Praise, This is Amazing Grace, Give You Glory, Reliably True, I Speak Jesus

What is your biggest dream in life?

Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach remained in it, although at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates, ² then Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they were planning to harm me. ³ So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” ⁴ They sent messages to me four times in this manner, and I answered them in the same way.⁵ Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same manner a fifth time with an open letter in his hand. ⁶ In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel; therefore you are rebuilding the wall. And you are to be their king, according to these reports. ⁷ You have also appointed prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem concerning you, ‘A king is in Judah!’ And now it will be reported to the king according to these reports. So come now, let us take counsel together.” ⁸ Then I sent a message to him saying, “Such things as you are saying have not been done, but you are inventing them in your own mind.” ⁹ For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, “They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands…

¹⁵ So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. ¹⁶ When all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

If you have given your life to Jesus, then you have a purpose for being alive, a specific calling from God!

THE “WHAT” (Matthew 28:19)

We have a mission, a huge mission — the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19).

THE “HOW” (Colossians 3:23)

How are we to go about our mission from God? We are to work at our God-given task with all our heart. We are to be creative and ask God for energy and strategy for us to complete our task with all our hearts.

Because it’s a huge task, we need to dream BIG! (Ephesians 3:20). Oftentimes, we misquote this verse in this way, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more (abundantly beyond) than all we (can) ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us”. Of course, He is able to do whatever we can ask or imagine, but we have to actually ask God for big things — not just theoretically believe it (“can”). He can do more than what you are actually asking. It’s your turn to take that step of faith in God who is big, who is All- Powerful. Take a step of faith in that knowledge and actually ask God for bigger things.

When you ask God for something mediocre, weak and measly, you dishonor God. God is all-powerful, and if you just ask according to your lack of faith (in who He is), and you ask for little things, you dishonor Him. Ask according to the knowledge that He is Omnipotent (all-powerful), according to His greatness. So dream big, and ask God for big things because He wants to do the miraculous in your life! “Only one life, it will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last” (C.T. Studd); you only have one life to live — once you pass away and go to heaven, you will come back to relive your life and get a second chance. Take advantage of every waking moment that we have to live a mission-driven lifestyle.

THE “WHO” (Matthew 9:35-38)

Who are the “crowds” today that we are to have compassion on? They are our family, friends, work colleagues, campuses, Gen Z, Gen Alpha in the Philippines and all over the world. We are among those workers in the harvest field! Pay attention to what men of God have said about our mission:

• “We talk of the Second Coming; half of the world has never heard of the first.” – Oswald J. Smith
• “If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice? Sympathy is no substitute for action” – David Livingstone
• “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” – Jim Elliot

Life is passing away; you can’t keep it forever. He is no fool who gives his life for what he cannot lose (i.e., your salvation). Desperate love generates obedience. You should feel an urgency to obey Jesus… “go and make disciples”. Millions of people are dying without hearing about Jesus. Just in the Amazon, there are about 80,000 villages along the Amazon River and its tributaries. Only 7,000 villages have a Bible-believing church. That means that there are still 73,000 unreached villages today!

We have a mission, and there are challenges along the way. Believing in Jesus doesn’t take all our problems away. The Bible tells us that we will face difficulties and persecution, but through it all we have the Presence of the Holy Spirit in us, holding us throughout the hardships. So, take heart and remain focused on accomplishing God’s mission. We should not be distracted, so we can complete our task.

Nehemiah was someone who was extremely focused and mission-driven and we can learn a lot from him. Israel was in exile at this time and had many enemies. Jerusalem’s walls were torn down, and these enemies did not want them rebuilt (Nehemiah 4:1-3). But that was Nehemiah’s mission. Stay away from critical people, go with those who are encouraging! The people with Nehemiah worked with all of their heart, focused and not distracted (Nehemiah 4:6). Taking your eyes off Jesus can cost you your life! The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy; we cannot take our eyes off Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith — He is amazing, and we love Him.

When his enemies tried to distract him, Nehemiah refused to allow them to (Nehemiah 6:1-4). Though his enemies tried many times, Nehemiah did not give in. Like racehorses with vision-blockers, let us run our race focused on Jesus. As we do that, God will do the miraculous; He will open up supernatural opportunities and as you are faithful with a little, He will give you so much more (Nehemiah 6:15-16). So, focus on the mission!

God’s faithful people who came before us are now part of the “great cloud of witnesses”; they are heroes of the faith who are cheering us on as we run the race to complete our mission (Hebrews 11:32-40, 12:1-2).    They have done their part and have passed on the baton to you and me. Now it’s our turn to run with all our strength, focused on completing the task (Great Commission) through a mission-driven lifestyle.

Pray that more and more people in your circles of influence become disciples of Jesus.

Live a mission-driven life, fulfilling God’s purpose of making disciples of all the nations.

Start by sharing Christ to someone in some way (creative, strategic), today.

• Worship God for who He is, what He has done, and what He will do in our lives.

• Upright and moral governance of public servants; repentance and salvation for government leaders and citizens for a Christ-centered Philippines.

• For legislators to promote and support bills and laws aligned with God’s Word.

• War in Ukraine to end, loss of lives prevented.

• For the rest of the Israeli hostages to be restored to their families safely. For Israel’s war with terrorists to end according to God’s purpose and for His glory.

• Pray for Jewish people worldwide who are experiencing a surge of antisemitism; may this lead them to the Messiah, Jesus as they turn to God for help and comfort.

• For the civil war in Syria to end peacefully, protection for Christians and other minorities; that there will be freedom from oppression for Syrians. Pray for the gospel to spread rapidly throughout the country.

• Pray for Nigeria and persecuted Christians there; earnestly seek God’s intervention to stop the bloodshed. Pray for freedom from oppression, that God’s word and His people bring them comfort and hope.

• That CCF Members would honor and love God and make disciples.

• Elders, pastors, dleaders, and families (holy, humble, harmonious, happy, heart-working).

• Ministries and churches expand worldwide.

• Worship and Training Center

• Prayer Mountain

• Deeper intimate relationship with God.

• Righteous living.

• Salvation of family and friends.

23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.