"Your love is like radiant diamonds
Bursting inside us we cannot contain
Your love will surely come find us
Like blazing wild fires singing Your name
God of mercy sweet love of mine
I have surrendered to Your design
May this offering stretch across the skies
And these Hallelujahs be multiplied"
Multiplied, NEEDTOBREATHE
"These hallelujahs be multiplied" can mean something different for everyone. Today when I listened to the song, that lyric spoke to me in this way: that we need to take our hallelujahs and use them to multiply, not just the hallelujahs being shouted, but the people shouting them! God's love is so big that we shouldn't be able to contain it inside, sharing it with everyone! Whether you say that you are a missionary or not, if you are a follower of Christ, you are a missionary.
Jesus said in John 14:15,
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments."
What are His commandments?
Matthew 22: 36-39 says, “'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?' And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"
Matthew 28:19 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,"
Love God, Love your Neighbors, Make Disciples.
Now what does this mean for me as a Christian?
It means that not just those of us who go on mission trips, or who were called to a specific place (to relocate for missions) are missionaries. It's all of us who are followers of Christ, all of us who love Christ. Your mission field may be your home, your community, your church, your child's school or softball team, but it's you, you are called to be a missionary. If this is new information for you, don't let it scare you, let it excite you! Making disciples should be a number one priority in our lives, and a privilege!
What does that look like?
Should I have to quit my job? Some of you may be called to do that yes, but you ARE called to serve within your work! It may be that coworker who comes in with their problems every day and you've been giving them advice but you have never shared Christ. You don't share scripture because you think it won't help. You don't share how Christ changed your life, because you think they don't want to listen. If you are truly following Christ and you are full of the Holy Spirit, people should be able to see that light in you daily: in your actions, in your words, how you treat people, and the type of conversations you have. It looks like stepping out of your comfort zone to love people that before you may not have given a second thought, teaching others what your mentors taught you, what you have learned from your own studies, sharing that Jesus came to save us and how he did it. Live your life for Christ. No, you don't have to move, quit your job, and raise funds to go somewhere to share the gospel unless you truly feel God is calling you to do so. If we all did that, there would be no-one to provide the funding, but we do all need to be sharing the gospel where we are at the moment.
Here lately, I haven't been in the word like I should be. I shared this with my teenagers during prayer requests (it's important to be honest about personal struggles with people you are ministering to). I asked for prayer to be closer to God, because if I'm not where I need to be in my walk, how can I shine that light for others and share His love? I think what happened is the stress of feeling that it is all on me. This is all lies of course, but sometimes that's how I feel, that I have to go daily and share the love of Christ because there are people's lives on the line and it's my job to help them. I think a lot of us that are in full time ministry go through phases like this. Earlier I shared Matthew 28:19 that says to go make disciples, but Jesus continues in Matthew 28:20 by saying he will be with us. Our job is to love, teach, and share how Jesus has changed our lives. It is not our job to change their hearts and save their souls. That's where the Holy Spirit comes in. Thank goodness for that! I am flawed, but Jesus is perfect. Knowing He is with me is so amazing!
Jesus has the power to save. God sent his Son and sacrificed Him in order that we might be saved by Him. We shine His light and Share His love. We can't make the decision for the people, that part is between them and God. We pray that we have spoken truth and that when the time comes, they will say yes and accept Jesus as their savior, and those Hallelujahs be multiplied!
I have so much comfort in knowing that the one who saved me is the one who goes with me daily to talk to these families to talk to these teenagers. He guides me in my words and my actions, and then when the time is right they decide to be followers too. Not because I did it, not because it was all on me, but because Jesus changes their hearts, saves their souls and I have the privilege of being a part of the process. So do you! Now go Shine!
