Encouraging, Empowering & Equipping Ordinary Christians To Live Powerful Missional Lives!
Today we are going to look at what's been the problem to fulfilling Great Commission!
Now that you know what the problem is what will you do about it? How will you respond? Decision is yours!
The whole first part of Luke chapter 11 is all about different aspects of prayer. In this post we are going to look at 3 ways that Christians can pray with boldness. What does praying of boldness look like? How can you tell if someone is truly a bold prayer warrior? Why is boldness in prayer important for a powerful missional life?
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Luke 11: 9-10 (NIV)
The first thing that Jesus teaches in these verses is to keep on asking God for whatever you need. Bold prayer warriors are tenacious and never quit with their prayers.
The promise that Christ gives to those who can be that persistent and tenacious in their prayer life is that their prayers will be answered. How quickly do you give up on the prayers that you have brought before the Lord? Can you keep on asking, for years if needed, before you see your prayers answered?
A big part of prayer is not just the asking but also the seeking for God's answer! When we finish our prayers and say "Amen" the prayer isn't over - now comes the time when we need to look and see how God is answering. What provision is God providing to meet the need you prayed about? To often we ask God to meet our needs but fail to look and thereby fail to get the provision God provided.
Many times to receive the provisions that God is providing requires us to take the initiative by knocking on some "doors of opportunity". How do you know if God wants you to have a new job if you never send in your resume and apply for it? Most of the time we must be willing to lay out some shoe leather and pound the ground before we can see God's provision.
"Let your light so shine before men in such a way that they see your good deeds and glorify our Father in Heaven." Matthew 5:16
In other words we are to do good things for other people in a way that God gets the credit for it and that includes outreach. The Chocolate Chip Cookie/Prayer Outreach Strategy is one powerful way to do something nice for people and do it in a way that God gets the glory and so a "Door of Opportunity" might open to share the Gospel.
This is a simple strategy that anyone can do. It would be a great activity for an Ordinary Christian to do in their own neighborhood. It can be used to reach out into other neighborhoods to see which homes God is at work in.
The first video explains how it works and the other three video are short testimonies of people who taught to do it and went out that same day and did. They will share their experiences in doing it with you.
When it comes to powerful missional living the integrity of the Follower of Christ is everything. Depending on what kind of Christian they are will determine the power and success of their missional ventures.
In today Missional Living Devotional you will get a chance to evaluate and answer that question for yourself. We will be looking at a true story from the word of God to gain the understanding of what I mean when I ask the question, "What Kind Of Christian Are You?" Take a few minutes and watches this devotional and then make plans on how you will go and shine the Light of Christ in your part of this dark world.
While worshipping God will include more than these 3 principles, it will definitely include these three. I chose them because they are often forgotten and not mentioned. These 3 seem to reside underneath the covers hiding away from most of our attentions. However, they are important reminders that if our worship is going to remain unadulterated and pure before a Holy Righteous God they need to be kept in check.
How many times have we praise people for their work and effort for the purpose of encouraging them. Praise in that sense is done because we think the person needs it. But God doesn't need our praise. God doesn't get discouraged that causes him to need others to build him up. God doesn't need us to boost His ego.
Our motivation for worshipping God doesn't come from a sense of God's need but out of a sense of God's worth.
"Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you." Ps 63:3
Listen to the words of Job after his family was killed and property was stolen.
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” Job 1:21 (NIV)
What was Job doing?
Let me ask you a question! At that moment, after hearing about the murder of his children and all his property being stolen, do you think Job "FELT" like worshipping God? Of course NOT! But he did it any how!
Do you think that King David felt like worshipping God after the death of his baby with Bathsheba? Of course not! But that's exactly what he did. He bathed, he changed cloths and he went to the temple to worship God. Do we truly think that Paul and Silas after being beaten and thrown into jail in Philippi felt like worship God while chained in stocks? Of course NOT! But that's what they were doing.
Worship isn't intended to praise God for the wonderful and great things that He has done for us exclusively. It is also intended to worship him even when we are morning and saddened by the events of life.
"In a loud voice they were saying: 'Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Revelation 5:12 (NIV)
"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." Hebrews 13:15-16 (NIV)
Did you read what are the sacrifices we're to bring to God for worship that will please Him?
It's not just our songs we sing and the prayers we make but it also includes how we treat people and how we look out after them by meeting their needs.
"I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God." Phil 4:18 (NIV)
The Apostle Paul considered the gifts of support he received as being a fragrant offering and an acceptable sacrifice that is pleasing to God.
After you leave your fancy church buildings and go out for lunch do you even give a consideration the homeless person in the park that may or may not get a meal that day? Do we really think that God is please with our songs when we ignore the needs of others around us?
If you are intentionally living a missional life that brightly shines the Light of Christ in your part of this dark world then you know that life can be filled with lots of temptations. In this post I want to share with you 3 ways that Jesus can help you when you are in the midst of temptation and more importantly after you have given into temptation. The key all victory, when it comes to temptation, is Jesus!
