Life Foundations Part 4 Mission

The last in our series of life foundations is mission. God has tasked us with his mission. What is mission. Here is a dictionary definition.

Mission
mis·sion  [mish-uhn] 
noun
1. a group or committee of persons sent to a foreign country to conduct negotiations, establish relations, provide scientific and technical assistance, or the like.
2.the business with which such a group is charged.
3.any important task or duty that is assigned, allotted, or self-imposed: Our mission is to find the child a safe home.
4.an important goal or purpose that is accompanied by strong conviction; a calling or vocation: She has finally found her mission in life.
5.a sending or being sent for some duty or purpose.

Also called foreign mission. a permanent diplomatic establishment abroad; embassy; legation.
Military . an operational task, usually assigned by a higher headquarters: a mission to bomb the bridge.

Synonyms for mission
noun person's task, responsibility
aim, assignment, business, calling, charge, commission, duty, end, errand, goal, job, lifework, object, objective, office, operation, profession, purpose, pursuit, quest, sortie, trade, trust, undertaking, vocation, work

All of these are useful thoughts for us as they relate to God's mission. God calls us to his mission. Lets explore this further, and see how our mission is to be carried out. Mission statements can help ud. Mission Statements describe a mission. Mission is an operational task we have been given by God.

Citylife Church
Love God/Love People/Live His purpose
Helping our friends to discover the grace of God.

Love God - Heart soul mind and strength
Love People - love others as God loves us
Live his purpose – obedience – reaching people – finding his purpose for your life

Helping our friends to discover the grace of God. This is the outworking of our mission. That our friends will discover Gods grace as we share his love. Starbucks also has a mission statement:

Starbucks Mission Statement
Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. (This is followed by their principles).

For us, our mission is what God has called us to do, personally and collectively as a community to share the good news and make disciples.

Jesus gave us a mission:

Matt 28:18-20
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,[b] 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.”

He knew his mission on earth had come to an end. His mission had been to come, live among us, teach, and then give his life for us. Now, he had risen and was going to the Father and he gives us a mission.

We often call it the Great commission. A commission, delegated authority to carry out business. We have been given delegated authority to carry out God's mission, to make disciples. A mission to bring God’s love to people and the good news of new life that is found in Christ.

We express this mission in our mission statement.

Paul says we are Ambassadors
2 Cor 5:15-21
15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Paul understood what the mission was. He had been sent on a mission to destroy Christians and ended up embarking on a mission to reach people with the good news of the love and grace of Christ. He says that we are ambassadors. An ambassador is a representative of one nation in another and they are responsible for various “Foreign missions”. They have auhority to act on behalf of another, their country.

We are representatives of Christ in a foreign land. This is not our true home. Just like Abraham, we are passing through. We are foreigners representing the Kingdom of God in our nation. We are foreigners and ambassadors representing God and carrying out his commision.

Hebrews 11:13-16
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

We are given a mission; a task to fulfil. Lets look at two key areas of mission.

1. Spread the Good News
We have been tasked to go make disciples and there is both an individual aspect and a collective aspect. We are commissioned to go make disciples. It is a task that we have been given; a task that we have been authorised to perform. If you are a follower of Christ, you have been tasked with this mission.

A disciple is someone who is a follower of Christ. A disciple is a learner, a student, apprentice or a pupil. The term is "mathetes" and according to literature is most often associated with people who were devoted followers of a religioys leader or teacher of philosophy.

Disciples in the Jewish context were people who followed the teachings and practices of a particular person, usually a Rabbi or teacher of some sort. A disciple was a devoted, life influencing process.

One source describes the role of disciples in the Jewish context as follows:

"Just as there were “disciples” in the Greco-Roman world of the first century, so there were people called disciples in Judaism as well. Such people were committed to a recognized leader or movement. This involved Jewish adherents to Philosophical schools or to religious and political sects. The Pharisees apparently had their own disciples and they too claimed to be disciples of Moses (John 9:28-296). John the Baptist also had disciples who lived with him and followed him, practiced his ascetic lifestyle, and promulgated (to some extent) his teachings (Mark 2:18; Luke 11:1; John 3:25; Acts 19:1-7).

