Biblical Principle #1 For Shining The Light Of Christ

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Biblical Principle #1 For Shining The Light Of Christ Brightly In Your Part Of This Dark World!

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.

Your Weaknesses Are Not A Liability For A Powerful Missional Life

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During my time in ministry as I am trying to encourage or equip people for sharing Jesus with others and making disciples for Christ I have often heard this rationale why someone cain’t do the work of disciple making. What is rationale or excuse?

“I Am Too Weak To Do The Work Of The Lord”

But is that true? Today I want you to watch this video that discuses this very thing and hopefully to encourage you to realize that your weakness are not a liability to doing the work of the Lord! WATCH! I THINK YOU’LL BE AMAZED!

So now what you going to do? Are you willing to get up and start trusting God as you join Him on His mission of discipling the nations?

Powerful Missional Living Is All About Learning To Be A Powerful Influencer!

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Photo by Elijah Macleod on Unsplash

Photo by Elijah Macleod on Unsplash

Do you have the influence skills necessary for living a powerful missional life? Watch this video to find out!

People of influence have learned how to manage the emotion of worry! They don’t worry. As a Follower of Christ there is absolutely no reason to allow worry to part of your life, especially as you live a life on mission with Christ.

Check out this great book called, LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRY. This book will give you the Biblical principles and practices you need to rid your life of worry. CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT!

What Curtis Sergeant Has To Say About LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRY!

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Curtis Sergeant

Curtis Sergeant

I pretty excited to share that my new book LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRY has received a powerful recommendation/review from Curtis Sergeant.  

Here's little bit about Curtis which will explain why I am so honored to have his recommendation.  

Curtis has served our Lord in some very powerful positions.  Here are a few:

  • He is the founder and lead trainer for MetaCamp. A group to train people to live out powerful missional lives. 

  • He has served with E3 Partners as Director of Global Strategies and Vice President.  E3 Partners is a mission agency intended to ignite church planting movements all over the world. 

  • Director Of Church Planting at Saddleback Community Church.

  • Served with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in the following positions: Associate Vice President For Global Strategy; Strategy Associate For East Asia; Global Strategy Coordinator & Church Planting Trainer; and Strategy Coordinator.  

This guy has served our Lord faithfully for the purpose of saturating our world with the Gospel of Jesus.  

Here's what he has to say about LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRY:

"Jay's book follows a similar pattern to many of Paul's epistles, with the first half consisting of theology and principles and the second half being practical application.  The second half is culture-specific.  The first half is universal in application.  The first half is timely and much-needed in our day.  It provides a critically important perspective which has come to be alarmingly rare in recent years.  Its message is simple but not easy.  It directly confronts the idolatry of comfort and convenience in current expressions of Christianity.  It challenges us to live the abundant lives the Lord intends for us to live, the life of a disciple, the life of a servant rather than one who is to be served.  It is worth reading for one's own growth and passing on to the disciples we are making.  I recommend it." ~ Curtis Sergeant

It is my sincerest desire that this book helps God's people to shed the worry that plagues them to join Him on his mission of making disciples of the whole world.  

If you are a Follower of Christ and worry holds you back from joining Christ on His mission or holds you back from doing anything that you know God wants you to do, then it’s time to get rid of that worry and begin to live a worry free life. GET YOUR COPY OF THIS POWERFUL BOOK TODAY & LEARN HOW!

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR COPY OF THIS POWERFUL BOOK


Please feel free to share this message with you friends on Facebook & Twitter.  

DOES THE THOUGHT OF GOING AFTER THE PEOPLE JESUS WOULD GO AFTER WORRY YOU?

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Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

"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.

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WORRY THE DEBILITATING FACTOR FOR MISSIONAL LIVING

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Christians all over the world experience unnecessary worry! They worry about health, they worry about finances, they worry about their children, they worry about being obedient to God, and the list could go on and on about the things that Christians worry about!

But for Christians who sincerely want to join Christ on His Great Commission, worry isn't only unnecessary but it is also debilitating! Why is i debilitating? Because is paralyzes you from doing the things that you really want to do or the things that you know you should do. I know of a person who decided not to graduate from college once they learned that they would required to take a speech class. You see they were worry and fearful over speaking in public and that worry crippled them from finishing school.

What's a follower of Christ to do? After all, isn't worry just a natural part of life, including a Christian's? Isn’t just something we need to accept as part of our life? Or, is it? Does God really want us to just deal with the fact that worry is a part of our life or is it part of God’s plan for you to live a worry free life now that you’ve come to faith in Jesus Christ?

I BELIEVE A WORRY FREE LIFE IS WHAT GOD’S WILL IS FOR OUR LIVES!