"Therefore, since we have a great hight priest who has gone through the heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and grace in our time of need." Hebrews 4:14-16 (NIV)
The first thing we see in the passage of scripture from the book of Hebrews is that Jesus is our great high priest. The job of a high priest is to represent the people he is in charge over before God himself. He is to make petitions and request to God on behalf of the people. He is to ask God to be faithful to meet the needs of the people.
In this verse we see that it is Jesus, who is a our high priest, is the one who represents us before God the Father, and it is Jesus who is constantly interceding on our behalf. In other words Jesus is constantly praying for you and asking God to help you and especially during your times of temptations and spiritual warfare.
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31,32 (NIV)
Isn't that so cool? Jesus knows that Peter is about to go through the biggest temptation of his life. He is going to be tempted that he ever knew Jesus and was going to fail at it miserably BUT Jesus has prayed for him. He prayed to God the Father that Peter's faith would not fail, that Peter would recover from his failure and that Peter would be able to strengthen others even after he fails in his temptation.
Do you understand this? This is such an important Biblical principle to get! Jesus is in Heaven praying for you too! He's asking God to help you overcome temptations but just as important He is asking God to strengthen you when you blow it by giving into the temptation and to give you opportunities to be used once again to encourage others afterwards.
ISN'T THAT SO ENCOURAGING FOR YOU TO KNOW THAT AS YOU ARE GOING THROUGH THIS LIFE ON MISSION WITH CHRIST, THAT CHRIST HAS GOT YOUR BACK AND IS IN THE VERY PRESENCE OF GOD THE FATHER PRAYING FOR YOU. I KNOW IT IS FOR ME!
The next thing that we see on how Jesus can help us during our times of temptation is the fact that he is able to empathized with us. In this verse we read that Jesus has been tempted in every way! Satan has given Jesus his best shot and Jesus was able to take it and overcome it. Because Jesus has tempted in every way we are tempted he understands the struggle, the difficulty and hardship that is associate with being tempted. So, when Christ is praying for us he does it with passion, conviction and understanding. From experience Jesus is able to share with God the Father just how very hard it is when temptation hits.
Because Jesus understands he is able to comfort us like one who has been there. His tender touch, his loving eyes the sound of his compassionate voice is able to be there to encourage us because he can relate to what you are going through.
I love the last part of this verse. We are encouraged to to approach God's thrown of grace with confidence. We don't need to be shy. We don't need to be reluctant. Because Jesus is our High Priest we are to come before the thrown of grace with CONFIDENCE. I love the way this verse describes God's thrown! It;s called the Thrown of Grace! It is at the Thrown of God we find God's grace - God's unmerited favor! Forgiveness is always found at God's thrown. And in order to experience God's grace you must be willing to approach God's thrown. You can never experience God's grace hiding from Him, running from Him, or just avoiding Him. The people who experience God's grace are those who have come before his thrown in all their sinfulness pleading to him.
And what are they pleading for? MERCY & GRACE! When we stop the running and come before God in complete humility and begging for his forgiveness we are promised to experience two things:
And that is the confidence we are to approach God's thrown. Confident that because Jesus is our High Priest constantly being our advocate before God the Father that when we come to him we will receive both mercy and grace.
Have you ever thought about how easy it is to give into temptation? Today, I want us to take a look at the story about King David and see what we can learn about temptation and giving into it!
From this story we will learn that there's really only 3 small steps that will lead you into giving into the temptation that you are facing. The story is found in 2 Samuel 11:1-5. You're probably very familiar with the story. It's the story of David and Bathsheba.
"In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” 2 Samuel 11:1-5 (NIV)
Let's take a look at verse 1 to gain an understanding about this first step.
"In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem."
Right here in this verse we see that King David should have been off to war with his soldiers but for whatever reason he decided not to go but to remain in Jerusalem. The first step to giving into any temptation is simply that:
For King David that was to be at war fighting his enemies. For us it might be getting home and taking care of our family or being at work making a living. Personally, I have found I am most drawn to a temptation when I am not where I am suppose to be.
If David had simply been where he was suppose to be the whole temptation would never have happened. If he had been at war with his men, like he should have been, he never would have seen Bathsheba bathing, therefore he never would have lusted after her and never would have sent for her.
"One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing." (vs 2)
Now I have question for you. Why was David not able to sleep and why was he walking around on the roof of his palace? The answer is simple. Because he wasn't where he was suppose to be and he had to much time on his hands. He was bored and didn't know what to do with himself.
There's old wise saying that really apply's to this point. It goes like this:
The truth of the matter is simple this, if you don't fill your time with something constructive to do you'll usually get yourself involved in something destructive. When do children get into the most trouble? When they don't have anything to do! It's not only true for children but it's also true for adult and Christian adults as well.
