Could Your Good Intentions Become A Stumbling Block For Fulfilling Christ's Mission?

During one of my house church meeting we were reading the story of Jesus when he was telling his disciples plainly that he would be arrested, beaten, killed but on the third day would rise from the dead.  We had an interesting discussion about how Jesus' disciples responded to this very clear and frank revelation that Jesus was making about what was to happen to him.  Here's what the verse says,

"From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law,and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.  Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 'Never, Lord!' he said. 'This shall never happen to you!'  Jesus turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”  Matthew 16:16-23 (NIV)

It is quite obvious from the passage that Peter wasn't happy with what Jesus was saying.  I mean Jesus wasn't trying to be obscure about the meaning of what he was talking about.  He wasn't sharing this spiritual truth in some parable that required you to sit down and contemplate the deeper meaning behind it. No, Jesus was talking quite plainly and sharing with his disciple exactly what was going to happen him and Peter made it very clear he didn't like it at all.  

Picture the scene.  Jesus has just finished sharing about his death, burial and resurrection and Peter doesn't like what he heard, so he asks Jesus to speak with him off to the side and, according to the Bible, begins to REBUKE Jesus.  REALLY?  What audacity for Peter to think that he could pull aside and rebuke the Son of the Living God!  Is he for real?  Who does Peter think he is?  

Now I know some of you are wanting to come to Peter's defense by thinking that maybe he really didn't know exactly that Jesus was the Christ the Son of the Living God!  I mean if Peter didn't understand Jesus' true identity that would be a reasonable excuse for his disrespectful behavior, right?  But wait a moment!  Is that accurate?  Did Peter not know who Jesus was and that he was the Son of Living God ?  The truth is that Peter did know exactly who he was talking to and what Jesus' true identity was!  Let's take a look at the verse right before the ones we just read:

"When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of Man is?'  They replied, 'Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'   'But what about you?' he asked. 'Who do you say I am?'   Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.'  Jesus replied, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.' Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah." Matthew 16:13-20 (NIV).

There it is right there in front of our faces!  After Jesus asked the disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" It was Peter who said, "Your are the Messiah (Christ) the Son of the living God."  It hadn't been more than ten minutes between Peter great confession and Peter's great stupidity.  Peter knew exactly who Jesus was.  It was God the Father, himself, who had revealed that spiritual truth to him.  Now, we see Peter feeling as though has the right to pull Jesus, the Son of the living God, aside and REBUKE him and all because he didn't  like what he's hearing!

Now I don't think that Peter's intentions were bad!  I think that Peter loved Jesus with all his heart, mind, soul and strength.  I think Peter was only looking out for Jesus' best interests and actually thought he was doing the right thing!  But with all of Peter's  best intentions, Peter was still being a stumbling block to Jesus because what he wanted wasn't in line with God's will!

PETER'S BEST INTENTIONS BECAME A STUMBLING BLOCK TO JESUS!

"What?" You might be asking, "Peter became a stumbling block to Jesus?"  Please understand those aren't my words, that's what Jesus said.  Jesus said that Peter's best intentions was used to be a stumbling block to him.  Jesus actually called Peter Satan.  "Get behind me Satan."  Right there at that particular moment Peter, who loved Jesus, was being an instrument that Satan was using to try and tempt Jesus not to go to the cross. Even though Peter had the best intentions he was not only a stumbling block to Jesus he was also being the instrument of Satan!

NOT ONLY WAS PETER A STUMBLING BLOCK TO JESUS BUT HIS BEST INTENTIONS WERE USED AS AN INSTRUMENT OF SATAN!

Why?  

Why was Peter a stumbling block and why was he able to be used by Satan?  Because even though Peter's intentions were meant to be good they were based from man's concerns and not God's concerns.  

• Peter's concern were to protect and keep Jesus safe
  
• God's concern was the salvation of the world through Jesus' death, burial and resurrection.
  
• Jesus was not sent to be protected, he doesn't need human protection,
  
• He was sent to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world.  

In order for God to actualize his concern and save the world, Jesus had to die and Peter actions based from his concern became a stumbling block.  The lesson that Peter was learning was that it's not about his will being done but all about God's will being done!

IT'S NOT ABOUT OUR WILL BEING DONE BUT ALL ABOUT GOD'S WILL BEING DONE!

How many times have we been Peter?  

• How many times have we tried to rebuke God for what he was doing?  
• How many times have we had all the best intentions to do the right thing but lacked the spiritual understanding and faith to accept God's will?  
• How many times have our actions became a stumbling block to Christ's mission being accomplished?  

For me the number is to hight to count.  As I look back over my life and ministry I realized that so much of what I tried to do was based from my own concerns and interests and not God's at all.  It's strange to think about but how many times have I prayed for God to do something because that's what I really wanted to happen but never took into account what God was trying to do?  It has been a humbling lesson to learn that even my  prayers can become a stumbling block for Christ's mission to move forward!

