Living Intentionally
Notes
Transcript
Living Intentionally
Living Intentionally
In the craziness of life, being still, listening and experiencing God’s presence can seem like unattainable aspirations. Today, we explore how to be more intentional about our walk with God.
Lets begin with what Jesus told his disciples
28 Come to me, all of you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to carry and my burden is light.”
Stephen Covey in his book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” (https://amzn.to/2u7cdMf) would say, “begin with the end in mind”. Look at the result you want to accomplish and work toward that but Covey does this by asking you to think about the end of your life.
Picture your funeral. What will people say about you? How will your eulogy read?
He does this to get you to think about the things that are really important in your life.
David Brooks, in his book “The Road to Character” (https://amzn.to/378lceK) distinguishes between “résumé virtues” and “eulogy virtues” where
“The résumé virtues are the ones you list on your résumé, the skills that you bring to the job market and that contribute to external success. The eulogy virtues are deeper. They’re the virtues that get talked about at your funeral, the ones that exist at the core of your being—whether you are kind, brave, honest or faithful; what kind of relationships you formed.”
But I want you to think for a minute beyond the natural attributes of résumé, your job or salary and even beyond your eulogy, what people think about you, and consider what you are doing that matters to God?
Yes, there absolutely is some overlap between your service to God and His kingdom and what people think about you.
Husbands should love their wives.
Father’s should raise a godly seed.
But in this discourse with his disciples, Jesus said in
22 and you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end—this one will be saved.
So what is it that was important to Jesus? What is it that he wanted from His disciples? What is it that will endure at the throne of God?
11 For no one is able to lay another foundation than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, straw, 13 the work of each one will become evident. For the day will reveal it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the work of each one, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work that he has built upon it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but so as through fire.
Here is what Jesus said in this same section, in
40 “The one who receives you receives me, and the one who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, he will never lose his reward.”
Our introductory reading,
Matthew 11:28–30 (LEB) 28 Come to me, all of you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to carry and my burden is light.”
is actually the end of a conversation Jesus was having with those that followed him.
But lets back up here because we need to understand what led Jesus to say this.
The Message - The Kingdom of God is Here
The Message - The Kingdom of God is Here
This conversation began after Jesus had delivered a message:
in
35 And Jesus was going around all the towns and the villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness.
Everywhere Jesus went, he proclaimed this message of good news: “the kingdom of God is here”.
And everywhere Jesus went, people were healed and set free. And, everywhere Jesus went, there were more crowds of people.
Wherever Jesus went he preached this message, a quote from Isaiah 61:1-2 in
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because of which he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send out in freedom those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
The early part of Jesus ministry is his declaration that “the kingdom of God is here”. And, he confirms this message by demonstrating the power of God to heal and deliver people from demonic possession.
God’s Will - The Harvest
God’s Will - The Harvest
At this point something happens. There is a shift.
Right here, Jesus looks around himself and stops in
36 And when he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were weary and dejected, like sheep that did not have a shepherd.
It isn’t that Jesus had not seen the crowds before, he has. But now he speaks to his disciples in
37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest that he send out workers into his harvest.”
As James Levesque said last night, Jesus didn’t tell them to pray for the lost. Jesus told them to pray for “workers into his harvest”.
Jesus didn’t pray for workers. Jesus told them to pray for workers.
And, later on, when Jesus prayed for the disciples, he didn’t just say father protect them. What he said was, I am asking “on behalf of them” in
9 I am asking on behalf of them. I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you have given me, because they are yours,
What you say, what you ask God for, matters. We have a position of authority in the earth that God listens to if we are right with him.
17 Learn to do good! Seek justice! Rescue the oppressed! Defend the orphan! Plead for the widow! 18 “Come now, and let us argue,” says Yahweh. “Even though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white like snow; even though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
I want to shift your thinking here. God is not just telling you what to do. He has made you in his image, a creative being. He has given you free will.
Let me just take one aside to make this point. You have likely read this many times in
19 And out of the ground Yahweh God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and he brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called that living creature was its name. 20 And the man gave names to every domesticated animal and to the birds of heaven and to all the wild animals. But for the man there was not found a helper as his counterpart.
God was not telling Adam, he was asking him. What Adam called them was there name.
But lets get back to what Jesus said in
38 Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest that he send out workers into his harvest.”
And it is now that Jesus delegates his authority to the twelve in
1 And summoning his twelve disciples, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could expel them and could heal every disease and every sickness.
But he didn’t say, you two go to this city and you two go to that city and ...
He commissioned them and let them go.
And as they did, these disciples also had great success.
Miracles happened.
Miracles are confirmation that “the Kingdom of God is here”
So, Jesus spoke out about those places where the miracles had occurred in
20 Then he began to reproach the towns in which the majority of his miracles had been done, because they did not repent:
And then, he said to his disciples in
28 Come to me, all of you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to carry and my burden is light.”
As we look around us, we see the trouble in the world, but “the kingdom of God is here”.
And even more than that, we who have accepted Christ are in His kingdom.
He is concerned about his children.
And, he is well able to keep us but remember how Jesus prayed in
15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth—your word is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
And then Jesus said to them in
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who refuses to believe will be condemned.
But he didn’t tell them exactly how to do it!
He told them to wait for the Holy Spirit because they would be empowered in
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest part of the earth.”
But he commissioned them to go.
Intentionally Live
Intentionally Live
Jesus said His yoke was easy and His burden light so I am not asking you to throw yourself into some super human decathlon.
But Jesus himself honored the Sabbath.
I am asking you to challenge yourself, as Paul did Timothy in
1 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom, 2 preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all patience and instruction.
Intentionally Pray
Intentionally Pray
How many places are there in the New Testament where the disciples prayed and God gave them instruction?
Many.
2 And while they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart now for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, after they had fasted and prayed and placed their hands on them, they sent them away.
So, intentionally pray and get direction from God.
Intentionally Develop Yourself
Intentionally Develop Yourself
7 Now to each one of us was given this grace, according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says, “Ascending on high he led captivity captive; he gave gifts to men.”
Know your gifts and develop them
What has God made you to be?
Intentionally Act
Intentionally Act
14 Turn from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it.