Living a Life of Gospel Intentionality
- Jake Chambers
- Aug 30, 2009
- Series: SDSU
1. To be gospel intentional we must first repent of the kingdoms we build for ourselves and rejoice in living in and for God's kingdom. We must first believe the gospel for ourselves if we are to live a life of gospel intentionality. This means really believing that Jesus as King of our lives is really good news and living a life that shows that belief. We are constantly living for whatever we make king. If our king is money, sports, sex or just our own selfishness we live lives that see these little kingdoms as good news and we let the kings of these kingdoms rule our lives. Christ alone is the only perfect King and his Kingdom alone is the good news for our lives both now and for eternity. (Mark 1:14-15)
2. A gospel intentional life is a life driven by the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ was always ready to respond to gospel opportunities because he was both looking for them and praying for them. We miss opportunities to proclaim the gospel because we are not asking, expecting or looking for God to bring them. (Mark 1:12, 35)
3. Jesus Christ gives his followers new identities. We now find the core of our identity is to be a missionary. No longer do we cling to our old identities, but we drop them and see ourselves as missionaries in every situation. (Mark 1:17, 18)
4. To be gospel intentional we must realize that we never stop needing the gospel. We all are sinners, so everyone needs the gospel all of the time. This motivates us to live a life of repentance. Self righteousness keeps our ears from hearing the call to repent and is repugnant to those who are curious about the gospel. Knowing that everyone needs the gospel all of the time takes the guesswork out of with whom we need to be being gospel intentional. (Mark 2:17, Romans 3:23)
5. Jesus Christ lived a life of Kingdom action, not a life lived on the couch playing World of Warcraft for twenty-four hours or even memorizing his systematic theology. Jesus was out among the people healing the sick, casting out demons and preaching repentance. A gospel intentional life shows both a sign that God's kingdom is here and is a foretaste of His eternal Kingdom. We as the church are called to living a life so motivated by the love and sacrifice of the cross that we give the world both a sign that God's Kingdom has arrived and a foretaste of his eternal Kingdom where he will wipe away every tear. (Mark)
6. Jesus knew both the power of story and the beauty of ordinary life. We can be intentional with the gospel by telling our real stories of how the gospel is at work in our lives. We can set aside the fear of rejection, shame or guilt and know that when Christ enters our messy lives and ugly stories, they are cleansed and made beautiful by the power of Christ on the cross. We don't have to throw out gospel tract paper airplanes to be gospel intentional but can live an ordinary life that is made extraordinary by pointing to Jesus Christ. (Mark 4)
We fail daily in all of these areas but we must persevere not by our own strength but by the strength of the one who has persevered. It is Jesus Christ alone who is the center of every redemption story; he is both the sign of the Kingdom and the King of the Kingdom; he is the one who calls sinners to repentance; he is the only perfect missionary sent by the Father to save the world; he is in constant communion with the Father and the Spirit and is the only mediator between us rebellious sinners and our Holy Father in heaven. The gospel is who Jesus is as King and what he has done for us on the cross. Our failure to be like Christ is our reminder to depend on Christ in living a life of gospel intentionality.
Finally you may be here and know that with some people in your life you have strived to be gospel intentional. And like the disciples who fished all night and caught nothing you may be tired, upset, discouraged and frustrated. You might have spent years praying and weeping for God to bring family or friends to repentance only to see them go further in rebellion. You might have told your stories, modeled repentance, pointed to God's Kingdom and done everything imaginable to see them turn to Christ only to pull up another empty net. The pain and sorrow of seeing loved ones repeatedly go further in rebellion against God may have even turned your souls to scream at God and shout because of the pain of there being "no fish!" Maybe you feel hopeless and even have friends and family who have completely blocked you out of their lives. I plead with you that you would not lose hope. That, like the disciples, you would listen to Jesus and throw the nets out again. Because with Christ as King of our lives, there is always the hope that the next throw will yield more fish than ever before. And when Christ leads the coldest heart to repentance you will have nothing to do but echo with Peter that "It is the Lord." And with awe and thanksgiving, we can run to Jesus and praise him because he is a God who is in the business of working miracles in the lives of the lost. (John 21:1-14)
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