Encouraging, Empowering & Equipping Ordinary Christians To Live Powerful Missional Lives!
Today I want to share with you a true story from the Bible that should bring you hope and encouragement. It will make clear to you that Jesus truly does love you and is willing to change your life.
If you are a fully devoted follower of Christ that wants to join Christ on His mission then I highly encourage you to learn this story for yourself and begin to share it with people over and over again.
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.
In today's post I want to share with you about our credibility for living a missional life. How will people know that what we are sharing about Jesus, about the Gospel or the forgiveness of sin is accurate and true? The answer comes back to our credibility! Are we credible? Can people believe us? Watch this video and see what God is telling you!
Once you've shared Jesus with every person you personally know who do you share it with next? That is going to be the topic of this post! After all we are not released from sharing the Good News simply because everyone we personally know has already heard. So, who do we tell next?
Who Do You Share The Gospel With Next?
Confidence In Offering A Prayer Of Faith
When it comes to living a powerful missional life that brightly shines the Light of Christ in our part of this dark world prayer is essential. But not just any kind of prayer but prayers where there is confidence that God will hear and answer it.
So much of our prayers is what I like to call, "I hope God will answer my prayers!" but there's no confidence that God will actually do it. We are praying with uncertainty that God will actually do what we are asking Him to do. On top of this lack of confidence there is just a lot of "BAD" teaching going on in the name of "PRAYING IN FAITH". To many people out there like to take just one passage of scripture and emphasis it to the exclusion of other essential and indispensable verses on topic. This is a very bad practice to develop! In learning to praying in faith we need to understand the full council of God. Failure to do so can lead a person into a practice that's not only unbiblical but potentially destructive to their faith.
There are 3 Indispensable Biblical parts for having confidence that God will answer your prayers the way you have asked him to.
Let me emphasis that they are essential and indispensable!
Why? Because they are like 3 legs on a stool! If you remove any of legs from the stool, leaving only 2 legs, the stool will fall down! ALL THREE LEGS ARE INDISPENSABLE! The ability to pray and know that your prayers will be answered requires us to have all three of these indispensable parts in place. Remove one of the parts and you no longer can have confidence and certainty that your prayers will be answered the way you are asking! But if you have all three parts in place you can pray with confidence and know you have what you ask for. So, what are they?
"Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight." 1 John 3:21,22
This is the part that makes sure that you the one praying is in a proper spiritual condition to come before God and ask Him to do something. Knowing that we are in a spiritual condition that allows us to come into God's presence and be accepted is a vital part to knowing that your prayers will be answered.
In order to know if we are in a proper spiritual condition to come before God with our petitions we need to do a spiritual inventory of our life. We need to see if there are any unconfessed sins that still need God's forgiveness. If their is sin then the activity that is needed is a prayer of honest confession from true repentance. In 1 John 1:9 God gives us assurance that our sins can be forgiven with this simple act. Read what it says,
"If we confess our sin that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Why should we think that we can receive anything from the Lord if our hearts are not right with the Lord. To have confidence that our prayers will be heard by God depends first and foremost if we are prepared to even ask for it.
Question To Ask Yourself:
Is There Any Unconfessed Sin In Your Life That Needs To Be Dealt With And Made Right With God?
"This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him." 1 John 5:14,15
This part deals with the actual request being made. Is what we are asking for according to God's will or not. This passage of scripture makes it perfectly clear that when our requests are inline with God's will we know God hears us and we know He will give us what we ask for.
If you are asking for something that is not according to God's will it doesn't matter how much, how often or even how passionately you ask God for it, it you will not receive it. Why? Because it wasn't part of God's will. In order to pray in faith with confidence you must know what God's will is! If you are uncertain what God's will is on a particular matter then before you can pray in faith about it you must first pray for God to reveal His will to you about it. Listen to what James 1:5 says,
"If anyone lacks wisdom you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him."
