4 WAYS THAT GOD USES TO GET YOUR ATTENTION!

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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!

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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

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#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

 

 

3 Duties Of Every Missional Christian

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#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

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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!

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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

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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

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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

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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.