"In general, the education of boys in first century Judaism centered in the home around Torah learning. The Torah was taught primarily by the Father. But during the time of Jesus there is good evidence to suggest that primary schools (beth Sepher) had been developed to mitigate against the inroads of Hellenism.7 But after a boy was thirteen years of age there was no more formal education as such. If he wanted further training in preparation for being a judge, teacher, scribe, or head of a synagogue, he might continue his study of the Torah in a small group or seek to study as a disciple under a certain scholar.8 The apostle Paul was an example of a Jewish boy who had left home (i.e., Tarsus) to study the Law under Gamaliel, a famous Rabbi in Jerusalem (Acts 5:34; 22:3)."

In other words, a disciple in this sense is someone who devotedly follows the teaching of Jesus. Our Mission is to go and make disciples – to go and share the good news, helping others to become devoted followers of Jesus.

As individuals we have a mission to reach out to our friends: to take the good news of Jesus to them, but we don’t do it alone. We do it with the help and the support of those who are doing the journey of faith with us. Our Citylife Church Mission is a corporate mission that each individual takes responsibility for.

This is one of the reasons the Bible says don’t stop meeting together. We need the love help and support of others. When we try to go it alone we become prey to the enemy. However there is an individual perspective. There are people that only you can reach

This is task is about sharing the good news. It is not up to us to save people; that is the work of the Holy Spirit. We share God’s love and the grace of Jesus with people, the Spirit works in their heart. This is why prayer is so important. Prayer breaks through in the Spiritual realm.

Not sure what to pray for your friends; John 16:5-15 helps us.

John 16:5-15
The Work of the Holy Spirit
5 “But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. 6 Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. 7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate[a] won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. 10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. 11 Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.

12 “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’

God promises us that his Spirit will lead us and guide us into all truth. His Spirit is the one who convicts the heart of people. It is his Spirit who reveals the truth to people. Pray for your friends that God’s spirit will reveal the truth to them and convict them of their need for Jesus.

As we take hold of God’s good news and share it with people, the Holy Spirit is taking on the task of saving people. As individuals and collectively we have a responsibility to share the good news and speak og God's saving grace and love available to all through Christ.

Romans 10:8-15
And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: 9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” 12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

This may be community development that shows God’s love practically such our Love in Action and our work in Vietnam. It may be sharing your testimony with someone. It doesn’t have to be long and involved simply– this is what I was like – this is what God did – this is what my life is like now.

God calls some of us to cross cultural missions but for most of us we will be on mission here in Australia. When our friends are seeking God and are saved, when they choose to follow Christ, we stay on mission to make disciples, helping our friends grow and understand more of God'sgrace and purpose in their lives. They too then become people devoted to following Christ who in turn take on God's mission.

What am I doing to engage the mission?
Who am I engaging in mission with?

2. Live a life of purpose
The second aspect to this is our personal mission. This is more about what God has called us to do, our individual purpose that is part of the whole. In the synonyms it includes words like: commission, lifework, objective, task, vocation and work

What is my part? What is my mission and purpose.

We have looked at this before when we have talked about purpose, and gifting and what God calls us to do. Having a life’s mission written down as a mission statement is a great way to stay on track with whatever God is calling you to do.

Here is mine
Encourage others to fulfil their potential and be all that God created them to be.

Ephesians 4:12
New Living Translation (NLT)
12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

This is my overarching mission statement. There are others that I have written for various areas of my life in regards to my relationship with God, my marriage and family, my work and my education. My life plan has a vision, mission and purpose for each key area. You don't have to write it down, but God has a mission and purpose for your life.

What is your mission?
What would you write?
You may already have one and know exactly what it is. I encourage you to pray about it, seek God and ask him to reveal his purpose for you. Over time he will reveal it to you. Meanwhile, keep on with the mission we talked about in part 1, helping your friends to discover the grace of God.

When you know your mission, you will also be able to think about the principles by which you live your life that come from the mission. It’s a good idea to ensure our mission matches up with who God has created us to be. That’s why prayer is important. As a result of the mission, as you live out your purpose, you may have many areas that you serve in.

Your mission will involve some kind of service for the kingdom of God whether it be as part of service to the church family or service to the community. If you are working, then this is also part of your mission. You may not be where you want to be yet but we are all a work in progress. We are all on a journey. God will use you wherever you are.

