Mark Batterson - Missions, Here Am I

300 years ago, a visionary named Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf founded something called the Order of the Mustard Seed. It was an eclectic group that included the King of Denmark, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Scotland’s Secretary of State, and an 84-year-old chief of the Creek Nation called Tomo Chii. Each member wore a ring with an inscription: «None of us lives to himself.» Each member pledged their wealth and influence to the cause of Christ, and each member took a vow: three simple yet radical commitments: be true to Christ, be kind to people, and take the gospel to the nations.

In 1727, Count Zinzendorf started what many consider to be the first 24/7 prayer movement. They would pray around the clock—are you ready for this? —for a hundred years! When you pray that way, God is going to begin to break your heart for the things that break His heart. Your heart is going to begin to beat for the things that cause the heart of God to skip a beat. During one of those prayer meetings, the Moravians felt a burden to abolish the sin of slavery. William Wilberforce, the Member of Parliament largely responsible for that effort in Great Britain, would point to the Moravians as his inspiration. Long before the abolition of slavery, two members of that order, names that most of us have never heard—Johan Leonard Dober and David Nitchelan—sold themselves into slavery as human chattel so they could incarnate the gospel to slaves on the island of St. Thomas. As they sailed away from the dock, they told their family and friends, «May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering.»

Every move of God, every missionary movement, in my opinion, can be reverse-engineered to Isaiah 6:8. The genesis of every revival, every reformation, can be traced to someone—anyone—who has the courage to say, «Here am I. Send me.» Welcome to National Community Church, in the house and online! Shout out to DC and NOVA and our extended family all around the world. We kick off our mission series, «Here Am I.» Over the last two decades, this church has taken more than 300 mission trips all around the world. We have collectively given more than $25 million to Kingdom causes that don’t have our name on them. What pure joy it is for there to be dozens of nonprofits, parachurch organizations, and businesses that God gave so many of you a vision for. Dozens of them have come out of this ecosystem called National Community Church. Thank you, Lord. Amen. Every trip we’ve taken, every dollar we’ve given, everything we’ve started—would you agree with me? —it still comes back to someone, anyone, who says, «Here am I.» And it begs the question today: Why not you? Why not now?

Yes, can I remind us of a couple of core convictions, core values as we get started? We’re not just trying to build a church; we’re trying to bless a city to the third and fourth generation. The true measure of a church is not seating capacity; it’s sending capacity. God is going to bless us in proportion to how we give to missions. God is going to bless us in proportion to how we care for the poor in our city. Why? Because if we are primarily concerned about what is near and dear to the heart of God, I want to tell you, I am not worried about our bottom line because God has our back. We want to be more known for what we’re for than for what we’re against. So what we’re going to do is we’re going to criticize by creating. We’re going to do our level best to be great at the Great Commission and great at the Great Commandment, and if you’re with me today, you want to add a little amen right there!

Ready or not, here we go! You can meet me in Isaiah 6. We’re aiming at verse 8, but we’re going to start in verse 1. «In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on the throne, and the train of His robe filled the temple.» King Uzziah had ruled and reigned for 52 years. He was the only king Isaiah had ever known, and he knew him well—I’ll tell you why: because he was a cousin. He was at the funeral; he shed tears. This was a personal loss that left a void; it shook his identity, it shook his security. If you have ever lost a loved one, especially someone who was the center of gravity, friends, that’s a moment where you’ve got to get a vision of God high and exalted. You need something to fill that void, and that is exactly what happens. He has a vision of God high and exalted, and the train of His robe fills the temple—such curious language. So let me break it down.

Ancient kings wore royal robes, and those robes were more like a quilt stitched together. When a king conquered another king, they took that king’s robe, cut it up, and sewed it into the robe of the conquering king. The train of the robe represented their sovereignty over defeated foes. Jesus is our conquering King, but don’t miss how He did it. He did it at Calvary’s cross; He did it at an empty tomb. He defeated sin, He defeated death, He defeated our ancient foe. But it gets even better. When you are saved, healed, and delivered, don’t miss this: your testimony gets sewn into the train of His robe, into the hem of His garment. I do not have time to preach this, but maybe jot this down: testimony is prophecy, and testimony is authority. Wherever you have victory, God gives you authority, and we exercise that authority with humility.

