YOU WERE MADE FOR A MISSION
YOU WERE MADE FOR A MISSION THE ACHE YOU FEEL IS REAL. YOU’RE OUT-MATCHED, BUT NOT OUT GUNNED. IT’S HIS MISSION NOT YOUR AMBITION
THE ACHE YOU FEEL IS REAL. PRAYER JOURNAL EXCERPTS
Ephesians 2:8–10
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Poema
Holding my son in a blanket made by his mom.
#E02323
C.S. Lewis "If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
Every worldview presents an explanation of reality. What story do you believe? The secular narrative insists that you’ve come from nothing and your life means nothing.
I don’t know about you, but as an atheist born and raised in the secular humanism of the Pacific Northwest—even though I intellectually embraced this narrative, everything in it was asking: “Is this the best explanation you’ve got?”
We live in a majestic universe littered with stars, on a planet positioned so that beings like you and I—who just happen to be equipped with eyes that can draw in their distant light—whose emotions are moved by their cosmic wonder. And we’re supposed to believe that it’s because we’re beef robots?! Accidental a.i. assembled over the eons by chaos and time? This is the best story you can come up with? The Bible disagrees. You’re not a computer made of meat–a meaningless product of accidental evolutionary processes. You know it because everything inside of you cries out for purpose. The question is why? Why should your very being pulsate with purpose? Why should you and I–who according to evolution are nothing more than a collection of molecules brought together by chance—long so deeply to make something out of our lives. Where does this yearning for more come from? This desire is etched into the fabric of our being from before we were born. The fibers of your soul are in-escapably wired for meaning, purpose, significance, and substance. THE GOSPEL SAVES YOU OUT OF DARKNESS AND INTO REALITY.
What you’ve been called into is a great rescue mission:
Matthew 28:18–20
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” First you and I must believe that Jesus died for us and rose, conquering death and has all authority. Have you surrendered to Jesus as Lord? If not, today that is your first step!
vv.18–20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Second, you and I must embark on the great rescue mission to see the rest of humanity encounter the life-giving authority of Jesus, receive His forgiveness, and embrace His better way for their lives. That exactly what the disciples of Jesus did and the book of Acts goes on to describe how they did just that: Acts 17:6
...“These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also… But you say, “I’m no where near capable of flipping the world upside down for Jesus!” You're right... But notice
verse 16-17:
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. [17] And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.
Some of these men are looking at the resurrected Jesus and yet doubting! This mission is too big for any one of us. But that’s why God has equipped us with power!
YOU’RE OUT-MATCHED, BUT WE’RE NOT OUT-GUNNED.
What gifts? Let’s walk through one of Paul’s more expansive gift lists:
Ephesians 4:7–8
[7] But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. [8] Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”
Here's a larger list of a variety of the gifts the Holy Spirit gives:
1 Corinthians 12:4–11
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; [5] and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; [6] and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. [7] To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. [8] For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, [9] to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, [10] to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. [11] All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
IT'S HIS MISSION NOT YOUR AMBITION
John 21:15–17 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” [16] He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” [17] He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
a. He calls us not just to ideas but action.
Feed Tend, Feed These are action words. Jesus didn’t ask Peter, “Are you sorry?”
Jesus challenged Peter to love.
How can your love be shown through action?
b. He calls us not our ministry but His.
“MY sheep.” x3
They are not OUR sheep but HIS!
How have you made your serving about YOUR GIFTS rather than His SERVICE?
How can you re-orient your mind to give God all the glory?
How can you take the attention off of you?
Are you willing to ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES?
Rather than asking “how I am most gifted” ask “where am I most needed?”
c. He calls us not in our strength but in our weakness.
“God could never use me”
“Simon” x3 (This is the name of Peter when Jesus called him out of the boat).
Jesus doesn’t choose Peter because he’s perfect.
He calls him by the same name he found him in. He is still willing to use a fisherman to become a fisher of men.
→ Jesus doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called. Why? Then he gets all the glory!
I never finished Bible College.
HAVE YOU SEEN THE HAND WHO WIELDS IT?