LIVING ON MISSION
Christian Living is more than claiming Jesus, it’s following Jesus.
The Most Important Commandment
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” 37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:34-40 NLT
- Love God and love people.
- Jesus calls us to follow Him and His example.
19 Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”
21 Another of his disciples said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:19-22 NLT
- Jesus never softened the truth, and the truth is that following Him leads to difficult choices.
34 “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. 35 ‘I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 Your enemies will be right in your own household!’ 37 “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. 38 If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. 39 If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” Matthew 10:34-39 NLT
- Following Jesus will cost us relationships.
- Jesus isn’t asking us to hate our families, but rather to love Him supremely—more than even the most treasured people in our lives.
- To truly follow Christ means He has become everything to us.
24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.” Matthew 6:24 NLT
- To truly follow Christ means we do not follow anything else.
LIVING ON MISSION MEANS WE FOLLOW HIS TEACHINGS AND HIS COMMANDS.
18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 NLT
- We must rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance and transformation.
61 Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? 63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) 65 Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.” John 6:61-65 NLT
“We serve a God who is victorious, and we know that one day He will return. One day, every tribe, nation, and tongue will be gathered around His throne. And on that great day, there will not be a single ounce of us, not one piece of our being that regrets that investment.” Audrey McElveen
LIVING ON MISSION IS PREPARING THE WAY!
