In the Mission

If you were to look at the lives of many Christians in North America, you would assume that the mission they’re on is to have a comfortable life, amassing wealth, pursuing success, and/or enjoying the leisure life. It seems that many have bought into the lie that we deserve these things or that we should enjoy what we have earned for ourselves. In our current teaching series, Divine Grace, we have been looking at just the opposite of that, reinforcing the idea that we are undeserving and have not earned a thing, and that as Christians we are recipients of God’s abounding grace that infiltrates every aspect of our lives. We must recognize that fact and then live in light of it, making the changes that are necessary to show our love and devotion to the God who has given us so much now and promises us eternal life later. And as we look at 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 this Sunday, we will hear the charge that, as believers, we are to be on mission for Christ in this world. We are to be telling others about the God who has given us his grace through his Son, Jesus Christ. That is our mandate and mission, and from this week’s passage we’ll see the necessity of prayer, the urgency we are to embrace, the pursuit of success, the opposition that will naturally come, and the all-in heart attitude every Christian should have. Sermon Notes DIVINE GRACE In the Mission Pastor Todd Dugard 2 Thessalonians 3:1–5 July 7, 2019 If I knew I had only 12 months to live, how would I spend that time? –––– As a believer, I am to be on mission for Christ in this world. –––– • Prayer: Needed! (v. 1a) Pray as if everything depends on the praying and work as if everything depends on the working. Adapted - possibly Augustine 2 Corinthians 4:7 –––– • Urgency: Embraced! (v. 1b) Matthew 28:19–20a, Acts 1:8 –––– • Success: Pursued! (v. 1c) Scripture consistently links success to obedience—our obedience to God’s Word. Kent and Barbara Hughes As much as I am sincerely certain that God is, indeed, blessing us, I believe even more certainly that it’s a dangerous and misguided policy to measure God’s blessing by standards of visible, tangible, material “success.” Charles Colson –––– • Opposition: Faced! (v. 2–3) Matthew 5:10–12 8 KINDS OF OPPOSITION WE COULD FACE WHILE ON MISSION FOR CHRIST: (1) Our own laziness and complacency; (2) Buying into the culture of “live and let live”; (3) Bad theology that undermines the necessity of evangelism and church planting; (4) Fear of offending; (5) Fear of failing; (6) Fear of confrontation; (7) Misplaced priorities, ie. not upsetting my comfortable life; and (8) Other Christians who think we’re too zealous –––– • Heart: All-in! (v. 4–5) 1 John 1:9