Encouraging, Empowering & Equipping Ordinary Christians To Live Powerful Missional Lives!
There are a few things written in the Bible that Christ says are "MUST" things that need to get done! Today's post talks about one of those things that Jesus says is a must for him and for us.
Watch and be challenged to make sure your priorities include this one "MUST" thing!
When God is ready to do something new, when He is ready to move His mission into a new territory or when God begins to expand his mission to into areas uncharted, He first has to prepare a person to go and do His will! Understand this: God's plan for expanding His mission is always through His people. We who know Christ have been commissioned as His ambassadors to this lost world. So, when God want to do something new in accomplishing His mission he will first prepare one or more of His ambassadors to go.
In Acts chapter 10 we read of such a preparation when God was wanting to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles. He first had to prepare his ambassador, Peter, and then commissioned him to share the message of reconciliation to them. Let's read what Acts 10:9-23 to see what we can learn:
"About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.' Surely not, Lord!' Peter replied. 'I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.' The voice spoke to him a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon' house was and stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, 'Simone, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.' Peter went down and said to the men, 'I'm the one you're looking for. Why have you come?' The men replied, 'We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.' Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests. The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along." (NIV)
When I begin to contemplate this story of Peter's life I see four important things that will help us to be ready to move with God into a new mission field that He wants us to go into. They are:
Isn't it interesting that Peter had been in a time of intense prayer just prior to God calling him into a new mission territory? He had been praying so hard and long that he became hungry. I have often found that during my times of intense prayer I also have become hungry. Prayer isn't a passive activity that requires no energy. On the contrary, prayer can be a very exhausting activity that can cause a person to feel physically tired as well as spiritually and emotionally tired.
Prayer prepares the Christ's Ambassador to be open and receptive to what God wants to share with them. Prayer removes the spiritual blinders and chains that can hold us back from joining God where He is moving.
We find in Acts 13 that while some of the prophets and teachers at the church in Antioch were in a time of intense worship, fasting and prayer that God called for Barnabas and Saul to be set apart for the work that he was calling them into. This was to be the beginning of the 3 missionary journey's of Paul. And it was during a time of prayer, worship and fasting that God called for his servants to be set apart.
When people share with me that they never sense God's call to be used, I often wonder how intentional they are in prayer and how submissive are they in their prayers. For if we are praying and have a submissive heart that says, "where ever you lead I'll go" I am confident that God will employ that servant into His service.
How intentional and consistent are you being in your prayer life? How submissive are you being as you pray? Are you trying to tell God what you want and need for him to do? Or, are you asking God what He wants to be done? Yes, we are to pray for God to meet our needs but, as we learn from Jesus' example, we should be in the attitude that says, "Not my will - but thy will be done!"
Next we see God beginning to speak to Peter while he was in a trance. This experience wasn't confusing to Peter. It was like normal dream people have while they are asleep. This was different. This was a God encounter and Peter recognized it as such. Peter wasn't confused about if it was God speaking to him - Peter knew it was God speaking to Him.
You see when God speaks, God makes it clear it is Him who is speaking. When you look in the Bible to those whom God spoke to, you never find a person wondering if it was God speaking to Him or not. No! they knew it was God and more importantly they knew exactly what God was telling them.
God doesn't want His people confused about if it is really Him talking to them! God wants us to know for certain that He is the one talking to us and for us to know clearly what He is saying. If there is ever a time when we are unsure if what we are sensing is of God or not we have a wonderful promise in the Bible found in James 1:5,
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. Than man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."
What a beautiful and reassuring promise! If you are uncertain that what you are sensing needs to happen or if it is from God or not, just ask him to confirm it to you and he promises he will. All we have to do is "Ask & Believe".
Have you come to the place in your relationship with Christ that you can recognize the voice of God and discern what He is telling you? Being able to recognize God's voice and understanding what He is saying is ESSENTIAL for joining God in those new mission fields where He is moving. Why should God call you to join Him if you're unable to discern when He is talking to you and what He is saying?
Moving into a new mission territories most likely will stretch you greatly in your comfort and your values.