In the book LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRY you will discover that worry isn't part of God's plan for His children and it will serve as your guide on how you can rid your life of it forever. Before I tell you what you will learn from this book, let me first tell you what this book is not!

  • First, this is not a book containing five easy steps to a more fulfilling and peaceful life.

  • Second, this book isn't a watered down Christian self-help book that contains a bunch of fluff with no real spiritual substance or meat.

  • Third, this book not a “Name It & Claim It” book. On the contrary, the pages contained in this book are going to challenge you beyond your level of comfort!

As matter of fact, as you read this book you may begin to wonder if you really want to live that worry free life! The Biblical principles that you will learn will sound totally counter intuitive to all that you have come to know about living a life without worry. You will learn that a life without worry is a life of denial; You will learn that obtaining that life will require you to die to yourself and take up your cross daily and follow Christ. It is a life of total submission in mind, heart, and will to the will of the resurrected Jesus.

This book will provoke you! I am not writing this book as a comfort to you but more to challenge you! I want to provoke you to rethink why you’re worried, why you allow those worries to paralyze you from joining Christ on His mission, and why God still has you in this world.

LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRY will teach you six Biblical principles and five Biblical practices for living a life free of worry. These principles are taken from a famous quote from the great missionary, Hudson Taylor and exemplified through his life of service.

So, with this warning clearly given, read at your own risk!

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR COPY OF

LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRK

A Powerful Thought To Consider About Powerful Missional Living

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How To Endure Difficult Times So To Accomplish Christ's Mission

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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.

  1. 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. 

  2. They Must Pick Up Their Cross Daily: The cross in Jesus' day was a painful instrument of death. Joining Christ on His mission quite often will be a very painful experience. Many have suffered greatly and even died for their commitment to Christ and His mission.  
  3. They Must Follow Him: It is Christ who sets the place for our missional assignment - not us! He's the one who tells us where to go - not us telling him where we are willing to go.  Quite often Christ's followers found themselves in the most darkest of places, led their by Christ, for the purpose of sharing with those who live in those troubled areas the Gospel.

The suffering and difficult times we may experience are part of God's will for us and in accomplishing the mission set before us!

Jesus Understood Clearly The Pain Associated With Carrying A Cross

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.

Jesus Refocused & Looked Past The Suffering.

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. 

  1. The joy of knowing that everything that needed to be done for the salvation of men had been accomplished. 
  2. The joy that He was obedient to His father even to the point of death on a cross. 
  3. The joy of all those men, women, boys and girls dressed in white robes standing around the Thrown of God singing Holy, Holy, Holy.  Jesus was focusing on the End-vision. 

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!

4 Places That Define Your Mission Field

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Do you know what they are?  No! Then watch this training and start working in the fields God has assigned you!

Do you know what they are?  No! Then watch this training and start working in the fields God has assigned you!

In todays training we are going to look at the 4 places that define your mission field.  This is going to answer the question "Who Am I Responsible For In Sharing The Gospel?"  By answer this question you will know where to begin to share the Gospel of Christ and where to begin in making disciples for Christ.

If you have found this training to be helpful please share this post with you Christian family and friends on Facebook and Twitter!  

Please leave a comment and share with us what you think!

How To Face Change With Confident Anticipation

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In preparing to end this past year and to start the new year, it seemed only appropriate to talk about the subject of change. 

Life seems to offer us one guarantee and that is that change will happen. Change is something we tend to fear and become anxious about because we do not feel we are in control of life when it happens! But is that really true?

I tend to look at the subject of “Change” as falling into 1 of 2 categories:

  • Planned Change:  This is change that we have had a part in planning.  It can involve things like:

1.  A career change

2. A move to a new city

3. Retirement

  • Unexpected Change:  This is the kind of change that seems to be thrusted upon us and were were clueless that it was going to take place. These can include:

1. The death of a loved one.

2. Unexpected illness

3. Being laid off from your job.

The problem with both of these ideas is that they focuses on the wrong thing!  The focus is all on us! It's all about what "I Want" or "That I need to be in control".  It's all "I", "I", "I"!  It's a pretty self-centered approach to looking at change!

But are we really to be the focus when facing change?  Is it really all about us?  I don't think so. 

The good news is that regardless of whether the change was PLANNED OR UNEXPECTED God was the one in control all along and He was not caught off guard by the change.  Instead, it was in His sovereign that caused the change to occurred. 

If we trust in God and allow the change He brought about to grow us to become more like Jesus in how we respond and act, then we are promised that it will always work out for good!

