2 Diseases That Kill Missional Living

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Missional Living Is Kind

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Missional Living Is All About Loving Others

Missional Living Neighborhood Challenge Video #30

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Missional Living Is Knowing What It's Like To Live In Spiritual Darkness?

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What Does Missional Living Need To Overcome Impossible Circumstances?

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HOW GOOD OF A STORY TELLER ARE YOU? The Missional Living Practice Of Storying

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Missional Living Devotional: Calming The Storms In Your Heart Before The...

Stop Waiting For Perfect Conditions Before Joining Christ On His Mission

Why Do Christians Fail To Live A Powerful Missional Life?

Here is a Biblical reason why many Christians don't live powerful missional lives. Watch it and evaluate yourself.

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5 PRINCIPLES JESUS USED TO PURSUE HIS MISSION

I think we all would agree that Jesus lived a life on mission while he was here!  He didn't just aimlessly wander through life. He had a purpose, he had a mission and he was effective at it!  Jesus himself stated his purpose quite clearly during a conversation he had with Zacchaeus the chief tax collector from Jericho.  In that conversation Jesus said about himself, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."  In this post we are going to look at 5 Principles that we find from Jesus and his missional activity.

"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house."  Luke 10:1-7 (NIV)

PRINCIPLE #1:  He Had A Vision That Guided Him (v. 2)

Jesus had a vision of a harvest field that was plentifully ripe and ready to be harvested. He didn't just see a few people ready to surrender their hearts and lives over to his care and control but a whole harvest field just waiting to be picked.

How do you view your mission field? Do you see people willing and ready to surrender their hearts over to Christ or do you see resistant people fighting God.  I think that many times our own personal perception of situations is the biggest hinderances.  If we think people are going to be resistant then that's what we are going to find.

Jesus using this same image, fields ripe for harvest, gives the explanation why he consider them ready for salvation. Look at what He says in Matthew 9:36,37;

"Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."

Jesus described people who were ripe for harvest as being people who were "distressed", "dispirited" and aimlessly wandering like "sheep without a shepherd'.  Let me ask you: In your community do you find a lot of people who are distressed? Who are dispirited? And how wander around without any real direction in life?  If you answered "yes" then you have a Spiritually Ripe Harvest Field.  

GET THE VISION - VIEW YOUR COMMUNITY READY TO COME TO JESUS

PRINCIPLE #2:  Prayed For God To Provide.

In both Luke 10 and in Matthew 9 Jesus mentioned the major roadblock to bringing in the ripe harvest. He said the roadblock wasn't enough workers.  Jesus solution to this problem was not to guilt, bagger or twist the arm of people to get involved. No. Jesus' solution was to "pray to the Lord of the Harvest" to send more workers.  

The only one who can get the right workers into the harvest field is God.  It is God's responsibility to employ and deploy the workers!  Our job is to relentlessly to faithfully be in the harvest field making more disciples for Christ and praying for God to get us more help by raising up more workers.

How often are you praying for God to raise up, train up and unleash more harvesters to join us in the work?  Do you even think that Jesus was serious about this prayer or do you think He was just speaking figuratively?  

PRINCIPLE #3:  He Used Teams To Pursue His Mission.

Jesus sent the 72 out in teams of two. He also sent the 12 out in teams of two. Throughout the Gospels we see teams of 2 to 3 going out by the Lord's instruction.  At times we see Peter, James and John.  Other times we just see Peter and John.  In the book for Acts we see Paul and Barnabas and the examples could go on and on. 

Who makes up your team of pursuing Christ's mission?  Are you trying to do all alone? Who are the people you know you can cast a vision of Christ's mission and see if they would like to form a team with you in doing ministry?

PRINCIPLE #4:  HE LOOKED FOR GOD PREPARED PEOPLE.

In verses 5-7 we see Jesus telling the 72 to look for a "Person of Peace".  This is a person whom God has prepared and ready to receive the Gospel.  In John 5:19 Jesus said that he could do noting on his own but only what he sees the Father doing and whatever he sees the Father doing he also does.  In other words Jesus was looking for the Person of Peace, the person that God the Father has prepared to receive the Good News.  

