Encouraging, Empowering & Equipping Ordinary Christians To Live Powerful Missional Lives!
Why is the Great Commission so important that it should become our driving desire in life? That's what this short video is intended to share. Watch it and share your thoughts about it.
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!
In order to shine the Light of Christ brightly in our part of this dark world we must learn to forgive one another. Forgiveness is the proof that we really love and love is the proof that we really know Christ! Watch this video and be encourage to forgive those that have hurt you.
Let's take a look at two important things that Jesus did to call out his first disciples. Then let's begin to join Christ on His mission by calling others to become disciples for Jesus also.
I love to hear your thoughts about this topic! Please share your thoughts as a comment!
Missional Living is all about sharing Jesus and the Good News of how Jesus' death, burial and resurrection can bring a person forgiveness of sin if they'd only leave everything to follow Jesus. In other words to make Jesus the most important thing in their life.
But what if that person isn't willing to follow Christ after hearing the Gospel and unwilling to follow Christ? What do you then? How do you respond to them?
In this weeks Missional Living Devotional we are going to address that issue and answer those questions by looking at how Jesus responded to a person who was unwilling to meet the conditions of being Christ disciple.
Take a few minutes and see how Jesus responded that situation!
If living a powerful missional life that shines the Light of Christ brightly in your part of this dark world is an all encompassing desire and passion in your life then I want to invite you to get a FREE subscription to my newsletter and video devotional. When you sign up I will keep you updated on new devotionals and trainings that will help make you a better trained for Christ's mission. These are powerful training that you will have access to. As an added bonus, when you subscribe I will also send you a FREE training report entitled HOW TO TRANSITION ANY CONVERSATION TO TALK ABOUT JESUS. Sign up to the in the form to the right.
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Based upon Jesus’ instruction in Luke 10 when He sent out the 72 to every town and village he was about with the purpose of finding, what Jesus referred to as, the Person of Peace this simple strategy was developed and designed to help you find the person of peace that God has prepared in your neighborhood.
A Person of Peace is someone that God has prepared and is ready to receive the Good News of Jesus Christ and could potentially be the key to reaching his or her entire network of relationships for Christ. This strategy is designed to engage your neighbors and find a person who is ready to give their heart and life over to the care and control of Christ.
The thing to remember when reading and implementing this strategy is that it’s not your goal to share with everyone about Christ but to find the person that God has already prepared, The Person of Peace, and to lead to Christ and into disciple. This person of peace will be empowered by God to reach their network of relationships.
You want to make enough plates of chocolate chip cookies for the number of houses in your neighborhood. Each plate should have about 4 to 5 cookies on them.
Write out and memorize your personal testimony of coming to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Your testimony should include 3 parts:
The story of the Sinful Woman is found in Luke 7:36-50. Read the story 4 or 5 times and then rewrite the story in your own words. Be true to the text, don’t add or subtract anything to it, but make sure to tell it in a way and with words you would normally speak and use. Practice telling the story over and over again. . Make sure you practice it by saying it out loud so you can hear your own voice telling the story.
Ask them if they admit that they are a sinner in need of forgiveness by God.
Share with them that Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for their sins and then was raised from the dead proving that he has power over death, grave and sin. Ask them if they believe in Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.
Share with them that they can have their sins forgiven if they are willing to surrender the control of their life over to the control of Jesus. If they are willing to confess Jesus is Lord they can receive forgiveness of sin. Ask them if they are willing to surrender control of their life over to the control of Christ. Ask them if they are willing to pledge their allegiance to Christ and live for Him.
After you finish sharing the story of the sinful woman you can seamlessly transition to sharing you testimony by saying something like this:
“You know there was a time in my life when I was desperate for God and His forgiveness just like the sinful woman in this story …”
“ and now one of the things that God has me doing is going around sharing with other people that just like the sinful woman was able to have her sins forgiven and just like I was able to have my sins forgiven, you too can have your sins forgiven if you’re willing to …”
I got to tell you this strategy works amazingly in finding the person that God is already at work. Here’s the best part! You’re not trying to convince anyone of anything. You’re just sharing the Gospel and looking to see how they respond. If they respond negatively, you just move on to the next house. If they respond positively you have just found the Person of Peace – you have just found the person whom called has already prepared to come to faith in Christ.
THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO JOIN CHRIST ON HIS MISSION
LOOKING FOR THOSE WHO THE FATHER HAS ALREADY PREPARED!
Are you ready to join Christ on His mission? Are you ready to bring the Kingdom of God to your neighborhood? If so, go buy all the fixings for chocolate chip cookies, memorize that story and your testimony.
Recently I ask is question to my Facebook Friends: What's the #1 FEAR you have about telling others about Jesus and how to have their sins forgiven?
The reality is that all of these fear could be actualized by you regularly and intentionally sharing your faith in Jesus Christ. But should that stop us? Should we allow our fears control us or should we allow our faith in Christ control us?
Listen to this wonderful promise that God has given each of us in 2 Timothy 1:7 (HCSB)
“For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.”
Members from Enchanted Hills Baptist Church after going out on a Door To Door Prayer Walk!
The people above received the T4T Reproducing Disciple Making Basic Training and then went out to do a Door To Door Prayer Walk to find where God was at work. Watch to the video below to hear the results of their time joining God on His mission. You just might be encouraged and empowered to do the same!
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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