Follower of One : Missions For The Rest Of Us

Have you ever heard the song Mighty to Save by Hillsong? I liked the song enough to search and found 2 verses with this reference in it. Most translations have "mighty to save" at the end of Isaiah 63:1, so we'll go with that one today. 

This is a promise about God to the people of Israel. But God is saving his people. And he has the power to save. The Hebrew words here mean that God is strong enough to win and that he means for our safety. But not just for our safety. 

God will take great delight over you and rejoice over you with shouts of joy. Sometimes we simply enjoy something. Other times we jump for joy. Both are represented here. God will both take great delight, and jump for joy. He loves you and he has been working all of creation for all time so you could be with him, both today and forever. And he is mighty to save.

I don't believe this is just for Israel. For all time, God has been saving his people. He selected the nation of Israel to make a point and to be the lineage of the Savior. But God has always worked for the salvation of every person. 

Notice he also will quiet us with his love. This word means restore. God will make things right. His love will give us peace. We will stop striving and whining and complaining. We'll be better than OK. We will be restored. Everything wrong will be made right. 

Today, let's think about the God who is mighty to save. He will take great delight in us. He will restore us with his love and he will rejoice over us.

Do you think Adam and Eve envisioned today? As Christ-followers we think that all of mankind came from 2 people. Everything we see today in our world fits in the category of be fruitful and multiply. But, because of sin, everything is broken, too. Much of what multiplies is bad, but, in a way, that's God's problem. Our job is to multiply one another. But not just people. They have to live, eat, be. Multiplying the people means multiplying the cities, the towns, the highways, the grocery stores, the supply of toilet paper.

In relation to God, we think small. God is bigger than I can imagine. As big as I can imagine God, I can't imagine big enough. I'm stuck in my day and time. I can't imagine much more than where we are today.

God understood our today when he made that command in Genesis 1:28. He knew you. He knew your work situation. He knew COVID. In his command to be fruitful and multiply, he knew about our today. He has a multiplication that he wants us to undertake, too. Today, that command applies to us. How can we be fruitful and multiply at work? I have a friend whose word for this year is "multiply." What can you multiply today? 

We have an unlimited supply of most of what matters in the world. We can always love, we can always give respect, show appreciation, treat people with kindness. Ask God to stretch your imagination today and multiply something wildly at work. How can you double or triple your respect? How can you multiply your love? How can you bless others today with an act of kindness? Let's give more than we think we can afford today. Let's get way outside of our job description and let God guide us. Everything we do because we follow him matters. Follow him today and watch him work.

As I concluded yesterday's podcast, I mentioned our Five Daily Activities. These are the things every believer can do any day in any job that put us on-mission with Jesus. If you've taken a Marketplace Mission Trip, or listened to our podcast for a while, you've heard me talk about these activities. But today, I want to talk about number 5: Speak for Yourself. 

Rather than judge, we follow. Jesus called us to follow him. In Mark 5, there was a man who had an army of demons who where living in him. Jesus instructed the demons to leave the man and they instead went into a nearby herd of pigs. The pigs ran into the sea and drown. The people of the city came out and decided they didn't want Jesus to hang around. So as Jesus was leaving, the man who was freed of the demons asked to go along. But Jesus told him no. In verse 19, Jesus instructs the man what to do instead. "Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you and how he had mercy on you."

Jesus didn't send this man back to his people to tell them what they're doing wrong. He didn't tell him to judge them or to set them straight. He told the man to give a testimony to what happened. He told the man to share his own personal experience; to speak for himself.

Out of respect for others, we learn to talk about things that are of interest to others. When we can live a joy-filled life serving others, people will notice and ask us about what they see that is different. That's part of the message of 1 Peter 3:15, too. Even in the most hostile workplaces, we can live differently. Maybe all you can do is pray for others, silently, without them ever knowing. Still, at that moment you're on-mission with Jesus. One day, when someone asks, you simply follow the instructions provided in Mark 5:19. I pray you get the chance to report what great things the Lord has done for you today.

Jesus continues with a very clear statement in an undisputed part of John 8 about not judging. Notice that Jesus also states that if he did judge, he would be correct, because he doesn't do anything unless the Father directs him. His judgment would be dead on, because his ability to obey the Father is dead on. 