Now in light of what I just said let me encourage you not to be short sighted when you consider if some change worked out for your good or not.  Our perspective should go far beyond this temporal life that we live it and go on into eternity.  MUCH OF WHAT WE EXPERIENCE HERE IN THIS LIFE WILL NOT BE ACTUALIZED WITH GOOD UNTIL WE ENTER INTO THE NEXT LIFE!

Let's remember what 1 Cor 2:9 says!

“However, as it is written: "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived" -- the things God has prepared for those who love him—“

Let’s be honest, most of us have no idea all the great things that God has in store for us through the trials, tribulations and the changes he has us go through in this life.

So, how do we face change with confident anticipation?  Does God's word have anything to say that will help us?

Let's read Romans 8:28

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (NAS)

This verses gives us 3 clues that will help us when it comes to understanding change in our lives:

I.  God Is The One That Has Caused The Change To Take Place

Did you notice the verse in Romans starts off by saying, "... God causes all things ..."?  It is God who has brought about the circumstances that will create the needed change.  When things change it is because God is at work.  

It's not as if God was caught off guard by the change and then has to react to it.  No! God was the author of the change and the circumstances that were used to bring the change about.  

This one insight should bring you tremendous comfort when considering the changes that may or may not occur during this next year.  You can face the future and any new change with confidence because you know who was the author of the change.

II.  The Purpose Of The Change Is To Bring About Good!

Look again at what Romans says, "... God causes all things to work together for good."  That right for GOOD!  Even with the most dreadful of circumstance God has a purpose and plan at work to bring about good.

Take a look at Joseph the son of Jacob who was sold into slavery by his 10 older brothers and then afterwards thrown into jail because of being falsely accused of trying to rape his masters wife.  God used all those circumstances to get Joseph to be in the right place at the right time, so he could be used by God to save lots and lots of people from starvation.  Joseph himself even acknowledges this truth when he says to his brothers, much later, that even though what they did, they did with the intent to harm him, God intended it for good and to save many.   All the pain, all the heartache, all the betrayals and all the suffering Joseph had to endure was part of the plan God used to bring about good. 

Shouldn't it be comforting to know that God will never waste a hurt?  That will use all your pain and suffering to bring about good? Shouldn't we be able to face each new change that happens in our lives with confident anticipation knowing that some how God is going to use it for His glory and the good of others?

III.  This Promised Is Reserved Only Those Who Have Been Called By God!

" ... to those who are called according to His purposes."  

Not everyone who goes through painful changes are promised that good will come out of it!  No, only those who have been called by God and have a relationship with Him.  

In Noah's day when God brought about a huge change by flooding the world only Noah, his wife, his 3 sons and their wives benefited from the good that came about.  

Here's the wonderful thing about this great truth:  If you have a personal relationship with Christ because you have personally believed in His death, burial and resurrection and have surrendered control of your life over to the care and control of Christ, then this promise is for you.  

It's not just reserved for the superstar christians!  It is for all who have called upon the name of the Lord.  And that includes you. 

How To Use Social Media To Shine The Light of Christ: Part 1

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Social Media is a major part of the our lives! We use it everyday. We stay connected with people through it. Therefore, it has become a major tool that needs to be used wisely to shine the Light of Christ brightly in our part of this dark world. 

I am going to do a series of posts to help Followers of Christ use social media wisely and Biblically in order to share Christ to a world that desperately needs him.  Check out this first video and see what you think. 

3 Important Facts About Knowing God's Will

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As the Apostle Paul was writing his letter to the church at Colosse he tells the Christians there about a prayer that he offers up to God on their behalf.  This prayer contains some important information about knowing God's Will.  Read what it says,

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through spiritual wisdom and understanding ..."  Colossians 1:9 (NIV)

In this one verse we can learn 3 important facts about knowing God's will.  They are:

#1:  Knowing God's Will Is Of Utmost Importance.

Did you notice as you read the verse about that Paul said this this prayer is a prayer that he is praying for them daily?  For the Apostle Paul making sure that new believers in Christ were fully grounded in Christ was essential and if he was to accomplish that goal it was of the utmost importance that the new believers knew the will of God! 

Paul knew that being fully matured in Christ would require new believer to know what God's will is.  It would be impossible for them to be strong in their faith and not know God's will.  That's why he prayed daily for those coming to faith.  That's why his prayers contained petitions that those new believers would know and understand God's will. 

How Important And Essential Is Knowing God's Will To You?

How often do you pray for the new believers that you know about? That they would know God's will?

#2:  Knowing God's Will Is An Act Of God.

Did you notice in that verse that Paul was asking God to fill them with the knowledge of His will?  Who's doing the filling?  God is!  Who's the container being filled?  We are!  

