Follower of One : Missions For The Rest Of Us

Once we put on the armor, what do we do next? It may sound a little boring to you. We stand firm. In Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis, I first understood something about the struggle in our world. Satan rebelled against God. Somehow, with our sin, Satan took authority over the physical world including our flesh. So the world and the flesh joined him in resisting our submission to God. Jesus came as a man, lived, died and was resurrected, and ascended into heaven to pay for our sin and give us the way to God. When we put our faith in Jesus, when we follow him, we become part of his revolution. We're part of God's kingdom. We serve as part of an invasion by God into hostile territory. And our job is to stand firm.

Each of the pieces of armor help us stand firm. I think of how you live your faith as standing firm. You must resist the temptations you get from the world around you. In your jobs, you're tempted to live and work as if God doesn't exist. In your relationships, you're tempted to try to get ahead, cut corners, climb the ladder. Every one of us can get tangled up looking out for #1.

Standing firm to me means we remember who we follow. We represent him at work. That means we make sacrifices because we trust him. We give away part of our income. We give up personal time to attend church. We go out of our way to give more than we get, and to look out for others because that's what Jesus did. And we trust Jesus to make it right now and in the end. Standing firm to me means staying punched in, connected to headquarters, and manning our post as a member of the kingdom of God no matter what happens to us or where we are.

Can you stand firm? We'll talk about the armor next. This will help us stand firm. Today, focus on how you can live like Jesus is your king and your boss today. How will that make you serve your customers and coworkers? What can you give away today, simply because you trust Jesus. Your resources, skills, abilities, strengths, experiences, time and money are all his. How will you use them today?

Once we decide to be strong in the Lord, we learn how to do this. We discovered yesterday that it's a decision, or a choice. Today, we find the main instruction, put on the full armor of God. Over the next few days we will talk about the armor itself and how we can put it on at work in our current day and time. But today let's think about how putting on God's armor works. The armor is designed to help us stand against the schemes and strategies of the devil. The armor is what we use in our struggle against the devil.

Notice that our enemy is powerful. He's not a human. Since we're humans and Christ-followers, we must remember that our enemies aren't human. Do you often think of the people you work with or people in your life as the enemy? Even people who resist your beliefs and who object to you, even your worst nemesis isn't your enemy. Our enemy is powerful, strong. Our enemy is rulers. I take that to mean leaders of armies or beings with authority.

So our application for today is we have a strong enemy but it's not the people we see. When we want to serve others so that Jesus becomes visible, we can expect opposition from the powers in charge of the fallen world. We need to prepare for battle, but our battle isn't against people. Jesus came to die and pay for the sin of every person you know. As C.S. Lewis said, "There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal." We are all special because of who made us and what they paid to redeem us. We must prepare for battle, but our battle is against powers and rulers, not against coworkers, vendors, and members of another political party.

In fact, we're called to serve those people who disagree with us. Care to join us as we practice? We have an exercise called the Marketplace Mission Trip. You can take one with us or learn how to lead one for your own small group, business or ministry. To find out more, check out MarketplaceMissionTrip.com.

I talked about the first part of this verse back in episode 264 about how we take God's strength like we take courage. Today, I'd like to begin a series on this passage and talk about how God's armor shows up for us in the workplace. Please share your thoughts on this idea, too. 

First, we must be strong in the Lord and in his mighty strength. Paul emphasizes the power or strength of God. We can align ourselves with God's strength in our workplaces or in our daily life. But how. He will talk about that in several of the following verses. But the first action is a choice we make. Our most spiritual action every day is a choice. We choose hundreds (or possibly thousands) of times a day. Many of those choices can be about whether or not we will do what God would have us do. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 10:5 challenges us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 

Today, let's choose to trust and walk in God's strength. We can flip the switch and live like we believe in the power of God, or we can live in fear, afraid of what will happen, afraid of so many things. When we choose to exist in God's world, and trust his strength, we immediately begin to react to situations differently. We sense that split second in every decision where we can make our thoughts obey God. And we can then put on the armor. Our next few days we will discuss the armor of God and how our thoughts and actions produce habits and those habits can help protect us or they can help keep us in chains. 

