Nothing happens by accident. The past several months have been revolutionary for myself and the church. God has allowed us to go through so many hardships and victories, yet none of which we were able to anticipate. Both the highs and the lows have been nothing less than miraculous, but they have all stemmed from the sovereign eternal will of God for us and the church. The truth is that God allow these things to reveal His holy convictions for our lives and ministry.
The truth is that ALL of us allow our understanding of God's will to be corrupted and shaped by our personal preferences and experiences. Now in all fairness, it is also true that God allows our tendencies and experiences to reveal His will; but there is a difference between revealing and shaping. Revelation comes in a pure form, "shaping" implies alteration and manipulation. I believe God's will is REVEALED, not shaped. This may sound contradictory and like splitting hairs, but I challenge you to consider it...
Regardless, I am amazed at the beauty of God's intervention in my life, both before this summer and now in the midst of this amazing season of challenge and victory. The result is a greater revelation of God's will for the Sweetens and the church in NYC. In revealing His will He has revealed our convictions and calling. It is a bittersweet experience because they seem so unexpected, atypical, and controversial; but isn't that just proof coming from a God who is separate from this world and holy?
Yes, but is merely being unexpected, atypical and controversial proof that it is from God? No. What is validating, however, is what this divine call and conviction will accomplish: souls for the Kingdom.
Luke 19:10 declares that the sole mission of Jesus was "to seek and save the Lost." He then goes on to teach a parable about servants who were given their Master's minas (currency) yet failed to do His business. Although they were once called "servants" and members of his Kingdom, their failure to obey and continue His work resulted in banishment and death. The point is that Christians must ALWAYS be about seeking and saving the Lost, period.
Yes, this is hard and leads to places we would rather not want or expect to go, but we must if the Master is calling and has entrusted us with His business. We and the church have always known this truth and tried earnestly to carry it out, but we can't do it our way with our understanding for our set period of time. We must always be led by the Master to do the Master's work. This is what having convictions is all about.
Please don't read too much into this post and seek a message or assumption the text does not support. But do pray for us, the church in NYC, and you and your local church. Ask God is you are perceiving His revealed will or if you are allowing that will to be shaped and compromised by your preference and experiences. Also, please consider if you are doing the Father's work of seeking and saving the Lost. If you are leaving that work to someone else, please consider Luke 19:20-27.
Be led by His convictions...