Why is this important?  Simply because, you don't discover God's will - no instead it is God who reveals His will to us.  If we are going to understand what God's will is - it is because God has opened our eyes to see the truth of His will.  If God doesn't enlighten us we could never understand His will.  

#3:  Knowing God's Will Requires Spiritual Wisdom & Understanding.

Finally Paul states in his prayer that he is asking God to fill us with his will through spiritual wisdom and understanding.  Not human wisdom and understanding but spiritual wisdom and understanding.  The wisdom of this world does not and cannot comprehend the will of God.  To the world the will of God sounds like foolishness.  Understanding God's will requires us to have spiritual wisdom and understanding that come from God. 

The word for "wisdom" means the ability to understand what God is doing and the word for "understanding" means the ability to apply what they understand.  You see not only does God want us to understand His will is but He also wants us to know how to apply His will to our everyday life.  God doesn't just tell you what His will is to keep you informed - God shares his will with you because he wants you to join Him in what He is doing. 

Please leave a comment sharing what you think and share this post with your social media of Facebook and Twitter. 

Encouragement For Living A Powerful Missional Life

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In this video you will get to hear Steve Addison interview Daniel Reece on how God reached out to him and then has been using him to ignite a powerful movement here in North America.  WATCH & BE ENCOURAGED!

If you know of other Christians that would be encouraged by this video then share it with them on Facebook & Twitter.  

I would also encourage you to check out Steve Addison's website for more great information at:  MOVEMENTS.NET

A Biblical Story On Joining Christ On His Mission

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In Acts 8:26-40 we have an amazing story about an ordinary christian by the name of Philip who was used by God in an amazing way.  From it we learn some powerful principles for shining the Light of Christ brightly in our part of this dark world. Watch and see what you might learn.

Take a few moments and share your thought as a comment.

Share This Post With Your Family & Friends!

What Can We Learn From Major League Baseball Player Hank Aaron About Powerful Missional Living

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Sometimes we can learn the greatest lesson about shining the Light of Christ from people in different professions!  Today we are going to look at Major League Baseball Player Hank Aaron and a lesson his career can afford us to live powerful missional lives.  Watch this video and be both encouraged and inspired to go shine the Light of Christ brightly in your part of this dark world. 

If you have found this video please share this post on Facebook and Twitter & Leave Us A Comment About Your Thoughts & Ideas!

2 Essential Characteristics For Developing A Missional Living Reputation

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Listen to what it was that caught the attention of the Apostle Paul and others around the known world at that time that caused him to thank God for them every time he thought of them.  These two things were the characteristics that built a powerful missional living reputation for that church.

Do you have those characteristics?  Watch and find out.  

If You Found This Video Helpful Please Share It With Your Friends and Contacts On Facebook & Twitter!  

3 Promises From God That Will Give You Courage

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Joining God in His activity is never an easy proposition especially when you first start out joining Him on His mission.  Why?

  • Because it requires COURAGE!
  • Because it requires FAITH!
  • Because it requires ACTION!

It's one thing to sit around and talk about joining Christ on His mission and how important it is but quite a different thing to actually get up and do it!

Hudson Taylor the great English missionary to China was thought by many of his friends to be a bit odd because he was willing to give up all the comforts of England and go to that foreign and less modern place of known as China.  What was the difference between Hudson Taylor and His friends?  COURAGE! Hudson Taylor was able to muster up the courage necessary to go shine the Light of Christ in China while the others were to afraid! 

But what is courage and where does it come from? If we can answer these two important question maybe we too, like Hudson Taylor, will be able to more effectively join Christ on His mission and go where He would send us! Maybe, we too will be able to shine the Light for those who are still lost in spiritual darkness and lead them back home to God.

Let me quickly answer that first question and get it out of the way.  What is courage?  

"Courage is the ability to do something even though it frightens you; it is strength in the face of pain or grief. Some might say that a courageous person is brave and bold; strong and tenacious; or tough and valiant.  Courage is the ability to go out and do something when everything inside of you is screaming to not go."  

Courage is one of those virtues that everyone admires and wishes to have but few actually exhibit it. Many feel that courage can only be found in just a few people and that most people will never attain it.  

However, courage is a necessary ingredient for a powerful missional life. Just to be able to say, like the Prophet Isaiah,

"Here I am Lord send me",

Requires courage. But where does that kind of courage come from? How can ordinary christians develop that mental state that will allow them to abandon all to join Christ in His work?  The answer is simple!

Courage is found in the PROMISES OF GOD! 