Even if you have a day off, you should have, at least, a general plan of things to do so that Satan can't take advantage of your boredom and tempt you with something that you will regret later.
"From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her." (v. 3)
Here it is! David is at the moment of truth! He see a beautiful woman who is bathing. What is he going to do? Or, better yet, what should David do? Take a look at these Bible verses and discover what the proper action David should have taken.
What do all three of these verse have in common? They all talk about running away from or fleeing from temptation. But what did King David do? Did he flee or run away from what he was seeing from his roof top? No, instead of running away from it he actually pursued it.
David's pursuit was to send someone to find out who she was and once he found out that her husband was away at war (where King David should have been) he thought he could have her and not get caught.
How often have we done the same thing with the things we are tempted by? We see the temptation and instead of running away by getting our minds occupied with things that will be productive, we contemplate how nice the temptation looks, how much pleasure it would bring and then we try to figure out how how close we can get to it without getting snatched up by it.
Here's the problem! Once we fail to immediately turn and run and decide to linger and ponder the possibilities of that sin, we are already caught.
As Followers of Christ we are called to be the Light of the world! And not just any kind of world but a very spiritually dark world. So, I have a question for you to consider, "Just how dark is the world that you live in? And how good of a job are you doing to illuminate it?
Watch this video and be encouraged to shine the Light of Christ in your part of this dark world!
"And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful." Col. 3:15 (HCSB)
All sports, whether it be football, basketball, baseball or whatever has an umpire, referee, or some kind of official to make sure the game is played correctly and according to the rules.
They are there to "rule over" the games and participants.
In the verse we just read up above we see this word "RULE". In the Greek this word is "brabevo". This was the umpire who would rule over those early Greek games and would hand over awards to the champions at the end of the games.
His job was too:
The umpires word was final in every decision of those games!
God has also given Christians, who are on mission with Christ, an umpire to help rule and control over their lives. That umpire is:
"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7 (NIV)
"For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility ..." Eph. 2:14 (NIV)
The feeling of peace comes when we are able to see Jesus Christ - the person of peace.
when I was a child I would get scared in the dark when it was time to go to sleep. I would call out to my mom for her to come. When she would come I would get such a wonderful sense of peace and comfort from just seeing her
In part of the 23rd Psalm it says,
"Thou I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death I will fear not evil ..."
What the Psalmist is saying is that he doesn't fear because he's got peace! Why? How does one get rid of the shadows that frighten them and able to experience peace in their life? The answer is simple!
They Simply Stop Looking At The Shadows
And Turn And Look Into The Light!
The only reason why you see shadows is because you have your back to the light. Once you turn around and start looking at the light the shadows disappear.
Jesus is the Light of World. When we stop focusing on those things that worry us and turn around and look into the face of Jesus all the worries seems to disappear.
In missional living we forever need to be facing Christ, looking into His love face and gaining the encouragement that only He can provide. We need to remember that peace we seek is the person of Christ and when we focus on Him the feeling of peace will overflow us. Powerful missional living happens as we keep our focus on the Prince of Peace - The Lord Jesus Christ!
I think we all would agree that Jesus lived a life on mission while he was here! He didn't just aimlessly wander through life. He had a purpose, he had a mission and he was effective at it! Jesus himself stated his purpose quite clearly during a conversation he had with Zacchaeus the chief tax collector from Jericho. In that conversation Jesus said about himself, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." In this post we are going to look at 5 Principles that we find from Jesus and his missional activity.
"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house." Luke 10:1-7 (NIV)
Jesus had a vision of a harvest field that was plentifully ripe and ready to be harvested. He didn't just see a few people ready to surrender their hearts and lives over to his care and control but a whole harvest field just waiting to be picked.
How do you view your mission field? Do you see people willing and ready to surrender their hearts over to Christ or do you see resistant people fighting God. I think that many times our own personal perception of situations is the biggest hinderances. If we think people are going to be resistant then that's what we are going to find.
Jesus using this same image, fields ripe for harvest, gives the explanation why he consider them ready for salvation. Look at what He says in Matthew 9:36,37;
"Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."
Jesus described people who were ripe for harvest as being people who were "distressed", "dispirited" and aimlessly wandering like "sheep without a shepherd'. Let me ask you: In your community do you find a lot of people who are distressed? Who are dispirited? And how wander around without any real direction in life? If you answered "yes" then you have a Spiritually Ripe Harvest Field.
GET THE VISION - VIEW YOUR COMMUNITY READY TO COME TO JESUS
In both Luke 10 and in Matthew 9 Jesus mentioned the major roadblock to bringing in the ripe harvest. He said the roadblock wasn't enough workers. Jesus solution to this problem was not to guilt, bagger or twist the arm of people to get involved. No. Jesus' solution was to "pray to the Lord of the Harvest" to send more workers.
