Matthew 19:16, 23-26
16 And behold, a man came up to
him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”…. 23 And
Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich
person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a
camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the
kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly
astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and
said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Mission Impossible—For who can be
saved? The human heart tends to want to create processes, systems, or
qualifications to be saved. Create a revival. Visit Mecca and give alms. Attend
church. In the first-century Palestinian context, wealth was a sign of God’s
favor. But Jesus points to the truth—try fitting a camel through the eye of a
needle. Impossible. So is man’s own attempt at salvation, be it through karma,
works, penance and confession, doing good deeds, enlightenment, sacrifices to
appease the gods, etc. Impossible.
But God…. But God calls. The
Spirit regenerates. Christ’s payment is applied, his death and resurrection are
participated in, and his righteousness is imputed. Salvation!!! Not by works,
not of any human initiative lest anyone should boast, but by God’s grace and
initiative alone. Slaves set free. Blind made to see. Leopard’s spots are
changed. Dead raised to life. (Eph. 2:8-9; Jn. 8:31-36; 2 Cor. 4:4-6; Jer. 13:23; Jn. 11:25 and Eph. 2:1). The impossible made possible!
Our missionaries are sent out to do
the impossible. They know deeply they cannot change the human heart. They sow
the seed; it is God who causes growth (1 Cor. 3:5-7). God alone can save. This sparks a passionate
cry, “God! Save!” as they grow to love the nationals and the culture, and
grieve over the blindness and lostness.
But they cry to a God who does
the impossible, who loved the world so much that he sent his Son. Their mission
is possible because it is HIS mission. This is our God of the impossible who
has etched his love for the lost and his mission to save the lost throughout
the entire Bible, the revelation of his heart. For the next two weeks during
our missions emphasis weeks, join us as we see how our God does the impossible
in his mission. Mission Impossible—Made Possible.
Your Mission
·
Join in
God’s impossible mission by praying that the Spirit will boldly move through
our missionaries’ words and deeds to bring salvation and shine the light of the
glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4-6; 1 Thes. 1:5).
·
How much
does your heart echo after God’s own passion for his mission to seek and save
the lost and for his praise from every tongue due him? (Lk. 19:10; Phil. 2:10-11; Rev. 7:9-10 ) How can you cultivate that?
Mission Impossible
Made Possible—Field Notes
Chad and Eva Frank
If I’ve spoken to you
in the last two years about H2O Akron, you would have heard me quote Matthew
9:37, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” This
statement of Jesus truly captured the state of H2O Akron. For two years, we
were seeing fruit in our efforts there, but simply did not have enough leaders
commit long-term to making it an official church plant.
After TWO FULL
YEARS, God has answered that prayer through the H2O Church Network! The
H2O Network has a vision of starting an H2O in every major campus in Ohio and
beyond. In April, the pastors of H2O Kent and the pastors of H2O Bowling Green
felt led to partner together to officially plant an H2O at the University of
Akron this fall! I and staff/interns from the other H20s will be serving at
Akron! Anyway you slice it, it is a remarkable answer to prayer and an awesome
picture of collaboration and partnership. Speaking of, thank you so much for YOUR
partnership! Without it, none of this would be possible!
No comments:
Post a Comment