Title A Purpose Driven Life (38) World Big...
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Purpose-Driven Life (38) Becoming a World Christian
Text: Mark 16:15/ And he said, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
It is our mission to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature”. We should not be worldly Christians, we should be global Christians. A worldly Christian tries to use God to achieve his greed and purpose with a 'me first' faith. Conversely, world Christians are those who rejoice and yearn for the mission of being a witness of Jesus to the ends of the earth because they clearly know the reason for salvation and the purpose of life. In today's globalized world, the only barrier to the mission of world Christians is our mindset. How to think as a world Christian to change the worldly Christian perspective and attitude.
1. From self-centered thinking to other-centered thinking
1) The first step to becoming a world Christian is to break your egocentric nature and put others first.
(Phil 2:4) Let each one look not only to his own work, but also to the work of others, so that my joy may be full.
Like the lyrics of a gospel hymn, when we say to each other how much joy you bring to us because of your existence in this world, when we unite our hearts as beings who warm each other as beings that are essential to each other and as beings that give joy to each other You can create a beautiful community that is pleasing to God. The same goes for our church. When all the saints have the heart of Christ, we will have one heart. If you can't bring joy to others, you can't bring joy to yourself.
You can't find joy when you're trapped in a castle that you call yourself. No matter how hard you work and how much you search for everything in it, joy does not live in the castle that you call yourself. When I get out of that castle and start a precious life of shifting my attention to others and caring for others, I am filled with amazing joy.
2) When we meet unbelievers, we must do whatever it takes to realize their spiritual needs with the help of the Holy Spirit so that they can come to know God closer. We can learn that method through Paul's heart.
(1 Corinthians 10:33) Like me, please everyone in all things, seeking not my own, but the good of many, that they may be saved.
The gospel is the greatest joy. He who seeks his own good is an individualist. Furthermore, those who seek the interests of the community to which they belong are group egoists. However, those who seek the benefit of all are evangelists who live before God. Because the only thing that can please everyone is the gospel. We are watchmen who preach the gospel. That is why we must blow the trumpet of the gospel for dying souls and deliver them from the power of death. If the watchman's trumpet is not clear and an ally dies at the hands of the enemy, they must take responsibility (Ezekiel 33:7-9). God is most pleased with saving souls by sharing the gospel (1 Corinthians 1:21).
Paul is a man full of endorphins. The hormone of evangelism is coming out of Paul's whole body. He had a thrilling joy that could not be endured if he did not preach the gospel even for a day. Had he been a pessimist, he would have committed suicide. He would not have been able to withstand the pain of a disease that stabbed like thorns in his body. The subject of his prison epistle to the Philippians is “joy”. Anyone who met him changed a person. I hope that you too will be filled with Jesus and have a blessed life that can give joy to everyone.
2. From local thinking to global thinking
As it says, “For God so loved the world” (John 3:16), from the beginning God wanted everyone he created to be part of God's family, so God always thinks about the world. Therefore, we, who are children of God, must also have an attitude of embracing the world.
1) The first step in thinking about embracing the world is to pray for a specific country.
Prayer is the most important tool in fulfilling our mission in the world. People may reject our love and our message, but they cannot stop us from praying. Prayer is like an intercontinental missile, even thousands of kilometers away. Therefore, we must put a globe or map and pray while calling out the names of each country. (Mark 16:15) And he said, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
2) The second is to read newspapers and news from the 'perspective for fulfilling the Great Order'.
Knowing that God saves people through tensions and transitions whenever there is change or conflict in the world, we should use it as an opportunity for evangelism.
3) The best way to embrace the world is to go on a short-term mission trip to another country.
Not everyone has the gift of missionary work, but they are called to mission in one way or another. Mission trips will broaden your mind, broaden your vision, increase your faith, ignite your passion, and give you a joy you have never experienced before.
3. From the thinking of looking only here and now to the thinking of looking into eternity
1) To make the most of your time on earth, you must maintain an eternal perspective.
2) We must invest all our energies in bringing people to Christ. The Bible says that this is the way to prepare treasures in heaven in advance. (Matthew 6:20) But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
4. Thinking about creative ways to accomplish missions instead of looking for excuses
1) When Sarah claimed that she was too old, or when Jeremiah claimed that she was too young, God did not listen to those excuses. We, too, make excuses for God's call for many reasons, but we are all called to fulfill God's mission: to spread the gospel throughout the world.
2) We should not be satisfied with the return of our family and friends to God, but have a heart for the whole world. There are more than 6 billion people on Earth, and Jesus longs to find the lost lambs. Fully fulfilling the Great Commission is the secret to living a meaningful life.
DAY 38 / About the purpose of my life
Points to think about: The Great Order is an order that I must fulfill.
Memorable Words: Make Your way known on earth, Your salvation to all nations (Psalm 67:2)
Questions that leave life:
1. What should I do now to prepare for a short-term mission trip?
2. What has been your excuse so far for becoming a world Christian? What is God's answer to that excuse?
“People may reject our love and reject our message. But that doesn't stop us from praying.”… from Rick Warren, “The Purpose Driven Life”