Encouraging, Empowering & Equipping Ordinary Christians To Live Powerful Missional Lives!
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Watch this video and receive empowerment from God’s Word to go live a life that reflects the glory of Christ back into the lives of those still trapped in darkness.
With the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 and the social distancing that is being ordered many churches have experienced a horrible decline in church attendance. Christians are quickly getting out of the habit of going to church because of fear.
In addition to the pandemic Christians are beginning to face some social opposition because of their mixing their faith with politics. For the first time in our nations history the church is beginning to be viewed by the unbelieving population as a bad social organization.
As a result there is a lot of discussion on what the church should be like and look like. Some really interesting discussions have centered around the church becoming more like the New Testament church they meet in homes.
Here's a simple video to illustrate what is being proposed. Watch this video and then share your thoughts on if you feel you could be part of something like it.
“Therefore everyone who hear these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. ‘And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ‘Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ‘The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell and great was its fall.” Matthew 7:24-27 (NAS)
Isn’t it interesting to note that both men had built a house and both men built their house on top of something. One was a rock and the other was sand. As it is true in building a house so it is also true in building your life - it will be built upon something. There is some kind of foundation upon which your life will be built upon. But the choice of what foundation you use to build your life is of the utmost importance. Why?
When it come to survival or destruction of your life the foundation upon which you build your life is the one and only determining factor. And because it is the one and only factor it becomes an essential factor. A person can’t go cheap on laying that firm foundation. A person cain’t afford to use inferior material in laying a foundation. And absolutely a person can’t even consider not laying a foundation.
As we already discussed in the previous post storms of life are going to happen. It’s not a matter of “if” they happen but just a matter of “when” they’ll happen. We have no control over whether or not trails, tribulations or persecution happen in our life. The truth of scripture is clear - they will happen. In addition, we also have no control over the intensity of the storms when they do arrive. It could be a mild storm or it could be a potentially devastating storm. We have no control over it. So in light of these truths the only sensible and prudent thing to do is to make sure you lay a firm foundation upon which to build your life.
It would be easy if there was only one option available to us for the foundation we use from which to build our life. But that’s not the case! In this story Jesus makes it clear you do have options. You can chose to use the options the world avails you (that’s the sand) or you can use the option that Jesus recommends (that’s the rock). The choice is yours but you need to choose wisely! Why?
Because the foundation is so essential you need to make sure you spare no expense, cut no corners and don’t be lazy in your efforts to the laying of that firm, solid and massive rock like foundation.
So as you begin to lay the foundation for you life be careful, give it your full attention and we wise. The foundation you choose will be the determining factor of whether your life is destroyed or stays strong after you go through the intense storms of life.
If you have not already read the first two blogs in this series you can hit the links below to check them out.
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“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)
Part of suiting up or preparing for spiritual warfare is to know your enemy. It’s to know who they are so you can recognize them in battle; understand their tendencies and tactics so you are not caught off guard during an encounter with them; and to make sure you are not bringing the fight to the wrong person or group.
In Tom Cruise’s movie The Last Samurai Nathan Algren, a captain in the US Cavalry, has been tasked to prepare the Japanese army to fight again the Samurai led by their leader Katsumoto. While the Samurai are considered to be the enemy of Japan, Katsumoto and the rest of the Samurai believe there struggle is actually in service to Japan’s Emperor and their country. In two different scenes both Captain Algren and Katsumoto express the same attitude about preparing for battle. Both of them share that to prepare for battle against their new enemy they would have to get to know their enemy. So each of them in their own way studies there opponent and gets to know as much about them as possible. Why? To be prepared for when the battle begins, to know what to expect, and develop a strategy that will lead to victory.
This is exactly what the Apostle Paul is now saying in verse 12. He is sharing with the readers that we must know our enemy if we are to be successful and victorious in our struggle during spiritual warfare. To not know your enemy is the path to loss and failure. Successful boxers train with sparing partners who have many of the same tendencies and characters of the opponent they are to fight. Why? To prepared for when the real fight begins. Knowing your enemy is part of suiting up! It’s getting your mind prepared.
