3 Ways to Prepare for Church

I think that most of the time we breeze through our week and put very little thought about what's going on in our life.  If we do think about our life, we usually think progressively toward repairing something damaged or looking for something new.  I would like to challenge you to really see what's going ON in your life.  Who are you influencing?  Who are you praying for?  Who have you invited to dinner?  The everyday life of a follower of Christ is and should be saturated with ministry movements.  A ministry movement takes place in the heart of a person who is listening to the Spirit of God and seeing the NEEDS of people around them.  Maybe you read this and think about your co-worker that you "should've" prayed with today.  Or maybe you remember the people who were talking about sin as a trophy (i.e. guess what I did this weekend) and you simply rolled your eyes rather than wrote down their names so you could pray for their souls.  MM's happen because you're prepared for church.  You see, church is NOT where we GO, but WHO we ARE as followers of Jesus Christ.  With that view of church, I want to give you 3 ways to prepare for church, which means, living as salt and light in a lost and dying world.
1. Remind Yourself
Remind yourself that Jesus is Worth-More than what this World gives.
It's easy to forget Luke 9:25 "For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?"  To be the church, you've got to wake up everyday worshiping the ONE who's WORTH it!
2. Renew your mind
If you don't, you'll act for acceptance rather than live out because you're accepted.  The wording is strange because we don't get it!  Romans 12:2 "do not be conformed to this world (acting in a way that you'll be accepted by the world) but be transformed (living out in obedience because God accepts you In Christ) by the renewing of your mind." In short, Read the Word of God like it ain't gonna be available to you tomorrow!
3. Re-Arrange Your Target
Let's face it, we're all pretty self-centered.  We live for us. Jesus lived His life with "others" as His target. I really don't think this comes natural and I believe that it's a part of our maturing process as followers of Christ. However, to have church the way you want it, and like it, you're going to have to know the target that  you and I should have daily.  John 13:14 "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet."  Let's serve with others in mind.  The one who serves looks last in the world but is first in the Kingdom.
What's the point of these 3 points?  To see your life cycle into more and more ministry movements.  The world needs ministry and you're the one God is moving into their life.  We'll start seeing revival in church when we start having church like it's intended.

Distractions

     I just want to give a little insight to what most people get frustrated with throughout their week.  Frustrations are birthed from our inability to focus.  This is especially true in the lives of people who are striving to live lives that serve God.  What is it that keeps us from moving (walking) toward the places that God is calling us to?  Distractions.  I know that it's not the only issue that keeps us held at bay, but let's face it, we live in an incredibly distracting world.  I find myself spending more time thinking about what I may be missing than thinking about what I'm doing.  Distractions will distort what God's real goals for your life look like.
     Take Jesus in Matthew 16. He was beginning to reveal to the disciples that he was the Christ and that he must suffer many things.  This was Jesus purpose.  What may seem like a very strange conversation really becomes a huge lesson for us in the way of identifying and dealing with distractions in our life.


Mat 16:22  And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you." 
Mat 16:23  But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."

Jesus was attacking the distraction would keep him from the goal.  Jesus loved Peter, but did not play around with anything that would keep him from following through with the work that God purposed him to do.  So how did Jesus handle the distraction?  He identified the distraction and called it out. "Get behind me, Satan!"  Why did he say Satan?  Because the temptation of diversion from God's purposes are from the pits of hell.  This is why you, as a child of God, get so frustrated with yourself, and others around you.  You're probably taking the bait and allowing the distractions divert you from moving toward God's goal for your life.
Here's the bottom line for our lesson today.  Identify the distractions that distort God's goal for your life.  Call   out the distractions that are leading you away from the actions that God is calling to toward.  You'll find your frustrations melt and your faith grow as you focus on God's goal for your life.

 

The Context of Life That Counts

Where do we search for significance? Most have a sphere of influence to impress in hopes they won’t see the flaws that lie deep inside. This is our desperate attempt to find significance by chasing what we can, and hiding what we want, to seek approval from our sphere. The problem is that we are people who are shaped by our setting and our sphere will always influence the context of our life. So, as we chase approval from a circle of influence in our life, that setting will ultimately shape our story. This is kind of a bummer because you really lower the opportunities of the less fortunate right? I mean, if you’ve always seen drugs in the context of your life as the piece that brings significance, then you will probably chase that as well. If you’re in college and you only equate fun with being drunk and that is the piece that brings significance, then you will probably hang on that pattern of ideal “fun” as your story is shaped. Of course, we could keep throwing scenario’s out there, but let’s land this plane.

Jesus comes in and changes everything! This is the beauty of the cross: 1. that we can admit imperfections 2. we can fess us to failures 3. we can obtain purity through God’s sacrifice 4. we are immediately significant to the Creator no matter what our imperfections, sins, failures, and flaws have been, are, or will be! That’s right! To accept Christ’s work and labor on the cross is to be ushered into the Father, where we are accepted, secure, and significant. So, with Christ, your story can shape up to be more than you ever imagined. When you are in Christ, you are in the Sphere of God the Father, your setting is influenced by being significant just because of Christ righteousness, and your story is shaped by a setting influenced by the grace and peace that is given freely to God’s kids! And dude, your story will boast in the cross, Glory God, and fulfill you like you never dreamed! So go on and live out your significance and stop chasing a dead end dream. It all lands in Jesus the Christ!

Are you in Christ? Have you given your heart to God’s work on the cross through His Son? Turn to Jesus today and find the significance you don’t have to work for!