The only one who can get the right workers into the harvest field is God. It is God's responsibility to employ and deploy the workers! Our job is to relentlessly to faithfully be in the harvest field making more disciples for Christ and praying for God to get us more help by raising up more workers.
How often are you praying for God to raise up, train up and unleash more harvesters to join us in the work? Do you even think that Jesus was serious about this prayer or do you think He was just speaking figuratively?
Jesus sent the 72 out in teams of two. He also sent the 12 out in teams of two. Throughout the Gospels we see teams of 2 to 3 going out by the Lord's instruction. At times we see Peter, James and John. Other times we just see Peter and John. In the book for Acts we see Paul and Barnabas and the examples could go on and on.
Who makes up your team of pursuing Christ's mission? Are you trying to do all alone? Who are the people you know you can cast a vision of Christ's mission and see if they would like to form a team with you in doing ministry?
In verses 5-7 we see Jesus telling the 72 to look for a "Person of Peace". This is a person whom God has prepared and ready to receive the Gospel. In John 5:19 Jesus said that he could do noting on his own but only what he sees the Father doing and whatever he sees the Father doing he also does. In other words Jesus was looking for the Person of Peace, the person that God the Father has prepared to receive the Good News.
This is to be our approach as well. We are not on mission to convince people they need Christ. We are on mission to find those that God has already prepared to receive Christ. I got to tell you this one principle really takes the pressure off us once we realized we are just to join God in the work He has already started.
In Acts 10:44 and Acts 16 we read about a Gentile by the name of Cornelius and a jail guard in Philippi that came to faith in Christ. But not just them! The Bible also says that "they and their household" believed and were baptized. This was true also with Jesus. When Jesus reached Peter, Peters entire household came to faith, including his mother-in-law, who was healed by Jesus. When Jesus reached the Samaritan Woman at the well; it says that she went back to her village and reach them for Jesus.
Too often I think Christians have a poor and even dangerous view of what it is to be intentional about living a missional life. There is way to much romancing and glamorizing and when the reality of what a missional lifestyle is really like is made known disillusionment and discouragement quickly set in. It's kind of like the heroic and brave stories we hear about war where the hero sacrifices his life to save his fellow comrades with the beautiful angelic music playing. It shares all the glory but very little of the blood, guts, pain and sorrow.
I personally think that the comparison of a soldier in wartime and the Christian living a missional life is very appropriate. The reason I feel this way is because
As fully devoted followers of Christ we must never forget that we are not on a picnic where we are sipping lemonade and eating fried chicken. No! The life we are called to is a life in the midst of a raging battle where our enemy, Satan, is like a hungry lion seeking to attack and devour whomever he may. This is the reason why the Apostle Paul admonishes us to put on the full Armor of God; watch and pray; and stand and resist. Of all people the Apostle Paul knows all to well what lies ahead for those who choose to follow Christ on this mission. Paul had been stoned, whipped, imprisoned, shipwrecked, falsely accused of wrong doing, hated by his countrymen, and eventually beheaded for his faith in Jesus Christ. Over and over again Paul warns Christians to expect persecution as a normal part of the life of a Follower of Christ.
It is as if, when a person determines and announces that they are going to live a life for Christ and intentionally pursue the mission that Christ has commissioned, that Satan says,
"Oh really! So you think you are going to come into my territory, knock down my walls and liberate my slaves! I don't think so! No way! It's not going to happen!"
And then Satan goes up into the heavens, just as he did with Job and with the Apostle Peter, and demands permission from God to sift you like wheat. That's right. Satan is going to demand that God give him permission to spiritually attack you, to test your metal and to see if he can find any chinks in your armor. I mean, really, do we honestly believe that when we come to a place in our walk with Christ where we decide to follow him and obey him fully that it is going to go unchallenged by Satan? When we decide to live a missional life for the cause of Christ we have put a bullseye on our shirt that says,
Do your really think he won't? Here's the crazy part! THERE WILL BE TIMES WHEN GOD GRANTS HIM THAT PERMISSION.
How crazy is that? Doesn't that sound crazy of God? Why would God, who loves us, allow our enemy to attack us and possibly do harm to us? That doesn't sound like love! Does it?
A nation that intends to defend itself from their enemy will put together an army to fight on their behalf. The first thing that every new recruit goes through is basic training where they learn how to be an effective warrior. Why? Why put them through this training? Is it not so these new recruits will have the best possible chance of survival before they're thrust into the battlefield? In the same way God knows that the world is hostile to Him and those who belong to Him. He knows that we have a real enemy who truly does hate us! And God allows Satan to attack us but with limitations so that we can gain battle experience and strengthen our faith in God for even bigger challenges that will come our way.
Satan's goal is obvious. He desires to destroy our faith in God and leave us wounded and bleeding in the gutter!
