2 Co 6:1-10 “Working together with Him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says, in a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.”
As we prepare our return to church, we must have our sights on the mission field. Tampa is our Jerusalem, Jesus is our Lord, the Bible is our orders, & ministry is our vehicle. As we prepare to return to church, we must reject our pre-Corona status quo; we must embrace our biblical instructions as a local mission. We must stop operating like the universal church, which is not yet in operation as one church. The local mission partakes in the universal vision of evangelism but does so as an individual mission. Each church has its orders; each church has its vision & is guided by the universal Great Commission. The day is coming when all missions will join to become one, but that will take place at the second coming of Christ. As it stands, the local mission has its own role to fulfill.
Returning to our campus must be done with or commission as our guide, and not just the CDC’s guide for safety. When we return (and we will), ministry must be paramount, under (or second to) the worship of God. In ministry there will be setbacks, tribulations, hardships, and suffering; but such is the call to walking in the light and following Jesus.
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