Romans 12:11
New Living Translation (NLT)
11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

Note the term "enthusiastically". It’s not always easy to be enthusiastic, but it is a choice that we make. Enthusiasm will not only help us but will encourage others.

Colossians 3:23
New Living Translation (NLT)
23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

These Scriptures remind us that God sees our work as something we do for him, whatever that is and wherever we are. That is to be our focus. When you are at work you are working for God. This is part of your mission and your mission field. Wherever you are God has you there for a reason and a purpose.

Permission Granted – Shared by Grahame Cooke:
"I feel it strongly in my heart on days that God is taking our hearts to a totally different place of intention, purpose and design. It’s time to stop being casual about the Kingdom and develop a lifestyle of utmost intentionality because there is acceleration with intention."

Be intentional with your life as you live his purpose. You might not yet be where you want to be, but you are on the way, you are on the journey and as you are faithful where God has you now, you will grow in him, and your life purpose will begin to take shape and be fulfilled.

Conclusion
We have a mission, we are on a mission. Let’s get about the individual/corporate mission of sharing the good news with our friends and our community, and start living a life of intention and purpose.

Life Foundations Part 3 Prayer

Introduction
Over the last few weeks we’ve been thinking about Life foundations. I want to challenge us to build our life on firm foundations. Remember, that Jesus is the solid rock that we build our life on and he is our example.

Last week we looked at the foundation of community and the importance of living in community and building community. This week we are looking at the why, how, when and what of prayer. One of the reasons we looked at how we see God is because the way we see God affects our behaviour and will affect the way we pray.

Proverbs 15:29
New Living Translation (NLT)
29 The Lord is far from the wicked,
    but he hears the prayers of the righteous.

We must believe that God hears us when we pray.

Why Pray
Prayer is a vital part of our life and is our communication with God. God wants to speak to us. Prayer creates an environment conducive to hearing God.

Bill Hybels (Too Busy not to Pray) writes:
“If you lower the ambient noise of your life and listen expectantly for those whispers of God, your ears will hear them. And when you follow their lead, your world will be rocked.”
― Bill Hybels

Prayer is about hearing from God and speaking to God. When we make a habit of praying regularly we create an environment where God can speak and where we can learn to hear his voice. Prayer is about God’s will in heaven done on earth – The Lord’s prayer (Matt 6:9-12)

Richard C Trench says:
"Prayer is not getting man's will done in heaven, but getting God's will done on earth. It is not overcoming God's reluctance but laying hold of God's willingness."

Jesus is our example and he spent time in prayer. (Matt 14:22)
We need God’s direction in our life and prayer enables us to hear from God (If we will shut up and listen). Jesus tells us to pray. In Matt 6:9 he says to his discipkes "when you pray….". Not if you pray, but when you pray.

Paul says pray always – without ceasing

1 Thess  5: 16-17
16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

The psalms are hymns and prayers to God. Prayer is a normal part of a relationship with God. God wants us to seek him, to hear from him and to learn from him.

Isaiah 55
“Come to me with your ears wide open.
    Listen, and you will find life.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you.
    I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.
4 See how I used him to display my power among the peoples.
    I made him a leader among the nations.
5 You also will command nations you do not know,
    and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey,
because I, the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.”
6 Seek the Lord while you can find him.
    Call on him now while he is near.
7 Let the wicked change their ways
    and banish the very thought of doing wrong.
Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them.
    Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.

God says – come – seek me – call on me.

How to pray
There are lots of ideas on how we should pray. Some scriptures say pray with your hands in the air, others say pray on your knees. I don’t think the posture of prayer is necessarily important unless it is hindering our prayer life. Raising hands to pray is in honour of God. Getting on our knees is a matter of humility and submission. So how do we pray?

The Bible uses words like "be persistent". Jesus says "ask and keep on asking" and tells the story of the persistent widow who keeps seeking justice till she gets it. Paul says be alert and persistent. In other words – be aware when you are praying, staying focussed. Paul also encourages us to pray in the spirit, with thankful hearts.

