Thursday: From Apathy to Mission

Each day of our 2017 fast will include a short reflection on each of the 7 Movements of Discipleship. The 7 Movements are the way we explain the transformations that come as we follow Jesus.

Day 5 of the fast is drawing to a close. By now you’ve probably settled in, if but for some moments of weakness ;)

Today our focus is moving from Apathy to Mission as we follow Jesus.

Jesus calls us out of apathy and into a purposeful life of mission. This is true of all of us, not just a few. 

Apathy means lack of interest or concern. Apathy runs wild in a world with so many needs and where the pursuit of popularity and possessions is so tempting. But, instead of focusing on the apathy that many of us might feel, let’s talk about mission.

God is on a mission in the world. From day 1 of creation in Genesis, He was purposeful about creating a space where the glory of His life would make a home for human beings who made in his image and given the mission to multiply His image all over the earth. (Genesis 1-2)

This mission only intensified as the first people chose to mistrust God and welcomed sin into their hearts, their bodies, their relationships, and the whole created world. From this point, God foresaw a plan to make everything new again—including human beings. (Genesis 3; Genesis 12:2-3)

At the centre of that plan was Jesus—the messiah, the image of YHWH in the flesh, the saviour of the world, the Lord of all. And Jesus, was sent by his Father. 

Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, (John 20:21)

The fact that Jesus was sent by the Father meant that Jesus’ life had intrinsic meaning. It had deep, incredible purpose. His life was wrapped up in a mission given to him by His dad. 

But, that’s not how John 20:21 ends. Read what the whole verse says to you as a follower of Jesus:

Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

Do you hear what he said to you? He said, “I also send you.” You’ve already been sent. You don’t need permission!

Jesus personally sent you in the same way that the Father sent him! 

And the best new is, that even as Jesus’ mission on the earth succeeded, the calling he is giving to you and to me will for sure succeed. Imagine that! You've been given a mission that will 100% be completed! (Revelation 7:9-12)

But what is Jesus’ mission that he’s giving you? Let's look at two verses where he talks about mission.

Then Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20; emphasis mine).

and

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19; emphasis mine). 

In the passage from Matthew, Jesus says that we all have this calling to go and to make disciples of all nations. Our mission is to live an intentional life of helping people to follow Jesus, to be baptized in water and immersed in their new identity and relationship with God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit—as we do this, we teach them through the bible, and by our example, to obey Jesus.

Complimentary to this, in the passage from Luke, we see that Jesus specifically explained his mission in terms of telling good news to the poor, telling prisoners that they are freed, telling blind people they can now see, setting oppressed people free and proclaiming the Jubilee—that God is rich in mercy and is making the world right again! Since we become like Jesus, we follow in his footsteps, it's only natural that we'll take on these same themes in our mission as well.

Here’s the point. If you follow Jesus:

• Your life has a calling and mission well beyond what you comprehend today. 
• You are personally sent by Jesus to live a life of mission.
• Your mission is the result of Jesus’ mission to save us and conquer evil and it is the continuation of his mission.
• Your mission is general and applies to all of us. It is to help people to follow Jesus, to be baptized in water and immersed in their new identity and relationship with God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit—as we do this, we teach them through the bible, and by our example, to obey Jesus. In this mission, we go to the poor and tell them this good news, we look for prisoners to tell of their freedom, we look for the blind to let them know that they can have sight, we set the oppressed free and we proclaim Jubilee to all--that God is rich in mercy and is making the world right again!
• Your mission will be specific to you life, location and time. It will be weaved through your personality, interests, background, and opportunities. It will be like mine, and completely unique at the same time. 

Now, why be apathetic? Your life is significant because you were made by God. And on top that, you’ve been sent by Jesus on his mission that you express through your unique identity while helping the next person to join His movement.

If you're interested in clarifying your own sense of mission, that's what The Calling Lab is all about! Sign up now to attend The Calling Lab on Saturday, January 28th. Spaces are limited and the price is free.

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The fast is almost over! Join us this Saturday at 10am - 12:30pm to pray and break the fast! We will be at 680 rue Richmond. Please bring a dish to share.

Wednesday: From Cynicism to Faith

Each day of our 2017 fast will include a short reflection on each of the 7 Movements of Discipleship. The 7 Movements are the way we explain the transformations that come as we follow Jesus.

We’re coming to the end of day 4 of the fast. If you’re disappointed with your experience of fasting so far, this will be important. Today we talk about the movement from Cynicism to Faith.

It’s too easy to become cynical. We become cynical—or negative, jaded, mistrusting of other people’s motives, etc—normally because we’ve been disappointed and we’ve seen our own hopes, ideas or ideals come up short. Even more, maybe now we hear people talking about similar hopes, ideas or ideals. 

““Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us.” ”

— Stephen Colbert

Maybe we’ve been hurt by someone or hurt by a group of people—like a church or our family. And so, we become cynical. Often, we’ll say we’re being realistic or honest, but the truth is, we have ‘cynicism’ where we could have ‘faith’.

Faith means belief or trust or confidence. For example, the writer of Hebrews defines faith like this: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). 

Cynicism is really a type of faith, it’s a deep confidence that you know. Whereas faith in Jesus, is a deep confidence that Jesus knows.

Moving from cynicism to faith is not about pumping yourself up to believe something you don’t actually believe. It’s not simply positivity exercised by your willpower. 

The Jesus type of faith begins at the end of our own certainty. 

‘Having faith’, as we say, then is actually about not having confidence in your own ability to judge the outcomes of ideas or the motives of others.

Instead, faith trusts God to handle the outcome of things, believes the best of others, and confidently relies on God for comfort in disappointment and failure.

Cynicism is just one of our human ways of protecting ourselves from being disappointed or from feeling the force of our failure—but it steals all kinds of possibilities from us because they are hidden under things that have hurt us or beyond where we can see.

Once we begin repenting (changing our minds) about cynicism, Paul’s words in the letter to the Philippians help us move toward faith:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Really try and do this. Pay attention to what you are thinking about, is it cynical? Or is it filled with faith in God, not in what you can see? So take a few minutes and think about something that you know is true, then something that is noble, then something that is right, something pure, something lovely, something admirable, think about something excellent or praiseworthy. 

As you spend some time thinking about these things—whatever comes to mind—thank God for these things and ask him to give you faith about the other things in your life where you’ve become confident in your cynicism. 

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There's one more corporate prayer time this week plus our break-the-fast brunch and prayer on Saturday:

Thursday, January 12th at 4250 avenue Marcil (Apt. 21 Buzzer: 28) 7:30pm - 9:00pm

We will break the fast and celebrate together on Saturday, January 14th at 680 rue Richmond 10am - 12:30pm. We will have a time of prayer followed by brunch together. Please bring a dish to share.

Tuesday: From Selfishness to Love

Each day of our 2017 fast will include a short reflection on each of the 7 Movements of Discipleship. The 7 Movements are the way we explain the transformations that come as we follow Jesus.

Here we are, coming to the end of day 3 of our 2017 week of prayer and fasting. Today, we’re talking about the movement from selfishness to love that we take as we follow Jesus.

In the ancient letter that we call ‘2 Corinthians’, Paul writes this:

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again" (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

In this section, Paul is writing about what motivates he and his coworkers (and, ideally, all followers of Jesus). It is Jesus’ love that compels Paul. Notice: what motivates Paul are not selfish things like fear of punishment or desire for reward. It is Christ’s love that compels him.

He shares his logic with us:

• when Jesus died on the cross, he died for all,
• therefore all died with him.
• Some people will respond to Jesus’ offer, and raise to life—just like Jesus did.
• Those people do raise again, being compelled by Jesus’ selfless love for them that has purchased them a whole new life, should no longer live for themselves (selfishness) but should live for Jesus—the supreme example of love who is responsible for giving them a new life.

Paul seems to be thinking, "how can we still live a selfish life when so great an act of self-sacrificial love has been done for us?" Without this gift, we wouldn’t even be truly alive. How, after being raised from the dead by Jesus would we not give our lives to Him? Even more when we consider that Jesus has not only done this for us but for everyone.

Now, if we should no longer live for ourselves but for Jesus, what does it mean to live for Jesus?

First, who is Jesus?

Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15). And this ‘invisible God’ is defined as love itself (1 John 4:8).

Therefore...

to live for Jesus, or to live a life that is centered on Jesus, must mean that we live a life of love. 

Paul’s other letter to the Corinthian church makes it clear that love “is not self-seeking” (1 Cor. 13:5). 

Therefore, to follow Jesus means that, over time, we will move from a life defined by seeking after ourselves (selfishness) to one defined by love for God and love for others.

It's near impossible to force ourselves to stop being selfish and try to be loving. To move from selfishness to love we can't just try harder. We must come to experience God’s love for us in Jesus to such a growing degree that it compels us to forget about our own interests and instead feel the incredible opportunity to live our lives centered on Jesus. And a life that is centered on Jesus is a life permeated with love for God and those around us.

For Christ's love compels us... to live for him who died for us and was raised again.

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Join us for one of the corporate prayer times during the week:

Wednesday, January 11th at 680 rue Richmond 6:30pm - 8:00pm

or

Thursday, January 12th at 4250 avenue Marcil (Apt. 21 Buzzer: 28) 7:30pm - 9:00pm

We will break the fast and celebrate together on Saturday, January 14th at 680 rue Richmond 10am - 12:30pm. We will have a time of prayer followed by brunch together. Please bring a dish to share.