Your Response, Your Responsibility

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

As Uncle Ben once said in the Spider-Man movie “With great power comes great responsibility” I believe we have the responsibility to lead people to Jesus, according to the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us! It is our responsibility to make others a priority, to love, inspire, encourage and equip them to go out and do the same.

It Is Our Responsibility To Establish:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28: 16 – 19

The last words of Jesus before He left earth was an instruction to make disciples of all the nations. This is the Great Commission, but it has to start with a great decision. We can be good at being good and want to change the world for the better but if salvations isn’t the reason behind why we do things then there isn’t a point to it. Being good with God is “O” (nothing) and I believe we are called to be soul-seeking and not self-seeking. We are not called to sit back and be a stagnant Christian, living just to get ourselves to Heaven. The Great Commission is to seek out as many people as we can to come to Heaven with us.

The moment we made a decision to become a Christ follower we automatically took on the responsibility to become a Christ ambassador. Can I encourage you to be bold, to step up and to take ownership by making use of the power that is at work within you.

It Is Our Responsibility To Impart:

“So Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” 1 Sam 16:11-12

My entire life has been one of exclusion, I have always been the one who’s invite was forgotten when all my friends went out, the one who was made to feel unimportant and insignificant, the one who didn’t really fit in no matter how hard I tried. Truth be told this still happens to me up until this very day but God reminded me of David.

David was chosen by God to be King but His own father, Jesse, excluded him when Samuel came around looking for one of Jesses Sons to be anointed as King. David just did what he did without expectation and when the time came where none of Jesse’s other Sons wanted to step up to take on Goliath, David did because he knew God would be with him.

I’ve realised that because I have been through many seasons of feeling excluded and lonely, God has used that as my ministry. I feel it is our responsibility to use what God teaches us, to teach others because our lesson is someone else’s blessing. I may not have many close friends but I do have many people to invest into, many people to love on and many people to welcome and show what it’s like to feel completely accepted no matter what! And just like David stepping into his anointing I believe that even though I may be left out of many things right now in this season, God has a role waiting for me that only I can play. I want you to remember that you are called even though you may feel ignored.

God gave me a word last year that only recently became a revelation.

“After staying there some time, he left and went from place to place in an orderly journey through the territory of Galatia and Phrygia, establishing the disciples and imparting new strength to them.” Acts 18:23

I may not know where I am going, what I am doing or who is going with me but one thing I do know is that I am called to establish disciples and impart strength and so are you! Let your response become your responsibility, the moment you said yes to Jesus is the moment you said yes to His Great Commission. Be sold out for Christ, be passionate and be purposeful. Be a light to those who can’t find the light-switch. The only way we are going to live an abundant life is if we live to see others experience it with us! You are the hands and feet of Jesus so take a stand and fight for those who feel they are not worth fighting for – this is the Core-ageous Movement!

Check Please!

Over the past few months God challenged me with one simple question; “Do you live to please people or do you live to please Me?” Life is a constant battle, we seek acceptance from friends, desire attention from loved ones, strive for the appreciation of leaders, yearn to be acknowledged by the one and long for the approval of our parents while on an unmerited pursuit to earn the favour of God.

“Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right.” Romans 5:18-19 (MSG)

Adam and Jesus were both created by God and purposed as life giving vessels, Adam and Eve vessels for humanity and Jesus a vessel for eternity, created for the same destiny, but resulting in different destinations all because of one simple decision.

Why the different outcomes one might ask? Adam bowed down to the created (Eve) and Jesus bowed down to His creator (God). Adam lived for one and all died, but Jesus lived for one and died for all.

 “And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you.  All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.” Genesis 3:17 (NLT)

Every generation from that point onward was cursed as a result of Adam’s one act of disobedience. He was in good council yet he didn't seek the council of God when faced with a simple choice. If you choose to make decisions based on your feelings towards the people around you, it will steer you away from all God intends to accomplish through you. Our reason for living is to make others happy without letting our happiness depend on others. If you strive for the approval of people and receive it, you will always be striving to maintain it, you might start to feel like a burden and eventually burn out.

When you are a people pleaser you will in-turn become a people praiser; thanking people for the recognition they give you instead of thanking God for using you as a vessel of His goodness.

“Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.” Romans 6:16

Then God sent Jesus, whose decisions to follow God’s will above all else gave us eternal life. People tried to distract Him from His destiny, He, however, decided to follow God’s will instead of the people’s pleas.

“From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Matthew 16: 21-23

Often those closest to us think they know what’s best for us, but our future extends far beyond us therefore we need to be selfless in our decisions. We are just a spec in God’s spectacular plan therefore we need to surrender our life to God and not to people to live in true freedom.