So, what do we need to do? I believe it all starts with two things:  Faith and Revelation.  

First, we need to make sure we have the faith to surrender our will over to Gods will.  

We need to get to a place in our spiritual walk where we have no will of our own except to do the will of God.  Faith is the emptying of ourselves from our own personal desires so that we can wholeheartedly believe and accept God's desires.  

Second, we need God to reveal to us His will to us!  

God's will is never discovered as though it is some hidden treasure.  No, God's will is always revealed by God to us his people.  We need pray that God will give us eyes to see and ears to hear when God is telling us what he's about to do.  This is where Peter failed.  Peter was receiving a clear revelation of what was to happen to Jesus through his death on the cross and resurrection but Peter didn't have the faith to surrender his personal desires over to God and die to them so that He would be able to accept what God's will really was.  

Let us all begin to pray that we don't act upon our BEST INTENTIONS but that we always have the FAITH that we need to act upon GOD'S INTENTIONS as he reveals them to us.

Do Your Fingers Stink For Jesus?

Many years ago I was attending a church growth conference and listening to one of the speakers talk about evangelism and the need for pastors to lead their churches to reach the unchurched of their communities.  During his session he made a statement that really caught my attention!  Actually he used two metaphors in one sentence that totally grabbed my imagination and intrigued me.  He said,

"God has not called us to be KEEPERS OF AN AQUARIUM but to be FISHERS OF MEN!"

The Bible verse that inspired this saying was taken from Matthew 4:18-21 where Jesus was calling Peter, Andrew, James and John to be his disciples.  Read what the Bible says:

"As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will make you fishers of men.' At once they left their nets and followed him.  Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him." (NIV)

Like I said, the statement from that speaker really caught my attention and I couldn't stop thinking about it.    Truthfully I can't remember anything else he said that night but I really didn't need to because through that one statement God taught me three important principles and more about what it means to live a missional life.   When I compared those two metaphors a stark contrast began to form creating a North Star that would guide me and help keep me on track as I intentionally pursued living a missional lifestyle.  

Here are some of the contrasts between those two metaphors:

#1: Keepers Of Aquariums Like To Display Fish But Fishermen Love To Catch Fish: 

The purpose and goal in having an aquarium is to create a beautiful underwater exhibit that can be enjoyed and shown to family and friends.  People who have aquariums go to great pains and expense to get just the right color of rocks, landscape, decorations and fish to create this underwater world.  They have to pump in air, provide and feed the fish daily and make sure the algae is cleaned off.  

But it's not a natural environment for the fish!  Those fish were not originally created to live in an aquarium isolated from the natural design of God.  It is for our own pleasure and purpose that we create this alternative world and then place the fish in it to live.

Fishermen on the other hand don't care about making things look pretty or showing off pretty little fish.  The only goal of a fisherman is to catch fish!  I have seen guys out fishing who catch fish after fish and then just throw them right back in the water.  I asked a man once why he did that and he said, "I just like to catch them."  It's the thrill of the hunt and the joy that comes from being able to outwit another animal.

The Missional Living Principle:  

The call to follow Jesus is not a call to create a religious bubble to isolate Christians away from the world but instead to enter into the world of those who are still lost in sin in this spiritually dark world.

For too long now the church in North America has created a church life that more resembles an aquarium where we've built beautiful buildings, with stained glass windows, cushioned seats, with fancy lighting and sound equipment.  These building are filled with members who appear to have their lives all together with their picture-perfect families and their successful jobs.

The church of North America has created a Christian alternative to just about everything that society has to offer.  From music festivals, dating services, radio programs; TV programs, schools.  Just about anything you can think of we have a Christian alternative.  It's almost as if we are intentionally trying to keep Christians away from those who are lost in the world.

But that's not what we are called to do!  Christ never commanded us to create an alternative Christian culture that appears perfect and uninfected by the world!  No!  His command and call to Peter and the other three were to come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.  Our call is to reach people for Jesus! Period!  I don't care what you're doing, whether it be singing in the choir, politically protesting for some Christian agenda, or serving on the building and grounds committee of your church, IF YOU'RE NOT REACHING PEOPLE FOR JESUS YOU'RE NOT DOING YOUR JOB! PERIOD!

#2: Keepers Of Aquariums Don't Get Into The Aquarium Where The Fish Are But Fishermen Love To Get Into The Water With The Fish Live:  

When it comes to the home variety of aquariums the most that any person will get into the aquarium is the putting of their hands into it and that's just for the purpose of cleaning the aquarium, readjusting the decorations or to catch one of the fish.   For the most part the only interaction with the fish is the admiration of how pretty they are.