Think about it. Why is it wrong to judge others? Because we're wrong. No matter how good you think you are, we all fall short (Romans 3:23). We all miss the mark. The closer we can get to following Jesus, the closer we come to not sinning, to not missing the mark. 

Jesus doesn't tell us to avoid making judgments, but to avoid comparing ourselves to others and passing God's judgment on them. We will all be wrong in some degree. But we can serve others and appreciate others and do what Jesus did as we follow him. Our job is to move ourselves closer and closer to Jesus by modeling our life after his. He listened to the Father and did what the Father told him to do. We listen to Jesus, appreciate and serve others, and help them see Jesus because of the way we live. That's our goal as a Follower of One.

Today, can we avoid comparison and rather find ways to model Jesus' life among our coworkers? When we pray for, appreciate and serve our coworkers, customer, vendors and friends, we model the life of Jesus. Then, someone may ask you why you're doing this. Make sure you give credit where credit is due. If Jesus saved you and called you to this life, then tell others what great things the Lord has done for you. Check out Mark 5:19 for a great statement by Jesus on how we tell others about him.

Jesus didn't condemn the woman caught in adultery. This whole story, which isn't in some of the older bible manuscripts is still a great story. According to the ESV, this story is in different places in some other manuscripts and not included in some others. You can read the different commentaries on why or why not to include it. But we spoke Friday on judging others, and I often come to this story. We'll see tomorrow that it lines up very well with Jesus teaching on judging others.

Jews clearly had laws against adultery. But the Romans did not. So the Jewish leaders would have brought an incident like this to Jesus. They couldn't go to the Romans. This was between God and the Jews. Notice how Jesus is consistent in his teaching. He says here and in Luke 6:37 not to condemn or to judge. He's quoted as saying not to judge unless we want to be judged in Matthew 7:1-2, also. We're too guilty ourselves to show up in court. 

Jesus also tells her two other things. Go, is the first one. That's our first action item as followers of Jesus. We go. And the second, was "sin no more." Our job is to walk with Jesus and obey him. We don't judge others for missing the mark. We all miss it (Romans 3:23). But we all strive. This passage is consistent. Let's not judge others. Let's focus on ourselves. Today, let's love others the way we would like to be loved.

Thank you for being a marketplace minister. Let's focus on following Jesus rather than judging others.

In this week's episode of the Follower of One podcast, Mike speaks with Ryan Mehaffey. Ryan is the CEO and Founder of Feast Over Famine. Feast Over Famine's mission is to help servant-hearted organizations to scale effectively and navigate the tension where mission and profit collide while focusing on serving and developing the global social enterprise eco-system. Please welcome Ryan to our Community! 

Episode Breakdown

0:50 - Meet Ryan 

1:30 - Ryan's Story 

4:05 - Feast Over Famine

8:50 - Ryan's Story to Christ

14:00 - Lifting Weight After Praying 

15:00 - Leaving Corporate Job

20:30 - Ryan's Advice for Faith at Work

Open Up When You Are Called Upon

It is often the case in our work life that we feel pressure from unknown sources to hide our faith from our coworkers. Why is that? Ryan talks with Mike about his journey to God and how even after his commitment to Jesus, he felt as though he needed to not spread his faith to others in the workplace. We learn later that there were people able to support him who worked right next to him each day! So, how do we overcome this? The Marketplace Mission Trip can help, but know that is not all! Statistics show us that there is someone in your workplace that is a true, god-fearing, bible-reading, lover-of-christ probably sitting right next to you. Feel confident in that fact. Know that God is working in your life and you need to search for opportunities to share your story. Don't just scream it from atop mountains, look for openings within your relationships to grow a genuine connection through your faith. 

Be Genuine and Authentic 

Everyone on this planet is walking a different path. This rings true with Christians as well. How do we separate ourselves from the proverbial snakes in our path? We need to make sure all of our actions are genuine to the core. Ryan speaks to his path and he does it with passion and love for the people around him. As a Christian, one of the biggest setbacks we face is the "hypocrisy" of our actions. Face this head-on. Use your story and a stepping stone to following God and his teachings. We are not all perfect and speaking to things we don't fully believe in, know, or act out are easily revealed to others around us. Be yourself and you will be respected more! 