This is to be our approach as well.  We are not on mission to convince people they need Christ. We are on mission to find those that God has already prepared to receive Christ.  I got to tell you this one principle really takes the pressure off us once we realized we are just to join God in the work He has already started.  

PRINCIPLE #5:  ONCE JESUS FOUND THE HOUSE OF PEACE HE THEN DISCIPLED THE WHOLE HOUSEHOLD.

In Acts 10:44 and Acts 16 we read about a Gentile by the name of Cornelius and a jail guard in Philippi that came to faith in Christ. But not just them! The Bible also says that "they and their household" believed and were baptized.  This was true also with Jesus. When Jesus reached Peter, Peters entire household came to faith, including his mother-in-law, who was healed by Jesus.  When Jesus reached the Samaritan Woman at the well; it says that she went back to her village and reach them for Jesus.

How are you reaching entire households?  

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MISSIONAL LIVING MEANS YOUR ARE TAKING A WALK OF FAITH!: How Strong Is Your Walk

In the 19th century there was a great English pastor by the name of George Mueller. Pastor Mueller had become concerned that God's people had become discouraged and no longer expected God to do anything amazing.  In Pastor Mueller's assessment people no longer believed that God could or would answer prayers.  In other words, the Ordinary Christians of his time had very little faith in God and that lack of faith was expressed in how they lived their everyday lives.

About that time God began to do a work in George's life to start praying like he had never prayed before.  George's prayers were to ask God to assign him to a ministry that could only be done and explained by the Christians of his time as an act of God.  George wanted Christians to learn and believe that their God still heard their prayers and would be faithful to answer them, if they would just pray in faith and that faith only needed to be the size of a mustard seed.

God led Pastor Mueller to a particular Bible verse that he held onto for the rest of his life and in which he would place his trust God.  That Bible passage was:

"Open wide your mouth and I will fill it."  

Psalm 81:10

George believed that God was giving him a promise through that verse that He, God, and God alone would be the one to meet his needs and the needs of the ministry that God would assign him to do.  From that verse Pastor Mueller was led by God to a walk in faith which became a powerful example and testimony to everyone watching.  When George felt led by God to do some particular ministry, he would pray to God alone for the resources needed and told no one else of the need.

George wanted all to know that God had provided for the needs of the ministry through the answers of prayers of faith.  

Here are some of the things that God did through George Mueller during that "Walk of Faith" time of his ministry:

• The Scriptural Knowledge Institute for distributing of scripture and for religious education was started.
• He established 4 orphanages houses that cared for 2,000 children at a time. Over 10,000 children had been provided for through those orphanages.
• He distributed over 8 million dollars that had been given to him in answer to prayer.  When he died at the age of 93, his personal worldly possessions were valued at only $800.00.

An important note here for us to emphasis here is that Pastor George Mueller "NEVER" asked anyone for any of the money that was given to him.

The Only Person That Rev. George Mueller Ever Asked For Help Was

GOD!

QUESTIONS TO PONDER:

Question #1:  How strong is your faith in God?

Question #2: Do you believe that God still answers our prayers?

Question #3: What ministry are you doing, as an act of faith, that God has led you to do?

Question #4: What will you do as an act of faith today?

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3 IMPORTANT FACTORS ABOUT GODS MISSION

John 5:17

"In his (Jesus) defense Jesus said to them 'My Father is always at his work to this very day; 

and I too am working."

3 Important Factors About Gods Mission

1.  GOD REALLY DOES HAVE A MISSION!

Did you notice that small but important part in that verse?  That part where it said that "My Father is always at "His" work...."  Jesus refers to it as "His" work!  God our Father has a work that He is actively and intentionally pursuing!

