“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20 KJV)
We need to be energized by God’s Presence. Energized is to be eager, excited, thrilled, overjoyed, and tickled pink. Do those words describe how we feel about God’s presence?
Do we realize God is as far away as the furthest point in the universe and as close as right inside our heart at the same time? Do we realize that whatever we do, God is already there ahead of us waiting for us? There is no way for us to give more than God, love more than God, and do more than God. God is as near as a whisper and He will hear our cries and our tears.
God has given us our mission, our method, and our motivation.
Most parents and children have something in common. Someone can tell a child (and some adults too) to do something but then it becomes necessary to keep reminding them until the job is completed.
A sign of maturity is when you give a child a job and it gets done - no questions.
Being energized by God’s presence comes not from knowing what God’s wants for us in life. It’s in actually doing what He wants for our life.
How often do we find ourselves not listening to God’s commands? We know what we should do, we know what we are supposed to do, we know what God has commanded us to do but we simply don’t do it.
James 1:22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. We will never know what it is to be energized by God’s presence until we obey what God commands us to do. We have our mission. We are told to go, make disciples, and teach.
Our mission is to make disciples or followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because we believe He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God and Savior, it is our desire to turn people onto Him! Teach them and turn them on! And do this worldwide!
Notice it just says to go, tell, and teach. The method is not important. What is important is the doing. God equips us for the doing. God gives us the methods. God will make a way. Our power for obeying God centers in the presence of God in our life. That would be God as God. It is not us allowing the presence of the false gods of our day – gods of materialism, popularity, or power to become the methods for obeying. Real power, the power of God’s presence, the power for life and living centers us being energized by God’s presence.
The basic method of spreading the Gospel is simply this: Someone goes and someone sends. We either go or else send someone in our place! That’s the method for spreading the Gospel. Are we focused more on the message or the method?
Being energized by God’s presence finds its source in fellowship with Jesus Christ. This is our motivation. Jesus reminded His disciples that through all the tough times, all the trials, all the temptation, whatever they did, that He was with them. We are not energized by religious observance. Believers find themselves energized by fellowship with the living God. Again, this is our motivation.
We’re talking passion, compassion and love. Our ultimate motivation is the love of Jesus Christ. Being energized by God’s presence is to be led by the love of Jesus Christ.
“I am with you always.” How long has it been since we have been energized by God’s presence? This is not about working for Him or even sitting in Church. It’s about recognizing that we are in God’s presence 100% of our time. That is 24/7 365 days per year. God never will leave us alone. That is energizing. That is exciting.
How long has it been since we have sensed His presence, trusted His guidance, or prayed more than a blessing on our food?
How long has it been since we really spent time alone with God?
Jesus said – Abide in me and I will abide in you. He compared it to a grape vine with us being the branches. We must stay connected to the source for life to flow. We become energized by God’s presence. If we lack excitement and power in our life today for living, take the advice of James “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
The mission: reach people for Christ.
The method: any method is better than no method at all.
The motivation: God’s presence and the love of Christ in us.
If God’s presence and the love of Jesus Christ do not energize us, I don’t know what will.
Hello Again!!
7 years ago