“Human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.” Acts 17:25

God doesn't need us to please Him either. He didn't create us to serve Him, He created us to serve one another. God said it is not good for man to be alone so He created Eve the trouble comes in when we turn to others before turning to Jesus. All God desires is our gratitude in exchange for His grace and every act of obedience is an act of gratitude. Instead of staying in the season we are in to make others happy, we should continue reinventing ourselves in the identity of Christ.

The only way to explain it is to look at those who create, Peter, Paul and the rest who established the early Church, artists, authors, and poets such as Emily Dickinson, Anne Frank, Vincent van Gogh and John Keats. All of these created because they had a passion and love for their craft but only achieved recognition long after they were gone. Just like God created us but only received the proper recognition He desired after the death and resurrection of Jesus. If we continue to serve people and love God because we have a passion for Jesus and an innate desire to see the world know the same Jesus that saved us, I believe that our will, will always line up with the will of God.

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.” Matthew 5:8 (NIV)

I Can See You Now

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. John 1: 10-11 (NIV)

The Bible tells us over and over again to have faith in the things we do not see, to have hope in the promises that have not come to pass, but today my question to you is, do you have faith in the things that you do see? Let me explain, if a man came up to you right now with all the characteristics of Jesus, would you believe Him? I doubt I would, and I feel guilty for it. Sometimes it’s easier to have faith in the things that we do not see than believe in the things that we do see. Jesus has always looked at us with love in His eyes but due to our impaired vision of trust in today’s modern world we may find it difficult to recognise the full extent of God’s glory!

I sometimes wonder why we don’t see miracles to the extent of those in the former days; like people being raised from the dead or others surviving the pits of fire? You see God hasn’t changed, we’ve changed! His word hasn’t dissolved, the world has evolved. It has evolved to the extent that every day miracles are written off as coincidences or close calls and the power of success is as a result of our hard work rather than His favour. If we continue giving the works of the world credit for the goodness of God then we will keep evolving until we don’t recognise God at all.

So how do we recognise the work of God amongst the works of the flesh?

No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known]. John 1:18

God will ALWAYS make Jesus known. Just as our eyes are drawn to anything light in a dark room, we need to continuously recognise that anything good in our life or in the lives of others is as a direct result of His grace! It is our responsibilities as “witnesses” of Christ to not only recognise Him but to give Him recognition for every good work.

Recognising the Holy Spirit in Another’s Life

John's Account

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.” John 1:32-24

It is important for us to have a great intuition when it comes to recognising Christ followers within our everyday walk of life. When we realise we are not alone we are able to strengthen each other making the battle for salvation a whole lot easier.

Recognising Jesus Through an Intimate Relationship

Mary's Account

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. John 20:13-14

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). John 20:16

If you close your eyes and someone speaks, you can easily identify who is speaking. If we have a close relationship with God, we can recognise His voice without the need of having to see Him. The better you get to know someone the easier it is to sense their presence; from their footsteps to their laugh to their cough and even their sneezes. Just like each of us are unique, so is God. His voice is unique amongst all the other sounds in our head, if we spend more time being attentive to His voice I believe we will be able to hear God’s voice before standing in His presence.

Recognising Gods Workmanship

Thomas' Account:

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” John 20:27-28

We are provided with miracles yet we still say statements like “I don’t believe it”, “How could this be”, “It won’t last” “Something bad is bound to happen” Sometimes a touch of God is not good enough, we find it difficult to believe in the power of a miracle, we think our blessings will be rob if we “jinx” it and we need to touch wood if we speak something bad over our lives or the lives of others. A touch of God is greater than being strangled by hopelessness, God gave us everything so why would he take away anything, Jesus’ life was laid down so that we could rise up.

Jesus poses this question "I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?" John 3:12

At the end of John Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him, Peter replied yes consecutively. Then Jesus instructs Peter to feed his sheep. In order to feed the sheep of Jesus, Peter needs to recognise who the Shepard is so that he can take on a similar role. As disciples we are called to bear witness to Christ, a witness gains knowledge from observation or experience. The more observant we become of Christ in our daily lives the better we fulfill our God given roles. When Jesus comes again, may it be tomorrow or in a thousand years from now, I want to be able to recognise Him without a doubt… do you?

Keep Calm and Carry On.

"Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 9:23.

Take up your cross daily, is a phrase that carries a lot weight. We stand at a cross road of choice, we can chose to make the cross heavy and somewhat of a burden or we can embrace the weight of responsibility knowing that our life and the lives of others will be better because of it.

After Jesus was sentenced to death, He experienced a beating that made Him unrecognizable. Sometimes we go through things, to take us to things. When we turn from our selfish ways we may become unrecognizable to many people from our old life but as long as we know that our identity remains in Christ, we have the courage to get up and carry our cross, leaving behind the people who don’t want to familiarize themselves with our new identity.

Know where you are heading:

Jesus knew what was awaiting Him at the top of Golgotha, but He had a choice, either to focus on His pain or to focus on His purpose.

