We have a purpose for life. God wants everyone to know Him. We get to bring the people around us to Jesus. To do this we must live invested in our relationship with God and others. As we do this, the Holy Spirit empowers us to draw others to Him by our actions and by boldly sharing the hope He offers to the world.
John 17:3 – And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
Living for Jesus is a daily experience. Real life is found in knowing God. The word translated know* in Scripture also means experience. Experiencing God begins with knowledge, and goes beyond that to a personal relationship. We must live in the life God offers us to truly understand Him. The more we invest our thoughts, attitudes, and actions in living out of our relationship with God, the more our faith develops and our experience grows.
*Hebrew: יָדַע (yada’) – Greek: γινώσκω (ginosko)
(Proverbs 2:1-5 – “…find the knowledge of God.”; John 8:31-32; Romans 8:9-11; Ephesians 3:14-21; Philippians 3:8-11; 4:23 (tMess); Colossians 1:9-14; 1 Timothy 4:15-16 (continue in this); 2 Timothy 2:19; 2 Peter 1:3-8; 1 John 1:3-4; 4:7-8)
1 Thessalonians – 2:8 – So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
What is in us will come out of us. Anything that we love, we share with other people. When we are excited to share the Gospel with the world around us, it demonstrates that we are experiencing what God has to offer. God uses the attributes of a true disciple of Christ to draw people to Himself. We get to actively help others follow Jesus by sharing Jesus and what He is doing in us.
When it comes to sharing the Gospel, it’s important to know what the Gospel is. Simply put the Gospel is good news. God created every person to have a relationship with Him. Unfortunately, we are separated from God because of our selfishness or sin. We fall short of God’s standard of perfection. This failure separates us from Him, which is death. The Gospel is that our debt to God has been paid by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. He is our hope for life and reconciliation with God. Through receiving the gift of His forgiveness by faith our sins are removed and our relationship with God is restored. This is the hope that we share.
(Romans 1:16; 3:23-24; 6:23; 10:9-10, 14-17; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Ephesians 2:8-10; 3:6-7; 6:18b-20; Philippians 1:3-7; 1:12-18; 1:27)
1 Peter 1:13 – Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
While we have a purpose here on earth, we shouldn’t get too comfortable here because our place is not here. Our citizenship is in heaven. We live in the present, but we live for the future. We need to constantly pursue the things that are to come. This confident hope is a solid rock for us in the storms of this life. Not only can we cling to Him, but we must remember that He is holding on to us.
(Psalm 62:5; 119:114; Proverbs 10:28; Romans 5:1-5; 8:18-25; 15:12-13; Titus 2:11-13; 3:4-7; Hebrews 10:23; 1 Peter 1:3)
A person who is experiencing the hope of Jesus will be changed. We are empowered by His Holy Spirit to live by these values:
Psalm 20:5 – May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!
What is important to you oozes out of you. Nothing is more valuable than the salvation that God provides for us. Without it, nothing else about God would matter. We get to celebrate the truth that God can set us free from the law of sin and death. Only He can provide restoration into the real, abundant life in Him.
(Exodus 14-15; Psalm 150; Colossians 3:14-17)
What are you thankful for?
Psalm 119:68 – You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.
The Scriptures are like the food of our spiritual life. It strengthens us. God’s way is best, but it is not our natural way of thinking. Thankfully, the Bible was given to us to change our thinking, and to provide wisdom for what it means to follow His glorious plan. When we truly treasure God’s Word, we will invest ourselves in learning, understanding, and applying it to our daily lives. Reading the Bible is a great place to start. Our experience grows richer as we memorize and meditate on it. With God’s Word in our minds and hearts, God’s Spirit empowers us to practice what we know God wants for us – loving Him with all our being, and loving those around us.
(Psalm 119; Romans 12:2; Hebrews 4:12-13; James 1:22-25; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
How is the Bible changing you?
Romans 8:26 – 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
Prayer is like the cardiovascular system of our faith. Ongoing dependence on God to do His Work in and through us is what empowers us to experience a vibrant and rich walk with God. God’s Spirit is at work in those who know Him, enabling us to pray. Much like anything worth doing, prayer is hard work. It is Spiritual war. Our time spent with God grows sweeter and more dynamic through intentional investment. The Bible is full of examples of how we should pray and instructions about what our prayer life should be like. If you are breathing, keep praying.
(Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 18:1-8; John 14:12-14; Romans 15:13; Ephesians 3:14-21; Philippians 1:3-11; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; 1 John 5:14-15)
What are your conversations with God like?
2 Corinthians 9:8 – And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
We know from Scripture that God cares for each person. A follower of Jesus will adopt that mindset in the way we view others. Rather than paying attention to how others treat us, God wants us to pay attention to how He has treated us and to treat others in the same way. God has a particular eye for those who are overlooked, vulnerable, and oppressed – people who even struggle to take care of themselves. It’s a desire for those who are experiencing the hope of Jesus to love others by meeting their needs in practical ways.
(Matthew 18:15-20; 25:34-36; Romans 13:8; Philippians 2:1-4)
How are you investing in people?
Ephesians 4:15-16 – 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
God is relational and designed us in His image to be able to build strong bonds. Because relationships flow from God’s essence, they are best developed by following His plan. As we seek to build each other up, valuing each others’ unique gifts and abilities, we can experience great joy in our relationships with each other. Mutually encouraging relationships start at home and grow from there. God, by His grace, can enable our relationships to thrive as we speak the truth in love and serve together.
*2 am friends – people you could call at 2 am and they would do whatever you needed
(Matthew 18:15-20; 25:34-36; Romans 13:8; Philippians 2:1-4)
How do you encourage your 2 am friends*?
John 17:22-23 – 22 “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”
God wants His family to grow. He wants to see people become His worshippers. As our faith grows, we will be compelled to partner with others to help people around us see Jesus for Who He is and respond to Him. The world can see God’s love for them by the unity demonstrated by His Church. Salvation is God’s work. Our mission is simple – We point to Jesus. He’s the one Who saves.
(Luke 19:10; John 17:20-26; Romans 1:16; 2 Corinthians 5:11-21; 1 Peter 3:13-16)
How is your life promoting the Gospel?
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