Jesus assigned His followers (the Church) to be the incarnated (in flesh) presence of God. Oh my! -That's you and me, believer.
Whether in your Jerusalem (home town), Judea (surrounding region), Samaria (among "unloveables"; aren't we all - I mean unloveable) or in the uttermost parts of the Earth - by the power of the Holy Spirit and through intimate connection with Jesus, let us think, live and speak the Word of God incarnationally / missionally.
Jesus, the consummate missionary, "had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion." (Philippians 2:5-8 MSG) We are to let this mind be in us as it was in Jesus!
Showing posts with label mission. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mission. Show all posts
19 August 2009
08 June 2009
What is the Recession For? By John Piper
What Is the Recession For?
February 2, 2009 | By: David Mathis (Pastor Piper's Executive Assistant)
God is sovereign over all finances. Any economic recession—global or personal—is never less than recession-by-divine-design.
When the economy plummets, God has his purposes—perhaps thousands upon thousands of purposes. Some of these purposes he has made known in his Book.
At least 5 of them are:
1. To expose hidden sin and so bring us to repentance and cleansing.
2. To wake us up to the constant and desperate condition of the developing world where there is always and only recession of the worst kind.
3. To relocate the roots of our joy in his grace rather than in our goods—in his mercy rather than our money, in his worth rather than our wealth.
4. To advance his saving mission in the world—the spread of the gospel and the growth of his church—precisely at a time when human resources are least able to support it. This is how he guards his glory.
5. To bring his church to care for its hurting members and to grow in the gift of love.
2 Corinthians 8:1 2 might be the clearest "recession text" in the Bible. It describes the roots of the joy of the Macedonian believers in their "recession." In their "severe test of affliction" and "extreme poverty, "their abundant joy overflowed in a wealth of generosity."
Their generosity didn't come from prosperity but from God's grace — and this grace rooted in "our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich" (2Corinthians 8:9).
February 2, 2009 | By: David Mathis (Pastor Piper's Executive Assistant)
God is sovereign over all finances. Any economic recession—global or personal—is never less than recession-by-divine-design.
When the economy plummets, God has his purposes—perhaps thousands upon thousands of purposes. Some of these purposes he has made known in his Book.
At least 5 of them are:
1. To expose hidden sin and so bring us to repentance and cleansing.
2. To wake us up to the constant and desperate condition of the developing world where there is always and only recession of the worst kind.
3. To relocate the roots of our joy in his grace rather than in our goods—in his mercy rather than our money, in his worth rather than our wealth.
4. To advance his saving mission in the world—the spread of the gospel and the growth of his church—precisely at a time when human resources are least able to support it. This is how he guards his glory.
5. To bring his church to care for its hurting members and to grow in the gift of love.
2 Corinthians 8:1 2 might be the clearest "recession text" in the Bible. It describes the roots of the joy of the Macedonian believers in their "recession." In their "severe test of affliction" and "extreme poverty, "their abundant joy overflowed in a wealth of generosity."
Their generosity didn't come from prosperity but from God's grace — and this grace rooted in "our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich" (2Corinthians 8:9).
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