What a wonderful assurance this verse provides us. If we ask God to reveal His will to us by giving us wisdom He promises to do it. NOW THAT'S POWERFUL! Once God reveals to you His will concerning the matter then you can begin to pray in accordance to God's will with confidence that God will answer it.
Question To Ask Yourself:
Do You Know What God's Will Is Concerning The Matter You're Praying About?
Once you know that you are able to go into God's presence to make your request and once you know what God's will is concerning the issue you are praying about, then you can make your request to God but you have to make it in faith and without any doubt that God will do exactly what you are asking Him to do. NO DOUBT!
"Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 'Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:22-23
Praying in faith and without doubt is essential to answered prayers. However, this kind of faith that I am talking about is not a faith that controls God and makes Him do whatever we want. That kind of faith reduces God to be like genie in a bottle. Our God is not a genie that has to give us our three wishes. No! Our God is the Sovereign Lord of all creation. God doesn't do our will - we are to do His will! Biblical faith is not some kind of force that makes God do what we want.
Biblical faith is surrender to God's will and joining God in accomplishing His will! This prayer of faith is because you already know what God is going to accomplish, you have discovered His will on the matter, and through faith you are surrendering your will over to God's will and fully trusting that God will, not maybe, accomplish exactly what He said He would do. In other words when you pray a prayer of faith you have no doubt that what you are asking is going to happen because you know that God already has willed it to happen!
Question To Ask Yourself:
Once God Has Revealed To You What His Will Is Do You Have The Faith To Pray That It Will Happen Without Doubt?
When you are certain that all three of this parts are in place then you can have confidence that God not only hears your prayers but that you will also receive for what you have asked. Remove one of these three part or legs and the stool will fall. All three are essential and indispensable if you are to receive in prayer what you have asked God to do.
If you are going to have a powerful missional life that brightly shines the Light of Christ in your part of this dark world then you will need to have confidence in your prayer life! You will need to have confidence that God hears and will answer your prayers!
In this video I am going to share with you one Biblical way you can have that confidence.
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.
The word "schemes" in the Greek is the word "methodia" and literally means:
"To trick or lie with the purpose to deceive"
Satan's tactics in spiritual warfare are attempts to trick or lie to us with the aim of deceiving us to believe and do things that are contrary to God's will and way and once we have fallen to his deception we suffer the consequences of our choice.
But here's the good news! The scripture has identified for us Satan's schemes so that we are not unaware of them. Today I am going to list 4 of those tricks and/or lies.
Read Matthew 4:1-4 and you see Satan trying to tempt Jesus to turn some rocks into bread. Satan is trying to sound concerned about Jesus being hungry. His trick was that he was offering a solution for Jesus' suffering motivated by concern.
But Satan wasn't concerned about Christ. He was just pretending in order to trick Jesus so that Jesus would fall into his temptation.
Satan's temptation to us will often come across as a compassionate solution to our problems or sufferings. But don't fall for his trick. Once you yield and give in to Satan his true nature will come out and you will see that he doesn't really care for you at all.
Satan knows the Bible! And he will misuse it to get you to believe that what is really a sinful act is a Biblical act. IT'S NOT! DON'T BE FOOLED. Know your Bible - study your Bible so you won't be fooled by Satan's misuse of it.
What was Satan doing? He was offering Jesus a shortcut. Why was Jesus there? To become King of all the earth! God's plan was going to lead Jesus to the cross to accomplish that goal but Satan's plan was quicker, easier and less painful.
Understand that Satan will often try to get you to see that his plan will accomplish the same goal that God has for your life but it will be quicker and again less painful. You will be tempted to take it but don't be fooled. IT IS A TRICK TO GET YOU TO SIN!
"You won't die. God knows that on the day you eat of it you will become like God knowing good and evil."
In other words Satan is saying that God is trying to control you with the fear of death and hold you back from becoming like Him. Satan loves to trick people to believe that God doesn't really care about them so they won't trust God. DON'T BELIEVE IT - IT'S A TRICK!