«But, Pastor Mark, I thought this was a message on mission!» Listen, mission without a vision of God high and exalted will not last very long and will not reach very far. What we need more than anything else is a vision of our God high and exalted. We need a throne theology, and it’s that kind of vision that fuels our passion for the mission. What comes to mind when you think about God? The answer is the most important thing about you. Question: How big is your God? Come on! Is He bigger than your biggest problem? Is He bigger than your biggest critic? Is He bigger than your biggest mistake? Is He bigger than your biggest dream? Is your God getting bigger or is your God getting smaller?

As God gives us individually and collectively a vision of His sovereignty, of His authority, of His love, grace, mercy, and power—now it’s game on! Now we’re going to be about His mission. Why would we do this series over the election? I’ll tell you why: because this church is going to keep the main thing the main thing. We’re going to be about the mission, vision, values, because we’re going to be about the Father’s business. Hallelujah! We are praying; we just came out of four weeks. We’re praying, «God, raise up Esthers, Nehemiahs, Daniels, and Deboras. God, raise them up to serve Your purposes in our generation.» But, friends, administrations come and go; the kingdom is forever. We have a different endgame, so we’re going to play the long game. We’re not going to play checkers; come on, church, we’re going to play chess. We’re going to see His kingdom come, and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven, in Jesus’ name! Yes! Amen!

Are you encouraged today? Just don’t lose heart! Don’t lose hope! Don’t lose faith! In the end of the story, the kingdoms of this world are becoming the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and we get to be a part of that mission. All right, getting a little worked up! Can I just… yeah, let’s go to verse 5. «Woe is me!» I cried. «I am undone.» Listen, sometimes God has to do a little deconstructing before He does some reconstructing. Sometimes there are some things we have to unlearn. Yes, God! We have to unlearn enough things until all things are possible, until He is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine.

«For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.» I’m just going to throw this out there: I think we have lost the wow of God because we have lost the woe of God. No woe, no wow! I think I skipped over an entire verse; go back! What’s this vision of the seraphim? Do you remember this? «Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.» I’m so glad I remembered this! In Hebrew, this is called a superlative. God is not holy once or twice; God is thrice holy. God is in a category by Himself. If you read the Bible cover to cover, you’re going to come to one inescapable, undeniable, incontrovertible conclusion: that God is God and I am not! Hallelujah!

So when we’re talking about a vision, let me just make it practical. I just don’t think it’s becoming of those who follow Jesus to be so nervous. Some people are so nervous about this, that, and the other thing—way too nervous about other people’s opinions, way too nervous about trending hashtags, way too nervous about the election, about the economy, and about my future. Don’t let fear dictate your decisions, and don’t let unguided anxiety control your emotions! He is still on the throne, church! God is still on the throne! Thank you, Jesus! Every knee will bow; every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. It grieves me when people sometimes quote that as a threat. That’s the last thing it is! It’s a promise! Hallelujah! It’s a moment when everything will be made right. God will right every wrong, and He will make all things new. And I am looking forward to that glorified body! Everyone gets a six-pack in heaven! But keep going to the gym!

All right, verse 8. Verse 8! «Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? ' And I said, ‘Here am I; send me! ’» Now, a year ago, I was in my office chatting with the president of Pepperdine, and we were having this conversation. I can’t even remember what we were talking about—the context—but I do remember what he said. He said, «Most people say, 'There they are; send them, ' but this is first person singular. This is taking personal responsibility.» Years ago, I’m not a big dreamer by night; I hardly ever remember my dreams—it’s kind of weird. So when I do remember, occasionally I have one of those dreams that I think was from the Lord. Years ago, I had this dream. It was in the palace where Jesus was standing before Pilate, just hours from his crucifixion, and Pilate is washing his hands. What it symbolized was his way of saying, «I’m just not going to get involved. Not my problem; not my issue; not my circus; not my monkeys. I’m just not going to touch it; someone else can worry about it.» Friends, that’s called a sin of omission. Inaction is inaction. Indecision is a decision! In my dream, I heard the Lord say, «Don’t wash your hands like Pilate; wash feet like Jesus.» And I woke up, and it shook me up.

