The Mission Bridge

The Mission Bridge
By Larry d. Wright

Are you ready for a real surprise? The words mission, missions, missionary or my favorite word missional are not found in the Bible. The Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance goes from missed to mist and the word mission is conspicuously absent. I find that fact surprising but it doesn’t trouble me.
I believe there is a clear reason why the word missions is not found in the Bible. The Bible is not a book about systematic theology but a journal of the theology of missions in action. The Bible is the record of God in action accomplishing salvation for all mankind. Actually, the Bible ascribes only one intention to God: to redeem and restore mankind. We capture that intention with the word missions.

If you want to know what beats in the heart of God, it is missions. I love what one person said, “God had only one Son, and He made Him a missionary.” Jesus Himself said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) The last command from His lips expressed the desire of His heart. The first two letters of gospel spell “Go!”
If you want to know the hope of mankind, it is missions. Without the gospel, man is helpless and hopeless.
The story is told of an agnostic professor who visited the Fiji Islands. The professor remarked to an elderly chief, “You are a great leader, but it is a pity you have been victimized by those Christian missionaries. No one believes the Bible anymore. People are tired of the story of Christ dying on cross for the sins of mankind. We know better now. I am sorry you were manipulated to accept their story.”

The old chief’s eyes flashed with passion as he answered, “See that great rock over there? On it we smashed the heads of our victims. Notice the furnace next to it? In that oven we used to roast the bodies of our victims. If it wasn’t for the love of those missionaries and the message they brought that changed us from cannibals to Christians, you would our next supper.”
If you want to know the health of the church, it is missions. The orders of our Commander-n-Chief make our mission clear: "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” There is an important premise we should never forget: Christ alone can save the world, but Christ cannot save the world alone. He has chosen to use us.

First Baptist Church has no reason to exist apart from the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. His command gave birth to our existence. It defines our reason to exist and clarifies our mission. Simply, the mission of the church is missions.
When God loved, He loved the world. When the Father gave His Son, He gave His Son for the world. When the Son died, He died for the world. God’s vision is the world. Our mission is to build a bridge from Florence, Alabama to reach the world.
There is a bridge across Panther Creek in Western Kentucky built by the United States government. It was a source of pride and a symbol of recovery. Today the bridge looks as new as the day in which it was built because it bares only the weight of itself. There is no road leading to it or from it.
I suggest that a bridge that does not carry traffic is not a bridge. It is a structure with no appropriate name. And a church that is not missional is group of people but not a church.

Coca-Cola has a motto that is posted in the company headquarters that explains their incredible success. It reads: THINK GLOBALLY, BUT ACT LOCALLY. Long before Coca-Cola was a dream, Jesus said, “Begin in Florence and don’t stop until you have reached the end of the earth.” That is the Mission Bridge.

The Fire of the Lord

The Fire of the Lord
By Larry d. Wright

“Then the fire of the LORD fell…”

In one of His most controversial statements Jesus said, “I have come to bring fire on the earth.” There are times in the Scripture in which fire is a symbol of judgment but in the vast majority of references fire is used to illustrate God’s divine presence. The context of His words makes it clear that this is the meaning behind His words, “I have come to bring fire.”

In this unusual statement of Jesus the fire He is speaking of is not literal fire but a spiritual symbol. He is speaking of the burning, exciting, dynamic presence of God in the lives of people. The fire that illuminates His dazzling presence, generates unlimited power, burns away the dross and impurities and attracts people to Him. That is the Fire of God.

In the scriptures, God sometimes revealed Himself through a physical representation; this is called a theophany. Fire is the most common theophany. There are several definitive statements about God in the Bible: God is Holy; God is Light; God is Love; God is Spirit. Fire is used as a symbol of God. God is not fire–He is like fire–and the Scriptures use it to symbolize His awesome presence.