Want to change your thoughts and habits at work? Check out our next Marketplace Mission Trip. This is a 2-week exercise where we practice easy, simple actions that line us up with God in our daily lives. Our 5 daily activities will help you see your everyday life as a trip to the mission field. Learn more and sign up at MarketplaceMissionTrip.com. 

In this week's episode of the Follower of One podcast, Mike speaks with Sam Sims. Sam has over 16 years of public relations experience and is currently the President and CEO of the Sims Group. The Sims Group focuses on strategic alliances between public relations, marketing, and advertising. Please give him a warm welcome to the community! 

Episode Breakdown

0:45 - Meet Sam Sims with the Sims Group

4:00 - Keyword - Multiply: Parable of the Talents

7:30 - Sims Group Work

12:30 - Sam's Story to Christ

16:25 - Sam's Thoughts on Marketplace Mission Trip

21:05 - Sam's Path to Multiply Concept 

25:15 - Challenge to Marketplace Christians 

Multiply 

During the podcast, Mike and Sam discuss this keyword: Multiply. Sam was given this word by God and now it has become his word of the year. I think that this is such an important process in our climate today. We as Christ-followers have a job to do. That job is to give the gift of God to as many people as we can in the most righteous of ways. How do we multiply that? What things should we be focused on to become more efficient at our work, with our friends, or even with our church? These are the types of questions we should be asking ourselves. Make sure to listen to Sam talk through some practical examples in the interview and don't forget to retrace the Parable of the Talents from the Bible. This will help frame your lens and enable action on Multiplying God. 

Keep Pursuing Him

When you truly love something, you never stop doing it. When you see your favorite athlete play their sports day in and day out, you might think to yourself - "Do they ever get bored?" The answer is no! The reason certain people have an unbelievable drive to do what they do is all because of their love for their chosen craft. We as followers of God need to choose him as our passion as well. Nothing great has been done without extreme struggle and the same goes for truly loving God and becoming his best friend. We must continue to pursue him through the good times and even more importantly, through the bad times. Take comfort in the fact that even though pursuing God can be difficult, you are obtaining more knowledge from him in the process! Tell us about your triumphs and struggles in the comments below!

Interview Quote

"I really enjoy taking what I have learned and gifts God has given me, and share those with others so they can make and grow something of their own"

Connect with Sam

Sam's LinkedIn

Sam's Twitter

Email

Connect With Follower Of One

Join us over in our Online Community, get social with us; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Listen to our podcast on your way to work and subscribe using your favorite podcast app. Be a part of our next Marketplace Mission Trip!

Ask and keep asking. Remember each of these terms, ask, seek, knock, have the meaning that we should take the action and keep taking it. Ask and keep asking. Seek and keep seeking. Knock and keep knocking. Are you tempted to think this is cruel? Why wouldn't God just do what we ask? Why would we have to keep asking?

Mike talked about 2 reasons. The first is, we think in an instant. Many things take time. It could be that we underestimate the difficulty. And it could be we fail to understand the time it takes for us to be ready. 

So, think today about the truth of Jesus' words. Whatever the reason, don't give up. Our eternal joy and relationship with Jesus is more valuable than anything on this earth. Invest your time, energy and resources today in the lives of people around you. Your ministry to your coworkers and friends matters. It's your assignment from God. Don't give up because you don't see any rewards. Persist. Keep asking, seeking and knocking to God, not for yourself, but for others. One day we will enjoy the fruit of a life spent chasing God.

How easily do you give up? Mike confessed that he tends to give up pretty easily at times. Here Jesus tells a story that makes a particular point: don't give up. This person, because of their shameless persistence kept asking. Keep asking. Keep believing. God is working. Things take time. Your asking is part of the process of growing. Our trust matters, too. 