Isn’t interesting that the Apostle starts off telling us who isn’t army before he tells us who is our enemy? I think it’s because Paul knew that too often we have mistaken our enemy for someone who really isn’t our enemy at all. More harm has been done in the name of spiritual warfare because people had a wrong idea of who the enemy was. And as a result they wasted so much time, energy, resources and not to mention credibility with those who desperately need to know Jesus.
So, who’s not our enemy? Who are those we are not to consider our enemy? Read what Paul says:
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, …”
Quite simply our enemy is not other people. You mother or father are not the enemy! Your spouse is not the enemy! Your employer or rude co-worker are not your enemy! Not even that obnoxious next door neighbor is your enemy! No person who has ever lived or is alive today is your enemy. When it comes to spiritual warfare. They might be the most unpleasant of individuals you have ever met but they still are not your enemy in spiritual warfare.
Although they may act like your enemy they are not. Then why do they act the way they do? To explain this lets break all of mankind down into two Biblical categories:
First, there are people who are our brothers and sisters in Christ. That would include anyone who has believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and surrendered over to the Christ’s Lordship. Regardless of that persons past, race, language, country of origin, or any other ways we try to separate ourselves from one another, if they have given their lives over to Jesus the Bibles says they are family. Through Christ all our previous differences have been torn down and we all have been brought together in Christ as one family in God. Other Christians, therefore, are not our enemy, they are family.
Then, there are people who aren’t Followers of Christ. They have never surrendered to Christ by faith. They are still in opposition to God. If they are in opposition to God then why aren’t they our enemy. To answer that question lets look at how the Bible describes the unbelievers.
“Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corn 4:1-4 (NIV)
Did you see that? The god of this age, Satan, has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they can’t see the light of the gospel. Who do unbelievers act the way they do? Why are they so opposed to God? Simple because they can’t see the truth and it is Satan who has blinded them.
“Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:34-36 (NIV)
The fact of the matter is that every unbeliever is in bondage, a slave to, chained to sin! Sin is their master and they belong to sin. A slave has to do what their master wants them to do. The master controls them and directs them. So when an unbeliever persecutes one of our brothers and sisters in Christ they are only doing what their master commands them to do.
Now when you put both of these two images together when begin to see a very sad reality that should cause all of God’s people to not hate or consider unbelievers as the enemy. What’s that picture these two combined images create of an unbelievers. Simple this:
Unbelievers who persecute God’s people do so because they are SLAVES TO SIN and being commanded to do so and they are BLINDED BY SATAN so they can’t even see that what they are doing is horrible and sadly, because of their blindness, they think they are doing what is right and good in the sight of God.
Close your eyes for just a moment and begin to imagine some particular rude unbeliever you know but imagine them walking around in stocks and chains as a slave to sin and this big thick blindfold covering their eyes with Satan walking behind them whispering in their ears deceiving them into what to believe. Can you see it? Is that picture clear in your mind? Now wouldn’t you agree that image is just pitiful? But that’s how we all were before we to know Christ. And because it is such a pitiful sight it should well up in our hearts pity for them.
I think this is why Stephen, one of the first deacons of the early church, as he was being pummeled with stones to his death for preaching Jesus and the Gospel could make this petition to the Lord on their behalf. Stephen said.
“Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.” Acts 7:60 (NIV)
What? Are you kidding me? Did Stephen just really pray for God not to hold this particular sin of killing him against them? Yes, that is exactly what he did! And, why? Because Stephen knew that they were not his enemy!
What Stephen at the moment of his death said is very much like what Christ said while hanging on the cross. Christ prayed for the His Father to forgive those who were killing him because they know not what they are doing. You see Jesus knew that those people who were killing them were actually people blinded by Satan and couldn’t see the truth of their actions. Jesus knew that in a very real sense the people who had him arrested, convicted, and nailed to the cross they were not his enemy. In fact they, along with us, are the ones whom He was dying for. They and us are the ones that Jesus and God the Father loves! While it may not appears so at first glance, they are the ones we have come to liberate from slavery to sin and the blindness of Satan. They are the ones needing salvation.