Ephesians 6:18
New Living Translation (NLT)
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

He talks to the Colossians about being devoted and having discipline in prayer, keeping a heart that is open and thankful to God. There are lots of ways to stay thankful in prayer – listing all the things you are thankful for and developing an attitude of thankfulness – seeing potential not difficulty.

Colossians 4:2
New Living Translation (NLT)
An Encouragement for Prayer
2 Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.

Jesus, just before he teaches his disciples what to pray, teaches them how to pray.

Matt 6:5-8
Teaching about Prayer and Fasting
5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
7 “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!

Prayer is not about what others think of our prayers.  They are between you and God. Jesus was not against public prayer, just the attitude of the Pharisees to it. Jesus went to the temple to pray and so did the disciples – that was public prayer that gave honour and glory to God.

Some quick thoughts from Jesus’ directive on prayer:
-Pray where you are able to meet with God
-Don’t babble endless and long prayers – stay to the point. Babbling is different to persistence
-God knows what we need so stay to the point
-Pray according to the will of God and in the name of Jesus.

John 15:15-16
New Living Translation (NLT)
15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

John 16:23-24
New Living Translation (NLT)
23 At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. 24 You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.

Pray to the Father by the Spirit in the name of Jesus. What does "in Jesus name"  actually mean? It means pray a prayer that Jesus would pray. What is on the heart of Jesus for his world? Pray those things.
This is what it means to pray in the name of Jesus and the will of the Father.

Kenneth L. Wilson says:
"To pray in Jesus' name means to pray in his spirit, in his compassion, in his love, in his outrage, in his concern. In other words, it means to pray a prayer that Jesus himself might pray."

Am I praying prayers in the spirit, love and compassion of Jesus?

Come with and attitude of humility.
Prayer requires humility before God. After the dedication of the Temple and Solomons prayer, God tells Solomon that humility is important.

2 Chron 7:11-16
The Lord’s Response to Solomon
11 So Solomon finished the Temple of the Lord, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do in the construction of the Temple and the palace. 12 Then one night the Lord appeared to Solomon and said,
“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. 13 At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. 14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 15 My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. 16 For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honoured forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.

God has chosen us and called us. We are his people. When we come with humble hearts, he hears our prayers. Humility is a key attitude for prayer. God promised his people that if they would come to him humbly, seek his forgiveness and  seek his face, then he would restore and heal and bring about his will for them and make them a great nation that honoured his name.

Both Peter and James tell us that God opposes the proud but gives grace and favour to the humble. James addresses the wrong motives that were prevalent among the people: jealousy, arguments and fighting. Their attitude was wrong.

James 4:1-8
New Living Translation (NLT)
Drawing Close to God
4 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? 2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. 3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
4 You adulterers!Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 5 What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy?[b] 6 But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say,
“God opposes the proud
    but favors the humble.”
7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

James shoots pretty straight when he says this. He does not muck around or beat around the bush. He simply says, when we ask God we don’t get what we are asking for because our motives are wrong.

Wrong attitudes and motives become obstacles to prayer. Things like jealousy, evil desires, wanting selfish answers not God’s purpose, friendship with the world and all kinds of pride can hinder our prayer life. Let’s not be like that. Instead lets deal with the attitudes and get our motives right.

What attitudes and motives might be hindering my prayer life?

An attitude of faith and from a position of righteousness

James 5:13-16
New Living Translation (NLT)
The Power of Prayer
13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

Proverbs 15:29
New Living Translation (NLT)
29 The Lord is far from the wicked,
    but he hears the prayers of the righteous

Am I living my life in right relationship with God? If not, get into right relationship by seeking his forgiveness and determining to live for him.

Am I praying from an attitude of faith?
What can I do to build my faith?

When to pray
There is no hard and fast rule. Different times of day suit different people. I’m not so worried about when people pray, more that they pray. However morning prayer is helpful to start the day on the right note, setting a direction for the day. Evening prayer is helpful to finish the day and to bring the day before God working through and developing a process of bringing everything before God and being accountable for the day’s actions.

Praying through the night when we have something we are desperate about can be useful too. Can’t sleep? It’s a good time to seek God. He may have someone or something he wants you to pray for and he will bring them to mind.

