Chapter 45 Day 38 Becoming a World-Class Christian

Day 38 Becoming a World-Class Christian Jesus gave them a mission: You are to go to all parts of the world and preach the Gospel to everyone. (Mark 16:15, Contemporary Bible) Send us to all parts of the world to spread the gospel of your saving power and your eternal plan for all mankind. (Psalm 67:2, LB) The Great Commission is your calling. You have a choice: you can be a world Christian, or you can be a world Christian. Worldly Christians look to God primarily for personal gratification; they are saved but still self-centered.They love going to concerts and informative seminars, but you won't meet them at a missions conference because they have no interest.Their prayers focus on their own needs, blessings, and happiness.It's a faith that puts me first—how can God make my life more comfortable?They want to use God for their own purposes, not be used by God for His purposes.

World-class Christians are just the opposite. They know they were saved to serve God and others, they were created to fulfill a mission, they crave personal assignments, and they are excited by the privilege of being used by God.A world-class Christian is the only person in the world who is fully alive.Their joy, faith and enthusiasm is infectious because they know they are making a difference in the world.Waking up each morning, they expect God to use them in new ways.What kind of Christian do you want to be? God invites you to devote yourself to the greatest, broadest, most diverse, and most meaningful purpose in history—building His kingdom.History is his story, and God has been building his home for eternity; nothing is more important, and nothing lasts longer.We know from the Book of Revelation that God’s worldwide mission will come true. One day, the Great Commission will become the Great Completion. On that day, a large group of people in heaven will come to Jesus Christ from every country, every tribe, every nation, and every language. worship him.Being a world-class Christian gives you a little taste of heaven.

When Jesus told his disciples to go all over the world and preach the Gospel to everyone, the poor Middle Eastern disciples were confused. Does that mean they are going to walk or ride a donkey all over the world?This is their only means of transportation. There are indeed many natural obstacles to cross the ocean and travel around the world. Today we have planes, ships, trains, buses and cars; the earth has become a small world, shrinking every day.You can fly across the ocean in a matter of hours, and fly home the next day if need be.Ordinary Christians have countless opportunities to participate in short-term international missions. Travel agencies can arrange for you in every corner of the world. We really have no excuse not to evangelize.

Now, the Internet makes the world even smaller. In addition to the convenience of telephone and fax, any believer who surfs the Internet can exchange information with people from all over the world. The whole world is at your fingertips! Even many remote villages can receive e-mail, and even if they stay at home, they can also have evangelical conversations with people on the other side of the world.Fulfilling the great commission of evangelism is far easier today than it was before; distance, cost, or transportation are no longer barriers, the only barrier is the orientation of our minds.To be a world-class Christian, you must change your mind, perspective, and attitude.

How to Mentally Be a World-Class Christian Shifting from 'self-centered thinking to' other-centered thinking The Bible says, "My friends, stop thinking like children and think like adults." This is the first step to becoming a world-class Christian.Children think only of themselves, adults take care of others.God commanded, "Don't look out for your own interests, but consider the needs of others." Of course, this mind shift is not easy, because our nature is self-seeking, plus all the media advertising encourages us to think of ourselves.The only way to shift such thought patterns is to rely on God moment by moment.Fortunately, God did not leave us to struggle alone, "God gave us His Spirit, so our thinking is different from the thinking of people in the world today."

When you talk to non-Christians, first ask the Holy Spirit to help you attend to their spiritual needs.You can learn to make it a habit to say a silent 'breathing prayer' for the people you meet, saying, "Father, help me understand what it is that keeps this person from knowing you." Your purpose is to figure out the person's spiritual progress and then lead them to a better understanding of Christ.You can learn from Paul's mentality when he said, "I didn't think about what was good for myself, but what was good for everyone so that they might be saved."

Moving from 'regional thinking to' global thinking God is the God of the whole world, and He is always concerned with the whole world. "God so loved the world." From the very beginning, he desired every created nation to be part of his family.The Bible says: "Out of one man he made all nations, and scattered them all over the face of the earth, and appointed for them years and boundaries of dwelling. He did this so that they might seek God, or be able to find him by groping. " Many people in the world already have the idea of ​​globalization, and the largest media and enterprise groups are all transnational.We are more and more closely connected with other countries in life. We have common fashion, entertainment, music, sports, and even fast food. Most of what you wear and eat is made in foreign countries.We are far more connected than we realize.

Life is exciting these days, and there are more Christians on earth today than ever before.Paul was right: "The gospel that has come to you and will go to every part of the world has changed your lives and is changing lives everywhere." The first step to becoming a global mind is to start praying for a specific country.World-class Christians often pray for the world.Find a globe or a map and nominate countries to pray for.The Bible says, "If you ask me, I will give you all the kingdoms of the world Prayer is your most important tool for evangelizing the world. The world can reject our love or our message, but they cannot resist our prayers.Just like an intercontinental navigation missile, it can pray to a person's heart no matter it is ten feet or a hundred thousand miles away.