Fishermen on the other hand will do whatever it takes to catch the fish which includes getting into the water where the fish are.  Once while I was in Texas I met a guy who loved going fishing for catfish.  However, his particular method was completely different from anything that I had ever heard of before.  This guy would actually squat down into the water and then reach his hands down deep into the mud where the catfish had burrowed themselves, grab them by the gills and pull them out.  He said there were times when the fish fought so hard that he would fall down into the water face first.  Now I've heard of guys who really get into fishing but this guy took it to a whole new level and literally got all of himself into the act of fishing.  NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A FISHERMEN!

The Missional Living Principle:  

In order to be an effective Fisher of Men you have to be willing to go where the lost people are and hang out with them.  You can't isolate yourself from them and expect to reach them for Jesus.  Some of the people that Christ is calling us to reach are not swimming near the shore where you can reach them with a rod and reel.  If we are to effectively reach many of these people we will have to get into their world, go where they hangout, and show them unconditional love and acceptance.

Isn't that what Jesus did for us?  Didn't he leave his home in Glory, humble himself taking on the form of a man, born to poor parents and live among us as one of us but yet without sin or condemnation to those who were in sin?  When Jesus called Matthew to follow him what did Matthew immediately do?  He left his job and followed Jesus.  The next thing he did was to throw a party for all of his friends to come over and meet Jesus. And guess what?  Jesus attended the party and everyone at the party, except the religious hypocrites, had a great time.  Jesus loved hanging out with sinners!  Why? Because that's why he came!  Jesus own words to Zacchaeus, another tax collecting sinner, verifies it.  Jesus said to Zacchaeus, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost".  Why did Jesus come?  To seek and to save!  Jesus also said to his disciples at a different time, "As the Father has sent me so send I you."  It can't be any plainer than that! We have been sent to carry on the same mission that Jesus began of seeking and saving those are lost.  But in order to do that we have to be willing to get into the world where sinners live and not pass judgment on others who do.

#3: Keepers Of Aquariums Like To Keep Things Nice And Clean But Fishermen Love To Get Dirty And Smelly: 

 People who own aquariums want to keep things looking nice and neat.  They don't want the algae to grow and overtake the aquarium, they don't want their decorations to be uprooted and they surely don't want dead fish floating around.  The goal of an aquarium is to create a perfect underwater world that everyone can marvel at.

Fishermen on the other hand could care less if everything was nice and clean.  As a matter of fact they would prefer it not to be that way.  They know that where fish live it is neither nice nor clean and that's the reason why fishermen like it.  Fishermen love to get dirty and smelly.  They know that if they are going to go where the fish live and catch them they will stink of fish.  They know that if they come home and don't stink of fish they haven't done their job.  The two go hand in hand.  If you are going to go catch fish you're going to get dirty and you're going to stink of fish.  You can't help it. It's part of fishing.

The Missional Living Principle:  

If you're going to get into the water where fish live you are going to get a little smelly.  That doesn't mean you are backsliding or becoming worldly.  What it means is that your outlook and perspective of what it means to live as a Christian changes. You understand the need to be in the real world and not in an artificial environment. It means that your speech and vocabulary, though not cursing, sound more like the world than it does in the religious bubble we've created.  It means that the style of dress you have will  look more like those who live in the real world.

Personally I love it when unchurched people who meet me for the first time are completely surprised to find out that I am a Baptist preacher.  The looks on their faces are priceless.  Many of them say they would never have thought that they would be talking to a preacher like he was just an ordinary guy.  I also enjoy meeting Christians for the first time who hold to a certain stereotype of how Christians should dress or talk.  I often encounter confused looks and many times judgmental attitudes.

Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore made a movie together a few years back called "50 FIRST DATES". It was a movie about a girl who had been in an accident where she suffered a brain injury and no longer had short-term memory, as a matter of fact every morning she woke up she forgot everything that happened the day before.  As a result everyday Sandler's character would have to get the girl to fall in love with him again.  

In one particular scene where the boy was trying to once again get the girl to fall in love with him she said that his hands smelled like fish. He quickly began to apologize and said that his job required him to handle fish.  The girl told him not to apologize because she liked the smell because it reminded her of her father who was a fishermen and that the fish smell always brought back fond memories.  At that point she grabbed his hands and brought them close to her nose and starting smelling.  

I think Jesus is like that!  I think Jesus loves the smell of his disciple's hands that stink of the sinners whom they have rescued and caught for him!

Jesus loves the smell of his disciple's hands that stink of the sinners whom they have rescued and caught for him. 

So, let me ask you:

• How stinky are your fingers?  
• When was the last time you actually got into the world to seek and lead others to salvation in Christ?  
• Do you thing the church should be a place to show off pretty little christians who live in a prefabricated spiritual bubble away from the rest of the world?