A powerful missional life just doesn't happen by chance. It comes about because Christians make choices that lead them into that kind of lifestyle. These choices are not always easy to make and if the truth be told they are often extremely difficult.
As we look at Moses we can see 3 choices that he had to make that allow him to powerfully join God on His mission. These same 3 choices still face Christians today! To make the choice the way God would have you will lead to greater effectiveness in shining the Light of Christ but to make the choice contrary to God will cause you to become impotent and ineffective in missional living.
To choice God's way is not easy and will require you to have faith in God. The outcome of your choices may not always be clear but your conviction to follow Christ is not only clear but firm and your trust that God will work all things out for good is steady. Without faith you cannot please God - you cannot make the choices the way God would have you to make.
The Bible verse to help us navigate in understanding these choice is found in Hebrews 11:24-26.
"By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward." (NIV)
"By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter" (Vs. 24 NIV)
We all know the story of Moses of how Pharaoh, out of fear of having the Hebrew slaves grow so large in numbers that they might overthrow him, ordered that all the male children under a certain age be killed. We remember how Moses' mother hid Moses until he was to big to hide any longer but then out of faith put baby Moses in a basket and floated him downstream. We've heard about how Pharaoh's daughter found the basket and fell in love with baby Moses and decided to raise him herself thereby making him a Prince of Egypt. And in the palace of Pharaoh Moses was raised in the wealthiest country in the world. He had pleasure, prestige, power and property. He was living in the lap of luxury.
That was until he was all grown up and decided to no longer live in the lap of luxury while his people were living as slaves. He wanted to help his people. He wanted to find a way to ease their suffering. MOSES GAVE UP THAT IDENTITY OF BEING A PRINCE OF EGYPT TO BE KNOWN AS A HEBREW SLAVE.
As we intentionally set out to live a life on mission with Christ we too will be asked by God to exercise our faith to abandon our identity with the world and instead, be known as a Child of God. We will be asked by God to stop considering ourselves as a member of this world but instead to consider ourselves as ambassador for the Kingdom of God.
When we make this choice most of the people in the world will not understand why we would do that. Many people will ridicule us - make fun of us - and even malign our character for choosing it. They will consider us foolish and even traitors.
But we also need to keep in mind that how we view our identity will have a powerful effect on how we go about God's mission and how effective we will be in accomplishing His will.
"He chose to be mistreated along with people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time." (v.25 NIV)
Did you see that? Moses chose to be mistreated! That's amazing! Instead, of living in the lap of luxury with everything your heart could ever want. Moses gave it all up just to follow God and be obedient to him. That requires a growing faith to make that kind of Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
.And it's not just about giving up the pleasures of the world (Egypt) but more importantly to give them up in favor to being mistreated by others who don't believe in God. Moses could have enjoyed all the sinful pleasures that a wealthy life as a Prince of Egypt could offer. But he chose not to. Why? Partly because Moses realized that sin, though pleasurable, is only temporary but in like fashion he also realized that that the mistreatment he would experience was also only temporary.
In missional living we will experience the mistreatment from the people of this world. By choosing Christ and obedience to His mission we become an enemy to the world and the rulers of this world. We could experience all the pleasures of the sinful lifestyle this world has to offer. We could easily drown ourselves in debauchery and party until to our hearts content. But we are willing to give it up! Why? Because we know that with Christ's return comes the end of all of the pleasure of sin.
But it's going to require faith for you to make that choice! We can see sin and the pleasures that people get from their participation in it but we don't see Christ and all that he has offer yet. We have to believe and trust that Christ will be true to his word. THAT'S FAITH.
"He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt because he was looking ahead to his reward." (v. 26)
This is a choice of what's of most value to you! Moses felt that being disgraced and dishonored by those of the world was of more value than all the riches in Egypt. All the hate, all the name calling, all the beatings and even death was of worth more than all the treasures the world could gather together.