In this post we are going to look at 3 Specific Promises that God gave to Joshua when He commissioned him to be part of God's mission.  Joshua's calling is found in Joshua 1:1-9. Three times in those 9 verses God instructs Joshua to have courage.  3 TIMES!  Why?  Because God knew that the commissioning of Joshua was going to cause Joshua tremendous stress and anxiety and so God was reassuring him that he could have courage to do what he was being called to do.  

3 promises to match 3 admonitions to have courage.  

These same 3 promises are for all of Christ's Followers and when fully accept will give you the courage to join Christ also on His mission.  Let's take a look at Joshua 1:1-9 to learn of these 3 Promises.

3 Promises From God

#1:  The Promise Of Success

"Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory." (v. 3,4)

This promise to Joshua was based on a previous promise that God had made to Abraham and again to his son Isaac and again to Jacob.  God had promised that Abraham and his family line would inherit that land as God's gift to them. 

Notice that the verses say that it "shall" be your territory but it doesn't say, "it might be your territory" or "it's possible for it to be your territory".  No. God said that the promise land WOULD BE THEIR TERRITORY and that Joshua would bring them into it to possess it.  

IT WAS A PROMISE OF SUCCESS!

In Matthew 24:14 Jesus make not only a prediction but also another promise of success that's important to all of us who are joining Christ on His mission.  He says,

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." (NIV)

What's the promise in this verse?  That the gospel of the kingdom of God "WILL" be preached to the whole world!  Again, there's no if's, but's or maybe's! The Gospel of Jesus Christ will be preach to every tribe, nation, language and people group in the whole world. IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN!  

So, when we join Christ in His mission of sharing the Gospel to people all around us we are guaranteed success! We cannot fail! Why? Because it's a promise of success.  When you join Christ in making disciple of all nations you will succeed because Christ has already appointed it success. 

Knowing you can't fail in joining Christ on His mission should bring you such confidence. Why wouldn't you join Him if you couldn't fail? Why wouldn't you have courage if your success was guaranteed?

#2: The Promise Of God's Word

"Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.  This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (vs. 7,8) 

This promise is stated over and over again throughout the Bible! The promise is simply this:  Know God's Word, meditate on God's Word and OBEY God's Word you will be successful.  It's really quite simple. Obedience to God and His word will bring the blessings of God into your life but failure to obey God and His word will bring about His disfavor. 

Why is this true? Because God is the creator of all things and as such He knows how it is suppose to operate. When we operate our life according to the way it was designed we experience the blessings of a well operated life but if we chose not to live life according to the way God has designed it our life will break down and fall apart. IT'S JUST THAT SIMPLE.

It's like a car. You can chose to run your car and never get an oil change as it is recommended to get every 3,000 miles. And you can actually run that car for many miles that way. But eventually there comes a time will the oil breaks down and your car engine locks up and won't run anymore. The car will actually break down many miles earlier than it would have if you had just gotten the recommended oil change.  Our life is the same way. We can live life contrary to God's owner manual, the Bible, for a while. But eventually your life breaks down and will die much earlier than it would have if you had lived according to God's word. 

If you're joining Christ on His mission and living life according to the Word of God you are promised success in your missional endeavors! Look at the end of verse 7, "...that you may have prosper wherever you go." 

Why Wouldn't You Be Courageous If Your Obedience To God's Word Promised Success?

#3:  The Promise Of God's Presence

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (v. 9)

Here God tells Joshua that there is absolutely no reason why he should be afraid and he has every reason to have courage because He (God) will be with him wherever he goes.  He said the same thing in verse 5:

"No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you."

God's promise to Joshua was to never leave him or forsake him!  Isn't that the most encouraging thing you could ever think of?  If God's continuous presence doesn't give you courage I don't know what will!

Listen to what Jesus says at the end of when He is giving the Great Commission to go make disciples.  He says,

"and low I am with you always even to the end of the age."

There's that same promise for us that was given to Joshua! Christ has promised to always be with us as we join Him on His mission of discipling the nations.  

  • Why shouldn't we be courageous?
  • How could anything discourage us when we are assured that Christ will always be with us. 

These 3 promise that will give you courage are given to those who are committed to joining Christ (God) on His mission. Begin to join God in shining the Light of Christ in your part of this dark world but do it without fear and filled with courage. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts about this post. Leave a comment and share what's on your mind and let's see if we can get a good discussion going. Come back to read what others have to say and respond to their comments.

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Remembering What It's Like To Live In Spiritual Darkness

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To effectively live a powerful missional life Christians need to remember that those who are without Christ live in spiritual darkness.  This video is intended to remind us that people are still lost in darkness and to help look at people with new eyes!

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