Qualificatons

I have heard a lot of people say, "I want to follow Jesus," and with well-meaning intentions, their statements come from willing hearts, but can they totally immerse themselves in the mission at hand? Serving Jesus is not for the faint of heart! When thinking about my life to come as a young man, it was a dream, and yes, a coming reality, to write and sing songs, and my preparation for this coming dream was filled with hours and hours of preparation. A day in my life was filled with studying and working on music, and on that day, I was obsessed with following my dream at all costs.

When Jesus changed my life course, I was faced with the reality of a new direction, and in that direction, I wanted to set conditions that seemed right to me. In a moment of clarity, Jesus cut my options down to two. Jesus, in my mind, was saying to me, "David, you are either for me or you are for yourself." In another moment of "clarity of commitment," I surrendered and made my commitment, and followed this "Clarion Call" from God. Clarion Call (def) - A clarion call is a strong, urgent, and unmistakable request or appeal for people to take action.

The result of that Clarion Call would be investing in challenging others to follow the call God has on their lives, accept the call, and join in the mission we follow called the Great Commission! Along the way, God has given me the privilege of turning on the lights in people's lives to get to have relationships with co-laborers that result in me loving these friends like blood relatives. They became sons and daughters in my thinking, and the closeness we all came to feel was what is described as a Koinonia fellowship or relationship. Kononia (def) - Koinonia (pronounced koy-nuh-NEE-uh) is an ancient Greek word widely used in the New Testament to mean fellowship, communion, joint participation, or partnership. It describes an intimate, active sharing of life and resources among a community.

This fellowship is the true meaning of what it means to be brothers and sisters in Christ, and only Jesus can build this type of relationship. When the Holy Spirit knits hearts together, we can successfully call this fellowship "The Church." Even when we are separated by many miles, a phone call of encouragement or a blog post can continue to knit those hearts in the direction and action of following Jesus, and only Jesus. I have had at one time or another some of those brothers or sisters call to "vent" in their frustration for the lack of commitment in their church fellowships, and it burdens my heart. My only advice for them is to keep the fire burning bright in their lives, and that fire will spread to others.

Here is what Jesus said to those desiring to follow Him at that deeper level. Luke 9: ⁵⁷ As they were going on the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ⁵⁹ And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say goodbye to those at my home.” ⁶² But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

There is a lot of "dead wood" in the modern-day church, but there are still embers waiting for the wind of the Holy Spirit to "fan into flame" revival fires and awaken the church of today. Like the old chorus says, "It only takes a spark to get a fire burning," the fire is still possible if we will just allow the Holy Spirit to guide us and accept our part in it. Paul reminded Timothy of what was possible if he just kept the fire going in 2 Timothy 1: ⁶ For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. ⁸ So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. ⁹ He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, ¹⁰ but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. ¹¹ And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. ¹² That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

You are qualified and called, and it is time to throw off anything that holds you back and join hands in the awakening and the revival of God's church, and then "hand on" cause God is going to do a great thing. I still believe it, and with God's strength and God's protection, I will continue to fight for it. I have had some interruptions in my life course because of some health issues, but in my prayer time, God said one word: FIGHT!!!

Fight with me, and as The Church, we will do great and mighty things even though we are separated by miles. Nothing can hold back The Church, cause it is built on the rock of faith. We are totally Qualified!!

The Pilgrimage Continues....together,

David Warren