DON'T FORGET JESUS SAID THAT AS HE WAS SENT INTO THE WORLD BY THE FATHER AND NOW HE SENDS US ALSO INTO THE WORLD!  

So I Say, 

"Let's Get Our Hands Stinky For Jesus!"

What Does Bungee Jumping And Missional Living Have In Common?

Taking That Big Leap!

In this weeks Missional Living Devotional we are going to learn some principles for missional living from the comparison of bungee jumping and a life on mission with Christ.  Watch it and be encourage and empowered to go shine the Light of Christ brightly in your part of this dark world. 

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Lessons On Christ's Mission

In the Gospel of John 20:21-22 we read,

"Then Jesus said to them again, 'Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.' And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

This is really an amazing thing. Here we see the entire God-Head: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all completely involved in this Divine Mission:

• It is God the Father who is the originator of this mission. It is a mission that flows from the very heart of God. It is not some human idea or concept but one that came from God himself from the very foundations of the earth.
• But then we also see Jesus, the Son of God, as the implementor of this mission. The Father entrusted this mission into no other hands but that of his own Son. He did not entrust it to angels or anyone else but he gave it to the only perfectly qualified to get it started in the right direction. He gives it to none other than His very own Son. For there was a part that Jesus needed to play in the fulfillment of the mission that no one else could do. He alone could become the perfect sacrifice, the redemption, that buys back the souls of those whom God loves from the chains of sin. He was to offer up his own life and shed his own blood so that atonement for sin could be made and the perfect law of God would be satisfied. Jesus began the movement. He gathered a few disciples taught them what they needed to know and exemplified how this mission was to be carried out.
• And then we see the Holy Spirit being imparted. Without the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the ordinary christian this mission would be an impossible task to fulfill but in Acts chapter one starting with verse four we read,

"And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, 'which,' He said,'you have heard from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now ... 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." Acts 1:8

It is through the working of the Holy Spirit that the power that is needed to fulfill the mission is provided. Yes, the entire Godhead had a vested interest in the success and completion of this mission.

As amazing as it is to see the entire Godhead at play in this mission it is also equally humbling to think that God has allowed us, those of us who are his followers, to also play a vital role in this mission. Jesus said,

"As the Father has sent me, so send I you." 

That's what Jesus said. Jesus received his instruction for carrying out his part of the mission straight from the Father but now he hands the fulfillment of this mission off to us who are his disciples.

He gives this mission to ordinary christians.  He didn't have to do that! He didn't have to make us part of this redemption story but He did. It was from his good pleasure and for his glory that he has done so. As Ordinary Christians the fulfillment of this mission should be our purpose, focus and priority in life! Our only reason for existence in this life is to see this mission fulfilled.

If we live for money, for personal success, for fame or for any other reason we have missed our reason and purpose for living. The only reason why God has left us here on earth after our salvation is for us to carry out this mission for His praise and His glory. All the rest of life should be viewed through this lens. It should color all the rest of our activities in life. It should not be one of the things that we do in life but everything we do in life, in some way, should help us fulfill this God given mission and that we bring praise and glory to God our Father and our Lord Jesus through accomplishing of it.

What will you do? What will be your mission in life? Are you ready as an ordinary christian to surrender your dreams, priorities and and vision to that of God and to his mission that He has already given us?

As you begin to live a missional life that brings glory to God I would like to encourage you.  I invite you to join my mailing list and allow me to send you weekly encouragement through the MISSIONAL LIVING DEVOTIONAL that I email out.  As a member of the this list I also send you information about other FREE trainings that made available and about other resources you can get.  All this is to help you better fulfill the mission that Jesus himself has commissioned us to perform.  Your can sign up now by CLICKING HERE AT: MISSIONAL LIVNG DEVOTIONAL. 

TAKE CARE AND REMEMBER TO GO SHINE THE LIGHT OF CHRIST!

4 WAYS THAT GOD USES TO GET YOUR ATTENTION!

Being able to recognize when God is trying to get your attention is absolutely essential for living a powerful missional life. It was Philip who recognized when God was trying to get his attention to send him out to a desert road to share the Gospel with an Ethiopian and  it was the Apostle Paul, in a dream, who recognized God getting his attention and then went to share the Gospel to the people in Macedonia. The Bible is replete with examples of God's people being sensitive to His call and responding.

How can you live a powerful missional life if you are unable to recognize when God is trying to get your attention? You won't! It is impossible! Living a missional life and sensing God's direction go hand in hand!

The following a just 5 ways that God uses to grab your attention but there are others as well.  The point to remember is for you to be "LOOKING" and "LISTENING" for God's call and direction!

4 Ways That God Get's Our Attention

I.  Through A Restless Spirit

"That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to to assassinate King Xerxes."  Esther 6:1-2

Through this story we learn how God sometimes will create in a person a restlessness that may not allow them to sleep. In this case it was with King Xerxes. God was going to save the life of Mordecai from a plot to kill him and he did so by not allowing the King to sleep, so that he would ask have the chronicles of his kingdom to be read to him.  