However, God has a different goal in mind. James 1:2 says,
"Consider it all joy ... when you encounter various trials know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result that you may be perfect, complete and lacking in nothing."
Did you catch that? The trials, the difficulties and, yes. even spiritual warfare is designed by God to test our faith in order to make it stronger and make us complete with nothing lacking. Now that's truly amazing? While Satan wants to destroy our faith, God intends to use what Satan does to make our faith in Christ even stronger.
From the story of Job and Peter there are a three encouraging truths about spiritual warfare we need to understand:
First, every morning we you get up to start your day remember that you are going out to war. It's not a picnic, it's not a party, no, it's a battle! Therefore, suit up! Put on the full armor of God! Don't forget any piece but pray it fully on so that you are fully protected from Satan when he attacks. And rest assured he will attack. He is looking for a weak spot, a vulnerable place or a chink in your armor. If you are not careful to put on the full armor he will find that weak spot. So don't make it easy for him by failing to spend time in prayer before you start your day.
Second, throughout the day keep watching and praying. Just as a soldier out on patrol walking through a potential battlefield is staying watchful for any sign of the enemy, so you must be watchful for any sign that Satan is around. Satan, like a lion, is hiding and blending into the surroundings waiting for the most opportune time to pounce on his prey. The soldiers who aren't watchful make it easy. But do not only be watchful but also be praying. From where does our strength and power come to defeat our enemy? From ourselves? No! It comes from God. Quite literally it is God who fights our battle but He does it through us. Prayer is the conduit from which the power flows from the throne of God into our lives to defeat our enemies. A Christian who fails to pray continuously is like a soldier who has gone out to battle and has forgotten to bring his weapon.
According to Jesus failing to watch and pray is the exact reason why Peter lost his spiritual battle on the night that Jesus was arrested. In the garden Jesus had instructed Peter, James, and John to pray but then Jesus returned He did not find them praying but sleeping. He woke them and admonished them all but named Peter specifically to:
"keep watching and praying that you might not fall into temptation..."
And we know the next part of the story. They still were unable to stay awake and the result was the loss of a spiritual battle for them and in particular Peter.
Third, you need to stand and resist! The armies of old when they would fight with swords and shields would form a battle line where the soldiers would stand shoulder to shoulder with their shields forming one solid and hopefully impenetrable wall. The opposing army would run and charge them ramming into their shields hoping to create a break into the wall. The soldiers that formed the wall would stand firm and hold up their shields to buffet the assault and try very hard not to break the line thereby allowing a crack to form in the wall. These soldiers would continue to hold up their shields between them and their enemy until the initial push was stopped. Once they were able to withstand the initial assault and stop the push the soldiers would push back against their charging enemy with their shields creating a small little space between them and their enemy. They then would take their swords or spears and stab and kill the enemy that was right in front of them and then go back and form their wall of protection. Over and over again they would do this until the charging army suffered such losses that they would retreat like a dogs with their tails between their legs.
This is what is meant when the Bible tells us to STAND and RESIST! We stand with our shield of faith in the Lord Jesus protecting us when we see our enemy, Satan, charging with an attack. Once we have buffeted Satan's initial charge with our shield and stopped him in his tracks, we take our weapon, the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of Truth and we stab him with it. Our faith in Jesus stops Satan but it is our use of the Bible and scripture that allows us to fight back. That's exactly what Jesus did when he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness after fasting for 40 days. He used the Word of God as a weapon to fight off Satan's attack against him.
Now here's a wonderful promise that the Bible gives us! It says that if we resist the devil he will flee from us. That's right, you stand with your faith in Christ and you resist him by fighting back with the Word of God Satan will run away. Once he figures out that there is no way to crack your defense and fight off your attack on him he will run off but only for a while. Isn't that what he did with Job! After Job successfully fought off the first attack Satan asked permission a second time to have a whack at him.
Now please understand that the Bible says that if we resist Satan he will flee from us. BUT IT DOESN'T SAY TO RESIST TEMPTATION! Those are two totally different things. The Bible tells us that when it comes to temptation we are to flee and run from it. The best way to overcome temptation is to get away from it and put your focus on something totally different and wholesome.
As part of the Sermon On The Mount Jesus shared these words that give us an important insight into pursuing the mission Christ has given us. He said,
"You are the light of world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16
It's not hard to understand the point that Jesus is making from this imagery. The primary purpose of light is to illuminate an area and thereby dispel the darkness so that people are able to clearly see. At the very heart of our mission is for us to be those luminaries by which people can see clearly. Our lives are to be such a powerful force of light that people are able to clearly see Jesus and understand the gospel of Christ. It is God's responsibility, through the Holy Spirit, to convict people of their sin and draw people to Christ but it is the job of Christ's followers to the light that illuminates in the spiritual darkness.
