If You Still Have Breath in Your Lungs, You're Not Done

Have you ever felt like God was finished with you? Maybe you've experienced failure, disappointment, or setbacks that made you wonder if your usefulness had come to an end. I want to remind you today of a powerful truth that God placed on my heart: If you still have breath in your lungs, you're not done.

This message is about missions—both foreign and domestic—but it's also about the heart of God for every single one of us. It's about how God is always moving into new ground, and He's inviting us to join Him.

God Is Always Moving Outward

From Genesis to Revelation, one thing is clear: God is never content with staying where He is. From Eden to the Promised Land, from Jerusalem to Judea, from the upper room to the ends of the earth—God is always expanding, always reaching the lost.

Isaiah 54:2-3 tells us: "Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back, for you will spread out to the right and to the left."

This isn't just a word about blessing. This is a missions mandate. New ground is God's idea, and missions—both foreign and domestic—are how God claims it.

Missions Are Not Optional

Jesus did not say "if you feel led." He didn't say "if it fits your budget" or "if it's convenient." He said, "Go and make disciples of all nations." The Great Commission isn't a suggestion—it's the marching orders of the church.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus makes it even clearer: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

That is local and global. That is domestic and foreign. That is across the street and across the ocean.

If the church is not reaching outward, it's drifting inward. And eventually, it will die. When we become inward-focused, it becomes about us, and we will eventually destroy ourselves.

God's Heart Beats for the Lost Everywhere

Jesus said in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost." Not just lost people who look like us. Not just lost people who vote like us. Not just lost people who live in our cul-de-sac. All lost people matter to God.

Here's the sobering reality: Over 3.37 billion people worldwide are considered unreached, meaning they have little or no access to the gospel. That's over 49% of the world's population. In the United States alone, less than 41% of people regularly attend church, and over 29% of Americans now claim no religious affiliation at all.

The mission field is not over there. The mission field is everywhere.

Foreign Missions: Some Will Never Hear Unless We Send

Romans 10:14-15 asks this piercing question: "How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?"

Someone must go. Some of you reading this will go. Some of you have been called from birth. Some of you are grown adults who've had a call of God on your life for missions, but you paused it because it made you afraid. It doesn't matter how old you are—God will use you if you're willing.

There are still over 7,000 people groups without a Bible in their own language. Every day, over 150,000 people die in foreign fields, many without ever hearing the gospel.

The cross is global. The blood of Jesus is sufficient for every culture. In heaven, it will be multiethnic, multilingual, and multinational. As Revelation 7:9 says, "A great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne."

Domestic Missions: Jerusalem Still Matters

Acts 1:8 starts with Jerusalem—that's home. Jackson, Mississippi still matters. Oxford, Mississippi still matters. The local church is still the hope of every neighborhood through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Domestic missions matter because lost people are sitting in our schools, neighborhoods, prisons, foster systems, and communities. Every year, over 400,000 children are in foster care in the United States. Suicide rates and addiction are at an all-time high. Churches are closing faster than they are opening.

When we support local ministries, outreaches, recovery programs, church plants, and compassion efforts, we are declaring we will not abandon our Jerusalem.

What Can We Do?

1. Start giving to missions. When you start giving to missions for the first time, I call it "dangerous seed." God will do things for you that you never imagined you could do on your own because it's a step of faith.

2. Increase your mission support. As a church, we've increased our mission support to every missionary this year.

3. Pray daily for the lost. We're all involved in this mission.

4. Say yes to going. Some of you just need to go one time. The Mississippi Delta must be saved. We're going to see the races come together, but you have to say yes to going.

5. Say yes to sponsoring, supporting, and sending.

What If?

What if Jackson First became known as a church that went after the one? What if that's what we were known for? They went after the one. And because we went after the one, God sent the millions.

Remember this truth: If you still have breath in your lungs, you're not done. God is not finished with you. He's calling you to join Him in taking new ground—whether that's across the street or across the ocean.

Don't math your way to the miracle. Just trust Him with your faithfulness, and watch what He will do.

Meta Description: Pastor Wayne shares how God is calling us to take new ground in missions, both foreign and domestic, reminding us that as long as we have breath in our lungs, God isn't done with us.

Hashtags: #Missions #NewGround #JacksonFirst #FaithJourney #GodsNotDone

Action Steps:

1. Consider joining one of our community groups to grow in authentic community
2. Pray about participating in our 26 in 26 missions initiative
3. Ask God if He's calling you to go on a mission trip this year
4. Look for ways to be a missionary in your own Jerusalem this week