Last week we said that you need practises so that you can train yourself to be Godly.
What should we be doing?
Paul didn’t have anything written down… the Gospels were not yet on paper… so his answer was copy me ..
1 Corinthians 4:16-17
Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, …. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.
1 Corinthians 11:1 NIV
[1] Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
In it’s earliest days, Christianity was known as “The Way”
Acts 24:14
However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets,
Follow, Bless and Share are attempts to name the Jesus Way
We are not saved by what we do, God has saved us through Jesus.
Colossians 1:13-14
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Stop… hear these words…
While we are completely saved by grace… being part of a different Kingdom means following a different way of life
Ephesians 2:8-10
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Too many Christians have fought over questions like whether we are saved by God’s grace or whether we are saved by what we do… They have fought over whether we have the right understanding of how we are saved…
they have fought over whether Jesus is about a way of life, the source of life or the source of truth… Jesus doesn’t let you get away with that minimising…
Jesus is the “Way” as well as the truth and the Life.
John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Truth is not a intellectual proposition – it is a person
Life is not a state of being – it is a person
The best Way of life is not a plan – it is a person
That person’s name is Jesus Christ
Your task is to make that person known to other people…
You are sent (which is where we get the word Mission) into those places.
John 20:21
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
There are a few things I need to work on first…
- Finances
- Education
- Family
- Health
- Personal Goals..
Most of us are dissatisfied with where we are…
It is not an accident you are here now. God chose when you were born, where you were born and somehow also where you are living now.
Acts 17:26
From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
God does call some people to intentionally go… to change their circumstances to serve him, but God calls the majority of people to stay where they are.
1 Corinthians 7:24
Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.
The way we fulfil the mission God gives us is by living our hope in Jesus in a way that people find weird.
1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
BLESS is where you start… in your family, in your community, in your workplace, in your sports club
BEGIN in prayer: Accept where you are and where God is leading you and consciously invite him with you, asking him for direction.
Listen and Learn: Put aside your assumptions, particularly if you think you know the people and the situation.
Eat with people: Connect with people as you, not as a role or in a program so they can see your hope… and your weaknesses too
Serve needs: Look for where the Glory of God is missing for people and in the context you are in and serve sacrificialy
Share Hope: be ready to describe to other people where your hope comes from… and keep watch on yourself that you are continually living from hope
The first prayer to pray is a prayer of dedication and acceptance of who you are and where God has you.
I am no longer my own but yours.
Put me to what you will;
rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing;
put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you;
let me be exalted for you or brought low for you;
let me be full;
let me be empty;
let me have all things;
let me have nothing.
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things
to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
you are mine and I am yours.
So be it.
And the covenant now made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.
Until you accept God has you where you are and when you are, and invite him to show you his heart, you are not ready to BLESS
You are called to own the pain of the position in which you stand now…
The Christian vocation is to be in prayer, in the Spirit, at the place where the world is in pain, and as we embrace that vocation, we discover it to be the way of following Christ, shaped according to his messianic vocation to the cross, with arms outstretched, holding on simultaneously to the pain of the world and to the love of God.
Wright, N.T.. The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is (pp. 189-190). (Function). Kindle Edition.
Prayer was at the centre of Jesus’ life
Luke 5:16
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
The early church was defined by prayer
Acts 1:14
They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Acts 2:42
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 13:3
So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
Prayer is meant to be a lifestyle because it orientates us to the different kingdom we are part of
Ephesians 6:18-19
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
1 Thessalonians 5:17
pray continually,
1 Timothy 2:1-3
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
There is a connection with prayer and being able to see and experience the love of God which is our hope
Jude 1:20-21
But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
The hope we live from is revealed through prayer…
Ephesians 1:18-20
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
So the starting point in your calling, in your family, in you workplace, in your church and in your social club is to BEGIN IN PRAYER
BEGIN to BLESS in Prayer
(B) Pray that God will help you accept the mission of where he has you and when he has you.
(L) Pray that God would help you get past your prejudgment of the people in your mission field and help you LISTEN and LEARN from them
(E) Pray that God would open opportunities for you to share a genuine relationship with people either through eating with people or in other ways
(S) Pray that God would reveal the places in your mission field where the world is in pain (through an absense of the Glory of God) and that he would show you what it means to take up your cross and serve needs.
(S) Pray that God would help you more deeply know his Hope made available to you from Jesus, and that as you live from that hope might give you opportunities to share that hope with others.
Prayer of Dedication… I am where I am now… I bring to mind my family, my neighbourhood, my workplace, my school, my friends… I acknowledge the state of my health, my finances, my fears and my hopes…
I give you my life and ask you to use it to Bless…
Small Group Questions:
1)Where have you seen Christians (or yourself) drift toward either earning salvation through effort, or neglecting obedience because of grace?
What does it look like to hold both together?
2) Matt said, “Until you accept God has you where you are and when you are, you are not ready to BLESS.”
What makes it hard for you to accept where God has placed you right now (family, workplace, neighbourhood, season of life)? What might change if you truly believed Acts 17:26 applies to you personally?
3) Jesus says in John 20:21, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Where do you sense you are already “sent”?
How might your posture toward those spaces shift if you saw them as your mission field rather than just your circumstance?
4) 1 Peter 3:15 suggests people should notice something different about our hope.
What does “living hope in a way that people find weird” actually look like in real life?
Where are you tempted to hide your hope rather than live openly from it?
5) Read through the New Testament verses about prayer. Which one speaks to you? Is there anything you would like to change about how you are currently praying?
6)Read through the 5 “Begin to Bless in Prayer” prayers. How do you feel about them? Which of these are you already praying? Which would you like to start praying?