From that day to this day, I’ve said, «Oh God, let me be a servant leader! Let me wash feet! Let me not see problems and just say they’re someone else’s problem.» Washing feet was the job reserved for the lowest ranking servant in Jewish society, and Jesus says, «Here I am; send me.» Let me be the one who washes feet! Part of why I share that is because our whole MO as a church, when we go on mission, is not with some Messiah complex. We go to serve. We actually go to learn; we go to love. When we say one mission trip is worth 52 sermons, what we mean by that is you’re going to come back a different person. The primary beneficiary on every trip I’ve ever taken is this guy. It’s like that T.S. Eliot poem, right? «We shall not cease from exploring, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know that place for the first time.» Right, Sarah? We were in Ethiopia together; you come back, you’re a different person. You have a different perspective. Every trip that Laura has gone on— I remember her coming back from the trip to Greece when she was in the refugee camps. I remember her coming back from Bordertown and serving with Prison Fellowship. She has been in prison three times in the last year I think! Every time she comes home, my wife is amazing, but she comes back even more amazing! Yes, because your heart gets bigger; your heart breaks, and your heart beats for the things of God! Hallelujah!

That’s two challenges. During this series, would you be willing to go, and would you be willing to give? We’ll talk about those two things. Let me back up the bus just a little bit. When I was 13 years old, our family started attending Calvary Church in Naperville, Illinois, and I have picture proof! Someone sent me some old church photo albums, and can someone say dot matrix? A little dated, but I guess I had a vest and tie back then. But not to be out, this is I think eighth grade for me. This is the ’85 album; I think the ’87 album— I found another one. Another family—oh, now listen! There may be two pastors in this picture, and I cannot confirm nor deny that the guy with the mullet is our online campus pastor! And right now, online, we’re going to let you cast your vote! Bring it back, bring it back!

So we started attending that church, and listen to me. So many things; it’s where I really learned to worship from the inside out. It’s where I first started going to the altar and just consecrating myself to God. It’s where I first started reading and studying the Bible—not in church, just—it’s where I went on my first mission trip. And don’t miss this: it’s when I made my first faith promise. So, Church, we’re going to bring back the faith promise. We’re going to talk about that a little bit. But here’s the deal: Calvary Church was the leading missions-giving church in the Assemblies of God. They were all about mission. In fact, when they did faith promises, Pastor Joel said he had to sell drugs just to make his faith promise! You were joking, right? A joke, not serious!

So I’m 17 years old, and I think this is past the statute of limitations. I think it’s okay for me to share this. I’m 17 years old; I’m working at a Quick-FI gas station at the corner of 75th and Washington. I’m pumping gas; I’m selling cigarettes; I’m doing whatever you do when you work in a gas station, making $5.25 an hour. That’s big bucks! The mission series comes around; I feel it stirring. I’m not too young; I want in on this! I look back on it, and it’s actually a little shocking to me that I made a $500 faith promise at 17, making $5.25 an hour. You could say, «Mark, that’s not even financially responsible! Weren’t you going to college in a year? Shouldn’t you be saving for college?» Stick with me. I’m grateful for a church that challenged me to grow in generosity, to give above and beyond the tithe. Listen, I’d been giving a dime on every dollar since I was like five years old, getting an allowance from my parents. That’s how they raised me. When Laura and I got married, we’re never not going to tithe; we’re going to give God the first fruits. But the goal is to reverse-tithe: to live off of 10% and give 90%. The goal is to be as generous as we can possibly be. Why? Because joy is found on the giving side of life!

Now listen carefully: buyer beware! God is not a slot machine. If you give to get, if you give for the wrong reason, it doesn’t even count in the kingdom of God! This isn’t prosperity gospel! The tithe is not some Ponzi scheme. The primary reward is not tangible; it’s intangible. What joy to take the treasure that I traded my time and my talent for and give it! What joy! I’m grateful for a church that challenged me to step out. You could call this correlation without causation, but I went to one of the most expensive universities in the country at the time—University of Chicago—I didn’t pay a penny; I got a full-ride scholarship! Are those two things related? All I’m going to say is I just don’t think you can outgive God. I think when you live generously, God has a way of providing because He knows you’re going to be a conduit for blessing. We are blessed to bless, and we make no apologies for that! Giddy up and go!