Lamentations 2:19
New Living Translation (NLT)
19 Rise during the night and cry out.
    Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord.
Lift up your hands to him in prayer,
    pleading for your children,
for in every street
    they are faint with hunger.

Romans 1:9
New Living Translation (NLT)
9 God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart[a] by spreading the Good News about his Son.

Pray when God places someone on your heart: driving, walking, and wherever you are.

Psalm 92:2
New Living Translation (NLT)
2 It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning,
    your faithfulness in the evening,

David says: evening and morning and noon will I pray and cry aloud and he will hear my voice.

Psalm 55:17
New Living Translation (NLT)
17 Morning, noon, and night
    I cry out in my distress,
    and the Lord hears my voice.

So it doesn’t really matter when you pray – just do it.

When is the best time for me to pray?
How will I manage my prayer time?

Whenever you choose to pray – give your best to God.

What to pray
There are many things that we can pray for. Paul says pray about everything. God is interested in everything. (He may not necessarily answer the way we want –but he is listening)

Philippians 4:6
New Living Translation (NLT)
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

When it comes to what to pray about, the pattern of prayer that Jesus gives his disciples is helpful.

Matt 6:9-13
Pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
    may your name be kept holy.
10 May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
    as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today the food we need,
12 and forgive us our sins,
    as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
13 And don’t let us yield to temptation,
    but rescue us from the evil one.

This is a prayer for kingdom purpose.
Notice there is his purpose, his Kingdom, his mission, his provision.

1. Honour God
Jesus says to start with worship and give God all glory and honour and praise. Acknowledge God and his holiness. Acknowledge and glorify him above all else.

2. His Kingdom
It is God’s kingdom on come on earth. This is all about God’s will and purpose being carried out here on earth. This is about mission. Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

What is God’s plan and purpose, his kingdom purpose for others, for your life, the people you do life with, our relationships? What is his will for these people? Pray that.

It is not about God giving us what we want, but us getting on board with what God wants. Paul says pray for everyone, for all people, for the governments and for all those in authority, because God’s will is that people be saved. These are the things we are to pray for.

1 Tim 2:1-6
Instructions about Worship
2 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 5 For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.

– we are not good at respecting those in government or in authority. It goes against the grain for us, we tend to rebellion. When we ridicule the government we are in direct disobedience to the Word of God. This does not mean we have to agree with what they do or say. There is a difference between acceptance and respect. We are to honour those in authority and pray for them.

Paul also says, pray for spiritual growth, for the people around you and for yourself. Pray for all believers everywhere. This has a strong mission focus on it. God’s will is for all people everywhere to be saved, and that all believers everywhere will live according to his plan and purpose.

Ephesians 6:18
New Living Translation (NLT)
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Growth

Eph 3:14-20
14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

Pray for Kingdom purpose.

Are my prayers kingdom focussed; am I more interested in God’s kingdom and mission or in getting my own way?
What is our response? This is always a challenge.
What will we change in what we pray for?

My challenge: Think about my prayer life and what I spend most time praying about. Is it God’s mission or my comfort?

Lets make sure our prayers have a focus on God's kingdom.

3. God’s provision
Give us this day ….the food and forgiveness we need. This is where we can pray for God’s provision for our life. Notice it says food for today and not riches for the future. He may give us those because he loves to bless us, but Jesus says ask for today’s provision. In other words trust God each day for provision.

Each day seek his forgiveness. Each day ask for his leading and guiding and don’t let us yield to temptation. Jesus knew that these are the things we need. But the emphasis is not on us, it is on God and his provision for us.

Conclusion
Why, How, When and What of prayer. Prayer is vital to our Christian life; it is foundational. God seeks relationship with me through prayer – Jesus and the apostles encourage it.

What am I going to do to develop my prayer life to the next level?

Let’s be women of prayer who seek kingdom purpose. God’s will done on earth as it is in heaven, trusting God for his provision, addressing attitudes that hinder prayer and developing our prayer life to a new level

Life Foundations Part 2-Community

Introduction
Last week we discussed the nature of God. What are our convictions about the nature of God? We also discussed our convictions about self and how we see ourself. Our convictions affect our life so its important to build convictions based on the truth.

This week we are discussing the nature of community. What is community? Why is community important? How do we build community.