But if the pollsters are correct the Christian luminaries of North America are doing a pretty horrible job. All reports indicate that the Christian faith is in decline and that the fastest growing religious group is those people who claim "NO RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION" at all. That group has more than doubled between surveys and is the third largest group overall. If present trends continue this group could easily become the largest Religious Identification Group of all throughout North America. Why? What has happened to the North American Church that has caused its light to not shine as brightly as it once did? These are the questions that haunt my mind and soul and for which I deliberately seek the scripture for answers.
I think the Apostle Peter might have an answer for us to this question. As I was reading 1 Peter 2:11,12 it became obviously clear to me that he was thinking of Jesus' words during the Sermon on the Mount about us being the light of the world. At one point Peter almost quotes Jesus. Read what it says,
"Dear Friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."
There it is, "see our good deeds and glorify God..." That's almost exactly what Jesus said about being the light of the world! Our desire and ambition should be to live good lives and perform good deeds so that we bring honor and glory to God. But it's the first part of the verse that I feel is the key to making sure our light doesn't dim or flicker out! Peter pleads with and urges Christ's followers to abstain from the sinful desires of the world. Peter is warning Christians that failure to stay pure and live holy lives will result in lost people not seeing our good deeds (our light) and,thereby, not be able to glorify God. I truly believe that there is a direct correlation between Christians not living holy lives and lost people not seeing the light that can lead them to Jesus. Therefore, it doesn't surprise me when I hear that studies reveal that the morality of Christian's of North America is statistically no different from those in North America who don't claim to be Christians. We have done exactly what Peter begs Christians not to do. As followers of Christ we have failed to abstain and in some cases wholeheartedly embraced the sinful desires of the world.
If we are going to be serious about pursuing the mission that Christ has called us to, we have to be serious about living holy lives. While we are actively pursuing lost people, while we are hanging out with them, while we are going where they are, we must always remain pure and holy. Otherwise all will be for naught. What do we need to do in order to become effective and obedient in pursuing Christ's mission? We need to start with REPENTANCE! Listen to the words of God to his people:
"If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, seek after my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chron. 7:14
DON'T GET TIRED IN DOING GOOD! YOU WILL REAP A HARVEST, IF YOU DON'T GROW TIRED AND IF YOU DON'T GIVE UP. LET'S BE FULLY DEVOTED FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST. LET'S LIVE THE HOLY LIFE WE WERE
As part of the Sermon On The Mount Jesus shared these words that give us an important insight into pursuing the mission Christ has given us. He said,
"You are the light of world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16
It's not hard to understand the point that Jesus is making from this imagery. The primary purpose of light is to illuminate an area and thereby dispel the darkness so that people are able to clearly see. At the very heart of our mission is for us to be those luminaries by which people can see clearly. Our lives are to be such a powerful force of light that people are able to clearly see Jesus and understand the gospel of Christ. It is God's responsibility, through the Holy Spirit, to convict people of their sin and draw people to Christ but it is the job of Christ's followers to the light that illuminates in the spiritual darkness.
But if the pollsters are correct the Christian luminaries of North America are doing a pretty horrible job. All reports indicate that the Christian faith is in decline and that the fastest growing religious group is those people who claim "NO RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION" at all. That group has more than doubled between surveys and is the third largest group overall. If present trends continue this group could easily become the largest Religious Identification Group of all throughout North America. Why? What has happened to the North American Church that has caused its light to not shine as brightly as it once did? These are the questions that haunt my mind and soul and for which I deliberately seek the scripture for answers.
I think the Apostle Peter might have an answer for us to this question. As I was reading 1 Peter 2:11,12 it became obviously clear to me that he was thinking of Jesus' words during the Sermon on the Mount about us being the light of the world. At one point Peter almost quotes Jesus. Read what it says,
"Dear Friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."
There it is, "see our good deeds and glorify God..." That's almost exactly what Jesus said about being the light of the world! Our desire and ambition should be to live good lives and perform good deeds so that we bring honor and glory to God. But it's the first part of the verse that I feel is the key to making sure our light doesn't dim or flicker out! Peter pleads with and urges Christ's followers to abstain from the sinful desires of the world. Peter is warning Christians that failure to stay pure and live holy lives will result in lost people not seeing our good deeds (our light) and,thereby, not be able to glorify God. I truly believe that there is a direct correlation between Christians not living holy lives and lost people not seeing the light that can lead them to Jesus. Therefore, it doesn't surprise me when I hear that studies reveal that the morality of Christian's of North America is statistically no different from those in North America who don't claim to be Christians. We have done exactly what Peter begs Christians not to do. As followers of Christ we have failed to abstain and in some cases wholeheartedly embraced the sinful desires of the world.
