God Is At Work - Everywhere!

I grew up in a wonderful, Christian environment. Every aspect of our lives was centered in and around a local church. Mine was one of those families that could claim we were literally in church “every time the doors were open.” We were the ones who opened the doors at the beginning of the day and cleaned up at the end. In that culture, the highest calling anyone could have was a calling to “full time ministry.” (Being called to missions in Africa was at the top of the calling pyramid.) While vocational ministry is a real possibility, the old view of “clergy” and “laity” assumed that God was primarily at work in the church. The local church was viewed as a “city of refuge,” a place where folks could be kept safe from “the world.” Much later it began to dawn on me that this view of “church” and of the Christian life was more religious than it was biblical. And it that’s true, what is a more accurate view?

Let’s start with some Christian Doctrine 101. God exists and is present everywhere at the same time. “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there” (Psalm 139:7-8). This is one of those unique “attributes of God,” one of the things that defines God as “God,” one of the “omni” words (“omnipresence”). We also understand that God is at work everywhere at the same time. “If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:9-10). While God has specific covenant relationships with specific people, his work is universal. God is not confined to a specific time or place or people. “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?” (Isaiah 66:1).

When God “called out” a covenant people to be the “headquarters” of his plan of redemption – Israel in the Old Testament and the church in the New – it was so they could be the primary instrument of his redemptive plan and rule on the earth. Both Old and New covenant communities were to be the primary expression of the nature of God’s kingdom and the primary means for extending the influence of God’s kingdom among all the people of the world. To Israel God said, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6). The work of a priest was to represent the people to God in prayer and to represent God to the people in speaking God’s Word. As a “kingdom of priests,” Israel was to represent all the people of the earth to God in prayer and they were to represent God to all the people by speaking God’s words. The very same mission was given to the church in the New Testament. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20). The church is a covenant instrument in God’s hands. Since the coming of Christ, the church is the primary means of expressing the nature and extending the influence of God’s kingdom. In that sense, the church is a temporary means to an end, the end being the kingdom of God. God is at work, God is on mission, everywhere in the world at all times. The church is a worshipping covenant community on mission with Jesus in the world.

For that reason, the mission of God and therefore the mission of the church, is not just for one or two hours on Sunday morning. The mission of God, the reason for the existence of the church, is a 24/7 universal mission. That means that every full-time disciple of Jesus is engaged in a full-time mission, a full-time ministry. It’s just that each of us has a unique “ministry center.” If you’re a full-time student, your ministry center is the school. If you’re a full-time parent and care-giver, your home is your primary ministry center. If you’re a full-time banker, lawyer, doctor, if you work on the line at the KIA plant or at Wal-mart, your work place is your full-time ministry center. If you live in a certain place, that neighborhood is your ministry center.

To be effective partners in the mission of God, our primary task is to discern where God is at work in our world and to join him in his work. As a covenant community, the church “gathers” in order to “grow.” We gather together to sing and pray and encourage each other. We gather to worship God and hear his voice. We gather to be renewed, revived, and filled with faith and hope and God’s Spirit. But we “grow” in order to “go.” A sports team knows that the meeting in the locker room before the game is not the game itself. That team also understands that when they go out to play the game, it is not the job of the coaches to play while the players sit in the stands and cheer. If you have been born from above, if you are a child of God and a follower of Jesus, you have been commissioned. You are part of the Jesus-team, chosen and called out by God to push back the enemy’s team and see the rule of God bring life and transformation to the piece of earth you inhabit. God is at work – everywhere! Will you join him?