Empowered By His Presence
by Rhett Pritchett
As New City we are Family of Missionary Servants. This is our identity in Christ. I recently had the opportunity to discuss what it means to live out our identity as Missionaries with a group who are training to be Missional Community leaders.
We had the opportunity to discuss common conceptions of the word “missionary”. For many who grew up in the “Bible-belt”, the word missionary is reserved for someone who goes somewhere far away, most likely overseas. Many also see the word as a title for an elite, “super-Christian”.
We were encouraged to see that the call to proclaim and display the gospel of Jesus isn’t reserved for an elite group, somewhere far away. The Apostle Peter reminds us, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9).” If we trust in Jesus, this is WHO WE ARE. We are His people who are called to proclaim his excellencies. Whether we go across the world or live out our lives right here in Macon, GA. Whether at home, at school, at work, or in our neighborhoods, we are a chosen people, called out of darkness and into the light to proclaim the good news of who Jesus is and what He has done in His life, death, and resurrection!
While it is encouraging to see the high calling that we have as disciples of Jesus, we can often become overwhelmed by our insecurities and fears. We soon begin to think of all the things we “can’t do”. Whether its worry over what to say, fear that we will say it wrong, fear of awkwardness, or just straight up fear of man, the volume of the voices saying “we can’t” become quite loud in our hearts and minds. We can experience an ongoing spiritual depression of realizing we have the greatest news in the universe and often fail to take opportunities to share it.
When this happens, we are forgetting. We are forgetting who our God is and what He has done for us. We are forgetting that He has equipped us for our calling in the most incredible way imaginable. We often live out of a functional belief that Jesus may have rescued us and brought us into His family, but He has left us alone and unequipped to live as a people who proclaim His excellencies in all of life. When we live out of this toxic misbelief we are often overwhelmed and discouraged.
The good news is that in Christ, God has not only forgiven our sins and welcomed us into the family, He has filled us with the Holy Spirit. This means His presence and power is with us wherever we go! In the Great Commission we see Jesus promise His disciples that He will be with them “until the end of the age”. Before He ascended to the right hand of the Father, he told them that they would “receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses”. There it is! We are promised that He is both with us and empowering us as we live out our identities as missionaries!
This is our opportunity to worship our Father in heaven for His kindness and generosity towards us! Through faith in Jesus and what He has done, we have been reconciled to Father. We have also been empowered by His presence in our lives through the gift of the Holy Spirit! As you seek to live out your identity as missionary, believe the truth of who God is and what He has done for you in Christ! Turn from the misbelief that he has left you alone and unequipped to share His good news. Believe that in Christ you are a loved and reconciled child of the Father, who is filled with the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead! When we trust from the heart God’s provision for us, we will be able to say with Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal. 2:20).”