Read: 1 John 5:1-5,
Matthew 28:16-20
What is our response to all that Christ has done on our behalf? If we know that we can be 100% confident in the salvation we have in Christ it would seem easy to sit back now and do nothing. If we can be confident in Christ's work for us as we see God at work making us more like Him, why should we do anything more? But we aren't left any time or room to sit on our laurels.
In 1 John 5:2, John describes that we respond to what Christ has done by: "loving God and carrying out His commands." Our first response to what God has done for us is to love God and to worship Him with all of our being. If Christ has sacrificed His life so that we might live our only real response can be to give our lives for Him. Our lives are no longer our own, they have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. We are to worship God with every breath. All of our work should be done for His glory. Our time with our friends and family should be worship of our glorious God. Even our entertainment time should be motivated and driven by our love for God and our desire to worship Him. Given what Christ has done on our behalf nothing less would be sufficient.
Notice the second part of our response in 1 John 5:2. We are to carry out His commands. If we truly love and follow Christ we will obey his commands to us. Through the whole of the Bible Jesus teaches us how His followers are to live, in fact, the whole sermon on the mount is about what life looks like as a follower of Jesus. Jesus has not just given us commands about how to live and sent us off to live quiet lives in our own communities. Jesus has given us a mission! In Matthew 28 Jesus gives His disciples (and US!) their marching orders, their mission to make disciples of all nations by telling them the good news of Christ. If we truly love and follow Jesus we must respond by telling others about what He has done for them. How often do we do the unthinkable and keep such incredible, life changing news to ourselves.
Let me ask you this: if Christ has done all this for us because of His grace how could our response be anything less than to live the life He has given us wholly for His glory and His mission!? If we are truly thankful for what Christ has done there is nothing else we can do in response than to live for His glory. We don't do these things to earn our salvation or to rebuild our relationship with God. We have seen this week that we can be 100% confident in the work Christ has already done on our behalf. Rather, out of great joy and thankfulness we live our lives to worship Him and to be on His mission.
So what is our response to all that Christ has done on our behalf? Our response is to, together with all those who follow Jesus, worship Christ Jesus and to share Him with others. Are you worshipping God with your life and living for His mission?
Prayer:
Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
¥ Confess to God times in your life where you have not taken advantage of the opportunities He has given you to share Him with others. Pray that He would give you opportunities today as well as the wisdom and courage to take advantage of them. Pray that God would grow in the hearts of His people a passion and desire to see many come to know Jesus.
¥ Pray for Extreme at Christlife today. Pray that many families from the community would come, would hear about Jesus and would commit their lives to Him. Pray that the leaders would be wise in the way that they run their games and activities and that the message from God's word would be powerful and clear.
Discussion Questions For Families and Groups
1. Think about the idea of living your life in worship of Jesus and sharing Him with others. What would it look like to live this sort of life at your workplace, at school, at University or at Home?
2. Your local church will provide many opportunities for you to be involved in ministries to reach the lost. What are some ways that you could get involved with bringing the message of Jesus to the lost?
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