I am sure the king felt that having these boring records read would help him fall asleep.  However, God had other plans for it was in these records that the king learned about how Mordecai was responsible for saving his own life but had never been rewarded for it. As a result the king blessed Mordecai and had his life spared.

How often have you had restless nights?

• Could it be that God is trying to get your attention?
• Could it be that God is trying to say something to you?
• Could it be that there is a work that God is wanting you to do and trying to tell you what it is?

II.  Through Other People

In 2 Samuel chapter 12 God sent the prophet Nathan to King David to confront him on his sin of adultery and murder.

We all know the story of King David and Bathsheba! How he lusted after her, a married woman, slept with her while her husband was off fighting at war and how she became pregnant with his baby.

We all know of how King David tried to cover the whole thing up and eventually had Bathsheba's husband killed.  We all know how David felt he had completely covered up his sins and thought he was off the hook.

But God had a prophet by the name of Nathan that he sent to King David to tell him of his sin. Nathan uses a story of an injustice and asks the king what should be done with the one who committed the injustice. King David rightly ruled. Then Nathan the prophet revealed,

"Your Are That Man!"

How many times have we sinned, covered them up and felt we have gotten away with it? How many times have we lied, cheated and stolen in order to cover up our sins?  

No matter how many people we can fool - no on can fool God! None of us can lie to God? God knows all and sees all!  And God has people He uses to reveal our sins to us when we try to cover them up and forget about them.

God doesn't want you to hide your sins but to confess them and repent from them.  God wants to forgive us from our sin - not to ignore it as if it never happened. By God's nature he must deal with sin and punish it! God will not turn a bind eye to sin.

Many times God will use people to come to us for the purpose of revealing our sins and to remind us that God hasn't been fooled and that we need to deal with our sins in a Godly manner.  

Just as King David responded in an appropriate manner when the Prophet Nathan revealed his sin - we too must respond with the same kind of broken and contrite heart and ask for God's forgiveness.

III.  Through His Blessings

" ... do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?" Romans 2:4

Have you ever thought that maybe the reason why God is blessing you, being kind to you, been tolerant and patient of you with your sins is because He is trying to get your attention to repent?

You should because that is exactly what God is saying to us here in Romans.  Through His blessings God is trying to tell you that he loves you, care for you and is willing to forgive you! He is trying to let you know that it is not His desire to punish you but to forgive you! 

But too often we confuse God's blessings as a sign that He is indifferent to our sinful ways! God is not indifferent to sin - He is going to punish sin and all sinners! Instead, of assessing God's blessings as approval of your sinful life you should consider yourself fortunate. Use His blessings as an alarm that is going off reminding you it's time to get up and turn from your wicked ways!

IV.  Through Unanswered Prayers

Reasons Why Some Prayers Are Not Answered

• We Pray With The Wrong Motives:  James 4:3
• We've Been Disobedient: 1 John 3:21,22
• Our Prayers Are Not According To God's Will: 1 John 5:14
• We've Been Insensitive To Our Marriage Partner: 1 Peter 3:7
• So We Can Understand God's Nature Better: 2 Cor. 12:7

Could it be that when God doesn't answer our prayers He is trying to get our attention that our motives are wrong for asking such things; that He is trying to tell us that we've been disobedient to Him; that He is wanting us to know that what we seek is not according to His will; that we've been insensitive to our wives or maybe God is trying to reveal a part of His nature to us; to understand that His grace is sufficient. 

Many times unanswered prayers are simply His way of trying to get our attention.

Remember to live powerful missional lives you must be attentive to the times when God is trying to get your attention. Don't ignore it - respond to it. Like Samuel who was told by Eli when sense God trying to get your attention respond with, "Here I am Lord! Your servant listens!"

HOW TO RECOGNIZE IF YOU'RE BEING A TOOL OF SATAN!

They last thing that any ordinary christian who wants to live a powerful missional life that brightly shines the Light of Christ in their part of this dark world is to find out that they have allowed themselves to be used as a tool by Satan.  Missional Living means we want to be a tool of Christ that brings the Good News to the world.  In this post we are going to look at some indicators that Jesus gave His disciples to help them know what to look out for and not become a too of Satan.  Read and be on the look out!

The most difficult people that Jesus had to deal with during His ministry here on earth was the Jewish religious group known as the Pharisees.  He actually referred to them as one of the biggest tools of Satan for leading people astray from God.

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are."  Matthew 23:15 (NIV)

In the beginning of this chapter Jesus warns the crowd and His disciples to not follow the example of the Pharisees. Why? Because to follow their example would make them become the tools that Satan uses to lead people to hell.  So, in this post we are going to talk about 4 specific indicators that will help you to recognize if you are becoming a tool of the devil.

