Embracing God's Mission: Transformation, Ambition, and Prayer

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``The only way you can find a full life is not by pursuing the temporary things of the world, but it's found only in the living of life as a living sacrifice to our Lord and to our Savior. [00:08:01] (16 seconds)  #LivingSacrificeFulfillment

They are full of goodness, not wickedness, filled with knowledge, not unrighteousness, able to instruct one another in the ways of the Lord, not approving of what is evil. So how did this happen? Is it just that the Romans figured it out that these guys are the ones that, hey, they got it all put together? No, it wasn't because they were smart enough. It wasn't because they happened to be strong enough. It was because of the reality of the gospel that it is the power of God for salvation of all who believe. That the gospel is what transforms us. That the gospel is what transformed them. [00:12:03] (41 seconds)  #SalvationStartsHere

So if you're not a Christian here this morning, this is where you must start. That there is a holy God who created everyone and everything and that mankind has rebelled against this God. That we stand condemned apart from Christ for the wages of our sin is death. That's only in Christ who bore the penalty on the cross, the penalty for our sin that we and all who come and repent and believe in him can be saved. It's by that response by choosing to repent and believe in him that you can have life. [00:13:01] (34 seconds)  #TreasuredGospelLetter

It's almost tempted to see a little bit of pride almost in Paul, a little bit of boasting, but he quickly says, it's not about my work. It's not what I've done. It's about Christ. It's in Christ. Then I have a reason to be proud of my work for I will venture to speak of nothing except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience. It wasn't about Paul. It was about the mission of God that he was accomplishing through Paul. [00:16:34] (30 seconds)  #GreatCommissionCalling

But for many of us, it may not look exactly like Paul. It may not look like going to the unreached people, but it may look like a life dedicated to the mission of God where you live, work, shop, eat, play. To proclaim the gospel to those who are apart from Christ or under the condemnation of their sin. And the just punishment of sin is hell. Eternal separation from God. We too are called to be on mission here. Our lives should be about the mission of God here, now, because the consequences are both great and eternal. [00:21:58] (44 seconds)  #PlanToShareGospel

The gospel should produce in us a desire to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light, wherever we are. Whatever you do, this is the primary purpose of our lives. And while it may not look like Paul, it should very much have the same intention of Paul. Our lives should be about the magnitude of the mission of God, a life motivated by the mission of God. [00:23:16] (27 seconds)  #PrioritizeGodsMission

I plan much of my life. I plan how I spend my money. I have a budget. I plan my schedule. I have a calendar. I have short-term plans. I have long-term plans. I have plans for my personal life, plans for work, but church, I am convicted by the fact that I spend very little time planning how and with who I will share the gospel. So I ask you that same question. What do you spend your time planning? [00:27:20] (31 seconds)  #HeartForGodsWork

All of those things can be important. Some of those things need to be re-evaluated and put to the throne of Christ and say, Lord, what do you want me to do? Lord, what do you want my week to look like? What are things in my schedule that I need to say no to so that I can say yes to you, say yes to your mission, both in my life and in the lives of those around me? I encourage you to plan for the mission of God, to take this seriously, to spend intentional time sharing the gospel with those around you. This is the only thing that will last. Your 401k is not going to last. Your house is not going to last. The souls of the people around you will last for eternity. [00:30:02] (58 seconds)  #ContributeWithJoy

God does not need our money. God owns everything. He tells us in Psalms, I would not ask you if I needed anything. I own all things. We are not coming to God. It's like, oh, God, you were this close to getting it done, but here, here's this little extra cabbage for you to make sure we can get over the finish line. Not how God works. He invites us to join him on his mission for our good. [00:31:39] (31 seconds)  #PrayForMissionAdvance

Paul believes deeply in the power of prayer paul regularly is praying or sharing how he prays in his letters he believes that prayer is powerful because he knows who god is and that the work of the god of who he is praying to that god is powerful [00:38:41] (20 seconds)

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