Stay on Mission – 29th January 2018

3. Challenges bring Godly change.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. Matthew 7:24-29

I mentioned last time that If we are going to join Jesus in His Mission then it is imperative that we DO what He is asking us and don’t give up, even if it hurts!
On the wall in my gym is another poster, it contains these words:
‘If it doesn’t challenge you it doesn’t change you’
I think that these words, intended to encourage people at the gym to overcome the challenges of tiredness, boredom, apathy etc etc also apply, with a slight change, to Christians who are seeking to stay on mission with Jesus. The words I would use would be something like:
‘God uses the challenges that we face to transform us to become like Jesus’.
2 Corinthians 3:18 says:
‘And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit’.

The Holy Spirit, who lives in us, is transforming us, changing us, so that we will become more and more like Jesus. More holy, more compassionate, more loving, more and more like the one who was sent to seek and to save what was lost.
BUT here is the challenge!
Many of us get stuck in our walk with Jesus, things happen, challenges come along and rather than us allowing the Holy Spirit to give us the desire and power to overcome these challenges and change us, we give up. The consequence of this is that we become less and less willing and able to join Jesus in His Mission because the transformation that was taking place in us slows down and then stops. We settle for how far we have come and become familiar with the comfortable place we have reached. We begin to avoid challenges rather than face them in the anticipation that God will use them to change us. What a tragedy!
So, here’s a direct question as you begin this week:
Have you become comfortable with where you are in Jesus and stopped facing the challenges that following Him would present?
If you have then I urge and encourage you, for the sake of Jesus’ Kingdom and all those that He came to seek and to save, to stand up, step out and face the challenges that following Him will entail. If it challenges you, Jesus will use it, and it will change you!
Dennis