Take a few moments and read Matthew 23:1-7

You Are Becoming A Tool Of Satan When You:

#1:  Don't Practice What You Preach!

"Therefore do whatever they tell you and observe it. But don't do what they do because they don't practice what they teach." (vs. 3 HCSB)

People love to tell others what they should and shouldn't do. It makes them feel better when they focus more attention on other peoples short comings than they do on our own.  It's interesting that Jesus said that the Pharisees taught the right things but just didn't live out themselves! The problem isn't what they taught as much as it was that they were unwilling or unable to live it out themselves but expected others to do it.  

The Pharisees pretended to be the perfect example on how to live out God's word but in reality they were hypocrites. They were just as much unable to live out the righteous requirements of the Law as anyone else.  

So, when you begin to preach one thing on how to live for God but you don't live it out yourself you're giving Satan a foothold to use you as His tool.

#2:  Demand Behaviors From Others Impossible To Live Out!

"They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people's shoulders, but they themselves aren't willing to lift a finger to move them." (v. 4 HCSB)

Do you love to tell others how they should live their lives?  Do you find yourself coming up with elaborate plans for how others should conduct their Christian life? Do the plans you have for living the Christian life tend to be more than what Christ expects? Do you put your religious traditions equal to what the Bible actually teaches? 

If so, then maybe you are being used by Satan.

 #3:  Do Religious Activities Just To Be Seen By People!

"They do everything to be observed by others; They enlarge their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels." (v. 5 HCSB)

This verse goes to the very heart and motivation for why Christians do the religious things they do.  What's your motivation for teaching a Bible study class? Why are you wanting to become a deacon, pastor or missionary? Why do you dress the way you do when you go to church? Why do you pray the way you do when you pray in public?  

Could it be that these things, as well as others, are done in the way you do them just to be seen by other people?  Could it be that you are more interested in being noticed by others than you are by God?  

When we begin to do things in order to stand out in the eyes of people we maybe giving Satan a foothold to using us.

#4:  Seek To Be Honored And Praised By Men!

"They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called 'Rabbi' by people." (v. 6,7 HCSB)

Are you always looking to get verbal recognitions or acknowledgements for the things that you have done in the church?  Do you expect a "Thank You" before the congregation when you do something in service for the church? Do you get your feelings hurt when your service to God goes unnoticed by others? 

If so, then you are positioning yourself to be used by the devil.  

5 Ways To Recognize When God Is Speaking To You

#1:  When God Speaks It Will Be Consistent With What The Bible Says!

"I the Lord do not change ..."  Malachi 3:6

"God is not a man, that he should lie, nor the son of man, that he should change his mind. Doe he speak and then not act? Doe he promise and not fulfill?"  Numbers 23:19 (NIV)

Because God does not change he is not going to do things that are contrary to the prinicples that he has already established in the Bible.

There are only 3 things that remain forever: 1) God; 2) The Word of God; 3) and the souls of men. Notice the first two: God and the Word of God. Both of these last forever and will never change. 

If you are feeling guilty over a sin that you committed in the past and you've already sincerely asked forgiveness for it, but you still feel that God hasn't forgiven you that is not of God, it is of Satan, because God's word has already promised that if we confess our sins God will be faithful to forgive us of them (1 John 1:9).

So, if what you are hearing is not consistent with what God has already taught in the Bible it is not from God.

#2:  When God Speaks It Will Conflict With Human Wisdom!

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways,' says the Lord. 'For as the heavens are hight than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."  Is. 55:8

So, much of Jesus' teachings are contrary to everything we learn to be wisdom from the world. Jesus that if you lust in your heart you have already committed adultery.  

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5

Here God is telling us to trust in Him and in what He says how things should be done even when it doesn't make a bit of sense.  Our human tendencies are to go back to what we know best and the way the world has trained us to respond. But here God is telling us to fight off those urges to go back to the old ways of doing things and trust him in his way of doing things. God know it doesn't make sense to us but he implores us to still trust him and do it.

#3:  When God Speaks It Will Clash With Your Sinful Fleshly Desires!

"So, I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature ..." Galatians 5:16-17

Here are some things that I can wholeheartedly says and I know to be true. First, God is never going to tell you to have an affair with a married woman or man. Never! Second, God is never going to tell you to steal from your neighbor! Never! Third, God is never going to tell you to lust after your neighbors wife. He will never do it!  How do I know it? First because God tells us in the Bible not to do it but secondly because God is never going to "feed you sinful flesh"

God is always going to ask you to take the "Higher Road", which is also the "Harder Road".  He will always ask you to live to a "Higher Standard" not a "Lower Standard".

#4:  When God Speaks It Will Challenge Your Faith!