Say «giddy up» and go! Pastor, it’s been a lot of years since we’ve done a faith promise, but we are going to bring it back because I feel like we want to give us an opportunity to step up and step in. In 2023, we gave $2.14 million to missions collectively as a church because of your generosity, and we feel like God is calling us to push the offering envelope, and we’re going to aim at $3 million next year!

Now, you got this lookbook on the way in, and you can begin to get an idea of where that investment is going to go. Well, Pastor Mark, how are we going to get there? I’m so thrilled to share this! You know historically, if you asked our stewardship team, our finance department, what you would find is that historically, over many, many, many years, we’ve given about on average, 17% of our general giving to missions. But we’re going to push it! We’re going to begin to tithe on that general giving above and beyond it. In other words, if we expect you to tithe, why don’t we tithe? Now, we’ll always be above that number through unrestricted and restricted giving, but that’s going to allow us to give a lot more money to missions. We just—we’re going to stand on our conviction that God is going to bless us in proportion to how we give to missions and care for the poor in our city. I’m excited about it! We feel like God has called us to be a blessing to those to Kingdom causes that don’t have our name on them. That is part of our heartbeat as a church!

Now, when I throw out the $3 million number, here’s what happens: it can be a little paralyzing or a little demotivating because I think about, you know, how much I think I can give, and then I think, «What difference does it make?» Please hear me: Don’t let what you cannot do keep you from doing what you can! The most celebrated giver in the entire gospels is the woman who gave two mites. Okay? It was the smallest coin in the Roman circulation; it was the size of a pencil eraser. It was the ancient equivalent of six minutes of time. So the woman who gave two mites gave 12 minutes. And Jesus said she gave more than everybody else. «No, she didn’t!» «Yes, she did!» «No, she didn’t!» «Yes, she did! Jesus said she did!» This is about each one of us saying, by faith, «I’m going to step out; I’m going to invest my treasure in something that is near and dear to the heart of God.» And by the way, God can take two fish and five loaves and do something pretty incredible with it in His hands!

Five plus two equals seven! If you put what you have in your hands into the hands of God, five plus two doesn’t equal seven anymore! Stick with me! Five plus two equals 5,000, remainder 12! You have more leftover than you started with, and somehow the five loaves and two fish became a miracle for 5,000 people! I’m believing that for every faith promise that somehow God is going to take what we can give and use it as a miracle for others!

Let me connect a few dots: I had the joy last year of speaking at the tenth anniversary of a missions organization called Serve Now. They’ve impacted millions of people in dozens of countries, and by the way, last year we gave 200 bicycles to pastors in remote regions! This is just so fun to me because they have multiple congregations in multiple villages. So here’s what’s amazing: you don’t even know this, but you helped these pastors go to places you will never go! They’re speaking languages you will never speak, and they’re impacting people you will never meet on this side of heaven! But because of your generosity, you’re part of that miracle! But that’s not even my point!

I think I did the picture go up? You can put it up. So before I got up to speak at that tenth anniversary, I had no idea the founder of the organization slid me a note and said, «Do you realize that you gave the very first gift to Serve Now in February of 2013?» It got me like, «We got in on the IPO, church!» Talk about an ROI! We have to think like shareholders! We’re part of everything God is doing through Serve Now, and that’s true of every church we plant and every missionary we support! I mean, what a privilege for us to get in on the ground level!

Let me keep going: we talk about two laws real quick: the law of measures and the law of treasures, and then we’ll bring it in for a landing. Luke 6:38: «Give, and it will be given unto you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap, for with the measure you use, it will be measured unto you.» You can’t break the law of measures; it will make or break you!

In August of ’96, NCC had less than 20 people, and there was a defining moment—a day when decades happen! I felt like the Lord said, «Mark, it’s time to start giving to missions.» Now, I’m going to keep it real: we weren’t self-supporting until year three. How can we give what we don’t have? Our total income as a church was $2,000 a month. $1,600 to rent the DC public school left $400 for our salary and all other expenses! And God says, «It’s time to start giving to missions!» That’s one of those moments where I thought, «Lord, I think You meant that for someone else in relation to us!» But here’s a lesson I’ve learned: If you get into an argument with God—and I know it will happen for some of us as you begin to pray about making a faith promise—the rational part of the brain starts to take over, and you have this internal argument. But here’s what I’ve learned: If you get into an argument with God, if you win that argument, you lose. Yes, sir! And if you lose that argument, you win.