Before this encounter with God Peter was both uncomfortable at the thought of going into the home of a gentile. It was against every value he had been brought up to believe. It was against the establish religious convictions that he had been brought up with. There was no way he would go into the house of a gentile unless God had first prepared him. And that's exactly what God did.
Peter wasn't convinced on the first God encounter or even the second God encounter. It took three different encounters with God and hearing the same message from God before Peter understood that God was serious about what he was saying and before God could send him with those men to go into the house of a gentile. If God hadn't taken the time to prepare Peter, Peter probably never would have accepted their invitation to come.
Are you being challenged about what will be required to join God in the new mission field that you sense He is leading you into? Are some of your church traditions, values and perspectives being called into question and you're not sure how to respond. Then good, because God is shaping you and fashioning you into the kind of servant that will follow Him where ever He leads.
Is Peter unique? Or, are we a lot like Peter? I think that we, like Peter, also need to have those God encounters that prepare us to go and join Him in those new mission fields! To be willing to leave the comforts of what is familiar and the treasured established relationships and to go to a place that is unknown has to have a God preparation take place. That doesn't mean it is going to be instant preparation or even an easy transition. It just means it is necessary to happen.
It wasn't instant or even pleasant for Jonah to be prepared and willing to go on his mission assignment! He had to be swallowed by a whale! How quick and how easy that transition to following God depends on how submissive the one being called is. Our openness to moving in a new direction will depend on how much our will has been broken, so that only God's will is left.
How open are you to joining God in the new mission fields He is opening up? How much of your own will have you crucified on the cross and how much of God's will is directing you? These are the question that only you can answer for yourself! No one can answer then for you.
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:
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.
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?
" ... 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.
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!
Today in our Missional Living Devotional we are going to look at the need for having a dream if we are going to achieve great things as we live a missional life. But the question that needs to be raised is, “Where does that dream come from?” Do we create our own dream? Some people do. Do we allow some other person to tell us what our dream should be? Some people do!
Today I am going to suggest that as Followers of Christ we should allow God to give us the dreams that we pursue and not allow them to come from man. Why? To answer that let's take a look at what the Bible says 1 Cor. 2:9
“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”
Why should let God be the one to determine the dreams we pursue? Because no human being can dream up a dream big enough that can please God. When you allow God to give you your dreams for you to pursue you will be blow away.
Today we are going to use Jesus as our example. Allowing God the Father to reveal His dreams and purposes was Jesus’ way for knowing what he was to pursue while here on earth.
“Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.” John 5:19-25
I. God’s Dream For Us Always Relates To What He Is Already Doing!
“ …the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing” (v. 19)
A. God is already and always at His work! You don’t have get God working – He’s already working.
“In his defense Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working." John 5:7
B. God isn’t sitting up in Heaven twittling his thumbs waiting for us to ask him to do something. God is already busy about his work.
· The Call Of Moses (God said, "I have come down to … therefore I’m sending you.")
· The Call Of Noah (I have come down to destroy the earth but saving you … therefore build a boat)
This is not a work we do for God but it's a work we do with God. It’s His work that he’s already doing and will do it through us.
II. God Reveals His Dream For Us And Invites Us To Join Him! (v. 20)
· God’s dream for you life isn’t discovered but revealed to you by God. You don't hunt after God's will as if it was hidden somewhere - God shows you what His will is.
· How did Moses know he would deliver the Children of Israel from Egypt? God told him.
· How did Noah know he was to build a boat? God told him.
· How did Abraham know He would have a son in his old age? God told him.
· How did Joshua know how to defeat the city of Jericho and that the wall would come crashing down? God told him.
· How will you know what God’s dream for you is? God will tell you!
Two Important principles to remember:
Take A Look At The Prophet Jonah: He knew it was God talking to him; he knew what God wanted but he just didn’t want to do it. Even after he did it and the people repented he griped and complained because he knew that if they repented he would forgive them.
III. God Invites Us To Join Him Because He Has A Relationship With Us! (v. 20)
It’s A Love Relationship:
1. It’s out of his love for us that He doesn’t leave us in the dark what is happening or what is going to happen.
2. It’s out of His love for us that he give us an eternal sense of purpose for life.
It’s A Friendship Relationship:
“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” John 15:15-16
1. Did you notice that Jesus refers to His disciples (that includes us) as His friends! How amazing is that? What better friend can you have than Jesus? And what great compliment can you be given than for Christ to think of you as His friend?
