Why I Do What I Do

You hurry home from work to take a quick shower and change your clothes. You gobble down a small meal, intent on not being late. You kiss your kids and wife, rush off to church and arrive right on time. You take your position on the floor, music blaring; you walk into the secret place. You soak in the Presence of God. You don’t strive, you abide. You commune with God, tell Him your fears, ask for boldness and grace. He strips you, fills you and makes you new. You are energized, filled with the Spirit of God for a purpose. You get filled right to the brim and it’s time to go. An hour has passed in the blink of an eye.

You’re part of a team. You look around you and see that you are part of the army of God. Each one has their part to play, with unique callings and giftings, but right now you just feel like a believer. You actually believe what you say you believe and your lifestyle proves it. You canceled things to be here. You arranged your schedule and priorities to allow this. You’ve taken care of your wife and treated her right, she’s happy to let you come. Your kids know you love them and would rather you be home with them right now, but all that they know is that daddy has to go preach to the people. But it’s worth it. You’ll never go back to TV dinners and selfish pursuits. The Kingdom of God appearing in a person’s life is what your life is all about. You’re done with living for yourself.

Tonight, you’re heading to a house church meeting. Last week, you were in a neighborhood going door to door, preaching the Kingdom of God. It was scary, but fruitful. Lots of people didn’t know what to think about what you had to say and just looked at you like, “huh?” when you announced that the Kingdom of God is on the earth. But it was worth it for that last person you visited, that desperate lady at the brink of suicide. You had a part in her eternal salvation. If you hadn’t shown up, she may have killed herself. It was worth a little bit of fear and anxiety about preaching door to door to see her lose her fear at the feet of Jesus. She crossed over from darkness to light and now is a believer. In the coming weeks, you will watch her mature in the things of God as you simply show her what you know about His Kingdom and the Holy Spirit.

But not tonight.

Tonight, you walk into a small house in a run down neighborhood. Just when you are feeling a little uncomfortable, the new believers start to show up and your anxiety disappears in their smiling faces. It’s not a big group, just five new believers, but they are beaming with the light of God. Just weeks ago, they had never experienced life, joy and peace. Now they live in it day by day. They are buzzing to tell you their latest experience with God. They are eager to ask questions and understand more of the word of God. What’s better is that you have the answer to their questions. Not because you studied or worked on the answers, but because you possess the Holy Spirit and He is happy to speak through you. You hear yourself speak of God, His Kingdom and His Spirit. You had no idea you knew what you are saying, but it flows freely, their questions answered, your Spirit quickened.

They go around the room telling testimonies of healings and miracles. One lady had a severe kidney disease. You and your partner prayed for her a couple weeks ago and she woke up the next day without the pain in her kidneys. Another family was in the grip of poverty just a couple of weeks ago, but they were taught that Jesus is their provider and if they will just seek first the Kingdom of God, He will provide everything they need. They heard what was said and immediately applied the principle. Tonight, they are telling the stories of miracle checks showing up in the mail to pay off bills they have had for months. The atmosphere is thick with faith and expectancy. Worship starts on the guitar and the presence of God falls like a thick cloud. Several people start to weep under God’s presence, another starts to have visions of angels and yet another lies on the couch, just soaking it all in. You are just happy to be here in this moment. It’s a sacrifice, but it’s worth it. There is something cosmically right about being here and doing this, like a giant thumbs up in your Spirit saying, “Way to go”.

You close the meeting with prayer, hug a few necks, and are surprised to feel genuine compassion and love for these new friends. You head home, exhausted but fulfilled. Suddenly all of the trivial concerns of life have been brought into perspective. Money, bills, houses, cars, jobs and relationships all have their purpose, but no longer dominate your thoughts. You are concerned with seeing what you saw tonight and what you saw last week happen more and more. One life at a time, transformed by the power of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is your priority. But now the Lord gets busy on your behalf, setting up raises and bonuses at work, checks in the mail, gifts and surprises. People give you vacations for free. You’re grateful and thankful, but most of all, just in awe of God. You’re determined to make this even more of a priority and arrange your life to accommodate your addiction to the Kingdom.

If this is what happens just one night a week, what if I gave two?