Time To Leave
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen 1 Peter 1:1
Apostle – God is a verb. He is all action. Even His Name, blessed be He, is a form of the verb “to be”. He is the great I AM, who was and is and will be. Would you expect those who display His Spirit to be any less than verbs? We are not nouns. Nouns are nice little boxes, neatly sorted and contained. But verbs are like a three-year-old in a candy store. Verbs go wild. They won’t be constrained. They do things.
When Peter says that he is an apostle, he doesn’t mean that he has a title over his office door. He doesn’t mean that he gets a special parking place or a designated chair on the podium. He means that he has been sent away. The Greek word apostolos might be a noun but it is based in an action. To be an apostle is to be sent out. No one can be an apostle sitting at home. You have to go out and do something to qualify for this job!
In that sense, there are many apostles in the world today. God is always sending someone to do His work. They don’t hold that position because they are elevated to some ecclesiastical role. They hold that position because they are responding to God’s call. In fact, you will likely find most apostles in the same places that you would look for Jesus – the homeless centers, the hospitals, the legal aid offices and the gutters. You can’t be an apostle to your own congregation, can you? You have to be sent away.
One of the tragedies of the church is the tendency to collect people rather than shipping them out the door. The church today is like a dam on a river. It’s interested in how much water it can collect behind its doors. Churches compete on the size of the pond. But none of that water is any good at all until it is released – until it is sent out from the dam. That’s when God gets moving. The nice big still lake behind the dam isn’t much of a verb. You have to open the spillway and let it rip before you see any power generated.
Peter knew this. He knew that the church grew, not because it collected, but because it distributed. The fastest growth in church history occurred when every little collection of water opened the gates and flooded the land. No one tried to get big. They just tried to get sent. I often wonder what impact we would have if we met on Sunday morning to get our walking papers. “This Sunday we will go out. Here, you go to the shelter. You go to the hospital. You go to the golf course. You go to the game. We are sending you out to embrace those who are lost in the culture. Be apostles today. Go away!”
Of course, Peter reminds us that we are sent out by Yeshua Messiah. He was also sent. I guess the pattern must be repeated if we are His apostles. One verb begets another verb. Verbs don’t have nouns for offspring.
Today, go away! Be a verb. Be sent by Yeshua. Go do something that reflects Him.
Topical Index: 1 Peter 1:1, verb, apostolos, sent away
What a powerful illustration of a dammed up river, producing nothing. Think of the Sea of Galilee, teeming with fish and life. Then contemplate the DEAD Sea! Nothing can live in it, because the water goes nowhere, becomes stagnant, and cannot sustain or produce life! Thanks, Skip, for reminding us that the purpose of the church is not to make the collection bigger and bigger, but to flow out and generate new life throughout our communities.
LORD forbid that we continue to be self-indulgent, constipated Christians. No wonder so many of us don’t feel good…we’re not REGULAR apostles.
LORD forgive us. Help us. Sustain us. Move us.
B’Shem Yeshua Adoneinu
Nietsche is attributed with saying: “If you want to show me your Redeemer, then show me the redeemed.” And of course, this is speaking of a qualitative observation (seeing substance in action)…not a collection pond of stagnate water. Very challenging both individually and corporately as a follower of Christ.
As verbs, we are innate divinely inspired “go-ers”. And every single place we go, we are in the middle of our ministry. No place, no person is an exception. The world is our oyster … and our mission field.
I wish we could project this on very screen found on most Churches today. Far from what the first century Church used to be. If the home Churches got big, they go plant another one. Today, we just make them bigger and contain more people in it like your illustration shows. We don’t sent out apostles but we create more spectators.
This hits me directly in several arenas in my life. I am a stay at home mom of 3 young boys. Most sahm’s can probably relate to feeling isolated sometimes, while doing the raising of kids thing. I’ve asked the Lord before, “When will it be time for me to ‘do’ something for you?” I am so glad that He answered me early on when my first was still young. He told me my “doing” was at home. My ministry was right there, and I wasn’t to try to rush through it. I am learning each season prepares you for the next, so skipping over it is not an option. I also want to encourage other moms to not feel like this is a “lesser” ministry than what is “out” there. Sometimes “doing” means staying put.
3 *awesome* young boys Glory. =)
PS – sahm = stay at home mom…for those like me, who had to look it up. 😉
Glory.. every body is somebody in His body. We are all part of the body of Christ. I am just a man. In Christ I am a just man. A world of difference being “in Christ.” The fun part comes when you realize who you are and whose you are. Not only that but the (equal) and opened access to the holy of holies and the Father of lights through the torn veil of Yeshua’s flesh. If Christians ever found out our “privileges” and authority we have to pray we could flip the world like a pancake. There is a reason the disciples (learners) asked the Teacher..LORD teach US to pray. We have a weapon we have not even pulled out of the scabbard yet. And what is the need of the day?? more information? not hardly. more transformation?? been there, done that. How about more application!! We learn (anything)______ (fill in the blank) by doing. Walking, riding a bike,cooking, etc. How about we spend some quality time in His presence and turn off those appliances spreading fear, panic and stench across our land among us easily spooked and walnut brained sheep. Godly mothers and fathers are our only hope for the future of this country. “Train up a child…” “the hand that rocks the cradle, rocks the world.”
You are right darlin’. Nothing is more important that being YHWH to those children He has honored you with. Those babies learn our Elohim by your reflection of him. Keep up the good work!
Skip….thank you. Thank you for continuing to seek and knock and dig for what God is really speaking to us. I am a bit behind right now…”Today’s Word” has become 2 weeks a go word…:-). But it always seems that no matter when I read it, I sense God speaking to me through your word/revelation on the eaxct thing I am praying about. So here’s to catching up and here’s to you. My prayer for you is and has been that God reveals himself to you in ways that you have never dreamed of. God bless you.