God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Genesis 1:28 (NIV)
The Call to Cultural Creation
May 14, 2018
The idea that every Christian is a full-time missionary may sound new or at least like a fresh perspective. Why is that? As we will see throughout this devotional series, Godâs Word makes crystal clear that each of us is called to make disciples of Jesus Christ no matter what job we have or where we live. So why does this concept sound new? I believe itâs because the Church has bought into three myths of missions which we will look to Scripture to refute over the next three weeks.
The first myth that the Church has subscribed to for some time now is that work is largely meaningless unless you work as a âfull-time missionary.â
Have you ever felt like your work is less important or eternally meaningful than that of a pastor...
New Series: Every Christian Is a âFull-Time Missionaryâ
May 07, 2018
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, âAll 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.â Matthew 28:16-20 (NIV)
I grew up dreading sermons on the topic of missions. Itâs not because I donât love missions; in fact, I can think of nothing more exhilarating than sharing the name of Jesus with a lost world. I love as 1 Peter 2:9 says to âdeclare the excellenciesâ of our God, telling others about the miraculous work Jesus has done on my behalf. But for years, any time I heard that a pastor would be preaching on missions or that we were entering into...
âThe Most Unproductive Thing You Can Doâ
May 05, 2018
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)
Weâve come a long way in 20 days.
In the first 10 days, we sketched out a biblical narrative of work; then we saw five ways in which our work matters in light of that narrative; and over the past few days, we examined four ways we should do our work in light of those previous truths.
Today, we see one final way we should work: To work productively towards Godâs agenda in this world, we must stay rooted to âthe vineâ by regularly communing with our Lord.Â
Jesus said that apart from him, âyou can do nothingâ of value to him and his kingdom-building purposes. In the words of author Matt Perman, âTo live your life without God is the most unproductive thing you can do.â
If you want your work to be worshipâa means of serving God rather than yourselfâa true calling on your lifeâthen you must prioritize...
Rest as a Sermon for the Ambitious
May 04, 2018
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (Genesis 2:2-3)
God had no need to rest from his work. But he did. Why?
I donât think itâs farfetched to conclude that because God created work as a form of worship, he knew we would be tempted to work nonstop. I think God rested because he knew we would forget to. So he graciously modeled a rhythm of work and rest that we were designed to mimic.Â
Yesterday, we saw that the Word commands us to work in a way that embraces the tension between âtrustingâ and âhustling.â How can we know if weâre managing that tension well? By whether or not we are able to rest.
Canât fall asleep because youâre working out a problem that faces you at work the next morning? Find yourself glancing at email while youâre on vaca...
Trusting AND Hustling
May 03, 2018
You may say to yourself, âMy power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.â But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. (Deuteronomy 8:17-18)
âHustleâ has to be one of the most popular mantras in work culture today. Entrepreneurs are told that they have to âhustleâ to make their businesses succeed. Everyone seems to be working on a âside-hustleâ outside of their 9-to-5 job.Â
But what does Godâs Word have to say about hustle?Â
On the one hand, Scripture clearly celebrates hard work. In Colossians 1, Paul himself claims to âstrenuously contend with all the energyâ in his work. Then, a few verses later, he commands us to do the same saying, âWhatever you do, work at it with all your heartâ (Colossians 3:23).
Given the many ways our work matters to God, we should âhustleâ and work hard. But, in...
The Ministry of Excellence
May 02, 2018
His master replied, âWell done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your masterâs happiness!â (Matthew 25:21)
Weâve seen that the most fundamental purpose of our work is to glorify God by âreflecting his greatnessâ and character.
What exactly are Godâs characteristics? The Word describes God in many ways, but it is his character of excellence that is perhaps most visible to us today. You canât visit the Grand Canyon or your local zoo without appreciating the masterful work of Godâs hands.
As Godâs children, we are called to be image-bearers of our Father. Theologian Andreas Köstenberger says, âAs Godâs redeemed children, we are to strive to be like God. This, it appears, includes striving for excellence.â John Piper put it this way: âGod created [us] to live with a singleâŠpassion to glorify God by enjoying and displaying his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life.âÂ
In other words, one w...
Our Modus Operandi
May 01, 2018
His master replied, âWell done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your masterâs happiness!â (Matthew 25:21)
Weâve seen that the most fundamental purpose of our work is to glorify God by âreflecting his greatnessâ and character.
What exactly are Godâs characteristics? The Word describes God in many ways, but it is his character of excellence that is perhaps most visible to us today. You canât visit the Grand Canyon or your local zoo without appreciating the masterful work of Godâs hands.
As Godâs children, we are called to be image-bearers of our Father. Theologian Andreas Köstenberger says, âAs Godâs redeemed children, we are to strive to be like God. This, it appears, includes striving for excellence.â John Piper put it this way: âGod created [us] to live with a singleâŠpassion to glorify God by enjoying and displaying his supreme excellence in all the spheres o...
Your Eternal Reward
Apr 30, 2018
The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. (1 Corinthians 3:8)
Over the past few days, weâve explored four ways your work matters to God. We saw how our work glorifies God by revealing his character to others. We saw that our work is a primary means by which God works in the world. We saw how our work is a means of living out the Great Commission. And yesterday, we saw how our work is a means of advancing the Kingdom of God.
Those four truths ought to give us plenty of purpose and motivation for our work. But God in his great graciousness gives us something elseâan explicit incentive to do our work well and in line with his principles. As todayâs passage makes clear, there are varying eternal rewards tied to how we work today.
Now, to be clear, our work has zero impact on our status as adopted children of God. Our salvation âis the gift of Godânot by works, so ...
Agents of Redemption
Apr 29, 2018
But there is a place where someone has testified: âWhat is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him? You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor and put everything under their feet.â In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. (Hebrews 2:6-8)
Yesterday, we saw that âthe kingdom of Godâ was at the forefront of Jesusâs preaching. At his resurrection, Jesus proved that he is the prophesied king of that kingdom, thus inaugurating his redeemed creation.Â
But as we saw a few days ago, Jesus didnât bring the fullness of his kingdom in one fell swoop. He certainly could have, but he didnât.
This shouldnât surprise us. Before his crucifixion, Jesus made clear that his kingdom would come graduallyâslowlyâlike a mustard seed growing into a tree or yeast folding into dough (see Matthew 1...
Misreading the Great Commission
Apr 28, 2018
Go and make disciples of all nationsâ (Matthew 28:19)
This might be the most widely known and misunderstood verse in Scripture.
For years, I read this verse and felt guilty that I was working as a tech entrepreneur in suburban America, rather than moving away from home to âgo and make disciplesâ elsewhere.
My mindset transformed when pastor Kennon Vaughan showed me that the Greek word we translate âGoâ literally means âhaving gone.â Dr. Vaughan explains, ââGoâ is not a command. [Jesus] is not commanding them to go. He is saying, âHaving goneâŠturn men into disciples.â The going is assumed. Jesus didnât go more than 200 miles away from his hometown, and yet he is the greatest disciple-maker in history. It wasnât about how far he went. It was about what he did while he was going. The same is true for you and me.â
You donât need to change your vocation or location to participate in the Great Commission. Jesus has called each and every one of us to be âfu...