If we are going to be serious about pursuing the mission that Christ has called us to, we have to be serious about living holy lives. While we are actively pursuing lost people, while we are hanging out with them, while we are going where they are, we must always remain pure and holy. Otherwise all will be for naught. What do we need to do in order to become effective and obedient in pursuing Christ's mission? We need to start with REPENTANCE! Listen to the words of God to his people:
"If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, seek after my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chron. 7:14
Today in our Missional Living Devotional I want to share with you a Missional Living Principle that is powerful and will enable you to shine the Light of Christ in the lives of people more brightly than you ever have been able to do before. However, while this is an easy principle to understand - it's not an easy one to put into practice. So, what is that principle?
In order to shine the Light of Christ the brightest we must be willing to forgive those who have wronged us! By doing this we are looking past their faults to see their need for Christ!
To help you see how this principle at work in real life I am going to share with you a true about a friend of mine, Teresa Baldwin and her family and how her willingness to forgive someone who injured her, her son-in-law, her daughter and the her whole family afforded her the opportunity to shine Christ into the lives of people that never would have been available to her if she hadn't! You watch the video and watch me tell the story or you can read for yourself at the end of the blog.
A TRUE STORY OF FORGIVENESS, HEALING & SHINING THE LIGHT OF CHRIST INTO THE LIVES OF THOSE THAT DON’T DESERVE IT!
Written by: Teresa Baldwin
On June 24, 2011 at 5:30am my daughter's life would be forever changed, as well as the rest of our family.
On his way to work, my son-in-law, Jason, was hit by a drunk driver and killed instantly. Jason and Heather (my daughter) had been married for only 9 months when his life was taken from him.
I will never forget receiving the phone call. Shock and unbelief were my first response. You are just never prepared for this kind of news. I just hurt so bad for my daughter!
My daughter, who swore she would never get married, had found a good man who loved God and family and now he was gone. I remember driving down south with Jordan, (a young man who is like our son), the 9 hours to get to my daughter and crying the whole way down.
But from the beginning my husband and I both said we would not hate this young man who took our son-in-law's life. We would choose to forgive. We had taught our kids at a young age that because Christ died while we were still in our sin we needed to willing to forgive others. Not that we excuse what they do. But we should be willing to forgive and let go of the anger. Forgiveness - it’s a choice.
My kids saw firsthand while growing up what happens when a person doesn’t forgive, through their papa, who lost his first born son at the age of three through a tonsillectomy that went wrong and he remained bitter throughout the rest of his life. One of the first things my daughter said to me was,
"Mom I don't want to be angry or bitter"
It’s been two years since the accident. In that time, we have been able to share with many people that it was only with God that we could get through this. We were also able to share with Jason's parents that because of his decision to receive Christ into his life that we would see him again one day.
My twin sister and I went to the courthouse back in September for the sentencing of the young man (Joseph) who took Jason's life. Again, I could have chosen to be angry, bitter and hateful toward him as I spoke at the courthouse. But I didn't. Instead, I chose to tell him we forgive him, that my daughter forgives him and that we did not think he was a bad man just what he had done was bad and that he needed to get help for his drinking. I shared that I believed that he could not do it alone but that he needed God's help.
Joseph was not sentenced that day due to his brother being murdered just 3 days prior to the sentencing. There are allegations that the murder was connected to Joseph's time in jail. I don't know that I can share more at this time but I can tell you this: my heart just ached not only for him but for his mother also and the rest of his family.
After we left the courtroom my sister and I went to Joseph's mother and aunt. We hugged them and told them how very sorry we were for their loss. At one point the aunt said to me,
"I wish I knew what your daughter looked like."
I told her I had brought with me a wedding picture of Jason and Heather and asked her if she would she like to see it. She said "yes". After showing it to her I then asked her if she would like to keep it, again she said "yes". The aunt then gave me her card if I wanted to stay in contact with her.
A month had gone by and one day I thought I really needed to write to Joseph in jail but I didn't have his address. As I went to email his aunt to get his address I realized I didn't have her email address but just a phone number. So, I called her. She told me she was having such a bad day and that there were several things going on. I had sensed something right away and asked her if I could pray with her. She said, “Yes, please do.” And then after the prayer she indicated that was exactly what she needed that day.
Now, as I share all of these things I want you to understand I truly believe it was the Holy Spirit working in me to talk to this family, to hug them and to pray with them. When you have the Holy Spirit working in your life and you let him guide you and lead you, its wonderful. I can't tell you the love and the peace I have had in my heart for this family and I know it’s because of Jesus.
The same day I spoke to the aunt I later received a text from Joseph's mother saying she had heard that I had called and that she believed it was confirmation from God. She shared that she had our family and Jason's family on her mind. She also told me that her sister had given her the picture of my beautiful daughter and Jason and that she looks at my daughter every morning and prays for her.
You know when this first happened we heard all kinds of stories about Joseph and his family but I just discovered they weren’t true. Joseph is a human being and he made a bad choice and because of that bad choice another human being is gone. He has shared how sorry he is and I hear that he is trying to make a difference while in jail by holding bible studies and by speaking to the young men inside the cell. My prayer is that he continues to see his need for God. That he does make a change and that he does get a second chance.