We wrote our first $50 check to missions. We could have said, «What difference does that make? $50 is like two mites! It’s a drop in the bucket! What’s even the point?» No, no, no! The point was we’re going to be obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and we’re going to be faithful with a little! ‘Cause I know people who say, «I’ll give more when I make more.» Love you, but I’m not buying what you’re selling! You gotta be faithful with a little! Do you know that the next month, their giving tripled from $2,000 to $6,000? And we’ve never looked back! How is it that, for 28 years, the Lord has blessed this church? We’re a debt-free church! We’re a debt-free church! Honestly, I think it’s because we’re just not going to focus on us; we’re going to be a conduit for blessing, and we’re going to give away as much as we possibly can, and God is going to honor it and continue to use it for His purposes, in Jesus’ name! Amen!

Love the law of measures and the law of treasures! Do we have that verse, Matthew 6:19? «Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust cannot destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.» Okay, Church, like we talk about this rarely, and so if you’re a guest, welcome! We are talking about financial things, but I think it’s important for me to say that God doesn’t need your money! Come on, sir! Come on! God owns the cattle on a thousand hills—and the hills! He doesn’t need your money! But there’s this thing called the law of treasures: where your treasure is, your heart always follows.

So, if you start volunteering, like in one of these local ministries that you’ll see in the book—and can I just sidebar just to challenge you to get involved? The DC Dream Center operates 64 programs impacting thousands of kids, but it takes hundreds of mentors and volunteers! What a great place to jump in and serve! I think about Love Justice; it’s kind of our local expression of Prison Fellowship. I think about The Living Room, where we turn Ebenezers into a living room on Wednesday nights for our friends experiencing homelessness. I think about family friends like refugees in the DMV—we’re going to come alongside you and help you acclimate to life here! Along the way, as we love anybody and everybody, some good things begin to happen!

And then just a challenge: 17 global trips next year! We’ve got an expo set up; we’ll have interest meetings! But would you begin to pray through this lookbook and begin to discern where God—what are You putting in my heart? Now listen, I’m not going to lie; it takes a sacrifice of time! Like, you gotta give up 7 to 10 days of vacation time, no less! And some of these trips, you know, they cost a few thousand dollars—you gotta get there! So this is a tremendous investment of your own money. Well, you know—you will be surprised at how you can raise that money from others who will give generously! I’m not saying it’s not a sacrifice, and part of me hesitates saying this because, you know, at NCC we just— we don’t do guilt trips! We just don’t do guilt trips! But can I just say— in the same breath, it’s not selling yourself into slavery either! So just a challenge to step up, step in: Where does God want you to serve and go?

But the law of treasures—let me talk about it for a second, and I’ll make it personal. Many years ago, I just felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and I don’t know how to share this in a way that isn’t a little embarrassing, but I found that it was easier for me to pray for a church four states away than four blocks away. I think there was just this—I had this competitive streak. I played basketball in college, and this competitive streak was kind of like—it was hard not to play the comparison game. But, man, something happened! I can genuinely say today it’s not about the name over the church door; it’s about the name above all names!

It’s going to take all hands on deck to see His kingdom come, His will be done! But here was the key turning point: Do you know that over the last many years, we have invested in dozens and dozens and dozens of church plants in the DMV? And yeah, I mean, we did it because we felt like, «Come on! Let’s help these churches get off the ground the way that others helped us get off the ground!» But can I just say for the record, it was more about my heart. And here’s what happened: As we began investing in this church, and that church, and that church, they had part of my heart. Now it’s not «us and them» or «me and you»; it’s «we.» And do you know that we now, at the DC Dream Center, gather about 80 to 90 DC pastors every quarter that come together, and I don’t care what denomination it is. If you’re preaching and practicing the gospel, please hear me: we want to be a shareholder in the vision God has given you because we want to give our heart away to as many churches as we can! Amen! That law of treasures is what it’s about!

