Read Isaiah 6

Commission. God commissions Isaiah to go and preach. We, too, are called to preach the Gospel. But that’s not all we’re called to do. We’re called to love the Lord our God and those around us (Deuteronomy 6:1 and Mark 12:28-31). Without our love for God and for our neighbors, preaching the Gospel is of little use because it is nothing more than rote duty. Please understand what I’m saying: without our love for God and for our neighbors, preaching the Gospel is of little use because it is nothing more than rote duty. I am not saying that preaching the Gospel is bad or useless; I’m speaking to our motivation for preaching the Gospel and what that means.

I believe that if we were to shift our way of thinking about evangelism from a duty to something that happens as a result of our ever-increasing love for and joy in God, our communities would be radically changed. We would would go from being a church at a specific street corner to being the Church (bride of Christ) wherever we are because it is there (wherever we are) that we’re meeting the needs of those around us. Physical needs, emotional needs, spiritual needs. That’s what the Great Commandment is all about.

Spend time in prayer asking God to give you a joy in Him that you’ve never experienced. Of course, finding joy in God requires us to put in our own effort at building the relationship. So ask God to reveal Himself through His Word, through His creation, through the other people He has placed in our lives. And then ask Him to guide your response to that revelation. He will commission you, just as He commissioned Isaiah. Sometimes the message will fall on deaf ears. But, if we’re living in the joy and power of a dynamic relationship with Him, we can leave that to Him. I promise you, you efforts won’t return void.

God is great and mighty. He is worthy to be praised and adored. He is worthy to be revered and feared. He is worthy!

Go and share your joy in God’s glory.