God Still Speaks (Part 2)
Did you know that sometimes when God speaks to us He uses language we may not completely understand?
Well, He does. It really isn’t meant to confuse or frustrate us … and it’s not because He gets some warped pleasure out of creating a problem. Mostly we think it is to remind us of our very real dependency on Him. It seems that it’s His way to take us on a necessary walk of faith with Him.
It kinda feels like God is mixing something we do know with some things we don’t know in order to take us into the space of discovery. Once we arrive. we soon find it is a place where what we don’t know broadens the scope of the vision He is giving us as we are able to put the pieces of the puzzle together. We learn as the Holy Spirit disciples us through this walk of faith.
This is a big part of our (David & Kandy) story as the words the Holy Spirit spoke to us one Sunday morning in 2011 carry much more meaning today than they did when they were first given. When He said, “I’m calling you to be a missionary to the university district village,” we didn’t know exactly what He meant. Now, some 10 years later it’s different … as growth and maturity takes root in us our understanding expands and the results have been incredible as the Holy Spirit has discipled us.
Everyone who is a follower in the way of Jesus is called to live their lives by faith and to follow Jesus wherever He leads them. It is the same for you as much as it is for us. The Holy Spirit desires to direct and guide our steps as He disciples us for the work the Messiah has given to each and every one of those who follow Jesus. We all have the privilege to be producers in the Kingdom of God. It means we all get to make disciples, who in turn, go out and make more disciples.
It is the new discoveries that help us learn about things we didn’t know, understand, or see that keeps the fire burning as it lights an even brighter burn in our souls. Each time it happens it’s like a missing piece of the puzzle gets filled in. It is a picture that is becoming more and more complete.
What is different for us today is that we have faces and relationships that broaden the scope of understanding in our hearts. We have experiences to match our education in all things mission-oriented, and it changes us and the perspectives we form.
It is the people we meet along the way who reflect what the Holy Spirit said that Sunday morning during a worship gathering with our Bridge of Hope Church family. They teach us as they bring to life the vision God had in mind as He carefully crafted the words breathed into our souls. To get there, we had to move by faith.
When we think about the University District Village our hearts warm up to the world of Post-Christian America. It is a worldview we didn’t understand and, in many ways, were frustrated by the people who held this common approach to life. This worldview was growing as more and more people seemed to be functioning from its ideals. In reality, we had no clue how they think, talk, and act, never realizing how much miscommunication was taking place when we were with them.
It started while we were still Lead Pastors with Bridge of Hope in Boardman, Ohio. We began to engage people very different from ourselves as we ventured more and more into living as missionaries in the greater Youngstown area. This was our part of the world where God placed us, and we thought we understood all there was to know about the people who lived there with us.
One of the first points of discovery in our walk of faith was to reactivate this truth: Whatever our vocation may be, we are all given the call to live as a missionary.
We are all missionaries living out the mission God gives us. It’s true; some have been set apart and called to vocationally walk out this life of a missionary. And yet, there is an even greater reality in which all followers of Jesus do life as a missionary in the context of their employment, neighborhoods, and social interactions where they live.
People who sincerely follow the way of Jesus have been given the job to cross cultures with those we don’t understand so we can find a way to incarnate the Gospel message, that actually looks and sounds like Good News, to those we are trying to reach. It is our job to make the reach and go to them.
God is still speaking as He shares repeatedly an invitation and challenge to those who are listening to join Him in His work. It is an invitation and challenge for each of us to live every day as a missionary in this world and to do so with Gospel Intentionality. We are a sent people who represent Jesus wherever the Holy Spirit takes us. God is still calling … He is speaking clearly and inviting us to follow Him in this missionary life.
Next month we will revisit this subject and talk more about this Post-Christian world and the effects it has on our society. We will begin to share what we are doing to change the course of the Church during this era.
Until then, keep in mind that people are just that … people. They are people, and when felt needs come up it is a wonderful time for those who follow Jesus to practice good neighboring principles. Be a good neighbor and share the grace and love of Jesus Christ with the people God places in your path. Let’s discover where the Holy Spirit will lead your steps!
In case you missed it, check out part in this blog series.
We look forward to sharing more in the next issue…