"These are the people who are turning the world upside down!" they yelled. "Now they’ve come here!"
Acts 17:6 (New Testament for Everyone)
Our encounter with the perfect community of the Trinity gives us the ability to move purposefully in the right direction, to join God and partner with Him in His mission to a lost and broken world.
Look at the apostles and the early church for examples. They often change direction a few times when they see and sense God guiding them to new places and out of their comfort zone. God enables them to be both disruptive and effective because of their willingness to go and spread the good news.
How disruptive and effective were they?
They go around announcing the kingdom, curing the sick, casting out demons, and performing all kinds of miracles. They were really turning the world upside down. People and cities experienced a new level of normalcy never before imagined when they did what God wanted them to do. In spite of their good works, they were subjected to rejection and persecution. Yet rather than allowing setbacks to impede their progress, they increase their level of involvement.
God works with us when we let God work through us.
How eager are you to go the distance with God and accomplish extraordinary things for Him? If you are willing, put away what is familiar and venture into the new and undiscovered paths of the Kingdom.
The Apostle Paul would never have mingled with Gentiles, lived with them, or eaten their food if it hadn't been for the gospel and because of the gospel. Similarly, if the gospel we now embrace does not inspire us to love the unlovable, the difficult, and the different, we must wonder if it is the true gospel we first heard.
The gospel we proclaim will have no greater impact on others than it has on us. This principle is derived from Paul's word, "You are to imitate me, just as I imitate Christ." (1 Corinthians 4:16) Imitate Christ by doing what He would do and saying what He would say. This obedience flows from His true love towards us and our genuine relationship with Him.