Notes - 29th October 06 |
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| Becoming world-class Christians - The Purpose Driven Life #38 | |||||||||
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Bible passage: Most Christians follow 'the great omission', by which I mean, having received the gospel of Jesus that has transformed their lives, they live without much concern to share this good news with people around them, let alone across the world.
It is very easy to be insular with our faith, keeping it to ourselves as a personal blessing; it is still relatively comfortable to
be parochial with our faith, and spread it to a small number of groups and people around us; it is difficult to be global with
our faith and take up the task to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Where are you in regard to sharing the gospel?
(Read Psalm 67) Notice that this psalm is in the plural not the singular, that is, the psalmist is seeking the blessings of God upon all God's people, not just upon himself and his own. But more than this, the psalm asks for blessings so that we may be enabled to bring God's blessings to all the peoples of the earth. Do you primarily seek God's blessing for yourself; for all God's people; for other people of the earth? Why is the call to become a 'world-class' Christian such an important issue? For the sake of the people of the world. Why? *Because they need light (v1-2). In what ways would you say people who do not know God are in a condition of 'darkness'?(see 2 Cor 4:3-6) *Because they need joy (v3-4). What is the difference between pleasure and joy? In knowing God, there is real joy (see Psalm 16:11). Is this what we communicate with the world about us? *Because they need life (v5-7). 'The field is the world' (see Matthew 13:38), but only when the people of the world come to praise and fear God shall the world yield the harvest the Lord so desires: people who love and revere the Lord Jesus Christ.
Challenge:
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