God is not sitting up in Heaven twiddling His thumbs trying to figure out what he should do each day.  God has a work and that work was determined by God a long time ago.  God isn't waiting for us to tell him what he needs to do for us - God is busy about doing what he knows is best.  And we can rest assured that if it is God's work - God's mission - it is the most important work and mission to do.


2.  GOD IS BUSY ABOUT HIS MISSION!

The next thing we can get from this verse is that God is actively accomplishing His mission. Every day and in every way God is fulfilling his purpose, plan and mission.  He isn't being lazy about accomplishing His work; God isn't procrastinating or putting off what needs to be done today for tomorrow and God is most certainly not waiting to get permission from anybody and including us to do his mission.  God is busy about his work!

3.  JESUS CAME TO JOIN GOD THE FATHER ON HIS MISSION!

As Jesus was speaking about the mission of His Father he then included himself in there by saying, "And I too am working."  Jesus is all about being apart of the mission of God. Everything Jesus did while he was here on earth was part of the plan of fulfilling God's mission.  Jesus didn't tell the Father was he was willing to do.  No. Jesus received His instructions from the Father and then was obedient to the Father.

Do you recognized that God is still actively pursuing the fulfillment of His mission?  Do you believe that God is not lazy about it or putting it off?  Do you understand that like Jesus we too are to be part of God's mission and to be faithfully obedient to whatever part he want us to do in the fulfillment of His mission?  Do you understand that you don't tell God what you will do but you are to obediently do what God has assigned you to do.

Here's a good video to watch on this subject:  
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GOD REALLY DOES HAVE A MISSION!

So I have a question for you? When you think of God in Heaven, what kind of image do you have of  Him?  What do you think God does in Heaven?   The reason why I ask that question is because the perception we have of Him will greatly affect how we chose to relate to Him.

In this weeks Missional Living Devotional we are going to attempt to ask and answer that question and prayerfully identify some implications that will affect Ordinary Christians in how they should relate to God.

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HOW CAN YOU TELL IF YOUR COMMUNITY IS READY TO COME TO JESUS?

   

"Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”  Matthew 9:35-38

3 Descriptions For A Communities Readiness 

To Come To Jesus!

In this verse Jesus give 3 descriptions on how to assess your communities readiness:

1.  Harassed:

Another word that can be used here is weary.  Life can get demanding. We experience demands from our jobs, our families, our friends and just society in general.  School can become overly demanding.  For many it seems like they are being screamed at from every corner of their life and there is not place of refuge.

2.  Helpless:

You can also use the phrase "Worn out. In your community do you know of people who are so tired and exhausted with life that they are about ready to try anything to have a change in life.  Sometimes, it's because they're over worked and underpaid. In other cases, it's just that there's more month at the end of the check.

3. Like sheep without a shepherd:

This gives the impression of just aimlessly wandering about without any real direction.  Do you know people who are just going through the motions of life but it seems like they just keep going around in circles?

IF SO, THERE'S A PRETTY GOOD CHANCE YOUR 

COMMUNITY ISREADY FOR JESUS!

I hope this post has been helpful for you in your missional life!

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DON'T ALLOW DISTRACTIONS KEEP YOU FROM MISSIONAL LIVING

The enemy of the "Best" is not usually the "Worst". The enemy of the "Best" are the "Good" things that we get involved in!  For most of us it's not the bad things in the world or the worst things in the world that keep us focused and pursuing the "Best" things of God.  Usually, it is the good things that distract us from the best things like living a powerful missional life.

Watch this weeks Missional Living Devotional and take some time to meditate on how you have allowed good things keep you from joining God on His mission!

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ARE YOU PURSUING THE RIGHT MISSION?

That's an interesting question but an important question especially for those who are Followers of Christ!  Are you pursuing the right mission? Are you pursuing Christ's mission? Do you even understand what the mission is? If you can't answer these questions then how do you know that you are being obedient to what our Lord Jesus has left us here to do?

Here Are Some People Idea's Of What The Mission Is:

• Some feel that the Christian's mission is just to do good deeds!
• Some feel it is to invite people to come to church with them!
• Some people think it's just to live a good and moral life!