Jesus express the same sentiments on the Sermon On The Mount in what we call the Beatitudes. Read what he says:
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Matthew 5:11,12 (NIV)
According to Jesus we are "BLESSED" when we are insulted, persecuted and lied about all because Jesus. We are to rejoice when these things happen because our reward in Heaven because of it.
I'm not sure what you think but Jesus believed that our reward in Heaven is going to be far more valuable than all of the treasures of earth.
You know, when suffer for Christ we are in really company. Moses suffered, all of the prophets of the Old Testament suffered and even Jesus' own disciples died because of their choice to follow Christ. and not submit to the opinions and attitudes of the world.
3 Choices! Making these 3 choices will greatly enhance your missional living. It will help shine the Light of Christ brighter than you ever thought possible.
"By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned." Hebrews 11:27-29 (NIV)
"By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger he persevered because he saw him who is invisible ..."
Pursuing God's mission will always bring opposition. That thought can be a very frightening proposition. There will always be people that oppose God and His will and they will come to attack God's servants in order to stop the success of God's plan.
Faith allows you to see past the opposition to focus on the God who delivers.
"By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel ..."
Moses had heard how God was going to send the death Angel and kill all of the first born sons that lived in Egypt. He also heard about how God provided a way for His people to escape the judgement coming from the Death Angel.
Because Moses' faith allowed Him to believe that God would be true to His word and everything would happen just as He said - that faith propelled Moses to obey God by getting the Children of Israel to put the blood of the lamb on their door post and thereby making it possible for the Death Angel to pass by those homes.
Obedience is always necessary for experiencing God's blessings. Obedience always come before the blessings flow.
Part of missional living, as taught by Christ at the Great Commission, is to teach new disciples to not only understand all that Christ commanded but to also obey all that Christ commanded.
Missional Living doesn't teach God's word just for knowledge but to lead Christ's followers to obey. Missional Living is an obedience driven discipleship venture.
"... By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned."
Moses and the Children of Israel would never have made it to the Promise Land if they didn't exercise their faith in God and start walking through the Red Sea on dry land with a wall of water on both sides of them. They had to trust God that they could get across safely.
Unresolved obstacles hinders God's people from moving forward to accomplishing God's plan and mission!
In missional living there will always be obstacles standing in the way of accomplishing the work of God but faith allows us to trust God to overcome those obstacles by providing away.
Faith compels us to move forward trusting that as we step forward God will prepare the way.
When you begin to fully understand and put into practice The Law of Reciprocity your effectiveness in shining the Light of Christ and sharing the Gospel will grow by leaps and bounds. The Law of Reciprocity simply says:
"When someone does something nice for you, you will have a deep-rooted psychological urge to do something nice in return. As a matter of fact, you may even reciprocate with a gesture far more generous than their original good deed."
The word "Reciprocity" simply means to exchange something with another person for mutual benefit. Here's how the Law of Reciprocity when you do something nice, kind or meaningful for another they feel compelled to reciprocate and do something for you in return.
This law has been practice in all kinds of fields and professions. Salesmen have used it to gain contracts from prospective clients; governments have used it to build their international relationship with another country; and even law enforcement have used it to entice potential witnesses.
This law is powerful in tugging on the emotional strings of people. People feel compelled but not manipulated to return the favor and show the same kind of kindness that was shown to them.