Whenever we see anything happening in the Bible and in the early church the context is always community. A community of faith, a community of believers, a community of women, a community of people.

Wherever we are and whatever we do involves community. We live in community. It is not good for people to be alone. God created us to live in communities and share common ground, common purpose and common ownership.

This does not necessarily mean common ownership of personal possessions, but as the early church formed it did. The early church was formed in the context of community. The Jewish people understood community, probably better than we do.

Acts 2:42_47
The Believers Form a Community
42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper[i]), and to prayer.
43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity[j]— 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

We are a Community of women, doing life together, a community of people. God adds to our number when we are in community.

What is community?
Community is common ownership and participation. Community is taking ownership and participating in it. True community is engaging and life giving. This is the one of the foundations of our life. We are  part of a community.

From the previous verses we see a desire in the disciples to live in and continue in community. They shared meals together, they met regularly together, they shared what they had and they did it with joy and a single-mindedness of spirit and heart.

They had a joy and a passion for doing life together in community. A passion to form community, sustain community and build community.
And they did it with great joy.

In life there are lots of communities. There are online communities, banking communities, sporting communities etc. We can be involved in many and various types of communities and I encourage you to do so. Be an active participant.

Community is also about place and belonging; networks of people and tolerance, reciprocity and trust that is natural and does not need to be specifically taught – it tends to be caught. We all need a place to belong.

Why Community?
We can know what community is, but why be part of a community, and more importantly, why be part of building a community. The truth is, we all need a place to belong, a place where we do life with others, where we are accepted.

1. It is good for us
Community is good for us. We were never meant to do life alone. We are not created to do life alone. It is good for us to be with others. It is good for us socially and physically. When we share with others we are doingboursrlves good. There is some evidence to suggest that being with others helps us build healthier neurological connections and healthier thinking.

We are meant to be with one another. A family is a small community. The Bible tells us that God places the lonely in families – why, because we are not meant to be alone. We are meant to live in community.

Psalm 68:6
New Living Translation (NLT)
6 God places the lonely in families;
    he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

I must look up the reference, but in my reading I came across the following:
Humans are social animals. We need connection not just to survive but to thrive.

Social capital – the connections that exist amongst individuals, can be studied and measured to some degree. The social capital – the value of community – the connections we have will affect how we grow and develop, it affects our health and it affects our economic prosperity.

Those communities who develop stronger social capital do better.
Community offers a sense of belonging (a sense of place), social networks and human connection.According to one paper I read;  If you do not belong to a group and you decide to join one, you cut your risk of dying in the next year by half.

Community is good for you.

2. It is good for others
Community is also good for others. Children who live in strong communities with good social capital do better. When we reach out to others and live in community we are helping them to strengthen their sense of belonging to a group of people.

Community gives a place for the lonely to find people and develop networks of people who love them, care for them and embrace them. Community is about relationship and social capital. It’s about strengthening and building people and providing a place where people are accepted and belong.

3. How do we build community
So we understand a little of the what and why. What about the how?

There are many things we can do to build community, and of course there are things that can destroy community. Let’s focus on how to build community.

1. Genuine love for one another
What is genuine love? It is seeking the very best for those in our community and giving genuine care that is real and true. Genuine love and care does not pander to people, it does not manipulate and will not be manipulated. Genuine love and care empowers people to be all God created them to be without forcing them to be.

Romans 12:9
New Living Translation (NLT)
9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.

The context of this is community; it is using what we have to build one another up and to empower people. It is doing what we can do, and doing it well, taking our part.

Romans 12:6-13
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Let’s not be good at pretending to love one another, but become good at really loving one another. Community means genuine care for people and using our gifts appropriately to do so. This passage is about more than just using your gift, it’s about using your gift to build others up and to bring edification and to work together with others to build kingdom community.

The early church had a bit of an issue as their community got bigger and they had trouble providing genuine care to others. As they worked to resolve the issue, they chose people with gifts that could better administer their food program so that everyone got cared for. (Acts 6)

To build community, genuine care and love for others means resolving issues in a way that builds community and does not destroy it.

Am I showing genuine love or do I just pretend?
How can I begin to show genuine love today?

