Another great mission’s convention has come and gone.  To date we are only $3,300 away from reaching our goal of $100,000 in faith promises.  I believe we will easily surpass that figure in the next few weeks.  This amount sets a new record for missions faith promises received at RLA! 

Our theme this year was: COMMITTED – to Pray, Give, and Go.  Everyone is committed to something.  The big question is: Am I committed to the right things?  Am I committed to the things that really matter?  I think we all have to ask ourselves if we are committed to the same things God Himself is committed to.

There seems to be a lot of misdirected commitment in the world today.  Last week I listened to Chip Ingram as he addressed a crowd of one thousand gathered at the Bonita Prayer Breakfast.  It got pretty quiet when he suggested there might be a higher purpose in life than striving to put a little white ball in a four-inch hole in the ground in fewer strokes.  Isn’t it amazing watching people knock themselves out over things that have little if any eternal value?

I think it was Leonard Ravenhill who asked the searching question, “Are the things you are living for worth Christ dying for?”  While recreation certainly has its place, and vacations are nice, there is a higher cause worth living for.  It’s called the Great Commission.  There is no higher cause.

Last Sunday our guest missionary, Jason Frenn, made a statement that resonated deep in my heart and brought out an instant “YES!”  He said, “A mission’s convention is the transference of God’s burden for the lost to our hearts.”  It’s not just about raising money so we can send missionaries, although that is an important part of it (Romans 10:14-15).  But it goes deeper than that.  It’s about our hearts getting in alignment with God’s heart.  It’s about our commitments and priorities lining up with His.

Financially, this year’s mission’s convention was a success.  But the true success will be measured by the ongoing commitment level of our hearts to the Great Commission.  That’s the deal.

Pastor Todd Weston

Have you ever had one of those days?  A day when everything that could go wrong did?  First, you overslept.  Then the car wouldn’t start.  Your dog ran away.  Then your computer crashed.  Your credit card company called asking if you have made any large purchases recently in Indonesia.  And a letter from the IRS awaited you at home with some vague but ominous language.  Did they say “audit”?  Just what you needed to assure a good night’s rest!

Did I over-do it?  Ok, maybe a little.  But sometimes it really does seem like everything that can go wrong does.  So how do you respond?  The word perspective comes to mind.

Listen to what the psalm writer did in Psalm 121:1-2, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills – from whence comes my help?  My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.”

Lifting up your eyes to the mountains is to focus on something massive, enduring, and truly great.  And God made them!  Just think – the God who shaped and formed the mountains holds you in the palm of His hand!

Go outside and look up at the moon and stars.  The God who spoke the heavens into existence and calls the stars by name is the One who watches over you every moment of every day. 

Look in the mirror and consider the hairs of your head.  God knows their exact number.  Run a brush or comb through your hair a few times.  The data bank of heaven does an instant recalculation.  This is the God who knows all the personal details of your life.

Perspective reminds us that God is BIGGER than all the things that can go wrong.  When you are having “one of those days,” just lift up your eyes to the God who made heaven and earth.  He sees, He knows, and He cares!  

Pastor Todd Weston

Here is a number for you to consider - 6,889.  No, it’s not the total of ceiling tiles in our building or my cumulative golf score from 2011.  It’s the number of unreached people groups in the world.  Think of it!  Nearly seven-thousand people groups have yet to receive an adequate presentation of the gospel.

Wow.  That seems kind of overwhelming.  There ought to be a plan on how to reach all of those people.  There is.  It’s called the Great Commission.  It appears first in Matthew’s gospel, “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” (Matthew 28:19-20).

The Great Commission appears in one form or another in each of the four gospels.  And just in case we still don’t get it, it appears again in Acts, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). 

The Great Commission is the greatest undertaking, “Go into all the world,” to deliver the greatest message, “and preach the gospel,” to the greatest audience, “to every creature” (Mark 16:15). 

Our response to this call is echoed in our mission’s convention theme – COMMIT, to PRAY, to GIVE, to GO! 

·        Pray – for our missionaries, and for God to give you a heart for missions.
·        Give – make a faith promise on Feb. 26th and give faithfully to missions.
·        Go – make yourself available to God and start others about Jesus.

God has determined that the gospel will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations (Matthew 24:14), and we are the ones He intends to us.  So let’s do it!  And here is what we will find:

A great commitment
To the Great Commission
Will build a great church!

 
Pastor Todd Weston

Sheri and I are so proud of the young people of River of Life!  Last night the youth group led the Sunday night prayer meeting, and they did a fantastic job.  I was especially impressed by the IMPACT worship band (12 strong).  They were musically tight and spiritually anointed.  Our young people truly led us into the presence of God!

Isn’t it amazing how God can use young people?  Joseph was just a teenager when his great adventure began.  David was still in the youth group when he killed the giant Goliath and led Israel to a great victory against the Philistines.  It’s believed that Daniel and his three friends were still in their teenage years when they were taken into captivity and chosen to serve in Nebuchadnezzer’s court.  And then there was a young girl named Mary who was singled out for an extraordinary purpose.  And John was just a teenager when he and his brother James were called to be fishers of men.

To another young man named Timothy Paul gave this word of advice, “Let no one despise or think less of you because of your youth, but be an example (pattern) for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12, Amp.)  God is no respecter of age – young or old.  The same God who called Moses at the age of eighty used a young boy in one of the great miracles of the New Testament – the feeding of the five thousand.  No matter your age, God can and will use you if you make yourself available.

So a word of thanks is in order to Nicholas and his dedicated leadership team for doing such a great discipling the youth of RLA.  And thanks to all of our young people who ministered Sunday night.  You truly were an example to the believers.

Pastor Todd