When God appeared to Moses He spoke out of the flame of a burning bush. Later, on Mt. Sinai, God appeared to all the Israelites as a fire on the mountain. Exodus 24:17 says, “To the Israelites, the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire.” What a sight that must have been!

There is something awesome and scary about fire, no wonder God chose to use fires as a theophany. Later, when Moses built the Tabernacle, they made the first sacrifice in the Holy of Holies. God again revealed Himself by fire. Leviticus 9:24 says, “Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering ... And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell face-down.”

On Mt Carmel the prophet Elijah prayed “Then the fire of God fell” consuming the sacrifice and licking up the water in the trenches around the altar. The people fell on their faces and declared, “The Lord He is God!”

When God’s fire comes to the hearts of men and women their spirits are freed from the awful bondage of idolatry. When God’s fire comes, the enemy will be destroyed. That is why we should pray, “O, Lord ---send the fire. Your fire. Send your consuming, changing, restoring, victorious fire!”

We sing about the Fire of God in many of our hymns. I love to sing, "Lord, as of old at Pentecost thou didst thy power display, with cleansing, purifying flame, descend on us today. Lord, send the old time power, the Pentecostal power! Thy floodgates of blessings on us thor open wide! Lord, send the old time power, the Pentcostal power, that sinners be converted and thy name glorified!" There is a song I have known for years that says, “Oh, Lord, you’re beautiful. Your face is all I seek. For when your eyes are on this child, your grace abounds to me. O Lord, please light the fire, which once burned bright and clear, replace the lamp of my first love, that burned with holy fear.”

Oh, may our PRAYER be heard, “Lord, send your fire! May we sense and know Your burning, exciting, dynamic presence in our lives and among Your people.”

Mission Banquet invitation

To receive your invitation to attend a MISSION BANQUET on Thursday, April 17th @ Florence Golf & Country Club, EMAIL me at ldwright@fbcflorence.com or call 256.764.4921.

The meal is FREE and you will hear a TIME (www.timeministries.com) team from Huntsville, Alabama share about their work around the world.

The Cycle of Life

The Cycle of Life

By Larry d. Wright

The writer of Ecclesiastes poetically states, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”

On Monday morning while traveling to Gatlinburg I learned that the youngest son of radio comedian Rick Burgess of the “Rick and Bubba Show” sadly died in a tragic accident. On Thursday morning I listened to the co-host of the show Bubba Bussey explain how his youngest son prayed to receive Jesus Christ into his life. One son temporarily lost, another son eternally gained as a brother. Such is the cycle of life.

I arrived in the foothills of the beautiful Smoky Mountains to find them dressed in their bleak winter attire. The last time Debby and I retreated to the mountains it was spring and the hills were alive with life and outfitted in a lush color of green, the hills dotted with beautiful mountain flowers. Such is the cycle of life.

In my years serving as a pastor I have conducted a funeral and officiated a wedding on the same day. I have walked into one hospital room to comfort a family loosing a member to cancer then moments later walked into another room to experience the joy of a couple who welcomed a new life into their family. Such is the cycle of life.

Actually, while writing this article I was interrupted. I discovered that our family pet cat had died and between these two paragraphs I buried a faithful and funny friend who brought many laughs, joys and moments of happiness into our lives. Today he brought tears. Such is the cycle of life.

So Solomon wrote, “There is…a time to be born and a time to die….a time to mourn and a time to dance…” Obviously, what he did not warn us about is the realistic truth: sometimes the distance between the two is very small. That is what makes life so painful. Sometimes the distance between birth and death, mourning and dancing is excruciatingly short. Such is the cycle of life.
Solomon offers some practical wisdom concerning how to cope with the cycle of life: “He [God] has made everything beautiful in its time. He has placed eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from the beginning.” I am to find beauty and purpose in God’s creations. I am to realize that I am a pilgrim on this planet for a temporary sojourn and my real home is elsewhere. I must accept God’s bigness, the mysteries of life and refuse to play the “What if…” game.

Only then will I value the cycle of life.