Here's how it works when it comes to living a powerful missional life! Let me give you two scenario's:
Scenario #1:
Let's say you have a co-worker that's become seriously ill and landed themselves in the hospital. You hear about and take the initiative to go over to the hospital with a card and flowers to see how they are doing. Immediately, as you arrive with the card and flowers in hand you have struck an emotional chord with your co-worker. Your thoughtfulness of taking time out of your day and taking money out of your pocket has just made a huge deposited into your co-workers emotional bank account. As the two of you talk you find out that they are very nervous about their physical health and unsure of what the future holds for them. So, in response you ask your co-worker if you could pray for them, their healing and for the doctors as they treat them. The Law of Reciprocity kicks in. Because you have given to them by taking time out of your day and buying the beautiful flowers and because they have a real fear they say, "Oh yes, please do.". After you pray for them right then and there you then ask them if you can share with them a story out of the Bible that you feel might give them some comfort and hope. The Law of Reciprocity kicks in again and they say, "Please do." So, you tell them one of the stories of Jesus healing a person and how their faith in Christ allowed the healing to come.
Scenario #2:
Let's say you have decided to shine the Light of Christ in your own neighborhood and you are going to go door to door in your neighborhood talking about Christ. Instead of just knocking on someone's door and asking if you can share with them about Jesus (which will more than likely get an immediate "NO") you implement the Law of Reciprocity. Here's how it goes: You knock on the door and when the person answers the door you introduce yourself by saying, "Hi, my name is Jay Moore, (please use your name) I am one of your neighbors and I am just going around meeting my neighbors and because I know that the times are really hard for people I am also asking if there is anything going on in your life that I can pray for you about. Is there anything you need God to do for you? They may question you about if you are a Jehovah Witness or a Mormon Missionary. Just assure them that you are neither and that you are just a person who follows Jesus and you sincerely want to know if there is anything going on in their life that needs prayer. This is the Law of Reciprocity at work. You are not asking anything from them - you are simply and sincerely asking if you can help them through prayer. You will be surprised the number of people who will do need prayer and will be blown away by your gesture of kindness and will share with you their need. Once they share that need pray for them right then and there. And pray specifically for the need they shared. I have personally seen people in tears as I pray for them. Your sincere prayer is making a large deposit in their emotional bank account. After, you have finished the prayer ask them if you can come back in a week or two to see how they are doing. The Law of Reciprocity will make it easier for them to say "Yes". Now, that has opened the door for you to come back and share Jesus and the Gospel with them.
Theodore Roosevelt is quoted as saying,
"No one cares how much you know, until the know how much you care."
That's another way of explaining the Law of Reciprocity. If you come in the name of Jesus Christ and to share the Gospel with someone but first help them in their time of real need you will have built and emotional bridge that will allow the sharing of the Gospel to be well received. This is the reason why Jesus on the Sermon On The Mount said, "Let you light so shine before men in such a way that they see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven."
If you will implement this law to your everyday missional living by doing good and sincere deeds for people you want to reach with the Gospel before you go and share with them you will see dramatic results. THIS IS POWERFUL!
Does the Bible give us an example for using civil disobedience as a way to bring glory to God and live a powerful missional life? If so, does the Bible shed light on "When" and "How" to use it properly?
Watch this video as I share a true story from the Bible and whats answers we can glean from it for these questions.
Biblical Case Study For Civil Disobedience In Missional Living
Having compassion is essential for living a powerful missional life. Without compassion it is truly isn't possible to share Jesus! Why? Because Jesus embodies compassion! He is the personification of compassion! If you are not compassionate you cannot fully represent Jesus to a lost and dying world. The message of Christ and the Heart of Christ must go hand in hand.
From the story of the Good Samaritan we can learn 3 essential activities to express compassion. First let's read the story and then I will share with you these 3 activities.
"In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii[a] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him. Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:30-37 (NIV)
The first thing that you need to do before you can truly show compassion on someone who is in need is to look and see the person in need. All three of the men walking by saw the man who had been robed and beaten. They saw his trouble and difficulty. But I fear that in todays world we can go through an entire day never really seeing those around us who are in suffering and pain. I fear that we can actually walk by people who have given up on life and are barely existing and never see them or even know they are there because we are too wrapped up in our own little life. How can you show compassion for someone if you aren't looking to see if people are hurting? THE FIRST STEP IS TO LOOK & SEE!