"And just as my Father has granted me a Kingdom, I now grant you the right to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Luke 22:29-30

Become Kingdom focused, choosing to die to yourself daily and focusing on the bigger picture, only then will you have the strength to endure to the very end.

Take small steps:

"If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones.” Luke 9:23.

I’m sure every step Jesus took wasn’t easy but it was necessary to take Him to where He needed to be. Most Sundays at Kid’s church I chose to prepare the offering message even though they stare at me with blank expressions. I say yes when asked to pray in public, at connect groups, or at church even though I hate it, I give 100% in all my design work even though I can barely keep my eyes open, I am devoted to spending time with God no matter how busy my day gets, I share the passion I have for Jesus on social media and my blog in hope that atleast 1 person will come to know Christ because of it, even though I have been deleted or unfollowed by a numbers of annoyed people. I trust that if I am faithful in the small steps I need to take no matter what, God will entrust me with greater, life changing, opportunities to contribute towards His Kingdom.

Pick up your own cross:

If you are in church long enough you tend to see many familiar faces leave, and not come back, I struggled to understand why, and I tend to take it upon myself to try and bring them back, without any luck. After seeking council from God, I realised our responsibility is to carry our own cross and not the cross of others.

“Whoever does not persevere and carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:27

Let me explain; If we have to carry our own cross as well as the cross of others how much more difficult are we making it to reach our final destination. Our responsibility is to disciple ours not discipline others! Discipline is self taught with a willing heart. We should continue pointing people to God, encouraging them that there is hope in the midst of their hardship, but He simply wants us to direct them not dictate to them. As leaders we should take responsibility for others but to a certain extent. We can’t save anyone on behalf of God, in the end it is their decision. We can lead a horse to the water but we can’t force it to drink, our duty is to plant the seed and let God do the watering.

You are not alone:

With that being said, God will never let you carry your cross alone, even Jesus had Simon from Cyrene to help Him carry His cross up the mountain. We have Jesus right beside us carrying our cross every single day, His burden is light and His yolk is easy.

Get up when you fall:

Yes we might trip and drop the cross along the way, Jesus fell three trips before He reached the top, but all we need to do is pick it up daily and continue walking and we need to encourage others to do the same. With every fall we become stronger because we have the greatest encourager of all!

“But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:32

It’s never to late:

Just like Jesus saved the resentful criminal who hung next to him on the cross, Jesus will use every bit of his energy to pull us out of our pits of despair, and we should have the same mentality with others. Those who seem hopelessly lost will always have a glimmer of hope and it’s those people that God has called us to reach. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

What is the cross?

#CrossEqualsLove. We should carry our love for Christ daily, as well as our love for others. We need to set out with a purpose to passionately seek and serve no matter how hopeless a situation may seem. If we fall along the way God will always be there to lift us up again. Lets keep our eyes fixed on the cross as a reminder that we are victorious because of what Christ has already done.

Spiritual C.V.

“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. Luke 10: 1 – 4

We are appointed by God to bring in the harvest, with that being said I want you to look at what your goals are for this year. Many of you have given up a lot since you got saved, whether it be an amazing job that didn't line up with the calling God has placed on your life, maybe a season out of your original 5 year plan, or even giving up a lifestyle that hindered you from stepping into your new life. We did this because we all believe that Jesus has a greater plan for us, that we are set apart to bring glory to His name by pursing our divine purpose and destiny.

As we take our relationship further we step into the calling we believe God wants to achieve through us from serving in a specific department at church or even taking a leap of faith to share His gospel in a different country, learning the ropes and being the new kids on the block can be a bit intimidating almost as if God is sending us out like lambs among wolves. We step into our season of faith with knowledge and understanding from our previous experiences but God tells us not to take a purse or bag or sandals. God warns us to not lean on our own understanding!

“For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 1 Corinthians 1: 19

In Luke 10:5 - 7 it says “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.”

Live out your calling with peace, peace in the sense of listening and learning no matter how challenging people or situations become. Learn as much as you can, take in every opportunity that is given to you and stay planted no matter. When you are content, you will be given the opportunities that God has specifically set out for you and you will excel at these tasks and bless many with your innate abilities! If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large things.

When I read that passage in Luke God spoke to me in a really odd way, he asked me this question, are you doing the internship to grow your personal C.V. or your spiritual C.V.? Let me explain, if your intention is to grow your personal C.V. you serve to obtain position, however if you focus on growing your spiritual C.V. you serve to position others.

Personal Information

When we gave our life to Christ, we had to deny ourselves and follow Him. God has given us a new identity, He has renamed us as his sons and daughters, He has given us a new birth date, He knows the finest detail of our lives from the of the amount of hairs we have on our head, He has already reserved a place for us in Heaven, and we have a direct line to Him through prayer.

