“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

    “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
     —Matthew 6:25–34

The title of this sermon, “Seek First,” is the same as the theme of Global Focus 2014. The specific global emphasis this year is student missions. I want you to feel how strategic this emphasis truly is. Let’s look at a historical snap shot. I spoke Wednesday night, October 15, for the Global Focus Kickoff. I was preparing to present a missionary biography, but it quickly morphed into a movement biography focusing on what the Lord did in the Student Volunteer Movement. It was the greatest movement of missions mobilization in history—and it was all students. The main book that I read on this movement claims that if one charted the history of missions, it would look like a mountain, and the climax or the peak would be a 30 year period from 1886–1920 called “The Student Volunteer Movement” (Todd Ahrend, In This Generation: Looking to the Past to Reach the Present, 20). In the course of that thirty-year period, 20,000 college students laid down their plans, allowed God to interrupt their lives, and volunteered to board a boat and live in a distant land for the sake of spreading the gospel. Eighty thousand students stayed behind to support those who went. Put this in perspective: Prior to 1870, America had sent out 2,000 missionaries total. Over 100 years, they had sent out 2,000 missionaries. Then, in 1886, one year, 2,106 missionaries were sent out (Ahrend, 22–23). If you add the 23 years following 1886, from 1886–1920, approximately 20,000 missionaries were sent out. It went from 2,000 missionaries in 100 years to 20,000 missionaries in 24 years.

The more I read about that movement, the bigger my prayers are growing for what the Lord could do through students today. Students occupy a central place in the history of missions. In my reading, I came across the staggering claim: “Though God can and does use people from all seasons of life, most missions momentum has always come from students, individuals in this unique four-to six-year time frame” (Todd Ahrend, In This Generation: Looking to the Past to Reach the Present, 20).

I asked myself two big questions as I was reading about this movement. First, why have students had such a big impact? Second, what did the people do in the Student Volunteer Movement to successfully mobilize so many students? 

First, why have students in particular had such a huge impact on missions? I believe that the answer is that this group is unique in terms of their stage of life. They are at the place in life where the dominant, controlling, preeminent, begging-to-be-answered question is this: “What can I give my life for?” They are looking for a mountain to climb or a lifelong race to run, and they are searching for something big enough to satisfy a lifetime of investment. 

Now for the second question: What did the Student Volunteer Movement mobilizers do so well to recruit and send so many students? One of the primary answers that Todd Ahrend gives is that they aggressively addressed excuses head on. They went after the excuses that often keep people away from missions. Excuses are any areas of our life that have not yet been brought under the Lordship of Christ—we are trying to rule over these areas instead of Christ.

The passage before us today in Matthew 6:25–34 focuses on perhaps the most perennial excuse, namely a fear of the unknown and worry for the future, which keeps many people frozen in their tracks. Many people—many of us—respond that way to fear. They and we just freeze. Worry is like the person who gets tagged “it” at freeze tag. "It" goes around and stops people from running, or doing anything, for that matter. I pray that Jesus would come now and put his hand upon us here and upon believers around the whole world to release us from being frozen with fear. I pray that we, his children, would be released to run again. Our passage today from Matthew 6 declares this war on worry. Let me outline where we are going as we look at this passage.

I want to talk about something I like to call Jesus’ silk sledgehammer. This is his power that comes softly but truly deals a blow to evil in and around us. In this passage, Jesus makes three hammer blows to the heart of worry. He talks about seeking in the wrong order (vv. 25, 31–32), then the right order (v. 33) and finally, the rationale of his kingly care (vv. 26–30).

Seeking: The Wrong Order

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.—Matthew 6:25, 31–32

These verses pull back the shower curtain of our hearts to expose our naked neediness and our false gods called control and security. Food, drink, and clothing are good things; they are basic necessities for survival. I am calling these perennial fears because they are needs that we have for life (“don’t be anxious about your life”). Notice how Jesus addresses these perennial fears. He does not merely shout, “Stop it.” He makes a stunningly simple, yet profound statement: “There is more. There is something bigger.” He is not saying that you shouldn’t think about these things. He is saying, “You are wrong to think only of them.” He asks in verse 25, “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

What exactly is the “more" that we are missing? Only the most important thing in the universe: God. We fail to see God when we fixate on only food and clothing. In other words, food and clothing are good things that point us to God; they are not God. When we view them in light of God, rather than viewing only them, we can fight worry.