The Apostle Paul knew this concept better than most other people, for he, at one time, was one of those murderers and Christian haters. He made it his life’s pursuit to seek out and arrest all who claim Christ as savior, that is until he was liberated from spiritual slavery and saw the truth for what it really was. And once he gave his life over to Christ, he became the very thing he once hated most, a Christ loving disciple maker! PEOPLE ARE OUR ENEMY! And we shouldn’t treat them as such. We should love them in spite of their sinfulness.
Now that we have clearly identified who’s not our enemy the next post will identify who really is our enemy and what he is like.
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When it comes to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those we know who are far from God having a credible life is everything! Would you agree with that statement?
It isn't which Gospel presentation you are using! I And, it isn't even how good of speaker you are!
When it come to effectively sharing Jesus with others it's all about whether or not you're believable or not. It's all about your credibility!
If you're not credible, if people don't believe you, it doesn't matter how true your message is, people won't trust what you are sharing with them about Jesus. CREDIBILITY IS EVERYTHING!
So, in today's message/video I want to share with you how to become a credible witness for Christ! How to build that credibility so others will trust in what you are sharing.
If it is your sincerest desire to live a powerful missional life that brightly shines the Light of Christ in your part of this dark world, then being credible is absolutely crucial!
Take a few moments and check out the following video on developing the credibility necessary for sharing Christ effectively with others!
If you haven’t already signed up to receive our powerful encouragement, equipping and empowerment for living a powerful missional life then just give us your email address in the box below. As part of signing up for the regular updates I will also send you our three part video training on sharing the Gospel with others.
Anything building you construct is only as strong as the foundation that you lay. This also true in constructing a strong life for missional living. The foundation isn’t just a good idea but an essential element. You can’t have a strong life without a strong foundation.
Jesus at the end of His Sermon On The Mount talks about the kind of foundation that can weather the powerful and destructive storms that life will throw at God’s people as they are joining Christ on His mission. He uses a story to illustrate the kind of foundation that Christians need.
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mind and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. The rains fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash." Matthew 7:24-27
Everyone Goes Through Storms In Life. Going through storms in life is a matter of “If” but just a matter of “When”. Everyone goes through difficult times that can rock a person to the very core of who they are. The storms might be financial, physical, and if you are intentionally trying to live a life on mission with Christ some of those storms can be in the form of persecutions for you faith and obedience to Christ. YOU WILL HAVE STORMS!
The key to weathering the storms and not collapsing is the foundation your life is built upon. Every person needs to really think through what kind of foundation they are building their life upon. Is it built on a solid rock that would give way or is it build upon the sand that has absolutely no stability at all. The determining factor on whether you life will stand or come crashing down during the storms of life is dependent upon the foundation you have built your life upon.
According to Jesus ALL PEOPLE fall into one of two categories. When you break life down to its lowest common denominator all people are either wise who make really good decisions or fools who haven’t given proper consideration to the choices they make. There’s no grey area. It’s either one or the other.
Both the wise person and the foolish person have one thing in common. They both have just heard Jesus speak the words of the Sermon On The Mount. They both heard what Jesus had to say about how to live life in a Godly way. They both understood what He meant.
There’s one distinguishing difference between the two (wise and fool). While both of the them heard what Jesus had taught, it was only the wise person who also obeys. The fool hears but disobeys. Obedience to Christ and His teachings is the solid rock foundation that allows a person to weather the storms of life. Disobedience is the sandy foundation that cannot hold a life together during those same storms.
Daily hear the teaching and commands of Christ.
“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth ….” Joshua 1:8a
Meditate on those teaching and apply them to your life.
“… but you shall meditate on them day and night ….” Joshua 1:8b
Be doers of the word.
“ … so that you will be careful to do all that is written with in it. For then will you make your ways prosperous and then will you have good success.” Joshua 1:8c
Jesus loved to teach people about the Kingdom of God and what it is like. He would most often use parables or stories to illustrate the lesson he was trying to teach. These stories dealt with real life things but had a spiritual or Kingdom of God lesson to it. Here’s the parable of the mystery of the Gospel seed.
"Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear him (Jesus). But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. Then Jesus told them this parable: 'Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." Luke 15:1-7 (NIV)
The Pharisees had constructed a very sophisticated religious bubble to insulate themselves from those who lived in the outside world. They had very little contact with those people and considered them to be sinners and unclean. In one hand the Pharisees were afraid that having any contact with these kinds of people would contaminate them but on the other hand they were hypocrites and just as sinful as anyone else.
But Jesus, in contrast, being the only truly righteous person lived, ministered and befriended those who were part of the sinful outside world. He hung out with them, he ate with them, he laughed and cried with them. He was truly a friend to the sinners.
Jesus' actions and attitudes toward sinners was very disturbing to the Pharisees! So they began to mutter amongst themselves about it. The HCSB translations says they began to complain about it. Isn't that amazing? Here is a person doing good and then you have a group of people "complaining" about it. Why would they complain? The Bible doesn't say why but maybe it was because they felt that Jesus' actions challenged their acceptable way of doing religion. They had set up a whole system of being isolated from the outside world, giving the appearance that they had it all together with the intent of attracting others to their way of doing things. But the problem was that they were hypocrites and they didn't have it all together. Their lifestyle was a lie and therefore ineffective. But here comes Jesus and he does have it all together. He's perfect. There is no hypocrisy in Christ at all and he is not isolating himself from the sinners of the world. In fact he is enjoying their company far more than he enjoyed the company of the Pharisees. So from the Pharisees perspective everything they had built Jesus was now condemning and tearing down by his new approach.
Maybe they were complaining because they personally were not comfortable with people who lived and worked in the outside sinful world. Maybe they didn't know how to relate to them. Maybe their dress, smell, speech and lifestyle were so different from what the Pharisees had become accustom to that they felt totally out of place around them.
Or maybe, they were jealous of the success and attention that Jesus was getting from the outside world! The people were no longer, if they ever did, looking to the Pharisees for spiritual direction now that they had a man who walked and lived amongst them showing them the way. The message of grace that Christ brought verses the message of works that the Pharisees taught was so different that the teaching of Christ was like a breath of fresh air and attracted the masses like bee's to honey. And I am quite sure that the Pharisees became very jealous of his apparent success.
No one really knows the reasons for their complaining. We just know that they did and I think, for those of us who are intentionally trying to pursue the mission of Christ, we can learn a very important lesson. Not every person who claims to have a relationship with God will be excited or supportive of our mission endeavors. In many respects the church of North America has become filled with our own brand of Pharisees. Maybe not in theology but at least in attitude. We have built our own "spiritual bubbles" and spend our time meeting in building trying to outshine each other. We think that we have built a very attractive religious model that those on the outside looking in will want to have. But the reality is that no one is really looking and what they do see may not be very attractive at all. And when follower of Christ actually begins to go out where the people are who need salvation it just might upset others who are comfortable in their nice pretty church buildings.
The thought of pastors or church members going into bars, parties of "those" sinners or any function that the church classifies as worldly in order to build relationships with the unchurched will be appalling to many and even cause a lot of church goers to worry. Yes, the Bible does say that Christians are not to "of the world" but it also does say that Christians are to be "in the world" and the light of the world. Many times the ones you would expect to receive the most encouragement from, as you pursue the mission of Christ, are the ones who cause you the most grief. Sometimes the biggest anxiety we experience as we go after “the least of these” are from our church family! They criticize us and even condemn us for going to places where sinners go.
But don't lose heart and don’t worry! Remember that you are following Christ's example and obeying his commands in this search for his lost sheep. While the work may be hard, discouraging and even difficult it will also ultimately be worthwhile and fulfilling. SO PRESS ON MI AMIGO!
Does the thought of going after the kinds of people that Jesus went after create worry and anxiety in you life? Don’t worry about that, you are not alone in that feeling! We are all used to going after people who more like us than we are people who are different from us. However, we can’t allow the worry and anxiety keep us for pursuing those people! They are people whom God loves and died for us. The Great Commission is for us to go to “ALL” the world. Not just part of it.