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Romans 1 ends with a sad statement on the state of the world. Paul recounts the fall of mankind and how terrible the world was at that time. Romans 2:1 begins a challenge to God's people. The verse says: "Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things." Romans 2:1 (ESV)

Some translations don't have the "O man" but it's definitely there in the Greek. Paul repeats the same phrase in verse 3. I wonder if it's not a reminder that we're just like the others. The verse reminds us that we are guilty of the same things we judge in others. Do we look down on people who practice sins we have been given some victory over? But if we still sin, if we miss God's mark for us, aren't we doing the same thing? 

None of us will achieve our potential. We challenge ourselves and tell ourselves we're doing right. We remind ourselves that Jesus loves us. But we can never compare ourselves except to say we're worthy of the same problems, the same fates. All the more reason for us to appreciate others.

Our only value comes from the fact that Jesus died to pay for our selfish desire to live our own life under our own direction. Rather than comparing and practicing the same things, let's remember where we were and appreciate and serve others today. Avoid judging as this passage reminds us and serve others. 

Do you catch yourself making rules? If you have a bad day, then do you go into hiding as a Christ-follower? Paul gets after the Galatians because they trust the Holy Spirit to save them, but then they think they have to adhere to a bunch of rules. 

Mike talked about how he often thinks he has to behave for a while once he screws up. But is that the truth? Or does that defeat the truth of scripture? 

One of the great truths of serving others is that we can do it any time. Most people will let you serve them. Serving others is one of our daily activities. Even if you screwed up, you can still serve others. So don't talk. Avoid your Christian language and your Christian words. Simply be who Jesus wants you to be. This is less about cussing or losing your temper. It's about serving others. Don't let your own sin keep you from serving others. If you've been saved by the Spirit, then let the Spirit complete his work. Act when he tells you to act. You can always make something right. You can always serve someone else at your own expense. Stop focusing on what you can't do, and focus on what you can do. Today, serve others. Pray to God and then do what he says. He will complete his work in your life. You can't do it. He must.

The church in Jerusalem sent out Barnabas, the encourager to help new churches in the regions outside of Jerusalem. As the church in Antioch began to grow and as more Gentiles joined the church, Barnabas sent for Paul to help with the teaching. These new believers needed to learn about the faith. Meanwhile, times got difficult for the Christians in Jerusalem because of a famine. So the believers in this newer church made up of Jews and Gentiles decided to send a financial contribution back to Jerusalem to help the believers there.

Your bible probably translates the word as "relief," or as "send relief." Most do. But the Greek word used here is a form of the same word translated serve or minister. They sent a gift back to Jerusalem to minister to the believers in that region. They made a donation to serve their brothers and sisters.

How has your generosity been during the pandemic? Do you think of how our gifts serve others? Are you making the same contribution to your church or to ministries that you were making before the pandemic? Do you send money places where you haven't been?

Today, let's be generous. Let's remember that Jesus came to serve, not to be served (Mark 10:45). And Jesus used the same Greek word translated relief in this verse. Are you being called to relieve someone's burden? Is God reminding you to give out of your plenty? Let's be generous today and expect Jesus to make a difference. 

What does it mean to be holy? Notice how this follows fixing our hope completely on Jesus, and on the revelation. Jesus will reveal himself to us. To be holy means to be dedicated for a specific purpose. What purpose? The one God created us for. When you make something, you do it for a purpose. God created us for a purpose. Being holy means we are dedicated to that purpose. 

We get so sidetracked. We believe we won't experience any joy if we do what God wants. Mike's goal was to be the third-to-last person into heaven. He didn't want to work any harder than he had to. He thought doing what God wanted was work. Pleasure was doing what he wanted. 

But we find that when we focus on Jesus, everything works. We experience new joy. Do we make holiness difficult? Can we simply focus on Jesus? Can we look for what Jesus would have us do in every circumstance? Can we trust Jesus to that degree? Being holy means doing what God says, setting ourselves apart for his purposes. If we can focus on his will for us in every choice we make, we follow him and we experience the joy of walking with him in our workplaces.