"The Great Commission is your commission. You have a choice to make. you will be either a world-class Christian or a worldly Christian.
Worldly Christians look to God primarily for personal fulfillment. They are saved, but self-centered. Their prayers focus on their own needs, blessings, and happiness. It's a "me first" faith. They want to use God for their purposes instead of being used for his purposes.
In contrast, world-class Christians know they were saved to serve and made for a mission. They are eager to receive a personal assignment and excited about the privilege of being used by God. They wake up each morning expecting God to work through them in fresh ways.
Getting involved as a world class Christian will allow you to experience a little of what heaven will be like in advance.
To be a world class Christian you must make some mental shifts. Your perspective and attitudes must change. Shift from self-centered thinking to other-centered thinking.
Begin asking the Holy Spirit to help you to think of the spiritual need of unbelievers whenever you talk to them. Your goal is to figure out where others are in their spiritual journey and then do whatever will bring them a step closer to knowing Christ.
Shift from local thinking to global thinking. "This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is changing lives everywhere, just as it changed yours."
The first way to start thinking globally is to begin praying for specific countries. Prayer is the most important tool for your mission in the world. People may refuse our love or reject our message, but they are defenseless against our prayers. The Bible tells us to pray for opportunities to witness, for courage to speak up, for those who will believe, for the rapid spread of the message, and for more workers.
I urge you to save and do whatever it takes to participate in a short-term mission trip overseas as soon as possible.
"Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out."
Shift from thinking of excuses to thinking of creative ways to fulfill your commission. "'Don't say that,' the Lord replied, 'for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don't be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and take care of you.'"
We are all called to fulfill God's five purposes for our lives: to worship, to fellowship, to grow like Christ, to serve, and to mission with God in the world.
The Great Commission is your commission, and doing your part is the secret to living a life of significance."
PDL, Chapter #38
Ever since becoming a Christian, I have felt myself shifting from being self-centered in my thinking to being other-centered in my thinking. This fully involved Christian life is still so new to me that world missions trips seem very far away at this point.
This comment was posted by Doug Eshelman:
ReplyDeleteworld-class christians are the only fully alive people on the planet - will allow you to experience in advance a little of what heaven will be like: pretty enticing - I guess it is a level of commitment that your focus is solely on missions and the joy that comes from doing them - I am definitely not there yet but clearly that is what this chapter is about; children only think of themselves - grownups think of others: love this line and have been thinking this way for maybe the past year and have been using the line "its not about us" in casual conversation when appropriate - guess it is part of my growth; think of the spiritual need of unbelievers whenever you talk to them: I do think of this particularly with old friends of mine and my family and I hope I am reaching the point of getting over my bashfulness and asking about their spiritual journey; more christians on earth right now than ever before: PDL was written ten years ago - assume this still holds true - previously unaware of this fact; you can aim a prayer at a person's heart 10,000 miles away: we are sponsoring a kid in Africa guess I need to add him to my prayer list; switch to global thinking - go on a short term missions trip: wondering whether this might be in my future - asking me to participate 2 years ago I would have told you that you are out-of-your-mind, now I am not so sure; so much of what we waste our energy on will not matter even a year from now: have been taking this perspective for some time now - guess I am not sweating the small stuff as much anymore; use money to bring people to Christ - will be friends for eternity - welcome you when you get to heaven - best financial investment - investing in people who are going to heaven: what a concept - pretty enlightening - hope to start thinking this way; seriously pray and ask God what he wants from you in the years ahead: I guess I need to start doing this if I want to enjoy a productive future (am I thinking too much about myself again?); 6 billion people on earth - probably larger number now: overwhelming stat