If you are going to be obedient to Christ then worry is something that you will need to eliminate from your life! You will need a strategy. A Biblical strategy based on Biblical principles and practices!
LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRY is book that will teach you those Biblical Principles and Practices and will lead you through a process to develop your own personal strategy for living a WORRY FREE LIFE!
I just have to tell you that I am so very excited to share this next endorsement with you about my book LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRY!
Why? Because it is from a person who make up the audience I am trying to reach and encourage to be on mission. That target audience are those that I like to call Ordinary Christians.
What Do I Mean By Ordinary Christian? First let me say that I am not trying to demean anybody by using that title. I do believe that all of who come to faith in Christ are now somebody very important. Not because of our own goodness but because of the grace of God.
When I say ordinary christians, I mean people who are just your everyday follower of Christ, who loves Jesus and wants to be obedient. They don't have any special Bible education from a Christian college or seminary but they do love studying the Bible and staying close to Jesus in prayer.
However, they may worry about joining Christ on His mission for one reason or another. This book is written to encourage and equip them to live a worry free life while being on mission with Christ.
Janet Howard is such a Christian. She loves Jesus with all her heart; she wants to be obedient to Him as an expression of her love for him; she want to share the love of Christ with others but has suffer with some worry over it.
I had her read this book so as to see if I had accomplished my goal for writing the book, which is to help people overcome their worry and join in God's mission. Read what she says and see for yourself if I accomplished it or not.
"This book, LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRY, is just as the title suggests. The beginning chapters give us foundational biblical reasons why we should not allow worry hinder the mission that God is calling all believers into. The remaining chapters give clear practical advice and steps to take to move forward in that mission without worry. It will be a great book for group studies to encourage and equip ordinary believers live out their mission. As I read through the book I was challenged in my own personal responsibility to not allow worry overtake the need to love people into the kingdom. It's a very worthwhile book to read.”
Janet Howard
An Ordinary Christian
Tucson, Az
Photo by Niklas Hamann on Unsplash
No matter how you cut it, life is filled with trials, tribulations and difficult times and as a result people tend to worry and fret over what will become of it all. But for those who are Followers of Christ who are actively and intentionally joining Christ on His mission of redeeming a lost world the trials, tribulations and difficult times are multiplied. In addition to all the normal difficulties of life Missional Christians also fight a spiritual battle of Satan trying to discourage the believer. But in the midst of all these struggles we hear the voice of Jesus ring out saying,
” … do not be anxious for your life … ” Matthew 6:25 (NAS)
Notice what Jesus didn’t say, He didn’t say, “Try not to worry to much!” No, He just told us to stop it! But how? How can you stop worry about the unknown that follows a trial and tribulation? Well lucky for us Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, not only tells us to stop it but He also tells us the cure for the worried life and how to experience peace instead!
This is so important for those who are intentionally living a missional life because this kind of lifestyle will be filled with lots of difficult trials and tribulations and if your faith is not firmly rooted in Christ you will literally worry yourself to death as you attempt to live a missional life.
So today, we are going to look at 2 reason why we shouldn’t worry!
2 Reasons For Why You Shouldn’t Worry (Matthew 6: 25-34)
” do not be anxious for your life. Is not life more than food, and body more than clothing.” (v. 25 NAS)
The truth of the matter is that when we worry or get anxious about something we are focusing on a very small part of our life. Whether we worry about food, clothing, health, work, or finances the truth of the matter is that these are just a small part of what makes up our lives. Life is also filled with many other things. These others things are good and pleasing and amazing. When we worry we are choosing to not look at the good things that are going on in our lives.
“And who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life.” (v. 27 NIV)
Think about it for a moment! What does worry do for you? What does it change? Does the energy you spend on worry help to fix the issue or the problem? No! Absolutely not! Can worry give you a longer life? No. Actually, science now says that worry can shorten your life. It can contribute to all kinds of physical problems that can lead to a diminished healthy life. So, I ask what good does worrying do for you? No good at all !
In this book you will learn:
Six Biblical principles for over coming worry while being missional.