While seeing is the first step it does absolutely no good if we aren't willing to stop and inquire about the other person and how they are doing. If you see and keep walking by you accomplish nothing except for developing an even harder heart. To stop means to check on the person, talk to the person, asking them if they are ok, inquiring and evaluating on what you learn. When the Good Samaritan stop he discovered the man was naked, beaten and bleeding. He needed medical attention. He needed someone to come alongside him and do for him what he was unable to do for himself. When we stop we are discovering what the needs of the person truly is. THE SECOND ACTIVITY IS TO STOP & EVALUATE.
Once you've seen and stopped if you truly want to be compassionate you will need to then serve the person in need. You will have to alter you planned activities in order to help this person you have discovered in need. If don't believe it was in the plans of that Samaritan to pickup a stranger, nurse him, take him to an inn and pay for his medical care. But that's how the story goes that Jesus told. To truly show compassion to person in need you will have to serve them and serving them will cost you. It will cost you time, money, and emotional energy. It will mean you will have to put on hold other things you have planned to help this stranger. THE THIRD ACTIVITY IS TO SERVE & GIVE!
When God's people can truly learn to show this kind of compassion for all people and not just those we like then the Light of Christ will truly shine brighter than ever in this spiritually dark world. When we can show this compassion then the people of the world will want to know about our relationship with God because we will have proven to them how much they mean to us.
You see most people could care less how much you know - until they know how much you care. This kind of compassion proves you care!
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
When it comes to understanding how to live a missional life that brightly shines the Light of Christ and the things that keep us from that kind of lifestyle we really need to consider three hinderances. These are three things that will keep you from any kind of desired lifestyle but especially a lifestyle that shines the Light of Christ on a day by day basis.
This is a problem of KNOWLEDGE. You're failing to live that powerful missional life simply because you don't know what it takes to have that kind of lifestyle. You don't know what skills are necessary, you don't know what kind of attitude is needed, and you don't know where to begin. This hinderance is solved through education. Anyone can gain the information needed for developing the skills of a powerful missional life; anyone can learn the common attitudes that most powerful missional people have and through training a person can begin to develop a road map, with a starting point identified, that they can use to pursue this kind of life. EDUCATION IS THE SOLUTION!
Can Civil Disobedience Be A Tool For Living A Powerful Missional Life?
This is a problem of MOTIVATION! If motivation is the issue keeping you from living a powerful missional life that's because you have competing desires pulling your heart away from shining the Light of Christ. This might be because you haven't fully surrender both your heart and will over to the authority and control of Christ. It may be that we still think that the world has something to offer us and have failed to come to a heart conviction that all pursuits of this world is meaningless. We are still trying to seek both the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world in the same time. The solution to this hinderance is an experience with God that creates a total brokenness of our heart and soul. It's an experience with the living God that brings a new passion, a new desire and new goals. It's an experience that leaves us with just one desire and that's to be in complete harmony with the desires of God. BROKENNESS IS THE SOLUTION!
This is a problem of persistence. If you know what to do and you have a true hearts desire to live that powerful missional life that brightly shines the Light of Christ in your part of this dark world but still haven't accomplished it yet it becomes a matter of just not giving up! It's deposition of tenacity. It's that warrior or athlete attitude that says, "No matter what I will never quit; I will never give up; I will never surrender. With my very last breath I will be pursuing living that missional life that makes Christ known. People who don't quit are the ones who achieve their desired lifestyles and goals. For them it's just a matter of time. It's not "If" they achieve it but "When" they achieve it. PERSISTENCE IS THE SOLUTION.
A little over a week ago I was at a meeting that my local Baptist association was holding. I was enjoying fellowshipping with others who are in the spiritual trenches fighting the good fight in sharing the Gospel of Jesus with others who still need to hear.
As I was fellowshipping and sharing I was also listening to other conversations, a pastime I enjoy doing, when I heard a comment from a pastor sharing how one of his church members was not able to share Jesus at his work because it was in a public workplace and he would lose his job (i.e. school, courthouse, etc.).
