“Come behold Him, Jesus,” we sang. As we worshipped the Lord, He impressed on me that we need to lean into Him not on our circumstances. We need to learn from Peter, who when he kept his eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ, walked on the water, but when Peter looked at the choppy waves, he sank. We need to keep our eyes, hearts, minds, and souls on the living Lord.

Pastor Josiah then reminded us that our mission is to culture like Christ, and our vision is Jesus. The last week he spoke the sermon was entitled “No Excuses,” and the point was to have our hearts and minds aligned with the Lord’s. This week the message was “Live on Mission” since our team that went to Africa returned recently.

The message was based on Luke 14-15, and Jesus said,

“If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else

by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children,

brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise,

you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own

cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26-27 (NLT)

To hear the word hate in this context was shocking, but “hate-Grk.miseo-Love less”

From the Message, the wording is

“Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father,

mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters,—yes, even

one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple. Anyone who won’t

shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be

my disciple.” Luke 14:26-27

Any way you look at the verses, they challenge you to think about your priorities. Denial of one thing is actually allegiance to another. In denying myself, I honor Jesus Christ. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 (ESV) When Jesus is your primary focus, all of the other important issues of life for which you have concerns will be Jesus-influenced. We will be better spouses, parents, grandparents, friends, workers when we surrender to Jesus and act like He did. Another way to say it is, ”Say ‘yes’ so loudly that the noes are drowned out.” A “yes" is extremely powerful. Pastor Josiah emphasized,”Look at my yeses not the noes.”

A team of seventeen people went to Africa to serve. They said yes, and the ones at the service were able to share what their yeses meant:

**George Elias led the team and what meant so much to him was having his son, son in law, and grandson serve with him.

**Justin Hawkins’ major takeaway was,”Our comfort gets in the way of our encountering Jesus.”

**Jaclyn Hawkins stated,”God gave me a sense of boldness, not to be afraid to speak up.”

**David Logan said,”The Lord changed me from the inside out. In chaos was beauty.”

**Brianna Mendoza relied on God. “I had no clue of what to do. I don’t feel qualified. He used me.”

**Katie Baltzley explained that the Lord did so much though she was uncomfortable. “I came with nothing. I am His vessel.”

Jason Baltzley, Katie’s dad, reminded us that the people’s faith in Jesus released the demons, and he told us “how much He loves you.”

After the team members said yes and went to Africa, they returned, changed as they encountered Jesus and His children.

One of the verses that Pastor Josiah had been repeating was John 10:10. “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (NKJV) From the beginning of the trip, there were delays and missed connections. The thief did not want the team to have an easy time. Eventually they arrived in Qatar; Pastor Josiah’s room key was 1010. Was that a coincidence, or was the Lord showing He was with them? One school they visited was named Thika High School Abundant Life; think of the abundant life of John 10:10. In Uganda Pastor Josiah realized that people knew of Jesus, but they needed a deeper walk just like American Christians. The Lord wants the abundant life for Africans and Americans.

Pastor Josiah continued in Luke and told of the shepherd leaving the ninety nine and finding the one lost sheep. When the sheep was found, the shepherd rejoiced with his friends. “In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed.” Luke 15:7 (NLT)

In Acts 8, the Lord sent an angel to Philip to instruct him to travel south where he met a treasurer of Ethiopia. Philip ran over and asked the man if he understood what he was reading. The man replied,”How can I, unless someone instructs me?” Acts 8:31 (NLT) Philip taught the man of Jesus. God took a specific person to a specific place and used him to spread the word. Because of Justin Hawkins’ basketball instruction, he was able to share the love of Jesus, and a young man named Han gave his life to Jesus. Another significant "coincidence" was the number on Han's shirt 12443; that is the same number as George Elias’ address where Pastor Josiah grew up. Also Han was at the basketball practice because he had a leg injury. His real sport was soccer. Clay, Pastor Josiah’s nephew, prayed for Han more than once. After much prayer, Han’s leg was pain free and healed. Han even returned to the soccer game. Praise the Lord of the Impossible.

Then Pastor Josiah read from 1 Samuel.

“Samuel then took a large stone and place it between the

towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer

(which means ‘the stone of help’), for he said, ‘Up to this

point the Lord has helped us!’” 1 Samuel 7:12 (NLT)

This verse was significant because one very tall, young man was the first to give his life to the Lord on the basketball court. His name was Ebenezer.

Finally, Pastor Josiah showed a clip of a lady for whom Brianna prayed. Monica had a leg injury and had been at the hospital several times with no relief. Monica’s pain on a scale of one to ten was an eight. Brianna continued praying and praying for her. The Lord heard her prayers, and Monica was able to testify of her healing. The Lord used Brianna who was willing to go even if she “had no clue what to do.” She went, obeyed Him, and saw the power of prayer in action.

The Paramount point was Whether across the street or across the world live on mission.

May we do what He tells us to do with willing hearts, souls, minds and spirits. And may we be salt and light in this dark world.