Jesus now brings God to bear on all of life. Look for example at summary in verses 31–32. Notice that Jesus restates verse 25 in these later verses. He says, “Don’t worry about eating, drinking, and clothing.” But he adds a further rationale for why we should not worry about them. First, he says not to worry about these things because the Gentiles seek them. Second, we don’t need to worry because our heavenly Father knows that we needthese things.

Do you see the point? The Gentiles in this text refer to people who do not personally know God. They treat him like an abstract philosophical construct, an idea that is probably out there somewhere, but they do not see him as a Heavenly Father who is constantly taking care of them like a perfect father would.

Jesus is saying, “If you know God, don’t live like those who don’t know him.” Our lives should look different because we know something (or more accurately, we relationally know Someone) that they don’t. Those who do not know God would include those that are functional atheists, people who claim to believe in God but have no difference in their everyday lives. These people are not confessional atheists, who confess no belief in God. They are functional atheists, who confess that God exists but don’t act like he is really there, really cares, and really rules over their lives. Jesus says, “Don’t think your Father is not real. He has not forgotten about you; he is not out of touch with your needs. Your heavenly Father is real and he knows that you need things.”In summary, what we functionally believe to be real is revealed by what we seek.

Since we all fail to function out of these great truths that we confess, how does the seeking of a believer look different from the seeking of an unbeliever? That question raises Jesus’ silk sledgehammer for a glorious second blow.

Seeking: The Right Order

In order to give us a comprehensive understanding of a certain truth, the Bible often makes statements in which something is negated and then affirms its opposite. If what is negated from our passage is “don’t worry,” then what is the positive statement that is affirmed in its place? You might expect the positive statement to be “don’t worry, just believe.” But when our passage changes from negating to affirming, we see that Jesus does not say, “Just believe.” He says something quite different.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.—Matthew 6:33

He says something much more massive than “just believe.” He says, “Don’t worry. God is your King.” This simplifies so many things for us. It says, “Stop filling your life with your own selfish pursuits. You don’t own your life, so seek to live under his rule and reign and righteousness. Just live under his rule and do what he says.” Jesus is talking about Lordship, living your life for him.

Who owns your life? Do you? Are you king or lord of your life? Or is the Lord of the universe also the Lord of your life? Are you in control or is he? Maybe we have it all wrong. Rather than asking yourself what you are you going to do with your life, you can now ask God, “What should I be doing with the life and the breath you are giving me?” His answer is simple: “Put first things first.”

If God owns your life, then seek his kingdom and stop trying to rule over your own life and build a kingdom for yourself.

Application 1

Surrender Your Life Plan

John Mott was the leader of the Student Volunteer Movement. Listen to how the Lord demolished the excuses in John Mott’s life while he was a student.

What hinders our placing our lives at the disposal of Christ, henceforth to do his will and our own? With some of you it may be, as it once was with me, a selfish ambition. Let it be repeated, there are two views of one’s life. One is that a man’s life is his own, to do with as he pleases; the other is that it belongs to another, and in the case of the Christian, that the other to whom it belongs is Christ himself. At first, although I bore the name of Christian, I held the former or selfish view.—John Mott

What broke the back of his selfish view? A famous athlete came to speak to Cornell’s Christian students. Mott debated if he would even go and hear the speaker. He finally arrived after the meeting had begun and heard three sentences that changed everything. Here it is in Mott’s own words:

As I took my seat, I heard Studd give three sentences: "Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God." These words went straight to the springs of my motive life.—John Mott

You must make a distinction then between what you need to live and a reason to live. God gives both. The counterpart to the end of verse 32, which says, “Your heavenly Father knows you need them,” is seen at the end of verse 33: “and all these things will be added to you.” God knows you need things like food and clothing; he gives or adds them to you. This means that God will do more than take care of you. Yes, he will give you the things you need to live. Yes, you need them to live, but don’t miss the point: these things do not give you a reason to live. They are a means to living, but they are not a motive for living; they are not our purpose. Glorifying God is our chief end—not eating and drinking and clothing. So God will give you what you need to keep living, but his glorious kingdom is what makes life worth living.

Truly surrendering your life is a recognition that God owns your life and that he will take care of your life. Jesus gives numerous examples so that we won’t forget how capable God is of caring for His creatures. Jesus’ third hammer blow brings God’s cosmic rule and care to bear on everything; it’s a worldwide blow.

The Rationale of His Kingly Care

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?—Matthew 6:26–30

In these verses, Jesus gives two examples: birds and flowers. Don’t let the familiarity of this passage make you miss how ridiculous the word pictures are. Jesus invites us to look up at the birds of the air and then look down at the flowers of the field.