Now, I’ve heard this kind of comment before and it’s never really settled too well with me, but this time it really bothered me. I’m not sure why, but it did. I thought about it all week long. It was just simmering there – not a hot and boiling frustration just a niggling frustration that wouldn’t go away. It also got me thinking about when should we as Christians exercise civil disobedience. When is it appropriate for Christians to stand up against the judges, the courts and the social order of the day and say, “No, I will not obey”?
I was reading through the Book of Daniel when something really began to stick out to me from two different narratives in Daniel. Both of the narratives deal with not compromising; one by doing something you know you are not supposed to do, and the other by not doing what you know you are supposed to do.
The first narrative involves Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The King built a huge golden statue and commanded everyone to bow down and worship it or be thrown into the fiery furnace. We all know the story. They chose not to obey and as a result were thrown into the furnace. They chose to obey God and not do what they were supposed to do by law and they were saved! HOW COOL IS THAT?!
The second narrative involves Daniel himself. This time the King was tricked into making a decree allowing no one to pray during a certain period of days except to the god of the king punishable by being thrown into the lion’s den. Again, we know this story and how Daniel not only did pray to the one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but he also did it with the windows wide open in full view of everyone. He didn’t choose to pray in secret behind some closed doors. He didn’t make it a private matter. No, he openly and publically chose to disobey the king’s decree. Why? Daniel was more willing to die in the lion’s den than he was to disgrace his God by choosing to be silent. Choosing to pray privately would have given the appearance of compliance to the decree and Daniel wanted there to be no doubt as to his allegiance to his God.
NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL MISSIONAL LIVING! That’s what it looks like to be totally sold out to God and His Son Jesus Christ!
I’m left wondering in today’s modern society where are our uncompromising Daniels? Where are the followers of Christ who refuse to compromise their faith, by curbing or curtailing their speech because a rule or law has been enacted by faithless people? Where are those Christians who are willing to openly share Jesus without apology even if it means they might lose their job? Where are those men and women of God who are willing to stare into the fiery furnace, hot and blazing, and say to the King (president, judge, or even the Supreme Court),
Let it be known that we are more than confident that our God is able to save us from the punishment you have pronounced upon us but also know this, even if God chooses not to deliver us we will not compromise!
Where are you, people of God? Child of God – why do you need permission from men to do what God has already commanded you to do? When are you going to stop buckling under the tyranny of people who only wish to silence you?
Let us use Daniel and his three companions as our example of how to stand up to a society that is Godless! Remember this Daniel could never have been delivered from the lion’s den unless he was first thrown into the lion’s den. His three companions could never have been delivered from the fiery furnace unless they were first thrown into it. You will never experience God’s power to deliver you unless you are willing to place yourself in a position that needs His deliverance. So, when is it appropriate to exercise civil disobedience? When society and the laws of the land tell you that you must to do something that God has clearly said you cannot do or when you are told by government you cannot do something that God has already commanded you to do. Obey God – not men!
Principles for Missional Living can be learned from many different sources, including from an experiment that a ceramic teacher did with his class. I pray that you will be encouraged, empowered and equipped to never quit pursuing a powerful missional life that brightly shines the Light of Christ. Watch this video and see what you learn!
Lessons for living a powerful missional life can be discovered from many different areas of life, including track and field. The Fosbury Flop was an innovative change to performing the high jump. Watch this video and discover a powerful lessons on shining the Light of Christ brightly in your part of this dark world!
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.
Being infected with a life threatening disease is never an enjoyable thought but knowing if you have one is better than being an ostrich and hiding your head in the sand! Why? Because, if it is life threatening you want to get rid of it. In todays Missional Living Training we are going to identify 2 diseases that can kill your missional living attempts. Watch this video and then evaluate yourself to see if you might have one of them. If you do - then take the necessary steps and get rid of it.
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