In 2016, Who Will "Go!"? - Sent to Shine, Not to Blend.

John 8:12

Then Jesus Christ spoke to them again saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness , but have the light of life."

John 1:5

And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend [overcome] it.

Folks, we are not "blenders;" we are "shiners" If you have been blending in in 2015, it's your time to SHINE!

What are you leaving behind in 2015 and not taking into 2016?

So how are we going to SHINE in 2016. Well, everything starts with being in God's presence. It's where I need to start and where you need to start. And frankly, I have been very distracted lately to spend enough time just in God's presence in a posture of waiting and listening. That's the reason I take off at times to get back on track and away from the craziness. For me it's crucial. God gave us the Sabbath so that we can operate from a place of Sabbath rest. We are not meant to be in motion constantly, neither physically nor mentally. But we are meant to be in His presence at all times.

Why do we need to be in His presence?

It sustains us.

Nehemiah 8:10

Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

The Bible tells us that "in the presence of God is fullness of joy." (Ps. 16:11) Elsewhere it tells us that "the joy of the Lord is our strength." (Neh. 8:10).

Not only are we strengthened in His presence, we also receive revelation in His presence. John the Revelator was in His presence on the Sabbath when he experienced what we now know as the book of "The Revelation of Jesus Christ."

Aha! In God's presence He reveals Jesus to us! And if in fact we become what, or in this case Whom, we behold, then and only then can we do what Jesus did and the more that He promised we would do (John 14:12). That was His promise to us before He returned to the Father in heaven. 

So back to shining.

Why are we to shine and not blend? What's the point?

Habakkuk 2:14:

For the earth will be filled [W]ith the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, [A]s the waters cover the sea.

So the question is, what exactly does that mean? How is God filling the earth with the knowledge of His glory?

Well, it's really a "who" exactly is God using to spread the knowledge of the glory of the Lord? His own, that's who. It's those people who are filled with the Holy Spirit and with fire AND who spend their time in the presence of the Lord so that when they are sent, they can in be His media for spreading the knowledge of the glory. It's as simple as that.

Friends, we need to be spending time in God's presence. That is the first order of business in being used by God. There is no shortcut for this. [I am preaching to me here.] Studying the Word isn't enough, although it is key to demonstrating Who God is. Spending time with others in fellowship isn't enough. We must spend time in His presence alone in worship, prayer, listening, soaking. Yes, there is a crucial place for corporate worship, prayer, and fellowship but there is no substitute for one of One time with God! I don't care how anointed you are. You will eventually run out of steam because in the presence of the Lord is fullness of joy" and "the joy of the Lord is our strength." That is why so many in ministry burn out. They replace time with the King for ministry in His service. This was never to be the case.

The world is waiting. And while some are to be senders in the long term, everyone is sent in some capacity. Jesus sent us all. The entire Church is not suppose to just hang out in little, or large, boxes of buildings. We must mobilize!

This isn't just me, folks, that's the heart of God. The last thing Jesus told us when He went back to the Father in heaven was to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..."

Here's the full quotation from Matthew 28:19:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen."

There are many instances of the biblical mandate to "Go!" Let's look at 3 specific instances. In each of these accounts, God Himself is calling us to go, not His representatives. That should be enough for us to take heed. Two of these are Old Testament accounts and 1 is in the New Testament:

1. Moses - See the account in Exodus 3.
In verse 10 God says to Moses: "Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." Then Moses gave God all the excuses why he was the wrong person to be sent. God did not buy it and finally Moses submitted to God's will. And the rest is His-story.

2. Isaiah - See the account in Isaiah 6. In verse 8
The prophet says, "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
Before this, Isaiah, too, was telling the Lord that he was unfit to speak to the people on God's behalf because they had dirty mouths and so did he. God then sent an angel to cleanse Isaiah's lips with coal from the fire in heaven. God always cleans us up and prepares us to do His will. He never sends us out without as orphans.

3. Jesus - See the New Testament particularly Matthew 28:18-20.

Jesus tells us to "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.


So although we have access to His authority as we go about doing as He commanded us to do, there can be no glory without suffering as we see in the life of Jesus. We, as His followers, should expect no less. To go through life expecting life to be all rosy is not to expect to live the Christian life. The servant is not better than the Master: If Jesus suffered, we should expect the same. Only we will never suffer what He did. He took it all on for us; death, the grave, and worst, the wrath of God for sin. That we do not have to experience God's wrath; He has already done it. But that only works if we have consciously accepted what He has done. Our suffering is but a light affliction compared to His and compared to what we gain in the here and now. and in the life to come in eternity. That's the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So .. in 2016, who will go for Him? Who will go and ...?

...  make disciples of all nations [peoples] (Matt. 28:19)

...  shine their light in dark places (John 8:12)

...  preach the Gospel (tell the people of the Way to God) (Matt. 28:20). And so...

...  spread the knowledge of the glory of God throughout the earth (Hab. 2:14)

Will you?

The fields are white unto harvest, but the laborers are few. Jesus tells us in Luke 10:2, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.


Will you be one?

My prayer for each of us in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in 2016 is ...

"Lord, send forth your laborers."

Friends, the creation is groaning for the sons of God to arise. So ...

"Arise, sons of God, AND Go!"