Let’s take the birds first. Jesus says that “they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.”Kids, have you ever seen a bird or sparrow driving a tractor with a tiller and cultivating the field? Have you seen a crow driving a combine and gathering the harvest? That’s a funny thought, isn’t it? Of course we haven’t seen that. Birds don’t sow seeds; they eat them. You never see them planting or gardening, only eating. That’s why there are scarecrows. Why would scarecrows be in cornfields if crows planted the corn?

So how do the birds get food if they don’t sow and reap? God takes care of them. Verses 26–30 in Matthew 6 are very similar to Job 38–40. Listen to Job 38:39–41:

                   Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
     or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
when they crouch in their dens
     or lie in wait in their thicket?
Who provides for the raven its prey,
     when its young ones cry to God for help,
     and wander about for lack of food?

In the verses following this, God goes on to talk about his cosmic care of the goats, the donkey, the bull, the ostrich, the warhorse, and the eagle. God’s glory is on display in the way that he cares for his creatures.

God’s point in Job is to mercifully tear Job down from his lofty palace of pride. His point to us in Matthew is to lift us up from the wallowing in the mud puddle of worry. So Jesus drops the silk sledgehammer: “Are you not of more value than they?”This is like a vertical scale of God’s care of creation. How would you fill it in? Birds are on the scale somewhere. I don’t know what is below them. Would you put slugs below them? Whatever we would put below them, what we know is that we humans rank far above them. Humanity is the crown of God’s creation. If God cares that much for the birds, how much more will God care for us.

Jesus’ next image is the flowers of the field.

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.—Matthew 6:28–29

Do you see the point? Flowers are beautiful. However, it’s ridiculous to picture them holding needles and threads or using sowing machines. They never crochet their petals. How are they so visually beautiful? God “clothes” them. Matthew 6 says that Solomon couldn’t dress himself as extravagantly as God dresses the flowers. I would take a meadow filled with tulips any day over a royal processional.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?—Matthew 6:30 

Verse 30 shows Jesus’ silk sledgehammer dealing the same blow that it did through the picture of birds. Flowers have such a short life span compared to humanity and even compared to birds. Yet God cares for them. Doesn’t that say something about God’s love for humanity? Will he put more time and energy into the parts of his creation that last a day but then forget the parts of his creation that last forever? 

When we don’t see how much he cares, we have “little faith.” I wish I had time to do a word study in Matthew on the phrase “little faith.” Jesus rebukes the puny faith of the disciples at various points in the gospel of Matthew when the disciples take Jesus out of the equation in the stilling of the storm, etc. 

We used to have a thing for some family meals where the parents would not make something for supper; everyone had to make their own meal or choose their own leftovers. It was called “fend for yourselves.” When you forget about the way that God cares for his creation, you inevitably develop a “fend for yourself” mindset. It’s our default mindset, is it not? But a God-centered vision of life says, “God cares for me, and if he is not worried, then why am I?” When we know and believe that we belong so fully to him and he cares so fully for us, our souls find full, real rest in his mighty arms.

Application 2

Take God’s Cosmic Care to Heart

Sadly, many times, we only say with our mouths that he cares for us. Taking his care to heart is where we find full, real rest in his arms.

The sovereign care of God is not an accessory for the missionary to wear or for those walking through valleys. The sovereign care of God is essential for living joyful lives in Christ, and its effects are literally far-reaching. Deep trust in his sovereign care is the backbone of missions. Low thoughts of God’s sovereignty and care can break the back of missions. How are you going to persevere through all of the opposition and oppression of working in a spiritually dark place when all of the plans of your youthful idealism don’t materialize? You remember that God cares for flowers and slugs and stars and microorganisms and galaxies. Then you remember how much more he cares about and can handle your life without breaking a sweat. See, Calvinism doesn’t stifle missions; it sustains them. A puny vision of God won’t keep anyone on the mission field. But a true vision of his sovereign care can sustain you through the most difficult of circumstances.

Jesus and Creation

Don’t miss the fact that the rest of the New Testament teaches that Jesus upholds the entire creation by the word of his power. Listen to Hebrews 1:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high—Hebrews 1:1–3

He upholds the universe by the word of his power. In Colossians, it says that he is “before all things and in him all things hold together.” You can go overseas and not have all of the “How it is going to all work?” questions figured out. Why? Knowing that Jesus will hold your life together sustains you.

Jesus and the Cross

The cross also gives you two sustaining truths regarding missions. It gives us (1) the greatest reassurance to go and (2) the greatest reason to go.

