DOES THE THOUGHT OF GOING AFTER THE PEOPLE JESUS WOULD GO AFTER WORRY YOU?
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"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!
LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRY was named as an AMAZON #2 BEST SELLER in the 2 categories of Missions/Missionary practices and Counseling/Recovery.
1 Hard To Swallow Explanation For Why God's People Suffer
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Have you ever asked a question, sincerely wanting an answer, but once the answer was given you really didn't like it? When it comes to why God allows His people to suffer no answer is really comforting. The answer itself actually might be very hard to swallow and accept.
In today's post I am going to lead us to examine one explanation for why God's people suffer. But let me be up front with you from the get go; I don't think it's going to taste very good in your mouth. It's true but hard to accept. And while it may be hard to accept it is also at the same time very challenging and noble. Take a moment and read the verse that I am going to be using as my text.
"For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you." 2 Corinthians 4:6-12 (NIV)
I just love how verse 6 starts off. God who made the light shine in darkness also made His light shine in our hearts through the knowledge of God that we see in Christ. GOD MADE HIS LIGHT SHINE IN US! That's just powerful. We didn't discover the Light! We didn't create the Light! We did't even put the Light inside ourselves. The Light of Christ that shines through us is a work of God from start to completion. It was through God's initiative and by His own hand that the Light of Christ lives in us and shines through us. In other words, we are God's chosen vessels, that He is displaying His light through in our part of this spiritually dark world. That's our purpose and our mission. POWERFUL! SIMPLY POWERFUL!
We contain Christ's Light in "Jars of Clay" or in our broken and feeble mortal bodies. Now here it comes. This is the part that can be hard to swallow! God has chosen to display his light in the broken down and beaten up bodies of His saints in order to show the world that the power His saints display are not from them but really from God.
God wants to make sure that the world realizes who is truly the one powerful! God wants to make sure that we, his saints, don't get the credit for what He has done and for the credit that He deserves. And to insure that God's power and Light is manifested to the world in such a way that He alone get's the glory, He (God) allows his saints to experience trials, tribulations, persecutions and all kinds of hardships. In dying with Christ, through persecution, the life of Christ is manifested through us!
Here's why I also call this explanation and this kind of lifestyle noble: It's what the Apostle Paul says at the end of these verses.
"So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you."
It's NOBLE because all this suffering and dying is intended for the eternal life to be made available to others who still need to experience it. Nobility isn't define by what you say you believe but through your acts of righteousness out of your beliefs. What better act of righteousness is there than a person willing to suffer and even die so that others can see Jesus and receive eternal life? DON'T YOU THINK IT SOUNDS VERY CHRIST LIKE? ISN'T THAT EXACTLY WHAT CHRIST DID FOR US?
As Followers of Christ we are still here on planet earth for one reason and one reason only! That reason is simply so we can live a powerful missional life that brightly shines the Light of Christ in our part of this dark world. If nothing else is accomplished and we simple shine Jesus in a way that God gets the glory and not us then we've accomplish all that is of real importance. And as we accept our role of being the Light of the World then we need to also accept the very real possibility that suffering will be a part of that shining.
7 Things Not To Do As A Follower Of Christ
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Matthew 6:1-7:6
Jesus, on the Sermon On The Mount, talks about many things that are important for a Christian should do in order to live a powerful missional life and to shine the Light of Christ brightly in their part of this dark world. But, Jesus also talk about things that a Follower of Christ should avoid and "NOT DO"!
It's important to remember that knowing what NOT TO DO is just as important as knowing what TO DO, especially when it comes to missional living. In this post we are going to identify 7 things that Jesus tells us not to do! It's just a list and doesn't go into any commentary as to why or how, so I would encourage you to read the passage for yourself and meditate on it so you can gain the full weight of what Jesus was conveying. SO, LET'S GET STARTED!
#1 Don't Do Good Deed's So Others Can See!
"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, You will have no reward for your Father in Heaven." (6:1)
#2: Don't Pray Like The Hypocrites
"Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. I assure you: They've got their reward." (6:5)
#3: Don't Fast Like The Hypocrites
"And when you fast, don't be sad face like the hypocrites. For they make their faces unattractive so their fasting is obvious to people. I assure you: They got their reward." (6:16)
#4: Don't Store Up Treasures On Earth
"Don't collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal." (6:19)
#5: Don't Worry About Your Life
"This is why I tell you: Don't worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothing?" (6:25)
#6: Don't Condemn Others
"Do not judge, so that you won't be judged." (7:1)
#7: Don't Give What's Precious To Those Who Won't Appreciate It!
"Don't give what is Holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them with their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces." (7:6)
