This was the first organized meeting with the Leaders of North Branch.  And, at least for now, this post is part one of a two parts.  The second part will cover the redirect that occurred during the meeting.  Quite frankly I didn’t know what to expect going into this, but I knew that it was of God and I was content with that.  During my morning devotion I received a message from the Lord – “I created you for such a time as this, this is what you were made for!”  Hearing that, coupled with my feelings of expectation and you may well imagine my energy level spiked.  Pastor G arrived to pick me up and together we ventured North.

We met at the offices of Northbrook Fellowship Church (NFC) on Main street kitty-corner from Central Park.  Those in attendance for this meeting included Jeanne (NFC), Katie (NFC), Beth (NFC), Marion (NFC), Patrick (NFC), Pastor Dawson Grover (E-Free), Pastor Steve Weihsmann (Covenant), Gloria (Covenant), Pastor Pete Couper (Breakthrough), Pastor George Marin (Grace), and Pastor Frank Gomes (NFC).

We spent the first hour laying a foundation of fellowship with introductions and prayer.  Then we had lunch and I laid out the purpose and the vision as I received it from the Lord.  Here is what I said:

Purpose 

The purpose of our lives as Christians is to advance the Gospel to the ends of the earth.  So, if that is the purpose of our life, then that is the purpose here in North Branch – To advance the Gospel.

In studying Acts 4 – 8, David Platt identifies five prayers that spring up that apply to this purpose.

1. God give us confidence in Prayer
2. God make us generous with our possessions
3. God help us to live in purity
4. God grant us joy amidst persecution
5. God send us out in proclamation

These five prayers must become a part of our daily prayer life!

If that is our purpose, then our purpose is NOT to – attend Church, have a good marriage, a great career, to have a healthy spiritual well being.  All of those things are good – they need to be present SO THAT we are able to advance the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

The purpose of your life as a Christian is to advance the Gospel to the ends of the earth.  And when that’s the purpose, then NOTHING can stop you BECAUSE that is God’s purpose for you and God can’t be stopped!

Whether we believe it or not – someday “The Gospel will be heard to the ends of the earth.”  Matthew 24:14.

The God of the universe will not be defeated in His objective.  Any activity not in step with God’s design for human destiny is an exercise in futility.

Vision:

Before I tell you what the vision is, let me be sure to tell you what it is NOT.

• This is NOT about us – it is about God and the Kingdom of God invading earth in North Branch.
• This is NOT about and event, rather it is the model of Heaven which is about relationship.

This is about the journey, a journey that started with a vision in the spiritual realm, a vision that began in the physical realm and became real on September 3rd, 2015.  The power of that testimony is what has propelled us to today!  That testimony is written down and located on my blog site “Pursuing Breakthrough” titled “September 3rd, 2015”.

The vision is the model that God has given us and is found in these verses:

1. Matthew 28:19-20
2. Luke 10:1-12
3. John 14:15-21

What we are supposed to do is found in The Great Commission and it supports our purpose.   Again, I want to make our purpose CRYSTAL CLEAR – “Our purpose is to advance the Gospel to the ends of the earth.”  The last command of Jesus is our first priority.

Matthew 28:19-20 (The Great Commission):

• “Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,^[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

How we are supposed to do this is something I have struggled with since starting ministry full time.  And, I know I am not alone as other Pastors and leaders have confided their struggle with this as well.  This is where I need to share a story that has everything to do with God’s Sovereignty and the mysterious ways of the Lord.  In September of 2013 I was invited to have breakfast with Kyle Martin of Time to Revive by Sheri Richards of Hosanna!.  Sheri called and told me that Pastor Tim Hatt and herself were inviting Kyle to the Twin Cities to pursue revival and Kyle wanted to meet with someone who was already doing outreach here.  Kyle shared his vision and I was in.  He asked me to be a part of his team and then invited me to “Engage Week” in Richmond California that November.  I knew that in my spirit I was to go as an observer.  While there, I slipped in and out of various groups who were going into the community to share the Gospel.  God wanted me to see something – something that was significant to the future plans He had for the ministry I was entering.  Now, there is a certain energy about these groups, an excitement and as I went with them, I received a vision from the Lord.  It was as if these groups were like a hand grenade that would explode and hit everyone around them.  The Lord told me that this is not how He wants me to do this.  I noticed that the people who were going were feeling dejected as they were being rejected.  Remember, this is a vision and at that point in time, I had not received the language to understand what the Lord was going to reveal.  That language would come later, after I met Jim Lilly at a house Church meeting in February of 2014.  Jim is a pioneer of a movement taking root here in the Twin Cities called DMM (Disciple Making Movement) and we together with a small group of leaders have been laying the foundation of this movement ever since.  The Lord gave me Luke 10:1-12 and used this verse to reveal a key that would open a door I didn’t know even existed.  Now, I had read this verse before, it wasn’t new to me – but, after reading it this time – I mysteriously memorized it with no effort.  It was the language I needed to make the vision from Richmond complete.  All at once, I knew the answer to HOW I was supposed to do WHAT I was supposed to do.

How are we supposed to do What we are suppose to do is found here in Luke 10.  This is the Biblical example.

Luke 10:1-12 (Jesus Sends Out His Disciples)

• “The Lord now chose seventy-two^[a] other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. ² These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. ³ Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. ⁴ Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road.⁵ “Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ ⁶ If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. ⁷ Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay. ⁸ “If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you.⁹ Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’ ¹⁰ But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this—the Kingdom of God is near!’ ¹² I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on judgment day.”

I pray that you can see this – if you can’t then I would ask you to pray that God would pull back the veil.  There is so much meat here, but I will cover the highlights.

1. The Lord chose those He sent
2. He sent them out in pairs
3. They went to where He was going
4. He revealed the reality – “The harvest is great, but the workers are few…”
5. He revealed the importance of prayer “Pray to the Lord…”  
6. He removed any pressure they may have felt as He revealed His dominion “Pray to the Lord, Who is in charge of the harvest...”
7. He told us what to pray for “Pray to the Lord, Who is in charge of the harvest, ask him to send more workers…”
8. He established a sense of urgency “Now go…”
9. He reminded us of who we are and warned us “remember I am sending you as lambs among wolves” 
10. He reminded us that we would have to rely on Him (Paraphrased) “Don’t take money or clothes”
11. He told us to stay focused on the task “Don’t stop to greet anyone along the road”
12. And I could keep going… But you can see, right?

Why we are supposed to do this is found in John 14:15

John 14:15 (Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit)

• “If you love me, obey^[a] my commandments. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,^[b] who will never leave you. ¹⁷ He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.^{[c] 18} No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. ¹⁹ Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. ²⁰ When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

If you love me, obey my commandments – and that is followed with the promise which by the way is the same promise Jesus ends the Great Commission with.  Perfect book ends.  The Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth because the Holy Spirit is Truth.

So, after having shared this information with the group I said – The Lord is preparing to pour out over this region and North Branch is ground zero.  Like a pitcher of water He will pour out His Spirit and it will spill all over this region.  It is going to happen, we just need to believe it.

This is where the conversation got redirected.  The topic of this redirection will be the subject for another post.