We are heading in the wrong direction.

When I started working in the Middle East about a decade ago, I was astonished to discover that over 40% of the earth’s ethno-linguistic people groups were considered unreached, that is, without a witness of the gospel. I remember the exact number because it was emblazoned on my heart: 6,943. That was the number that our small team brought before the Lord of the Harvest, prayed into, wept over. I determined back then that if there was anything worth giving my life to, it would be to see that number decrease…

Jealousy stalls out our destiny because it causes us to despise what we have been graciously given by the Lord in light of what someone else has been given. When jealousy is operating in our lives, we don’t steward and express the unique gifts God has given us to serve the Body of Christ; instead, we compare and compete to be better than one another.

God intentionally promotes others around us in different seasons to train us to honor and celebrate others. When we see favor rest on others, it tests our hearts for jealousy, and when we respond with celebration, we are set free.

Think about weeding out your garden versus clearing years of brush from an overgrown yard. Both are possible, but one is a lot more work. We want to do the work of dealing with offense before it grows roots.

When we fail to pull out that weed of offense when it springs up, it begins to grow roots that wrap around our heart and mind. Those roots carry a deadly poison that will “defile” our soul. That poison is called bitterness. It’s a poison that leaks into every part of our lives. Soon those bitter roots will produce bitter fruits.

It’s time to uproot bitterness and take hold of your destiny.

When we haven’t allowed God to reconcile our history with our identity, we don’t move forward in our destiny; instead, we fantasize about another destiny, a false destiny. We create alternate versions of ourselves that made different decisions, walked a different path, didn’t receive wounds, stood up for themselves, and grew up under different circumstances.

These versions of ourselves created by regret are stronger, more successful, liked by everyone, farther along than we are now, competent, courageous, skilled, etc…the list goes on. The problem is, that person doesn’t exist.

Is the Great Commission in the front of your mind when you think about your “calling” and your life vision?

Though all have various gifts, assignments, and desires that God has given, we are bound together in a common cause: to make the name of Jesus known and the gospel proclaimed in every nation of the earth.

I am afraid that we have become so enthralled with our individual "callings" that we've lost sight of the church’s preeminent mission. American individualism and a celebrity-driven culture have given rise to this relentless pursuit of one’s personal calling to the point that we have lost sense of God’s grand plan to give His Son the worship of all nations.

The church cannot continue to try to exercise the kingly authority to rule without the priestly rhythm, the leitourgeo, in place. Otherwise, we will sow much and reap little. We will work for a wage and put it in a bag with holes. We will keep prophesying revival when there is no revival. It is time we step back as we consider our ways.

The first Gentile churches provide the prototype; David provided the blueprint. If we want the kingdom to expand in our cities, our worship must expand. Remember what makes the church distinct from every other business or institution: It is not that we have better branding and marketing - it is that God is in our midst. That is what makes us distinct. We are being built together to be a dwelling place for God.