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who come to him must believer that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6

LOOK AT:

• Noah:  He was asked to build a boat big enough save himself, his wife, his 3 sons and their wives along with all the animals from a world wide flood.  
• Moses:  He was asked to deliver his people, 2,000,000 of them, from years of slavery under the rule of the most powerful kingdom of that time.
• The 12 Disciples: They were asked to leave everything and follow Jesus.

Each of these times when God spoke the people who heard it experienced a moment when their faith in God was challenged. Would they, by faith, do what God said, even though it looked impossible or would they ignore God and His calling on their life.  YOUR FAITH WILL BE CHALLENGED!

#5:  When God Speaks You Will Need Courage!

"Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land ... Only be strong and very courageous ... Have I not commanded you" Be strong and courageous, do not tremble or be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:6,7,9

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THIS!  The things that God calls you to do will not go uncontested and unchallenged but will require you to have courage and trust God to defend you, provide for you and accomplish through you what He said He would do. 

We have an enemy and he is real! His name is Lucifer! He hates you, he hates God and he will do whatever God permits him to do to destroy you, your work and your faith.  But be of good courage! If God is for us - who can be against us. Greater is He that lives in you than he that lives in the world.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear but a Spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."  2 Timothy 1:7

#1 Reason Why Christians Fail To Live Missional Lives

In this weeks video devotional we are going to take a look at what I believe to be the #1 Reason why Christians don't share Jesus with others.  It is a very common reason!

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3 Duties Of Every Missional Christian

#1: To GROW

"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:18

From this verse we see two area's of growth that every Christian needs to progress in.

• First, Christians are to grow in grace. The whole reason why we are able to have a personal relationship with Christ and have our sins forgiven is because of the Grace of God.  Grace, unmerited favor from God, is not only how this relationship is started but also how this relationship is maintained. It's totally a work of God through and through.
• Second, Christians need to grow in knowledge.  To know Christ better not just intellectually but also experientially is absolutely essential. To know the heart of God, to feel what he feels, love as he loves, be passionate as he is passionate is what being on mission with Christ is all about.

"It was he (God) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastor's and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."  Ephesians 4:11-13

From this verse we see God's resources and God's measuring stick for this growth in the knowledge and grace of God.  

• God's Resources: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastor and Teachers. People! Using people to help us grow in our faith is what God uses.  
• God's Measuring Stick:  Christ Himself.  That's right. When God measures your growth he's comparing you to His perfect own son.  God doesn't compare us to each other but to Christ himself.  This is both a humbling and motivating standard. Humbling because there will always be room for improvement and motivating because there will always be roon for improvement.  

#2: To Glow

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven."  Matthew 5:16

• THE MEANS: Light.  Being the light is our service to both God and people.  It is our good deeds that we perform.
• THE APPROACH:  Doing your good deeds in a way that people can see them. 
• THE PURPOSE: So that God gets all the glory and not us.

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  Eph. 2:10

While it is true we are not saved by our good works - it is also true that we were saved to do good works.  Doing good works is a large part of what missional living is all about. These good works have been established by God long before we were ever born.

#3: To Go

"Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  Matthew 28:18-20

TWO IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER FROM THESE VERSES:

• Both of these verses tell us to "Go".  Missional Living is an intentional act of "going" by Christ's Followers. We are to go to those who haven't heard yet.
• Also, these verses show that a duty of a Christian is to "Make Disciples" through the sharing of the Gospel. 

So, how well are you GROWING, GLOWING & GOING? Growth is necessary for the spiritual strength that is required for living a missional life. Glowing is necessary so people can see God our Father and glorify Him. and Going is essential because without other many will never hear. 

6 Descriptions For Biblical Missional Living Faith

1.   Faith Is Stretching Your Imagination To Match God’s Plan!

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us ..” Eph 3:20 (NIV)

More often than not God is going to call you to join Him in His work that will absolutely blow your mind away! You will see no possible way for you to do it, so you will need to believe that God can accomplish His plan through you even though you know you can’t do it by yourself.

2.   Faith Is Believing What Christ Says He Will Do!

 “While He was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?”  But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.”  Mark 5: 35,36 (NIV) 

Like Jairus there will come time in your life when you will have to choose whom to believe. Will you believe all the people who are telling you that hope is dead so just stop bothering God with your prayers or will you hear and believe the voice of Christ who says, “… only believe.”?

3.   Faith Is Risking Failure To Be Obedient To Christ!

“Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”  2 Cor. 5:6-8 (NIV) 

So many times Christ tells His people things that He is going to do and accomplish but there is no evidence of it at all except for what He has said and God is also telling you to drop everything you have going on to join Him in that work.  For those who look at life without the lens of faith to join God looks like failure. But faith knows that God will accomplish all that He says He will do even though the circumstances look different.