Five Biblical principles for implementing a worry free life.
And a section for developing your own personal strategy for a life without worry.
In Luke 10:2 Jesus tells us that the spiritual harvest fields are ready to be harvested but there's one big problem to accomplishing that task! That problem is that there's just not enough workers to go out and harvest the fields. But then Jesus gives us the solution to our problem
Watch this video of how some Followers of Christ in Tucson, Arizona are implementing Christ's solution.
Are you ready to go start a monthly LUKE 10:2 PRAYER MEETING in your community? Can you pray for God to raise up, train up and unleash more laborers into the harvest fields?
As we are out in the spiritual harvest fields sharing Jesus and the Gospel with others, different people will give us different responses! Do you know what actions you should take based upon the response you get from the different people you share Christ with?
In this video you are going to learn some possible different actions you can take when people give you different responses to your offer of receiving Christ and your invitation to begin a discipleship process with them. It is a flow chart to help you know what to do and what to say!
" Yes, He (God) has humbled me and shown me what I am, revealing Himself as a present, a very present help in times of trouble. And though He does not deprive me of feeling in my trial, He enables me to sing, 'Yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation ... Now I am happy in my Saviour's love. I can thank Him for all, even the most painful experiences of the past, and trust Him without fear for all that is to come." Hudson Taylor
In this video I am going to share 3 things you can expect from God when you decided to join Him on His mission! They are taken from the above quote of Hudson Taylor and is verified with scripture. THEY WILL BE CHALLENGING TO HEAR AND ACCEPT! But they will also, once made part of your life, prepare you for whatever assignment the Lord sees fit to give you as part of His mission.
In this short but powerful verse we are given specific instructions on how to allow God to guide our lives! The Bible tells us: What To Do; What Not To Do; and To Claim A Promise! In other words there are three conditions (what to do and what not to do) that when fulfilled, God will keep His promise.
TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART!
In other words, we are to have faith in God. Trust is just another way of saying Faith! Throughout scripture, expressing faith in God is always essential to seeing God work in and through our lives. The Bible even says that faith is essential in pleasing God.
"Without faith it is impossible to please God" Hebrews 11:6
You have to have faith in God! You have to be trusting in God to work in you, through you and in the circumstances you find yourself in. ARE YOU TRUSTING GOD?
But we're not only to trust Him! We are to trust Him with all our hearts. Not some of our heart, not part of our heart but ALL of our heart. When it comes to trusting in God there should be absolutely no doubt or concern whatsoever. Our full trust and confidence in Him is what God expects of us, if we are expecting him to keep His promise!
DON'T RELY ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING!
This verse is very clear that we are not to lean or stand ourselves up on our own abilities to reason things out. Often, when God tells us what to do, it won't make a bit of sense.
I don't think it made much sense to Moses when the Children of Israel needed water and God told him to hit the rock with his staff! And then on a different occasion God tells him to speak to the rock to get water. Are you serious? Hit and speak to a rock! That doesn't make sense.
I don't think it made a bit of sense to Jesus' disciples when Jesus told them to feed 5,000 men plus women and children with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes! And if I was Peter it would have made no sense to me at all for Jesus to tell me to go out to a lake, grab a fish, open its mouth and there inside find money and then go pay the temple tax. Really! Feeding a large group of people with just a little bit of fun and finding money in the mouth of a fish to pay my taxes, just doesn't make sense!
But for God it isn't a requirement for it to make sense to us on how these crazy things that He tell us to do work out! We Don't Need To Understand!
The only requirement that God expects is obedience. Obedience is Jesus' LOVE LANGUAGE.
Jesus speaking, "If you love me keep my commandments." John 15:10
IN ALL YOUR LIFE MAKE GOD KNOWN!
Throughout you entire life there is always one common denominator! What is it?
GOD!
It was God who fashioned you, formed you, saved you and maintains you. Without God and Christ we would be helplessly and hopelessly drowning in our sea of sin! God has loved us with an everlasting love. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God! NOTHING!
