If we truly love God we serve him and each other. That commitment leads to what we talked about last Sunday––values that we live by. Compassion was a huge drive in Jesus’ commitment to the world. His love brought him here to save us. That’s called compassion. Compassion is love in action.
Love is the commitment, compassion is the action. John 3:16 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.” Compassion: “This is how much God loved the world” Love is attached to commitment as described in “this is how…” God is saying, “Let me show you… This is how…” Commitment: “He gave his Son, his one and only Son” He didn’t just love or have compassion due to a feeling, he gave something for that love. He gave the most precious thing. He gave a piece of Himself… His Son! Concern: “this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.” When you are filled with concern for people and you want to be part of the solution, you don’t care what others think. You don’t care who is watching and who is not. You don’t care what others are saying! You just go! Key Thought There are more people in spiritual danger, then there are Christians concerned. So why did God have compassion and commitment towards humanity? Because he was concerned! “this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.” Self-concern (Self-centeredness) is dissolved when we are concerned for others. When you are on a rescue mission, you are not concerned for yourself. Your concern has shifted from you to others. What is Jesus concerned about? PETER’S CONCERN WAS JESUS’ CONCERN 1 Peter 5:8-11The Message (MSG) Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!--will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.” Peter had the same concern Jesus did… People and their spiritual state. The devil wants to pounce on you. Stay focused on Jesus, stay alert! Peter was concerned when he wrote this. He was concerned for the believers. He was telling them to stay alert. Peter was on Mission! Question: Since you have been a Christian, has your concern shifted? Or all you are concerned about is what God can do for you? A consumer mentality. When we can change from what I want, to what God wants, then that’s when we begin to be ON MISSION. God’s mission! This same Peter who wrote to the church in the previous verse, was not always concerned about what God wanted, or even by others! Jesus even called him Satan! That’s because, anything that gets in the way of God’s mission is acting on behalf of Satan himself. 3 Reasons why we don’t do the mission: • Feelings (I don’t feel like it) • Status quo/Apathy (It’s fine the way it is) (why change?) • Fear of others. (What will they say?) These are all self-centered reasons. The only person who we are concerned about with these reasons is us… Not others. Peter was letting his feelings, status quos, and probably his fears of dealing with soldiers and what others would say, get in the way of Jesus’ mission. This is a different Peter than the one from our last scripture who wrote, when things get hard and difficult: “Keep a grip on the faith.” What kind of Peter are you? The one concerned over your feeling, status quo, or fear for others. Or the one that is concerned for others? What do you have to jump over, in order to bring someone to safety? Who Are you concerned about? There are a lot of people drowning around us. There are a lot of people who are going to tell you to keep the status quo. To let someone else do it. To do it whenever you feel like. What I’m trying to tell you all is this: The mission of God is about saving people, PERIOD! It’s about bringing a life saver to people… Some people are going to want it, some are going to wave it off, but only those that are concern for others, will jump and take on the mission. Are you that person??
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
November 2024
Categories |