Conflict is a killer of community – conflict will happen, and it’s not unusual where people gather, but let’s choose to resolve conflict properly and use it as a way to build community, not destroy it. You only have to see what is happening in Ukraine at the moment to realise that conflict pulls a community apart

Matt 18:15-17
Correcting Another Believer
15 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.

Jesus says – sort out your differences. Note that this is about restoration and bringing someone back into community. The context is Jesus embracing the little children, addressing the issue of lost people mattering (before) and then having an attitude of forgiveness (after).

I think Jesus did that deliberately. He knew we needed to understand that the important thing is unsaved people, and in relationships we need lots of forgiveness ourselves and we are not always good at giving it and offering it to others.

Conflict handled properly restores relationship and builds community.

2. Embrace people
Embrace people no matter where they come from or where they are on their faith journeyBuilding community means:
embracing people
seeing the good in them
seeing the potential in them
seeing them through God’s eyes

Every person is important and matters to God. Everyone is at a different stage in the life journey and their faith journey. Community embraces people wherever they are in that journey just as we embrace family whether they are young or old. A family is made up of a variety of people – so too is community.

Embrace the differences and don’t expect people to be the same as you. Value and embrace the diversity that exists within community while maintaining a unity of purpose, ownership and participation. Don't allow wrong attitudes to develop towards others. As we contemplate this, we can ask ourselves:

How inclusive am I?
What attitudes do I need to address to ensure I’m embracing and including people in community?

3. Intentional in relationship
Be intentional with relationships, they take time to build and community is made up of networks and relationships. Intentional - including people in meals, in groups, sharing together etc. The early disciples were intentional.

Acts 4:32
NLT
All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had.
The believers began well with community. As the church grew and expanded into Greece people sometimes forgot the importance of community.

The people of Corinth forgot that community is having things in common, and living as community. They forgot about intentional relationships. They forgot about buikding proper relationships and became self focussed. Paul addresses this tendency in us.

1 Cor 11:17-22
Order at the Lord’s Supper
17 But in the following instructions, I cannot praise you. For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. 18 First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it. 19 But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized!
20 When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper. 21 For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk. 22 What? Don’t you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God’s church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this!

The believers in Corinth had forgotten that being in community meant including people – they were even holding fellowship meals including communion and not waiting or everyone to be together. They had lost the intentional aspect of building true community. Some people just got in and ate everything before others arrived – they had divisions among them. Their community had broken down.

Let’s not be like that. Let’s be intentional in building community.

What can we do today to be more intentional in our relationships?

We can be deliberate in building relationship by hanging out with people – not just on Facebook, but by sharing together – sharing meals, helping one another out, sharing/doing life together – sharing of self. Social media can be an obstacle to true relationship and true community. However if used properly, social media can connect us with people. Lets use it to build community, butnot as a replacement for genuine community.

Community is about meaningful connections, not about how many “friends” we have in our online communities. Use social media as a tool to reach out to people, but never use it as a substitute for face to face human interaction.

4. By honouring one another
We see people being honoured in life on special occasions etc. But let’s develop a culture of honouring people every day. Honour in the New Testament meant a good opinion concerning one

Romans 12:10
New Living Translation (NLT)
10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other.

How do we honour people? We build them up and empower them.
We speak well of them and choose to resolve conflict with them instead of letting it get in the way. We use our gifts to serve them.
We prefer others before ourselves.

Am I honouring other people?
What can I do today to begin honouring others?

Conclusion
Community – common ownership and participation, builds and empowers people – it is good for us and for others.

Building community:
-Requires participation
-Requires us to be intentional if we are to genuinely love other
  honour others
-Embrace others and
-Develop deeper relationships with one another.

A Thought from Esther 4

Esther was placed into Royal favour at the right place and the right time. God places each one of us into position. He has a plan and purpose for us.

Esther did not really understand at first why she had position, and sometimes we don't either. Mordecai, her God fearing cousin helped her to understand that God had a reason for placing her into the position she occupied in the royal household.

Being placed in a position, circumstance or situation by God is not for our benefit. God places us in position because he wants us to represent him in that place. He wants us to take action. 

What position had God placed you in?
What action does he want you to take?

God’s plan for your life is a good one. Take hold of his purpose for you. Take action. 

Thoughts

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