So, why shouldn't we in all our ways acknowledge God? Why shouldn't we make Him known to the whole world? How can we help but speak of the great and mighty things that God has done in the past and in our own lives.
When we are acknowledging God in all our ways, we are shining the Light of Christ brightly in our part of this dark world! We are making this world a brighter place to live.
HE WILL GUIDE US AND DIRECT US!
After all, why wouldn't God direct us and lead us if we are putting our faith in him, making Him known to all the world and not leaning on our own understanding? Of course He will!
You fulfill those conditions and you can take this promise that God has made to you, to the bank and cash it in.
While there are other things that will determine how you portray Christ to others, I believe this video will share with you one of, if not the most, factor in how people see Christ in you. To learn more about how to shine the Light of Christ brightly in your part of this dark world, check out this powerful book on living a powerful missional life:
When we begin to join Christ on His mission and become intentional about making reproducing disciple makers, we can rest assured that we will run into times of trials and tribulations! Difficult times is something we can guarantee will happen and is something we will need to learn to deal with.
In Luke 9:23 we hear Jesus telling people what is expected of anyone who wishes to be one of his disciples,
"Then he said to them all, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily, and follow me."
According to Jesus there are three things that are essential if someone truly wants to become one of His disciples.
They Must Deny Themselves: A life of a disciple of Christ is a life of self-denial. To be His disciples means to no longer have your own ambitions, your own goals or your own desires. Instead, your life is for Christ and Him alone. You surrender your will for the will of Christ and your desire is to accomplish God's will.
As we all clearly know Jesus knew what it meant to pick up a cross and carry it! It meant to suffer and then die to accomplish the work set before Him. Even Jesus didn't relish the thought of going to the cross and would have preferred a different solution if possible. In Matthew 26:39 we get the rare opportunity to listen in on a prayer by Jesus to His Heavenly Father. It was a prayer concerning the cross. Listen to what Jesus asks:
"Going a little farther, He felled with His face to the ground and prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will but as you will."
Jesus didn't like the idea of going to the cross. He understood clearly the pain and suffering that was going to come with it. He referenced it as a "cup". This was an Old Testament imagery that was a reference to the Cup of "God's Wrath" being poured out as judgement. Jesus understood that going to the cross meant that he would be experiencing the full unbridled wrath of His Father. This was not a pleasant thought at all.
There's no written record of the Father's answer but we do know what it was by the actions of Jesus and His resolve to go to the cross and die. The Father's answer was simple,
"Son, you must go to the cross if people's sins are to be forgiven."
And out of love for us Jesus endured the cross.
Just like Jesus was to take up His cross, Jesus tells us that we are to pickup our cross daily and follow him. He is telling us that on a day by day basis we are to have a heart willing to suffer and possibly die in order to join Him on his mission of redeeming the world. We must be willing to deny our self interests and desires in order that others, still lost in sin, can hear the Good News and be saved. We must be willing to die, if need be, so others can be born again.
But how do you do that? How do we endure the pain and suffering that comes with being on mission with Christ so others can be saved? Again, we find our answer in the example of Jesus.
In Hebrews 12:2 we find our answer through Jesus' example.
" ... For the joy set before Him he endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the Thrown of God."
How did Jesus endure the cross? Not by focusing on the cross but look past it and focusing on the joy that would come after the cross.
That's how we endure daily picking up our cross with all the pain associated with it! We focus, not on the trial or tribulation but on all those who will receive Jesus by faith because of our faithfulness; by focusing on hearing Jesus words spoken to us, "Well done good and faithful servant"; by focusing on the "JOY" that will come when Christ returns and finds us faithful to the call.
THAT'S HOW YOU ENDURE!
Pastor Billy and His Family!
This Saturday, June 3rd I will be in Glens Ferry, Idaho at First Baptist Church with Pastor Billy to lead his congregation in the Gospel Conversation Training. It is his desire to see his church raised up, trained up and unleashed to go share the Gospel to every person in their ministry field until there's no place left to share.
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.
Become a Ministry partner of The Ordinary christian & help us give away powerful training to God's people to live a powerful missional life. HIT THE DONATE NOW!
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