire to go into the mission field. What a privilege to build this vision with them!

Also, we hope to have a few missionary couples visit with the group to share their experiences of missions work. Books about missionaries will be available to borrow as well. Other helpful resources such as prayer lists and handouts on effective missions prayer will be on hand.

The meeting will be held the 3^rd Saturday of each month:

Steve and Lisa Beeches’  House

1107 Chestnut Blvd., Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

The breakfast (doughnuts, muffin, fruit, and coffee) will be served at 8:30am.

Prayer commences around 9:00am.

The next meeting is scheduled for August 18^th!

Someday we shall all rejoice together with all the peoples from every nation and tongue. What an honor to partake in God’s plan!

Revelation 7:9-10

…a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;  and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

SO WHERE DO I START?

First plan on coming to the prayer meeting just as you are. God honors a heart willing to step out in faith, even those hearts looking for a hot cup of java. (Remember my first experience?) Then work on building a burden whether it is for a friend who desires to go to the field or for missionaries who you have heard. Also, learn about people groups and the needs of the missionaries working in that field. Missionaries work on the front lines but they need people behind the scenes supplying them with the physical and spiritual tools necessary to make headway into enemy territories. This is a job we can do now in our prayer group!

Below is a list of links to resources that can help build your personal vision.

www.omf.org

www.antiochnetwork.org

---

Additional Information

What is the direction of your life and where is its destination?

This was a challenge posed to me as I listened to a pod cast, entitled Missional Living by Adam Sinnett, from the Mars Hill Church media repository. Even if you believe that you can be objective, ask someone else to evaluate your life. In fact, ask several people, both Christians and non-Christians, so that you can gain a more complete image of the course of your life.

I initially went to this site seeking some information to share at the this Saturday’s mission prayer meeting. I wanted to have some fresh ideas on reaching the lost. I thought to myself, “Self, you need to motivate others to reach out and love the lost. Many are building a missional lifestyle burden. Self, how can you add some kindling to their growing spark? This spark must not smolder, but it must burn brightly.”

What I found was more than some inspiring words and ideas for living. What I found was more than just a nice teaching. What I found touched the core of my deceived heart and brought me to sorrow and a change of mind – I repented.

I found that my life was becoming much like my misaligned van and, if not slightly corrected, I would not reach my intended destination. My life was subtly being driven off course in a direction I had not intended. The life choices I have been making were leading me down a dead end road – to dare I say cul-de-sac living! Was my own spark being smothered?

As Christians, we are all sojourners on a mission. We are all headed in a particular direction and have a finite amount of time and resources to partake of in that mission. Christ had a mission. He was sent here (to the earth) to set things right. Clear back to the Garden of Eden things went terribly wrong. Man ran from God and His provision and His guidance for our lives. Even then, as Adam and Eve cowered in the vegetation, God went looking for them.

The first question that God asked them after their rebellion was this:

“Where are you?”

In John 17, Jesus acknowledges that the Father sent him to the world with a mission, a mission that Christ had accomplished.

For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him.  And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.  I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.  Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

Later in John 17, Jesus asks for protection for those who are to carrying on the mission – to protect His followers who are in the world from the deception of Satan.

I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.

Jesus was the first missionary. He was sent to this filth ridden earth in the body of a frail human to preach the good news and to sacrifice His life as payment for our sins so that we could be reconciled to God.

In Matthew 5, Jesus calls his disciples the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Believers are the preservative of the earth which brings new life to that which was formerly dead. Believers are the light of the world which illuminates this present darkness.

Later in Matthew 28:19, Jesus commissions His followers to “GO” and in Acts 1:8 they were told to “GO” into their communities and to also go outside of their comfort zones, even to the ends of the earth.

Paul, the most amazing missionary, says in 2 Corinthians 5:20 that we are to be as ambassadors for our King, Jesus Christ. We are sent into the world and God makes His appeal through us. And Paul adds even more to this position of ambassador in 1 Corinthians 9:22.

When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.

So, if it wasn’t clear before, it ought to be now. Jesus was a missionary and we too are called as missionaries. No matter who you are – even if you are a non-Christian – you have a life mission. You need to uncover what your life mission is.

Is your mission a comfortable life with a lovely home? Or is it the good school system with two children (or more) who play forward for the local sports team? Or could it be the fulfilling job – climbing the corporate ladder to financial security and corporate power? Or still yet, is it just to get by without inconvenience – living day by day without chaos and the unknown? Or, is it to just get by without getting the police called to your house on a Saturday night cookout?

What is your life mission?

We all carry a message with us.  What is the message that others pick up from us? This is not a program of going to church and serving in some sort of Christian ghetto.  This is a lifestyle. Your message will exude from how you live your life.