What should you pray for?The Bible tells us to pray for these things: opportunities to witness, courage to speak, people to believe, messages to spread quickly, and more missionary workers.Prayer makes you a fellow worker with people everywhere.You should also pray for the missionaries and other evangelists in this great field.Paul said to his prayer partners, "Your prayers are our help and our support." Another way to develop global thinking is to read and pay attention to the news with the eyes of the Great Commission.Wherever there is change or conflict, you can be sure that God will use these things to draw people to Him, because people are most receptive to God in times of stress and change.As the world continues to change at an accelerating rate, many people are more open than ever to the gospel.

The best way to change into a global mindset is to go on a short mission to another country as soon as possible!There is no substitute for experiencing another culture first-hand.Stop studying and talking about missions, just do it!I challenge you to commit yourself immediately.In Acts 1:8, Jesus gave us a model of participation: "You shall go all over Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, to the ends of the earth, and testify for me." Believers should go out to their communities (Jerusalem), Evangelize people in their nation (all of Judea), in other cultures (Samaria), and in other nations (all over the world).PLEASE NOTE: Our missionary actions are simultaneous and not sequential.Although not everyone has the missionary gift, God calls every Christian to take on a mission in some way to missionary to the above four groups.Are you an Acts 1:8 Christian?

Set a goal to participate in a missions program to reach these four target groups.I urge you to get ready to save and take a short trip abroad as soon as possible, no matter what.Almost every mission agency can help you make the trip, which will expand your mind, broaden your horizons, increase your faith, deepen your love, and fill you with a joy you have never experienced before.Maybe this is the turning point in your life. Moving from 'here and now' thoughts to 'eternal thoughts' To make good use of your time on earth, you must always see things from the perspective of eternity.This will keep you from wasting energy on the little things that divert you from the important things, and you will be able to tell the difference between the urgent and the most important things.Paul said, "For we are not concerned with things we see, but with things we do not see; for what we see is temporary, but what we do not see lasts forever." Many things that waste our energies become irrelevant a year later, let alone have any permanent value.Therefore, don't let short things occupy your life.Jesus said: "Anyone who accepts the work I send him and does not do it wholeheartedly is not fit for the kingdom of God." Paul reminds us: "Try to pay little attention to the things that the world has piled up before you. The world you see will pass away. gone." What things do you let get in the way of your mission?What keeps you from being a world-class Christian?Whatever it is, let it go. "Let us let go of all burdens, and get rid of everything that delays or encumbers us." Jesus told us to 'store up wealth in heaven.How to do?In one of the most misunderstood speeches, Jesus said; I tell you again, make friends for yourself with worldly money, and when you have no money, you can be welcomed into your eternal abode. "The shame of Jesus does not mean that you use money to buy friends, but that you should use the money God gives you to lead people to Christ, and they will become your eternal friends. When you go to heaven, you will get theirs. Welcome and hospitality, this is your best investment. You've probably heard the saying, "You can't take anything with you." But the Bible says you can pre-send it by investing in someone who's going there. "In this way, they lay up real wealth for themselves in heaven, which is a secure eternal investment! They can also live a fruitful Christian life on earth." Shift from coming up with excuses to coming up with creative ways to get things done As long as you are willing, there must be a way, and mission agencies can also provide assistance.Here are some of the excuses we use: . "I only speak English." In many countries, this is the benefit.In many places, millions of people want to learn English and desperately want the opportunity to practice it. . "I have nothing to offer." You have, your talents and experience are useful somewhere. . "I'm too old (or too young)." Many mission agencies have short-term mission programs for participants of different ages. Whether it was Sarah claiming she was too old to be used by God, or Jeremiah saying he was too young, God rejected their excuses. But the Lord said, "Do not excuse me by saying that I am too young for you will go wherever I send you, and you will say whatever I command you."Do not be afraid of them, for I will always be with you and I will protect you. " You may really believe that you need a special calling from God and are waiting for some supernatural feeling or experience.But God has announced His call time and time again, and we are all called to fulfill the five goals God has set for our lives: worship, fellowship, growing like Christ, serving, and mission.God doesn't just use some of His people, He wants to use all of His people.We are all called to a mission, and he wants the whole church to take the whole Gospel to the world. Many Christians miss God's plan for their lives because they never even ask God if they need to be missionaries somewhere.Whether out of fear or ignorance, they have automatically shut down the possibility of being intercultural missionaries.If you feel like saying no, you should find out all the different ways and possibilities that exist (it will amaze you), and then you should really pray and ask what God wants you to do in the days ahead.At this critical moment in history, the door of the Gospel has never been more open than it is now, and the need for permanent missionaries is extremely urgent. If you want to be like Jesus, you have to have a heart that embraces the whole world, you can't just be satisfied with your family and friends coming to Christ.There are more than six billion people in the world, and Jesus wants all of His lost children to be found.Jesus said, "He who loses his life for me and for the gospel finds it." The Great Commission is your calling, and fulfilling your duty is the secret to living a meaningful life.