Above all else I pray that God is glorified through all this, that people will learn the importance of forgiveness and that they come to know that Jesus is the only one who can save us.
There is a song that came out right after the accident that killed my son-in-law called "Forgiveness" by Matthew West. It’s a beautiful reminder of what Christ has called us to do. This life is temporary. But for those who have put their faith in Christ Jesus we will live forever with Him one day. And I do believe that day is soon!
As I finish this Missional Living Devotional I realize that there are many who have been seriously hurt and the thought of forgiving your assailant is the farthest thing from you mind. I know you don't "FEEL LIKE" forgiving them! I know they don't "DESERVE" it! And that's exactly why it is such a powerful principle for living a missional life! That's why the Light of Christ shines brightly when we are willing to do it! It leaves the recipient wondering,
And of course the answer is: Because of Christ in me the Hope of Glory.
And after all, isn't that what God did for us? After we assaulted him through our life of sin God not only forgave us but he also took the punishment for our sin upon himself through Christ's death and burial.
GOD DID NOT GIVE US WHAT WE DESERVED: CONDEMNATION/HELL
INSTEAD HE GAVE US WHAT WE DIDN'T DESERVED: FORGIVENESS/HEAVEN
So, I say, "Let's go and do likewise! Let's prove that we truly are sons and daughters of the one, true, living breathing God by following His example.
Here are two ideas for you to live a missional life and shine the Light of Christ in your part of this dark world during Thanksgiving! Use this holiday to brightly shine for Jesus!
"Just because I'm ordinary doesn't mean I'm secondary ordinary Christians are God's primary choice for doing His extraordinary work" Jay Moore
This is a little saying that I like to use! However, I have found that it gets a lot of mixed reviews!
Some people reaction when they hear that slogan feel that I am bashing Christians by calling them ordinary. They say things like, "Now that we're Follower of Christ and the Holy Spirit lives in us we are no longer ordinary." And I wholeheartedly agree with them that our new life in Christ does make us extraordinary. But with that said I must remind all of us that intrinsically, in and of ourselves, there is nothing good about us! Our only goodness comes from Christ in us.
A second reaction I get from people comes from what I like to call the professional minister. This is the guy who has gone through Bible college and seminary; they have gone through an ordination process; and now make there living from doing the ministry. This group of people also feel insulted but for a different reason. When they hear that statement they get the idea that I am trying to down play their importance and strip them from some place of honor they feel they should have. I feel this attitude interesting since I also have a Christian college education majoring in religion and a seminary theological education with a master's degree.
But then there is a third group of people who are actually energized by this little quote! These are the people who have never been empowered, encouraged or even equipped to live a significant life on mission with Christ. These are the people who have felt there only role in church was to come and attend. These are some of God's children who've wished they could be involved in some project that would have an eternal impact but have never felt it would happen because, after all, they're just ordinary and why would God want to use them when He could use someone else more talented or educated.
But I'm here to tell you God not only loves to use Ordinary Christians but that Ordinary Christians is God's primary choice for doing His extraordinary work. The Biblical record is filled with such examples. All of the apostles were ordinary men, King David was the youngest of his family and Gideon was a fearful coward. Over and over again we see God choosing that which the world would have never considered to do His amazing work. We discover God using ordinary people is not the exception but the rule as we study the Bible.
So why? Why would God choose ordinary people as His primary choice for doing His work? The answer is simple! God chooses men and women like us, ordinary people, because he wants to confound the wise of this world! When people look and see what God is able to do through ordinary people the explanation for its success has to be GOD WAS THE ONE WHO DID IT! That's right, God loves to use the ordinary of this world so that He will get the credit for what was done!
The truth is that God is always the one who accomplishes His work but He just chooses to do it through people. If God always used extraordinary men to do his work the world would try to explain away the results saying that it only happened because highly talented people were in charge of it. But when some ordinary person does something that turns out great the only explanation will be GOD!
So are you an Ordinary Christian? Do you feel like there are others more talented and more gifted than you? Do you down deep inside long for God to use you to accomplish something amazing?
You are exactly the kind of person that God loves to use to accomplish His extraordinary work and the only requirement is that you must be a person of:
Do you believe that God can do anything? Do you believe that God can do anything through anybody? Do you believe that God can do anything, through anybody, including YOU! Now that's what I call faith!
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!
"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!
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.
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!
How many times have we been Peter?
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.
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.
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.
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,
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.
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 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!
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!
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.
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.
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!
So, let me ask you:
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.
"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:
"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,
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!
We believe that ordinary christians are God primary choice for doing His extraordinary work. Throughout scripture we see God choosing to use everyday people to join Him on His mission of raising up, training up and unleashing them to become rapidly reproducing disciple makers. The Ordinary Christians intends to join God in that pursuit.
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