Mike talked about a story told in a video he shared recently. The speaker happened to mention the dorm room where he lived when he became a Christ-follower. Most times, he didn't mention the room and building, but for some reason in this talk he did. Someone came up after the talk and asked that he confirm the room. It turns out that years earlier, this person lived in the dorm room across the hall and their neighbors partied all the time. So this person prayed that God would save the people in that room, both now and in years to come. Years later, this person was in that room, became a Christian, and even years after that, mentioned their conversion in a talk and the person who prayed was in the room!

Do we live like our prayers matter? Never give up. Keep praying for the people in your sphere of influence today. Why not pray for the people who will work for that company in the future, after you're gone. Mike prayed today for the people who work for several of my former employers. Imagine one day in Heaven, when you get to meet the people who are part of how God answered your prayers.

Why are you here? If we're saved for a relationship with Jesus, why wouldn't he just take us to be with him when we're saved? One answer comes from this verse. By not living or dying for ourselves, we find we have others we live and die for. We certainly don't just live to build a building, but for the difference we make in other's lives. People live forever. Everything else won't make it. Our investment in people is the reason Jesus leaves us here. 

So how are your eternal investments? Do you have energy and money that you invest in the lives of others? Part of the reason service to others matters is because our resources, our time, our energy, and our money or our stuff can make a difference in the life of one or more. 

Your purpose was the intention of your creator. If you were created by God, then he created you for a reason. And while we're created for a relationship with him, to enjoy him for eternity, we also get to help him today. We get to take part in his current work, redeeming his creation. Would you like to enjoy God, spend time with him. He's working. Let's join him in his work. Check out the Marketplace Mission Trip. This is our way of practicing our faith. For 2 weeks we remind ourselves and others on this "trip" how we can live for Jesus while we do our daily jobs. Would you like to learn more? Head over to MarketplaceMissionTrip.com to learn more and sign up.

In this week's episode of the Follower of One podcast, Mike speaks with Tammy Burke. Tammy is the owner and founder of The Joyful CEO, where her team helps Christian businesses plan and execute technology initiatives throughout their business. Please give her a warm welcome to the community! 

Episode Breakdown

1:05 - Meet Tammy Burke 

2:55 - The Joyful CEO

7:55 - Growing the Network

12:20 - The Joyful CEO Services

14:40 - Marketplace Mission Trips Thoughts

18:05 - God Wants You Right Here

21:25 - Mission Trip Testimonial

Working Together in God's Image

Sometimes when we focus on our faith it can be very introspective. I fail at this often in the sense that when I look at my faith I only see myself and my shortcomings with God and the people around me. Tammy and Mike talk about one key factor in our faith... we are not alone! None of us can do this on our own. God helps us every step of the way right? It takes more than just us to embody the light of God so supporting others and working as a team is imperative to our faith. Follower of One is a title we chose on purpose. We are a community of people all following the same God. Christians supporting Christians. Use this time to stop criticizing ourselves to a fault and begin to lift others around you. You will notice that you are lifted by lifting others! 

Follow God's Voice

During the interview, Mike and Tammy talk about a very specific testimonial that she shares with all of us. I won't include spoilers in this post but it has to do with following God's voice. He speaks to us all the time and we need to learn to listen to him regularly. How has God spoken to you recently? Maybe it is buying a meal at your local fast food place for the person behind you. Maybe it is just asking a coworker out to lunch for no other reason than to enjoy their company. The little stuff matters and God is telling us exactly what to do! 

Connect with Tammy

Tammy's LinkedIn

The Joyful CEO Website

Facebook

Connect With Follower Of One

Join us over in our Online Community, get social with us; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Listen to our podcast on your way to work and subscribe using your favorite podcast app. Be a part of our next Marketplace Mission Trip!