God’s Inheritance
“‘So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’”
Today’s Text: Joshua 24:1-13 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
That is kind of like how I feel with respect to being at GCC. I did not plant the church. I did not purchase the property on which it stands now. I was not involved in the decision to give the EM a worship space. I did not build up the TK, Preschool, Children’s, Youth, or Senior ministries. They were all here when I arrived.
And I did not have to go out and gather many of the members. Many came because their parents came. Many came just because we have TK, Preschool, Children’s, Youth, and Senior ministries. And also an EM ministry.
It’s like God handed over this inheritance of the church to me. And we have been so greatly blessed by being a part of the GCC family.
And yet, just as with the Israelites, we also have to work to maintain and to build up what has been given to us. Because the mission of God is not our building, nor is it our ministries.
The mission of God is to fill the earth with His glory in Jesus’s name through God-fearing, God-honoring, God-worshiping, God-loving communities and families, the church. And everything that we have been given as an inheritance, by God’s grace, should be directed toward fulfilling God’s mission.
How we accomplish God’s mission is multifaceted, although at the core of it all is our worship services. God has placed in different people different passions. And He develops in them different visions. And each should pursue the passions that God has placed in their hearts for the purpose of fulfilling His mission.
However, as a church, the one thing that we must avoid is stepping one each other’s foots and hindering anyone from following their passions as it relates to fulfilling God’s mission. That is why it is so important for every congregation to align itself to a single vision. When members of a congregation pursue different visions, misunderstandings happen and chaos grows.
It is the job of every lead pastor to receive and implement a vision from God. The vision I have received from God is House Church ministry. But I had to make sure that the vision was in line with the overall vision of GCC as given to Pastor David, at the time. I also have to do the same with Pastor Gah and the overall vision that the LORD gives to him.
I am confident that the House Church vision that God has given me will not contradict in any way the vision He is giving to Pastor Gah, because, as Pastor Gah said himself when he met with our leaders, God’s hand has been on GCC and continues to be on GCC. But if my vision did contradict his, I would submit to His vision.
Because no matter what, what God desires most, as we pursue His mission, is unity, peace, and love in the Body of Christ. In fact, we accomplish God’s mission through the pursuit of unity, peace, and love—more so than through our ministries themselves.
In 2026, may we implement the House Church vision together in unity, peace, and love for the glory of God.
Father, You are the Author of every vision at every church. Forgive us when we cast off the vision You give. Forgive us whenever we forego unity, peace, and love because we think that our personal vision is more important. Give us wisdom to know the difference so that You may be greatly exalted through our GCC Canvas family. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