All right, let me see if I can bring this in for a landing! You guys have been so good! Just take out this book one more time. Page four, and you’ll find a faith promise. I realize it might take a week or two or three to pray into this and kind of discern what the Lord would have you do—but by the way, no one’s going to come knocking! This allows us to begin to strategically plan for how we can support so many of these missionaries and ministries that we support. But I want you to notice, maybe put up that slide with the three funds. It’s kind of like our missions portfolio, if you will.

So we have a common fund that was really inspired by Acts 2. It says they sold what was theirs and gave collectively to those who are in need. We started this during COVID. We have helped thousands of individuals who find themselves in a tough spot. But then we’re also able to invest in ministries that have a scale and scope, like Convoy of Hope. Just a few weeks ago, they responded to the hurricanes, and we’re able to invest in partners that are helping meet needs of poverty and crisis! So that may ring a bell for you.

And then we have a dream fund. We started it three years ago, and the genesis was the Lord said, «I want you to do more things that don’t have your name on it.» So we have invested hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars in dozens and dozens of churches—churches like Hopeville up in Baltimore, Pastor Joshua, who was on our staff—churches like The Church at the Well! So if you have a dream, come on! Let us give you a blessing and give you a birthright! Giddy up! Let’s go!

And so that dream fund is about kind of miracle money—almost startup money to just help the kingdom advance. That mission fund would be kind of the more traditional: we support missionaries monthly, and they depend on that. I mean, they don’t really have a retirement plan or normal income, so we get to be a part of their support team. And then we do special projects. Pastor Zeb will be here in a couple of weeks. Do you know that we were at the very first service of Basa International Church? We had more people on our team than they had visiting that service! They’re about to complete building a 7,000-seat auditorium all these years later, and we’re going to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in that! Why? Because they don’t have a vision for the city of Addis; they have a vision for the continent of Africa! And we want in on it!

So what we want to let you do is kind of discern as you give a faith promise which one of these rings the bell. What I would encourage you to do is you can fill it out on paper, and you can hand it to a pastor or usher. We’re actually going to put some buckets out at the altar if you just felt like that might be a way to kind of give it back to the Lord. But then I think we have a digital QR code, and so even if you do this digitally, what I would recommend is just kind of tear this off and maybe keep it in your Bible reading plan—just kind of keep it as your bookmark, keep it as a reminder to pray for our missionary family.

Let me close with this: «Here am I; send me.» When I was 19 years old, if you had asked me if I was following Jesus, I would have said yes. But the reality is this: I think I had really invited Jesus to follow me, and that’s a little different deal! It was more about God serving my purposes than me serving His purposes! As an academic, I’d be like, «Lord, help me on this test, ” when I didn’t study for it! „Lord, for Your glory let it go in!“ And then something happened. I took a prayer walk through a cow pasture in Alexandria, Minnesota, in August of 1989, going into my sophomore year at the University of Chicago, and I heard that inaudible yet unmistakable voice of God. I was a political science major: politics, economics, rhetoric, and law. Thought maybe I’d go to law school, but I felt like the Lord said, „Mark, I want you to serve the church full-time.“

I had no idea when, or where, or how, but by faith, I remember walking into that admissions office. It made no sense, ‘cause on paper, by the end of my freshman season, I’m starting on the basketball team! I’m not paying a dime for my education at the number three-ranked university at the time! It made no sense at all! But what I discovered is that delayed obedience is disobedience, and if you don’t step out in faith, it gets harder to do so with each passing day.

So it was my lying in the sand; throw down the gauntlet; burn the ships—you pick your metaphor! But it was my moment: „Here am I, Lord! Send me!“ You have no idea how unqualified I feel to do everything I’ve done! But God is so gracious! The God who calls is the same God who supplies, the same God who prepares good works in advance, the same God who is ordering your footsteps, the same God who can favor your business and whatever it is that you do, the same God who began a good work is the same God who can carry it to completion!

But it starts with each one of us: „Here am I.“ Not the person next to you, church! Not the person in front of you, not the person beyond you! Holy Spirit, speak to us! Speak to me! Seal my heart! God, I would give my life to Jesus a thousand times, and then I would do it all over again! The only regret at the end of our life is going to be what we didn’t give back to Him! Jesus! Jesus! Here am I; send me! In Jesus' name, amen! Amen!