What message is your life conveying to those around you?

When we understand this, the everyday mundane things of life turn into an important, life saving mission.  When you are called to carry out the mission of God, new life is breathed into your life and into the lives of those around you. This should be energizing and encouraging – a life of hope!

Am I wasting my life on a mission that is not God’s?

If you are and you choose to repent, God will use you. All you need to do is be available to His plans and to ask him to use you, your resources, and your life for His mission.

Consider this:

Salvation is not the end goal, rather it is the beginning. We, as believers, have received a new Father, a new spirit, and also a new mission. We have the privilege to offer new life to those around us. This can be so daunting and seem so difficult – but it doesn’t have to be.

True, we live in a post-modern society that is anti-religion and especially anti-Christian. You can discuss almost any topic openly, but bring Jesus into the mix and a disapproving silence fills the air or even more likely a clamor of scorn erupts.

Paul lived in such a time. Roman culture was very sophisticated and many people were very intolerant of the message of Christianity. In Athens Paul was faced with a highly pluralistic, cultured and educated people. This too is true of the universities and college campuses of today.

Paul was not discouraged by this. He held fast to his purpose and loved that community victoriously. There are nine missional observations that can be extracted from Paul’s missionary trip to Athens.

Nine Missional Observations

The mission is first birthed by the gospel rooted within us.

When Paul first enters Athens he is deeply provoked by what he saw.  His spirit was deeply stirred within him. Are you stirred by what you see around you. Paul saw idol worship everywhere he looked. He saw a people enslaved to falsehood and doomed to destruction. He was moved by deep love for them and moved into to tell about the one true God. (BYW – Congrats to our the same sex marriages that are filling the Californication courthouses- NOT!)

When the gospels grips us, we understand God’s perspective. Our motivation is love. We don’t want others to continue running away from God. Remembering our former state, we strive to save others – we recall that we too were once prisoners and we are then moved to rescue others. Right?

Deal with Jesus and the resurrection before dinosaurs.

Paul first told the educated mover and shakers about “Jesus and His resurrection.” He did not tarry with what they thought about secondary issues. He went straight to the core message of his mission and that was to reconcile the lost to Christ.

Paul’s examples show us to not get caught up in discussing who wrote the Bible or if the Great Flood actually happened – bypass the minutiea – his purpose was “to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified,” and Him raised back to life. All questions vanish when you see the risen Lord standing before you.

Our conversations with others must stay hinged on who Jesus is. Even when they raise questions, lead them back to the question of who they think Jesus is. Guide them to who Jesus is and what Jesus says. Secondary issues can wait.

Do not ignore the city – rather engage it.

Paul does not wait to engage the city until he had reinforcements. He went right into Athens and mixed it up with the townies. Scripture says he “reasoned with them.” Cities and centers of learning were strategic launches for Paul. He sought out the regional heads so as to have a beach head for the gospel. The ends of the earth would be reached by those first reached in these centers.

Discover the gospel bridges

Our job as God’s ambassadors is to see the common truth that we share with others. Paul saw that the Athenians were very religious. What common truth do you as a believer share with your neighbor, with your co-workers?

Take the more common belief and redirect to the purer truth. Ask questions and see what people think and believe. Many people today do not even know what they believe, let alone why they believe a certain way.

Remember it is all about community. God is all about communal relationships. He is the perfect example of this – the Trinity is such an example. Be actively engaged with those in your life. Be involved. Make it your goal to grow your community both in numbers and in relational depth.

Build relationships with others – engaging others

When people feel loved by you, they are more open to hearing what you both think and believe. Love people for real and just stop talking about it!

Make goals for your life. Be consistent. Specifically pray for particular people in your life and pursue them in love. Be involved in their lives. (Notice the active initiating, Lisa?)

Be prepared for opportunities

You never know when God will call upon you as His ambassador.  It will usually be at an inconvenient time – you will need to choose to sacrifice to love those God has placed in your life. Live each day expecting that Christ is leading you. Expect to be used.

Paint a big picture of our BIG GOD

The reason that many people do not take God seriously is because they view Him as trivial and impotent. Describe God for who He is. He gave you breathe and He will someday take it away. (Your days have been numbered.) God is both merciful and righteous and will judge by His standard of perfection.

He is huge and He is everything. People need to be aware of this. Love them by letting them know the truth – but do so with gentleness and respect in the context of a love-based relationship.

You will be misunderstood

Paul was misunderstood in Athens. They called his words babbling and nonsense. Expect people to be confused and to not understand. God can still reach their heart. (Remember He is huge.)

