3.17.19~To The Nations.
Last night as we prepared to leave the first ever Green Light Conference, at Wallace, I heard the famous, "You are sent to Knoxville and the nations," with a unanimous clap. That rang through the head the rest of the night. "Knoxville and the nations." The whole point of the Green Light Conference, was to be a mission conference. Green means go, right?
Sometimes going isn't my first choice. I often times find myself not wanting to go to the grocery store or to a social function of whatever sort. But, green means go. If you tie that phrase into a missions conference, its plain and simple...GO.
The last commandment that Christ ever gave, before He left this earth, not to return until the resurrection of believers, was to go. Matthew 28:19-20 says, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." The command is extremely plain and simple...go. It's not, go, but only where you're comfortable. It is to go.
See, back in December, I was offered an opportunity to take a trip to Uganda, Africa, for two weeks this summer. To play with sweet children and love on some precious families, while very plainly laying the gospel of Christ before them. If you have read previous blog posts, or happen to know me personally, I turned that offer down. In all honesty, I was afraid, and just simply did not find peace in going on the trip. Now, I am not saying that I regret turning that offer down. I have peace in the decision I made with Jesus and I am not upset that I chose not to go. On the other hand though, God has strategically placed me in situations since then, to make sure I knew that "go," meant wherever He decided, not just where I was comfortable with.
As far as I can remember, maybe just when I realized what He was doing, it all started in March. March 1 to be exact. I went to a missions conference, alongside my family, in Georgia. When I arrived, I found out that Dr. Johnny Hunt was the keynote speaker. I was very excited to hear him, but things changed, for the better, when he sat down at my dinner table that evening, and began to eat and talk with me. Dr. Hunt asked about school and things like that, but then asked me what my missions focus was at the moment. I didn't exactly know. I had been thinking about college and graduation, that was all that was on my mind lately. I explained to Dr. Hunt about the decision I made about Uganda, and he asked why I had turned that experience down. I had to be very honest, with a man who has traveled the world sharing Christ and who I look up to very much, that I had let fear stop me and I never found a peace about taking the trip. We had a fabulous conversation about not letting fear stop me, and it really had me thinking from that point forward.
The next major thing that I can remember happening, is just in my everyday church life. My dad has been preaching through the book of Acts for a long time now. If you know anything about the book of Acts, it is all about the early church after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, and how the gospel spread like wildfire, even though it wasn't always well-received. It quickly clicked in my brain, that I needed to start paying SERIOUS attention. There seem to be a lot of parallels between the times now, and the times of the early church in the book of Acts. I have learned so many things from just simply paying extra attention.
On March 15, I had a chance to meet and hear the testimony of the International Mission Board's (IMB) vice president, Todd Lafferty. I had a chance to speak with him afterward and just talk to him about some of his experiences. It definitely blessed my day.
Well yesterday, March 16, was the first ever Green Light Conference. As I explained the purpose of the conference earlier, it was an absolutely amazing conference. I cannot say enough good things about it and what did in my life, the life of my friends, and the life of so many other people who attended. God taught me so much yesterday and I'll share some notes from Nik Ripken, John Green, and Johnny Hunt(from the previous conference).
God really just lit a fire like no other in me last night!!! Just for living for Him, whether it be in my church, on the mission field, wherever. Either big or small, just in general, living for Him, in true worship. I could not be more excited to see what plan He lays out for my life. I want to be the one, if He so choses, that revival begins in. I want to be the one who God calls out to lead an army. I want to see my friends and my family step up and stand firm in what we believe, as we rise up as a generation and raise up a generation of God-fearing warriors, that are willing to fight for the gospel and go to the nations!! I care! I wanna be that one that shows up, sent by God, and bringing the name of Jesus Christ to ears that have never heard it before and to teach them that His praise shall ever be on their lips!!
So here are some extremely convicting and amazing points, from these conferences...
From Dr. Johnny Hunt:
"You gotta live with your 'yes.' on the table."
~This could probably be a very confusing statement if it was not in the context of missions. But just simply meaning, you have to live with a blank check on the table, signed and ready to go, for God to fill in the amount, with His plan for you.
"Your call is not to 'support' someone. Your call is to GO!"
"Be willing to be made willing."
"Until you see God for who He is, you will never see yourself for who you are. Until you see yourself for who you are, in Him, you will never see others for who they are in Him."
From Dr. John Green:
"The light is green, it's time to go."
~The explanation of this statement, is in reference to people sitting on their phones, scrolling, at red lights. You probably find yourself yelling at the person in front of you pretty often, saying "GO! Get off your phone."
"We have authority for missions according to Matthew 28:19-20."
From Nik Ripken:
"You cannot have a resurrection without a crucifixion."
"The number one cause of persecution, is people turning to Jesus!"
"Satan has two missions for your life: 1. To keep you from finding the good news of Jesus. 2. To shut you up about it, once you know."
