Encouraging, Empowering & Equipping Ordinary Christians To Live Powerful Missional Lives!
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:
Many of God's people are sensing that Christ's return might be coming more sooner than later! But the question that begs to be answered is: What should God's people concentrate on as they are waiting for Christ's return?
From God's word we can see 4 things we are told should be our aim and priority as we wait. Whether Christ's return is sooner or later these four things should always be what we focus on.
"The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen" 1 Peter 4:7-11 (NIV)
There are two important factors that are vital to help us maintain a steadfastness in praying. They are being "Alert" and "Sober Minded". Being alert means that we are to be aware of what is happening around us both in the physical word and in the spiritual world. How can we pray as we should if we are not noticing what is happening around us.
The second is like the first but also slightly different and that is to be sober minded. We need to keep ourselves from becoming intoxicated by the pleasures and the trappings of this world. Intoxication of this world is probably the biggest hinderance to a powerful and God honoring prayer life.
Peter says two important things when it comes to the love that we need to have for one another. First, he tells us that we need to love each other deeply. Our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ can't be a surface kind of love that is more "talk" than it is a "walk'. Talk cheap love doesn't do anything for anybody accept offer flattery. We need to show deep love for one another because as the day approaches for Christ's return we might actually need to lay down our lives for one another out of love. If you don't have a deep love for each other you won't be willing to die for that person.
Next Peter tells us that love covers a multitude of sins. That means if we really love someone and I mean really love them we will over look their faults and even their sins agains us. We will forgive each other even in the midst of them persecuting us.
Hospitality without grumbling. Attitude is everything. If you do all the right things but do them all with the wrong attitude - it's still wrong and amounts to nothing. Doing something nice for someone but not really wanting to still displeases God. God wants us to desire with all our hearts to express love through good deeds.
God has given you spiritual gifts not for your benefit but for the benefit of His body - the church and for it to be done in such a way that Christ gets the praise! God ministers to His people, through His people, by using their spiritual gifts. You need to use your spiritual gifts, use them liberally and use them to strengthen your church fellowship.
What do you think about that statement? Haven't we always been taught that this is your life so you better make sure it what you want? Most of the world has a very self-centered view point when it comes to living their lives. They are looking for a life that will means something to them and will benefit them!
But I'm here to share with you that living a powerful missional life isn't about you and what you get out of it but it's about the other guy and what you can do for him!
Missional Living is about sacrifice; about doing without; and putting aside you own personal desires in order to both please God and benefit those that are still lost in spiritual darkness. Missional Living is a lifestyle of self-sacrifice where you are willing to loose yourself - so others can find not themselves but in order for them to find Christ.
Jesus said that anyone who wishes to be great in God's Kingdom must first learn to become the servant of all. So, I guess another way of looking at missional living is to look at it as a servant lifestyle where we are here to serves those who still need to find Christ and place their trust in him.
But here's the irony of this whole thought. There's no other way to find your life unless you are willing to first loose your life; you can't truly live unless you first die to self; personal satisfaction doesn't come from being a benefit to yourself but by first being a help to others.
Let the words of Christ resonate in your thoughts and heart as you contemplate missional philosophy of living.
"And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." Luke 9:23-26
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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