Leave the results to God

Paul was mocked. Some wanted to hear more of what he had to say. Others believed and followed Christ. You cannot move someone’s heart – only the Holy Spirit can do that. Leave the conviction to Him.

So, what is your life mission?

Is it a mission that is aligned with the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit’s? If not, you too can repent. It is all so easy to get your eyes off the goal and to slack off from the good fight.

Hey, I know it’s summer. Time to relax and work a few kinks out of our necks. It is time to play ball with the kids and to relax pool-side. Vacations are a wonderful and needed respite (I am going on two) – but they are not the goal of the sojourner.

So consider this once more, what is your life mission? Does your life need realigned? Does anyone know a good “Christ-o-practor?”

---

Additional Information

I have long asked this question, “Should I stay or should I go, now?” Many a time, as I hear the Clash belt out this song, my heart sings out and yearns to go. At other times when no one is around – I shamelessly yell out the lyrics imagining myself on the pinnacle of decision. I find myself shouting, “GO, GO, GO!”

I have often wondered if Steve and I have made the right decision – if we should have tried harder to get “it together” so that we could have gone to the mission field to serve at the side of our long time friends, the Gibson’s. At times I still wonder, “Should I stay or should I try to go, still?” Even now I am tempted to find a way to go, especially when Amy expresses her inner desire to have me at her side -once again. I too desire to serve at her side.

This morning at the missions’ prayer meeting, spiritual warriors gathered together to carry on the fight. As every good soldier knows, strategy is the key to victory. Soldiers need to be equipped and the troops need to be rallied. Today we discussed mission mobilization. I decided to share an article that I read in Mission Frontiers from the January – February 2008 issue.

In the article, Find Your Role In Mobilization, Steve Shadrach asks the question, “Are we all called to missions? Or is there something the Muslims and Coca-Cola know that we don’t?”

In this article he recalls a time in China where students from an elite university were clamoring to hear of Jesus.  These unreached people were eagerly seeking to hear of salvation and hundreds were accepting Christ as their personal savior. Yet here in America it is difficult to even broach this topic with even your closest friends and neighbors.

Shadrach (Not associated with Meshach or Abednego) realizes that he has a greater purpose – he realizes that he has been “called to stay.” He is called to serve as a missions’ mobilizer.

He says,”But as it relates to God’s call on every Christian’s life, don’t you think we should have just as strong a call to stay as we do to go?” So the answer for Shadrach is that all are called to missions, but some are “called to stay.” Have Steve and I  been called to stay as well? Could our mission’s call be as part of a team of mobilizers? Have you been called to stay as well?

Mobilization includes the following three aspects:

1. Recruiting believers to acquire this world focus.
2. Training believers to be more equipped so that they can fulfill their calling.
3. Connecting people with the right resources and information so that they can do their part in “Great Commission.”

The article listed some excellent equipping resources that are readily accessible to anyone desiring to build their “Kingdom Perspective.”

1. The Perspectives Course.
2. The INSIGHT Program, geared towards high school graduates.
3. Publications like, Mission Frontiers, Global Prayer Digest, and International Journal of Frontier Missiology.

The article concludes with some amazing insights that we can glean from the world. Muslims are investing huge sums of cash at American Universities and offer to endow these institutions with Departments of Middle Eastern Studies. They build mosques across from these universities and are winning American college students to the Islamic faith.

 As we know, college students are at universities to learn. They are more easily won at this time in their lives than at any other.  With our new college ministry taking off now, we have entered into the territory of the enemy. Satan does not want to give Christ a foothold in his territory – the college campus. These students too have been called to stay and fight here at home on the college campus.

Coke Has A Plan. Do You?

A rumor has been circulating that Coca-Cola has a business plan to get a cold coke within a one mile reach of every person on earth. Do we as believers have such an industrious goal for the gospel?

Christ said that “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” That means if Coca-Cola has the resources to get a coke within one mile of every person by the year 2020, then should we as Christians not also have even more resources to get the gospel to those who are as yet unreached? The answer should be “Yes!”

Just imagine if the college ministry is able to reach those international students who have come here to learn. Many of these students, like the Chinese Steve Shadrach met in China, are clamoring to learn of Christ. They are looking for answers.

In the 90’s Steve and I were actively involved in International Student Ministries. International students are here for four or more years and most never see the inside of an American’s home. Most are open to bible studies in order to both improve their English and to learn about Christianity. This is frontline warfare here in our own country.

So should I stay or should I go, now?  Stay – the answer is stay. I have been called to serve at the side of Amy here in Northeast Ohio. For who knows, this little Saturday morning prayer group could move many to go – even thousands!

---

Additional Information