It’s All for Jesus

1 Peter 1:3 (GW) God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and for godliness. This power was given to us through knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and integrity.

John 17:1-4, 8, 13-23 (NIV) 1He looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son, that your son may glorify you. 2For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do… 8For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you…13I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. 20My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me…23 I in them and you in me… then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

The fullest possible life = A life on mission.

Ephesians 4:1 (ESV) I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.

Our Mission:

1. That the world becomes convinced of Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:11, 14, 17, 20 (NIV) 11Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience…14For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all…17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!… 20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV) We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God…

If “the world” is going to be convinced about Jesus, you’ve got to get convinced about Jesus.

Acts 1:1-3, 9-11 (NIV) 1In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God… 9After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

2. That the convinced people become missional people.

Using the same methods Jesus used.

Go and tell.

Mark 16:15-16 (GW) Then Jesus said to them, “Go everywhere in the world, and tell everyone the Good News. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not will be condemned.

Luke 14:23 (ESV) And the master said to the servant, “Go out to the highways and hedges…”

Come and see.

Luke 14:23 (ESV) And the master said to the servant, “Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.”

John 1:39 (ESV) He said to them. “Come and you will see.”

John 1:46 (ESV) Phillip said to him, “Come and see.”

John 4:28-30 (NIV) So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him.

3. That missional people would live it like Jesus!

Not of the world, not out of the world, but, into the world.

Talk it Over

As a believer and follower of Jesus, what is one action you can take to live your life on mission?

Pastor Shane spoke about being convinced of Jesus, so you can convince others about Jesus. What doubts do you have about God? Read 2 Corinthians 5:17. What does it tell you about when you decide to follow Jesus?

In times of personal crisis, do you tend to lean more on God, or blame God? Why?

Read Ephesians 4:1. Are you living up to the “calling you have received”? In your work? Your home? Your relationships? Why or why not?

How would your life be different if Jesus was not risen form the dead?

From your experience, what excuses do people make to avoid God and his “banquet”? What can you do or say to help people overcome their hesitation?

Parents: Talk with your kids this week on what it looks like to live life on a mission. Is it being kind to people, going to church, helping those in need? Together, think of some ways that as a family you can live life on a mission for Jesus!