God so loved the world that He gave his only Son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.—John 3:16

I am not talking about creation anymore. There are no comparisons of birds or flowers in this verse. Yes, creation proves that God cares for sparrows; however, the gospel is the greatest proof of God’s care for us. There is no plan of salvation for sparrows or flowers, but there is for us through Jesus’ death on the cross. How much more is God’s love and care displayed for us than for flowers and birds. He himself died for us on the cross—what glorious proof of his love! And if he loves us this much, he also is sovereignly caring for us in all areas of our lives.

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?—Romans 8:32

The cross proves that he will also graciously give you all things you need so that you can cast all your anxieites on him. He cares for you, and he will carry you.

Second, the cross gives you the greatest reason to go. What is the greatest reason to go? It's that people don’t know the salvation you know. You have a reason to go, and you have something to give.

The heartbeat of our Global Focus weeks is this: “Seek first to pass on that which has first importance.” I have combined the phrase “seek first” from Matthew 6 with the truths that are “of first importance” from 1 Corinthians 15.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.—1 Corinthians 15:1–4

God sent his Son for sinful humanity to be a substitute, a sacrifice for sin. We are not ashamed to pass on the gospel; we are eager to pass on the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16). He also died for all the times you have felt ashamed or you were worrying about food and clothing. He forgives you for having forgotten to seek first his kingdom. All this—glorious message, joy, eagerness, forgiveness—was given through the cross. So take all your worry and fears to the cross, and then go take this great message of the cross to others.

Application 3

Pioneer Passion

I want each of us to have a pioneer passion. This is when your heart is gripped by the great need of those who have yet to hear the gospel for the first time. Please feel the urgency with me to go deep here.

There are 11,000 distinct people groups in the world, and 6,000 of them are still classified as “unreached by the gospel.” “Unreached” means that less than two percent of that people group are evangelical Christians; less than two percent of people have not heard about a savior from sin and confessed Christ as Sovereign Lord and Supreme Treasure.

When you hear about or see a lost person, your heart should break. You should want them to know Jesus like you know Jesus and to have in Jesus what you have in Jesus.

Global outreach takes that same urgent heartbreak and longing and takes it up another notch. Seeing a lost person who needs the gospel is stirring and heartbreaking, but seeing a lost people is even more stirring and heartbreaking. A pioneer passion burns in us when we long for the 6,000 people groups representing 2 billion people who have no access to the name of Jesus. These 2 billion people have no chance to hear about Jesus because there is virtually no Christian witness. There are no churches for them. There is no neighbor or friend to share with them. How will they hear? Who will bring them the name of Christ?

There is a true need. There are so many that don’t know Jesus. But he wants to use us.

Want to have a big-time eternal impact? Here is the equation:God’s kingdom is first priority in your heart; first place in the plan of your life, and the gospel is the number one priority to pass on to people who can hear it for the first time. That equation will change the world. 

Conclusion

Fearing Tomorrow Is Trouble Borrowing

I think the biggest excuse that keeps people from full surrender to seeking first God’s kingdom is fear of the future. Often we put first what is the first priority—being gripped by a “seek first” vision—but then turn our focus onto secondary questions and visions. When we focus on secondary things instead of primary things, second-guessing causes our kingdom vision to erode. Jesus names this second-guessing that hinders our seeking of the kingdom; he calls it being “anxious about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34).

Isn’t this so true? We take legitimate questions that need to be answered eventually and demand that they be answered fully now. So Jesus commands us not to do that, saying, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

In order to see how we can fight fear of the future, we need to understand how and why we are anxious and fearful about it. Jesus says that we are borrowing trouble from the future and adding it to today’s trouble. How are we borrowing trouble? We are following our inborn tendency to look at the sum total of the future that we see coming at us. Sometimes the future that we see and fear seems very likely to happen, and sometimes we fear anything that comes to mind, the worst and even irrational situations. Either way, we see it and treat it like a lump sum loan. We think we have to pay all of it now, today. And we walk around feeling bankrupt because we act as though we are already called to account for it. We declare ourselves bankrupt before we are even asked to pay a penny. In doing so, we have taken the way that God works out of the equation.

                   But this I call to mind,
     and therefore I have hope;
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
     his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
     great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”—Lamentations 3:23

If we put God back in the equation, we remember that he does not give a lump sum of grace and then ask us to use it a little at a time. He does not warn us, "This is all you get; use it wisely.” No, he gives us what we need consistently. When I say consistently, I am not referring to how some people get paid twice a month or once a week. In reference to God, consistently means everyday, every moment. He is not only consistent but constant. His love and mercy never end. There is an endless supply that never runs dry. When does he make deposits in our life? Every morning. New morning mercies without fail. Great is His faithfulness!