Now while each of these things have a place in a Christians life are they in and of themselves or combined together make up what Christ's mission that each of us should be pursuing?

Let's take a few moments and look at what the Bible says about this very important subject.  In Matthew 28:16-20 we find a part in the Bible come to be known as the Great Commission.  The reason why it is called Great Commission is because it describes most clearly what the Christ's mission is.  Read with a clear mind what the words of Christ actually says:

"All authority in Heaven and on earth have given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And low I am with you always, even to the end of the age."   

From this verse we learn that there is really only one mission!  That mission is to "Go Make Disciple".  That phrase is the only part that is written in the imperative mood thereby, making it a command.  The baptizing and teaching for obedience is only to support and help bring about the command of making disciples.

THE MISSION IS TO MAKE MORE DISCIPLES FOR CHRIST!

We can discuss more extensively in a different post on what exactly is a disciple buut for the purpose of this post let's just say that a disciple is a FULLY DEVOTED FOLLOWER OF CHRIST.  Not a halfhearted follower of Christ and not a Sunday only follower of Christ but a Fully Devoted Follower!

Here's how two of the guys I mentored define a Disciple of Christ:

• Ed Villareal says "They are Hard Core Followers of Christ."  
• Larry Munguia says, "They Are Jesus Freaks"

Though we use different phrase all three of us are basically saying that Jesus' Disciples are people who love Him more than they love anyone or anything else and they are crazy for Him.

Now is that the mission you've been pursuing?  You can't make disciples for Christ like that unless you are like that! Helping others become disciples is more caught than taught!  It's infectious!  In order for you to help someone become fully devoted to Christ, you have to be fully devoted to Christ.  That's just the way it works!  You can't teach it in a classroom. You infect others with it because you are infected with it.

If you are just trying to get people to attend a church service with you or just doing good things for people but not helping people fall desperately in love with Jesus and fully committed to Him, you're pursuing the wrong mission.  So I want to end with the same admonishment as that of Jesus.

GO MAKE DISCIPLES FOR JESUS!

MAKE FULLY DEVOTED FOLLOWERS OF JESUS!

HELP PEOPLE BECOME HARD CORE FOLLOWER OF CHRIST!

MAKE IT YOUR MISSION TO RAISE UP A MOB OF JESUS FREAKS!

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THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE: A Journey Into Missional Living/An Amazon Book Review

Read About What Other's Are Saying About THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE: A Journey Into Missional Living!

"Straight-forward street talk! The heart of this book is a compelling call for Christ followers to get back to the basics in daily demonstrations of God's love. It's a call to merge your faith with your daily living, no matter where you are. The author emphasizes the significance of every believer's unique mission field outside of the church. Perhaps the best part is that Jay doesn't leave the reader dangling after stirring their hearts. Instead, he provides practical tools for carrying out the call: Living a Christ centered life that remains in view of others and touches the people we encounter every single day. You won't put this book down without having experienced an inspirational perspective change."  Randy & Barbette Shepherd

THIIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE is available to buy at Amazon in both paperback and kindle formate.  The reader will be inspired, encourage, empowered and equipped to live an intentional missional life where the Light of Christ shines brightly through them and into their part of this dark world.  At the end of the book the reader will have the opportunity to develop their own personalized strategy for missional living that includes living it not only in their church life but also in their personal and private life.  

If it's your desire is to experience an authentic missional life, this book will help you to accomplish it!

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Missional Living For Ordinary Christians

HAVE YOU DISPLAYED THE LIGHT OF CHRIST TO SHINE BRIGHTLY?

Light by its nature must shine and Jesus tells us in the Sermon On The Mount that we are the Light of the world.  We're not the light switch that turns on the light but we are the light.  By virtue of your new birth in Christ you were created to shine the Light of Christ into this dark world.  The only question is: Have you displayed the light in such a way that people can see it and be drawn to it.  Take a few minutes and watch this weeks missional devotionals and contemplate for yourself if you have properly displayed the Light of Christ.

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