Jesus Was Missional (Jesus Habits Series)

Jesus was missional.  We should be missional like Jesus was.

 

For the past few weeks at my church, we've been talking about habits.  Habits can determine the course of our lives.  Bad habits will lead us down a destructive path.  Good habits will improve our quality of life.  There is no way human beings can live a life filled with nothing but good habits.  Truth be told, we all have bad habits we need to change.  However, there was one man who lived a perfect life.  He had no bad habits at all.  His name was and is Jesus.  As Christ followers, we should desire to copy the habits of Jesus (we are calling them Jesus habits).  We have learned that Jesus prayed.  Jesus worshiped.  Jesus was relational.  Jesus was generous.  Today, we learn that Jesus was missional.  

The following are my Bible study notes based on my pastor's sermon.  You are invited to watch, listen, and worship with us here.

Jesus Was Missional

If your life is overcome with bad habits, you don't have to stay that way.  The gospel of Jesus is powerful enough to change your bad habits.  When the gospel changes your habits, your whole life changes. 

Our pastor mentions in the video above that one bad habit is wasting time.  One reason for wasting time is not knowing your life's mission or purpose.  Sometimes we know our life's mission or purpose, but we are afraid to take that step. 

I'm not afraid of failure; I'm afraid of succeeding at things that don't matter. - William Carey

Jesus never wasted time.  Jesus rested, slept, enjoyed meals, and spent time with friends, but He wasted no time fulfilling His mission.  Jesus was missional.

What was Jesus' mission?

For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. - Luke 19:10

Jesus never strayed from His mission.

As followers of Jesus, His mission is our mission. 

So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be to you; just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." - John 20:21

Are you a follower of Jesus?  If your answer is "yes," then His mission is your mission.  If your answer is "no," then learn more about how you can have a relationship with Jesus here.

 

 

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Let's take a look at Luke 19:1-10.

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ² And there was a man called by the name f Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. ³ Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable due to the crowd, because he was short in stature. ⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree in order to see Him, because He was about to pass through that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” ⁶ And he hurried and came down, and received Him joyfully. ⁷ When the people saw this, they all began to complain, saying, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner!” ⁸ But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I am giving to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I am giving back four times as much.” ⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” - Luke 19:1-10

Take not of three missional words at the end of the above passage:  Seek, Save, Lost.

Have you ever been lost?  You can be lost and not look like you are lost.  Zacchaeus did not look lost, but he was.  He thought he was somebody important, but there was a void in his life.  Zacchaeus fell short of the glory of God.  We are told in Romans 3:23 that we ALL fall short of the glory of God.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. - Romans 3:23

Like Zacchaeus, many of us think we are "OK with God" or that we are "righteous enough."  Like Zacchaeus, we might appear to "have it all," but instead be empty.  

 

Guess what?  You might think you are seeking Jesus, but Jesus is seeking you.  Like Christ came to Zacchaeus, He comes to you.  God wants to spend time with you. 

When Jesus saves you, He changes everything about you.

Zacchaeus received Jesus with joy.  Salvation is a relationship with Jesus.  When we receive His love, forgiveness, joy, and peace, our hearts change.

Do you need a change in your heart?  Do you need new good habits?  Jesus' mission was to seek and save the lost.  His mission is to seek and save you.

If you are already a Christ follower, then you have been found so that you can find others.  You have been loved so that you can love others.  You have been changed so that you can become a change agent in the lives of others. 

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How to Be Missional Like Jesus Was

Jesus Was Generous (Jesus Habits Series)

Jesus was generous.  We should develop the habit of living generously.  The following are my Bible study notes based on my pastor's sermon titled "Jesus Habits:  Generosity."

Jesus was generous.

 You are invited to watch, listen, and worship with us here.

What does it mean to be generous?  Generosity is defined as being intentional in life by offering yourself and resources to others in the name of Jesus.  We are never more like Jesus than when we are generous.  Generosity is a foundational Jesus habit.

Jesus Habits:  Generosity

Generosity was a habit in the life of Jesus.  

Jesus gave healing to those who were hurting.

Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” - Mark 1:41

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”  When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”  Then He touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done to you according to your faith.” - Matthew 9:27-29

A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?”  The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”  Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.”  Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. - John 5:5-9

At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.   And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them. - Luke 7:21-22

If you are hurting, Jesus is willing to heal you.

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Jesus was generous with His time. 

Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” - Matthew 19:13-14

 

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Jesus always made time for those who were hurting.

Jesus was generous to His enemies.

Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him.”  Immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.  And Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him. - Matthew 26:48-50

But Jesus responded and said, “Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him. - Luke 22:51

³⁴ But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing His garments among themselves. - Luke 23:34

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. - Romans 5:10

And you were dead in your offenses and sins, ² in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. ³ Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest. ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). - Ephesians 2:1-5

Jesus gave Himself to us.

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. - John 3:16

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¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. - John 1:12

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; ⁴ do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. ⁵ Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. - Philippians 2:3-8

When we see how much we have been given, it is easy to give. 

What does the habit of generosity look like in our lives?

The biggest lie Satan wants you to believe is that you have to already have a lot in order to be generous.  Not true!  Let's read the parable of the talents in Matthew 25.

¹⁴ “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The one who had received the five talents immediately went and did business with them, and earned five more talents. ¹⁷ In the same way the one who had received the two talents earned two more. ¹⁸ But he who received the one talent went away and dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have earned five more talents.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’

²² “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have earned two more talents.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’ - Matthew 25:14-23

God has given each of us a "measure of talents" to be used to invest in God's kingdom.  Some of have 5 and some of us have 2.  The "talents" we are given are to be used as Jesus commands and that is to love Him and love others.  How do we love others?  We follow Jesus' example.  We are to be generous to others. 

We do not need a lot to be generous.  We only need a changed heart.

There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are these for so many people?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people recline to eat.” Now there was plenty of grass in the place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, and after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were reclining; likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted. - John 6:9-11

Generosity is not just and act.  It is an attitude of the heart.

Generosity is not just a feeling.  It is a lifestyle choice.

We don't always feel like being generous.  Sometimes we don't want to be generous because we feel the other person doesn't deserve our generosity.  Well, generosity is not based on how we feel or whether or not the receiver deserves our generosity.  Our generosity is based on who we are in Christ Jesus.

How can you be generous?

Be generous with your words.

Be generous in prayer.

Be generous with your time.

Be generous with your money.

Be generous with your home.

When we embrace the Jesus habit of generosity, our lives become transformed.  We become others-centered.

How is God calling you to be generous today?  

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