I still remember the moment this hit home and had life-changing power for me. I was sitting in the sanctuary at Bethlehem’s downtown campus watching a video about the persecuted church. In the video, I saw radical Muslims break into an assembly of Christians who were worshipping Jesus and put guns to their heads saying, “Renounce Christ or die.” The believers did not renounce Christ, even in the face of death. They were shot. I wondered in the quietness of that moment, “Would I be able to do that?”

When the video was over, John Piper came to the microphone and said, “Many of you are asking if you could do that. The answer is ‘no.’ No, you could not do that, today. You could not do that today because you have not been called to do it today. But if and when that day ever comes, God’s grace will be there so that you can and will do it.”

I walked away with hope. God delivers grace on time. He is never late. He doesn’t take holidays. The grace will be there when you need it and not before. He doesn’t give you a three-day supply of grace. There is no box of grace that gets shipped every 6 months. No, it is given moment-by-moment, day-by-day.

It is like eating or breathing. You can’t just take a breath big enough so that you don’t have to breath again for the rest of the day. You can’t eat one huge meal that will keep you from hunger for the next month. In the same way, you need grace each day. God draws you close in continued, desperate dependence with his daily delivery of fresh doses of grace.

In the final analysis, he may actually take away food and clothing as you seek first the kingdom, but he will never take away his love (Romans 8:35–37). “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” These things can’t separate us; we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:37). No matter what comes, his love, care, and redemption can never be thwarted. Listen to how Isaiah describes this:

                  Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.—Isaiah 43:1–3

Redemption means we are his. He does and will care for us. How can we take hold of the power that his care gives us? Through surrendering to him.

This year, we are not going to have people who are surrendering their lives to be missionaries come forward during the closing song as we have done in the past. Instead, we are going to have several groups of people stand, symbolizing their surrender to pursue long-term global mission work. 

Here is how I would like to do this: After the sermon ends, we will sing our closing song followed by a moment of consecration and a commissioning benediction. The benediction this week is a prayer of consecration and surrender for those that stand. But I want us who stay seated to also surrender to the Lord’s call to seek first the kingdom. I want us to surrender to excellently sending these missionaries out into the world. To show this, we all will turn our hands toward those who are standing to bless them.

Here are the three groups of people I want to stand at that time: our current global partners, those already in the missionary nurture program, and anyone who feels a call to the nations for the first time. It makes the most sense to call them to stand in that order.

I can imagine it going something like this:

1. I want to ask those who are currently global partners to surrender afresh to the cause of Christ’s global glory. Your act of standing is a renewed act of consecration and surrender. If this call describes you, please stand.
2. I want to ask those who are currently in the nurture program to surrender afresh to the cause of Christ’s global glory. The nurture program is an intense time of reading, training, and praying, followed by support-raising. Your act of standing is a renewed act of pushing through this intense season by the power of the Spirit. It is a surrendering to trust that God will indeed send you out according to His timing and good pleasure. If this call describes you, please stand.
3. Finally, I want to ask any who are sensing God’s call to missions on their lives. I’m trusting the Lord for a new wave of surrender to sweep over Bethlehem. Has the Lord stirred in your heart to surrender to the cause of going out to spread Christ’s global glory? You may not be able to answer any of the questions like where or when or how, but you can answer the “why” question. You are trusting the Lord for a lifetime supply of daily grace and refusing to borrow trouble from tomorrow, the future, and all of its unanswered questions. You are setting your face like flint to seek first the kingdom and spread the gospel of the kingdom in a missionary capacity. If this call describes you, please stand.

I want to invite all of those who are standing to come to a gathering we have called “Missions at the Manse.” The main gathering for this campus is held at the home of one of your downtown pastors today. If that time does not work, there are two other options. If you are not able to make any of these gatherings today and you are in the third category of a new surrender to the missions, will you please let one of the pastors know so that we can follow up with you, pray for you, and walk with you in this time of fresh stirring? 

When these three groups stand, I want to call those who are seated next to someone who is standing to stand with them and put your hands on them. Those who are still seated will you stretch out your hands in the direction of someone who is standing and join in this commissioning prayer. Let us come boldly before the throne of grace and plead for a flood of all sufficient grace to carry the kingdom forward.

Join me in prayer. 

Lord would you send these laborers into your harvest field for your everlasting fame and glory. Lord, do this in your time, in your way, and in your power, according to your invincible purpose and plan to fill the earth with your glory as the waters cover the sea. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.