"God is not going to open a door until you are ready, through obedience, to turn the handle and see if it is unlocked."
love always,
Iz💛💛
Sometimes going isn't my first choice. I often times find myself not wanting to go to the grocery store or to a social function of whatever sort. But, green means go. If you tie that phrase into a missions conference, its plain and simple...GO.
The last commandment that Christ ever gave, before He left this earth, not to return until the resurrection of believers, was to go. Matthew 28:19-20 says, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." The command is extremely plain and simple...go. It's not, go, but only where you're comfortable. It is to go.
See, back in December, I was offered an opportunity to take a trip to Uganda, Africa, for two weeks this summer. To play with sweet children and love on some precious families, while very plainly laying the gospel of Christ before them. If you have read previous blog posts, or happen to know me personally, I turned that offer down. In all honesty, I was afraid, and just simply did not find peace in going on the trip. Now, I am not saying that I regret turning that offer down. I have peace in the decision I made with Jesus and I am not upset that I chose not to go. On the other hand though, God has strategically placed me in situations since then, to make sure I knew that "go," meant wherever He decided, not just where I was comfortable with.
As far as I can remember, maybe just when I realized what He was doing, it all started in March. March 1 to be exact. I went to a missions conference, alongside my family, in Georgia. When I arrived, I found out that Dr. Johnny Hunt was the keynote speaker. I was very excited to hear him, but things changed, for the better, when he sat down at my dinner table that evening, and began to eat and talk with me. Dr. Hunt asked about school and things like that, but then asked me what my missions focus was at the moment. I didn't exactly know. I had been thinking about college and graduation, that was all that was on my mind lately. I explained to Dr. Hunt about the decision I made about Uganda, and he asked why I had turned that experience down. I had to be very honest, with a man who has traveled the world sharing Christ and who I look up to very much, that I had let fear stop me and I never found a peace about taking the trip. We had a fabulous conversation about not letting fear stop me, and it really had me thinking from that point forward.
The next major thing that I can remember happening, is just in my everyday church life. My dad has been preaching through the book of Acts for a long time now. If you know anything about the book of Acts, it is all about the early church after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, and how the gospel spread like wildfire, even though it wasn't always well-received. It quickly clicked in my brain, that I needed to start paying SERIOUS attention. There seem to be a lot of parallels between the times now, and the times of the early church in the book of Acts. I have learned so many things from just simply paying extra attention.
On March 15, I had a chance to meet and hear the testimony of the International Mission Board's (IMB) vice president, Todd Lafferty. I had a chance to speak with him afterward and just talk to him about some of his experiences. It definitely blessed my day.
Well yesterday, March 16, was the first ever Green Light Conference. As I explained the purpose of the conference earlier, it was an absolutely amazing conference. I cannot say enough good things about it and what did in my life, the life of my friends, and the life of so many other people who attended. God taught me so much yesterday and I'll share some notes from Nik Ripken, John Green, and Johnny Hunt(from the previous conference).
God really just lit a fire like no other in me last night!!! Just for living for Him, whether it be in my church, on the mission field, wherever. Either big or small, just in general, living for Him, in true worship. I could not be more excited to see what plan He lays out for my life. I want to be the one, if He so choses, that revival begins in. I want to be the one who God calls out to lead an army. I want to see my friends and my family step up and stand firm in what we believe, as we rise up as a generation and raise up a generation of God-fearing warriors, that are willing to fight for the gospel and go to the nations!! I care! I wanna be that one that shows up, sent by God, and bringing the name of Jesus Christ to ears that have never heard it before and to teach them that His praise shall ever be on their lips!!
So here are some extremely convicting and amazing points, from these conferences...
From Dr. Johnny Hunt:
"You gotta live with your 'yes.' on the table."
~This could probably be a very confusing statement if it was not in the context of missions. But just simply meaning, you have to live with a blank check on the table, signed and ready to go, for God to fill in the amount, with His plan for you.
"Your call is not to 'support' someone. Your call is to GO!"
"Be willing to be made willing."
"Until you see God for who He is, you will never see yourself for who you are. Until you see yourself for who you are, in Him, you will never see others for who they are in Him."
From Dr. John Green:
"The light is green, it's time to go."
~The explanation of this statement, is in reference to people sitting on their phones, scrolling, at red lights. You probably find yourself yelling at the person in front of you pretty often, saying "GO! Get off your phone."
"We have authority for missions according to Matthew 28:19-20."
From Nik Ripken:
"You cannot have a resurrection without a crucifixion."
"The number one cause of persecution, is people turning to Jesus!"
"Satan has two missions for your life: 1. To keep you from finding the good news of Jesus. 2. To shut you up about it, once you know."
"God is not going to open a door until you are ready, through obedience, to turn the handle and see if it is unlocked."
love always,
Iz💛💛
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