2. Did you notice how much Jesus makes known to us from God the Father? EVERYTHING!
In other words Jesus holds nothing back! When it comes to a “Need to know basis” you’re in the need to know group!
IV. What Do You Need To Do To Get God To Reveal His Dream?
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:5-6 (NIV)
If you found this devotional to be encouraging take a few moments and share it on your Facebook and Twitter accounts.
When it comes to powerful missional living the integrity of the Follower of Christ is everything. Depending on what kind of Christian they are will determine the power and success of their missional ventures.
In today Missional Living Devotional you will get a chance to evaluate and answer that question for yourself. We will be looking at a true story from the word of God to gain the understanding of what I mean when I ask the question, "What Kind Of Christian Are You?" Take a few minutes and watches this devotional and then make plans on how you will go and shine the Light of Christ in your part of this dark world.
"Just because I'm ordinary doesn't mean I'm secondary ordinary Christians are God's primary choice for doing His extraordinary work" Jay Moore
This is a little saying that I like to use! However, I have found that it gets a lot of mixed reviews!
Some people reaction when they hear that slogan feel that I am bashing Christians by calling them ordinary. They say things like, "Now that we're Follower of Christ and the Holy Spirit lives in us we are no longer ordinary." And I wholeheartedly agree with them that our new life in Christ does make us extraordinary. But with that said I must remind all of us that intrinsically, in and of ourselves, there is nothing good about us! Our only goodness comes from Christ in us.
A second reaction I get from people comes from what I like to call the professional minister. This is the guy who has gone through Bible college and seminary; they have gone through an ordination process; and now make there living from doing the ministry. This group of people also feel insulted but for a different reason. When they hear that statement they get the idea that I am trying to down play their importance and strip them from some place of honor they feel they should have. I feel this attitude interesting since I also have a Christian college education majoring in religion and a seminary theological education with a master's degree.
But then there is a third group of people who are actually energized by this little quote! These are the people who have never been empowered, encouraged or even equipped to live a significant life on mission with Christ. These are the people who have felt there only role in church was to come and attend. These are some of God's children who've wished they could be involved in some project that would have an eternal impact but have never felt it would happen because, after all, they're just ordinary and why would God want to use them when He could use someone else more talented or educated.
But I'm here to tell you God not only loves to use Ordinary Christians but that Ordinary Christians is God's primary choice for doing His extraordinary work. The Biblical record is filled with such examples. All of the apostles were ordinary men, King David was the youngest of his family and Gideon was a fearful coward. Over and over again we see God choosing that which the world would have never considered to do His amazing work. We discover God using ordinary people is not the exception but the rule as we study the Bible.
So why? Why would God choose ordinary people as His primary choice for doing His work? The answer is simple! God chooses men and women like us, ordinary people, because he wants to confound the wise of this world! When people look and see what God is able to do through ordinary people the explanation for its success has to be GOD WAS THE ONE WHO DID IT! That's right, God loves to use the ordinary of this world so that He will get the credit for what was done!
The truth is that God is always the one who accomplishes His work but He just chooses to do it through people. If God always used extraordinary men to do his work the world would try to explain away the results saying that it only happened because highly talented people were in charge of it. But when some ordinary person does something that turns out great the only explanation will be GOD!
So are you an Ordinary Christian? Do you feel like there are others more talented and more gifted than you? Do you down deep inside long for God to use you to accomplish something amazing?
You are exactly the kind of person that God loves to use to accomplish His extraordinary work and the only requirement is that you must be a person of:
Do you believe that God can do anything? Do you believe that God can do anything through anybody? Do you believe that God can do anything, through anybody, including YOU! Now that's what I call faith!
In this weeks Missional Living Devotional we are going to learn some principles for missional living from the comparison of bungee jumping and a life on mission with Christ. Watch it and be encourage and empowered to go shine the Light of Christ brightly in your part of this dark world.
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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