4.   Faith Is Waiting For God's Answer To Our Need!

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” Ps. 40:1 (NIV)

Faith knows that God is going to answer your prayers but He is going to answer it according to His timing and not ours.  Faith is often a process of waiting and waiting and waiting. But according to this verse it’s not just waiting but waiting patiently! That patient waiting is the full assurance that God’s timing is always the best timing and not just for us but for all who is concerned.

5. Faith Is Following Instructions Even When It Doesn't Make Sense!

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later received as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.”

Hebrews 11:8 (NIV)

Let me ask you a question! Are you willing to obey God even when the instructions don’t make a bit of sense to you?  That’s exactly what Abraham did! He was told to get up and start walking to a new home that God was giving Him but God didn’t give any map. God just said “Go” and Abraham “Went” believing that when he arrived God would say “Stop”.  He obeyed the only instruction that God gave him, which was to go. 

6.   Faith Is Being Persistent And Never Quitting!

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  Gal 6:7-9

Faith says, “I will not quit, I will not stop and I will keep pressing on until God accomplishes what he has promised to do.  I love this verse because it’s telling us not to stop the work that God has given us, to keep plowing that field, to keep being faithful to the work God has given us knowing that the harvest is coming. But we can’t give up!

So, do you have Biblical faith? Are you persistently following God’s instructions, as he stretches your imagination while patiently waiting for God to answer your cry’s and willing to risk failure as you believe in what Christ has told you?  Where does you faith need to grow?

The #1 Way To Become Confident Sharing Jesus With Others!

So what it that one sure fire way?  I can answer it with one word!

PRACTICE!

Practice is the only way to get comfortable and feel confident in doing any new skill.  Whether it’s learning to read, playing the piano, or even learning to ride a bike. Practice is the solution to feeling uncomfortable doing it.  The more you do it, the more comfortable you become with doing it.  And if you practice it long enough, eventually you can perform the new skill almost naturally without really thinking about it.

THAT'S RIGHT! You can get to the point where you so naturally share Jesus that you begin to do it without even thinking about it.  You're in a conversation with a person and all of sudden your realize you're talking about Jesus. It wasn't a conscious decision - you just started doing it.  Why? Because when you practice something long enough your brain is effected and you start performing that new skill almost naturally.  CLICK HERE TO LEARN WHAT HAPPENS TO THE BRAIN YOU PRACTICE A NEW SKILL!

2 Important Principles For Practicing!

#1:  PRACTICE CONSISTENTLY!

You cannot expect to learn to play a new instrument with confidence if your practice is sporadic.  Therefore, the practice must be daily!  Set aside and dedicate a specific time each day where you are going to practice sharing your personal testimony and/or a simple Gospel presentation each day.  And practice it daily for 4 to 6 weeks.  

#2:  PRACTICE PERFECTLY! 

This is extremely important! There’s an old saying, “Practice makes perfect.”  But that’s not exactly  true! The truth is:  "Perfect practice makes perfect performance but bad practice makes bad performance".  If you practice something that contains bad habits you are going to make those bad habits your bad habits.  

Instead of just practicing something over and over again without examining to see if it is done right, a person should follow this simple process:  

• Practice (perform the new skill)
• Evaluate (review your performance for any errors)
• Make Adjustments (once errors are identified make necessary changes)
• Practice Again (try it again with the new adjustments)

This is the simple way to becoming a confident witness for Jesus!  So, go practice and go shine the Light of Christ in your part of this dark world.

How To Shine The Light Of Christ During Halloween

Using holidays as a leverage to share Jesus is an important principle and practice.  For many Christians Halloween seems like an unusual and maybe even a horrible idea because of the spiritually dark side of Halloween.  However, even the Apostle Paul used a pagan alter in Athen's as a launching pad to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I figure if it was good enough for the Apostle Paul it should be good enough for us.  

In this video I am going to share with you an idea of how you can shine the Light of Christ in your part of this dark world during Halloween.  Get creative and go shine Christ's Light!

Take a few seconds and share this video with your social network! Take care and God bless. And remember Go Shine The Light Of Christ!

JOINING CHRIST TO REACH YOUR COMMUNITY

Are you joining God to reach your community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ? What would it look like if your community was to experience God's Kingdom coming and His will be done?  Is it really possible to saturate your community with the Kingdom of God? And, is it possible for EVERY PERSON in your community to hear a clear Gospel presentation?

These are the questions that this Missional Living Devotional will ask and answer! Take a few moments and be inspired to join God on His mission of making disciples of all peoples!

Understanding The Two Parts Of God's Mission

In today's Missional Living Devotional you are going to learn about the two parts to God's mission. Jesus himself identified these two parts as he was explaining why He had come to this world.  Basically the mission of God is a SEARCH & RESCUE mission.  Watch this video to learn more and how it applies to your life and purpose.