Who shall I send? Here I am, Lord!

“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me” (Isaiah 6:8).

At a revival service in 1973, a guest evangelist from Africa talked about the need for missionaries to take the Gospel to Africa.  Twelve years old at the time, the Holy Ghost moved me to make a vow to God, to go anywhere for the Gospel.  That vow has burned in my heart every day since.  At that moment, the Holy Ghost planted in my heart a passion to be dedicated to the Gospel.  God knows the hearts of our children who are nurtured in the apostolic faith.  They are truly sanctified (set apart for Holy Use).  Paul tells us that the unbelieving mate and our children are sanctified and holy:

“For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy” (1 Corinthians 7:14).

One of God’s greatest blessings to me was a father who was grounded in prayer and the Word.  Because of Dad’s faith and commitment to holiness, my life has been fertile ground in service to the Lord.  God is working in our children, youth and young adults.  Those who are second generation Apostolic Christians are a blessing to the church.

Vicki Oliver is an evangelist to children.  It has been my privilege to hear her preach four times over the past three years.  The first time, she gave a message; “Birthing a Burden.”  That is a passion or a call to ministry; something that we pour our heart into for the Gospel.  For most women, giving birth is no easy matter.  Birthing usually requires labor.  Few and far between is the woman who has the painless quick delivery.  As Sister Oliver states; “With birth, there is noise and a whole lot of effort, including many tears.”  When God leads us to repentance, baptism in Jesus’ name and baptism in the Holy Ghost, it is a new birth.  We are a new creation in Jesus Christ.  We are called out for a purpose; for a work in the Gospel.  When our burden is birthed, it requires completely emptying oneself at the altar of the cross.  Last weekend, in Madison, 37 souls were baptized at an Oliver revival service.

God has called each of us out of this dark world and into the marvelous light of the Gospel; into the church for a divine purpose.  The word “apostle” means one sent forth.  The word church means called out ones.  We have been called out to be sent forth.  God has a burden, a passion, a work for each of us called into the Church.

The Holy Ghost will birth a burden in you; but you have to be willing.  It requires complete surrender.  It requires boldness in Christ.  The Holy Ghost will give us the boldness that we lack.  We are the temple of the Holy Ghost.  The righteousness of Jesus Christ lives inside of each of us.  It is God’s righteousness in us that makes us bold like a lion.

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19)

“The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1)

Prayer:  Father in Heaven, I can do nothing of myself.  You have called me out of this world to become a light to the world.  I have not been called out just to be saved, but to work.  I am called to birth a burden for the Lord, for the Gospel.  Lead me to what you are blessing.  Lead me to a work that you have prepared just for me.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.