Education

He trains us up in His word, using vessels like the church, servant hood, connect groups, leaders, pastors, conferences and events, Godly conversation, bearing witness to the testimonies of others and giving thanks for our own answered prayers.

Professional Experience

We gain experience every time we act in obedience, doing the things God has asked us to do and every time we step out in Faith regardless of the outcome. Whenever we are employed to bring hope, light, encouragement, life and love to a hopeless situation its added experience.

Skills

We gain skills and bear good fruit if we continue to educate ourselves and grow in experience. God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness, he equips us with all the necessary skills we need to fulfil a specific task whether it be the correct words to say in a prayer, the right advice to give in counselling or what steps to take when leading a lost person home. We may feel that others have more skills or “talents” than us but we should always make use of the talents we have been blessed with, God promises us more talents in return. In order to become a better you have to give your best.

Achievements

God will always elevate you and make you achieve in every area of your life if you make yourself available to be used by Him. God wants our availability instead of just our ability, that way he will be able to use us way more than a person who is too busy pursuing their personal desires. If we give God access to every area of our life we will impact and influence way more situations than a talented, busy, person can.

References

Always make sure that there is someone who you can seek good counsel from, someone you can confide in and people who will always bring out the very best in you. You are only as good as the company you keep.

Covering Letter

Jesus is the author and finisher of our spiritual C.V. therefore he also has our covering letter covered. He makes all crooked paths straight so that when you venture out into a new season, a new challenge and new opportunity he has already set you up for success.

If we have a strong spiritual C.V. and make ourselves available to God I believe we will see things and experience things people can only dream of witnessing.

"Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” Luke 10:23-24 "

You are set apart for a reason, go into each day with the passionate desire to learn something new. The more knowledge, skills, experiences and achievements you gain through Christ Jesus the more employable you become in your contribution to building the Kingdom. God will never place you in a situation you can’t handle, although He had confidence in you from the very beginning you need to learn to have confidence in yourself.

Active vs. Passive Christian

I want to pose this question to you; “What is the point of going to church if you are not going to let it change you?”

⁴⁷ As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. ⁴⁸ They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” Luke 6:47-49

It’s so easy to hear God’s word and not listen, to pray without concentration, to believe without conviction, to have faith without trust and to change without the intention to make a change.

The majority of us are driven individuals, if we want to achieve a specific goal we actively pursue it until we succeed so shouldn’t we carry the same mentality into our walk with Jesus Christ? Shouldn’t we stop at nothing to see our friends and family saved and be compassionate and loving to every single person who crosses our path? I love what Brian Houston says in his new book How To Maximise Your Life, “To have a Kingdom spirit means you have a vision that is bigger than you – you will always be devising generous strategies or plans to bless others.” Jesus actively pursued his purpose without hesitation he was always moving and bringing about change to crowds of people. He never gave up until the very end when “It was done”.

People often like to compare the Holy Spirit to the wind, “You can’t see it, but you can feel it”. If the spirit who lived in Christ now lives in us then we too should be free and moving like the wind touching everyone and changing everything in our path. We can choose to be a subtle breeze or a gale force wind. A breeze is comfortable, people delight in it, but it doesn’t bring about change, the leaves only move a short distance until the breeze dies down. A gale force wind however, is uncomfortable, people try to hide from it, but it moves and affects everything around it. It doesn’t only move one or two leaves but a whole bunch of leaves will soon follow the motion of the wind. I want to encourage you to actively pursue God like a gale force wind, it may make you feel uncomfortable, people may try to avoid the truth, hide behind walls of empty promises but gale force winds are able to bend the firmest trees. You will inspire others to come along with you and with that motion many more people will venture on the journey too. Your willingness to never give up will bend and shape the mindset of those you deem as completely lost. When the truth moves it brings about change.

We weren’t saved just to be well behaved. We weren’t called to push people away but to point them to the way. We were chosen to reach further and make a different with every motion. We made our decision to ensure that people hear the truth with great precision.

You see we are so focused on being loved that we forget that our mission is to love everyone else unconditionally. With the power that Jesus had he could have easily built himself up and become one of the most loved individuals at that time. But he loved us more than his desire to be loved, he delivered the truth and although it made people feel uncomfortable, he was unapologetic about it which led to his crucifixion.

Can I encourage you to actively pursue God’s calling in your life, don’t sit back and allow others to do the job for you. Yes the church may have amazing leaders but you too can become a great leader and Jesus may be our shepherd but “The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.” Luke 6:40. We will never be Jesus but we can try with all our might to live by the principles he lived by, leading by example in every area of our life.

Jesus left the earth and entrusted us with the responsibility to carry out the message of his good works in the generations to come and nothing feels worse than disappointing your father. Follow God persistently with a pure heart in 2014 and I can promise you that you will see God’s blessing in every area of your life as well as in the life of others.