Just got back from the World Mandate conference in Texas! I went down with a group from our church and had an incredible weekend of worship, prayer and teaching. I'm really not a conference junky but this is the second time I have been to World Mandate and have come away changed and truly inspired each time. I captured some notes that I feel are worthy of passing along. If you don't have the time to read through all notes here is the point: God has set us apart for His Kingdom purposes and called us to be light in the darkness (i.e. what good is a flashlight if you never end up in the dark?) SO...RUN TO THE BATTLE!!!! Go find the darkest parts of your work environment, your neighborhood, your city, etc., and courageously bring the light of Christ and His Kingdom. Do things Jesus' way and get Jesus' results! Simple...but not easy. Here's the extended notes:
World Mandate 2011
Running into the Battle Notes
Session 1: Jimmy Seibert, “Running to the Battle”
“…let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” “…but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel…the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.” “As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.” 1 Samuel 17
· David’s life provides the perspective needed to run into the battle
· God is not intimidated by our pain and weakness
· If we don’t face the Goliaths they will overtake us
· Passivity will not change the world
· We need to appeal to our leaders righteously
· We can’t have boldness without intimacy
Session 2: Floyd McClung, “Not turning back”
· “The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle; they did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by His law. They forgot what He had done, the wonders He had shown them.” Psalm 78:9-11
· Surrender sight unseen…it starts with us volunteering. God is waiting to see if we want to do something
· Stay focused to what you have surrendered to. God will bring/allow tests to come
· Align your values with the Kingdom. The kingdom of self needs to surrender to the Kingdom of God. Not words but deeds….”I want to be a man who really cares!”
o Humility
o Brokenness/compassion
o Meekness
o Hunger/thirst for righteousness
o Merciful/forgiveness
o Pure in heart/holiness
o Peacemakers
o persecution
· Focus on Discipleship: we have to get behind the scenes and start investing in people. Always asking, “what is the Holy Spirit saying to the person I am meeting with?”
o Call them into their destiny
o Encourage and build them up
· Humility/Honesty. Be willing to start over. God I need a new beginning will you give me a fresh start.
Session 3: Jim Yost, “Running like Jesus”“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.” Luke 10:2-4
· Do things Jesus’ way and get Jesus’ results
· Can’t have success without opposition…they go hand in hand
· We need Jesus to kick laborers out into the field
· 1 qualification: “Don’t look back”
· We just have to like to talk about God
· Don’t get side-tracked from the harvest…this is our calling
· Disciple = radical commitment to Jesus Christ
· No more meetings without non-believers
o Cell groups must have non-believers
o Small groups meet in non-believers home
· Strategy: Luke 10:4-12
o Eat with them
o Do not greet anyone on the road/ do not move around…in other words stay focused
o Bring the Kingdom/blessing
Session 4: Kristine Cane
· Do you pose any danger to the Kingdom of darkness?
· We can’t play it safe, we have to risk
· The purpose of life is not to arrive at death safely
· We must be careful not to confuse empathy/sympathy with compassion. Compassion goes. Empathy/sympathy stays put and keeps it safe.
· What is God saying today to the church?
o Ephesians 5 = Awaken. We are sleep walking and going nowhere
§ Imitate God
§ Live a life of Love
§ Not even a hint of sexual immorality
§ Don’t be deceived by empty words
§ Live as children of the light
§ Find out what pleases the Lord
§ Be filled with the Spirit
o Romans 13 = wake up from your slumber
§ Love one another
§ Put on the armor of light
§ Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ
o Isaiah 1:12-17 = re-calibrating the church. There is a shift needed in our priorities
§ Stop the meaningless offerings, evil assemblies, there is blood on your hands
§ Seek justice, encourage the oppressed, defend the cause of the fatherless
o First Works (OUR PRIMARY!) = Luke 9:23 “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:59-60 “He said to another man, ‘follow me.’ But the man replied, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ Jesus said to him, ‘let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Still another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.’ Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God.”
§ We want to do the things of God after we’ve done our things. God wants His will to be first (Primary!!!)
o Revelation 2:4 “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.”
o Matthew 6:33 “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
