Lord of the Mission

 Introduction:
We have been assigned to a mission by the Lord Himself. We must begin to realize that, as Christians, we are not just marking time until the trumpet sounds. God has left us here with a purpose. It’s great to know that you have a purpose. When you know you have a purpose everything begins to fit together in a design that brings harmony and meaning to all of life. As believers, we are more than what we appear to be. When we begin to discover that we are on a mission, we start to realize that God has provided for the success of that mission and all we need to do is become what He has called us to be. But most of all, we want to see the Lord of the mission leading us on into victory.

I. The commander of the Lord’s host arrives with strategy for the defeat of Jericho.
Joshua 5:13-15 “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” 14So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” 15Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so”
A. Leadership is always provided when the army is deployed.
B. We will never go into battle without the leadership of the Lord.
C. We come into a holy place when we come into His presence.
D. In His presence is where we are prepared for the battle.

II. What the Lord will do as he goes before us.
Isaiah 45:2-3 “‘I will go before you and make the £crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, am the God of Israel.
A. The same God who created the heavens and the earth promises to go before us. WOW!
1. Going before us He opens doors that would be otherwise closed to us.
2. Going before us He makes a way where there seems to be no way.
B. He will smooth out the difficulties we face.
1. Finances can make things difficult.
2. Broken relationships can make things difficult.
3. Emotional attacks can make things difficult.
4. Health issues can make things difficult.
5. He also works on us to make our crooked character straight. That’s probably the greatest work going on in my life.
C. The bronze gates will be broken.
1. "Brass," naturally, is used in Scripture as the symbol of what is firm, strong, lasting;
2. Those bronze gates that bar our progress or entry into the fullness of God’s promise are coming down.
3. Brass or bronze also speaks of judgments made. God is moving against all those judgments and word curses that have been spoken against His people. We ARE going in to possess our possessions.
D. The hidden treasures become ours as spoils of war.
1. What the enemy has accumulated in His vicious attacks become the spoils of war as God’s people march through shattered gates.
Proverbs 13:22 “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s   But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.”
2. The treasure that was hidden in darkness is being brought into the light.
3. God is bringing revelation knowledge to His people that they may perceive what is truly theirs. These are the treasures in secret places.
I Corinthians 2:9-12 “But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God”

III. Because we are on a mission. God promotes us to places of authority in order that we may fully possess what He has released in His going forth.
 Luke 10:19-20 “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
A. We have the power to complete the mission.
Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
B. It’s time to open our hearts and minds to the Lord of the mission for the wisdom we need to move into our inheritance.
Colossians 2:2-3 “that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
C. It’s time for a manifestation of the Sons of God.
Romans 8:19 “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.”