Great God, God So Loved, Hosanna Praise is Rising, I Will Go, How Great is Our God

What are you most excited about God’s mission of making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19)? Is there anything that seems to be preventing you from going all-in for God’s mission?

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ…

According to biblical scholars, the greatest influencer after Jesus is the Apostle Paul. He impacted marriages, transformed culture and civilization, restored moral ethics, and pushed preaching the gospel worldwide. He went all-in for the mission! All of us have missions in life, but we face trials and situations which may cause us to quit pursuing the mission. How will we push forward and give it our all? The Apostle Paul highlights four important motivations for us to be able to go ALL-IN (P.A.L.M.):

PERSPECTIVE

Paul describes his perspective on things that challenge his audience while they were on mission (2 Corinthians 4:16-17). While the mission was taking a toll on their physical bodies, their inner lives were being renewed day by day. Perspective impacts your thinking, and this impacts emotions, and this will impact your actions. We encounter many problems and challenges such as losing your job. You may either sulk thinking God does not care or love you, or you can see this as God closing a door so that you can go to where He wants you to go and look forward to it. You may not like what is happening in your life right now but when you view things through God’s lens, there is hope because you know that He is at work!

The Apostle Paul gives God’s perspective, that despite the challenges, believers “do not lose heart” (2 Corinthians 4:1). Your passion to fulfill God’s mission for your life will sometimes be met by disappointments and trials, but you need to keep moving forward. As Paul mentioned, the outer man is decaying, but our inner man is being renewed day by day. The afflictions we face is producing for us an eternal weight of glory. Whatever challenges we experience on earth is temporary and “light”. Furthermore, there is greater gain – it is producing an “eternal weight of glory”. Paul points out that he does not look at things which are seen because they are temporal, instead, focus on unseen things which are eternal (v.18).

What did Paul go through? He shows the contrast of his life experiences and how he sees them positively (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). Paul’s suffering is detailed (2 Corinthians 11:24-28) – Paul went through a lot but despite all of that, his perspective remained in the right note. Paul writes about his perspective on his tribulations, and that he can EXULT in these (Romans 5:3-4)! This is because suffering brings perseverance, proven character, and hope! God causes all things to work together for good (Romans 8:28), so even if we go through hardships, we can still see how God is blessing us. Your perspective will impact the quality of your Christian life! Paul has this perspective, and even towards death.

Paul acknowledges our body is so temporal, and he was not afraid of dying because he looks forward to being renewed in eternity, as promised by Christ (2 Corinthians 5:1-4). The Greeks believed that the body is the problem: like a prison for the spirit or soul. After death, they believed the spirit is set free. The promise of God is for a real, supernatural body! 1 Corinthians 15:54 perfectly captures Paul’s point: death is swallowed up in VICTORY! That is eternity, and so our perspective should be eternal. Paul reminds us of the Promise that was given to us: the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:5-6). He speaks of the Spirit as a pledge (Gk. arrhabon) which means a guarantee or pledge. Like an engagement ring today, it’s a promise, that someday all the promises of Jesus will come true, and that is why Paul could encourage us to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7-8).

ACCOUNTABILITY

This means being responsible for our choices, actions, and behaviors, acknowledging that there are consequences to them. Paul’s primary ambition is to be pleasing to God (2 Corinthians 5:9-10). Why? Because there will be judgment, whether we like it or not. Salvation is free (Ephesians 2:8-9) – it is by grace through faith, not because of works. But what is this judgment all about then? It is about what you do after you have come to Christ.  Accountability demands our extreme loyalty to the Lord as we accomplish His mission. Are we fighting the right war? Are we doing the right mission? Who are we pleasing and living for?

In 1 Corinthians 3:12-14, Paul notes that the quality of man’s work will be tested – the day will come when God will test the quality of our service done for Jesus. It is possible to be saved by Jesus, yet when we face Him, find out that we wasted our lives because we did not live for Him and accomplish His mission.

LOVE

The love of Christ CONTROLLED (compelled) the Apostle Paul and his missionary team (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). The love of God should be our main motivation for going all-in – love God, and love people. Remember when Peter denied Jesus three times? Jesus asked Peter (Simon) three times if he loved Jesus (John 21:15-17). That conversation was enough to put the fire back in Peter’s heart, restoring him to be all-in for the mission. Love for Jesus is the primary fuel for us to go all-in!

MISSION

Paul taught that being in Christ has renewed us (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are new creatures in Christ, the old things have passed away, forgiven and erased. Verses 18-19 speak of how God has initiated the ministry of reconciliation with us. This same ministry was handed to us, having been reconciled to God through the gospel – Christ’s redemption of us. He was perfect before God but bore our sins with Him on the cross having our sins imputed to Him, and His righteousness to us. Having secured this for us, as ambassadors for Christ, we ought to reconcile others to Him by sharing what Jesus has done for them (vv. 20-21). This is the mission, and we have to go all-in!

Pray for more people to be reconciled to God through Christ.

Live out your mission of being an ambassador for Christ — sharing the gospel to those around you, making disciples of all the nations wherever you are.

• Worship God for who He is, what He has done, and what He will do in our lives.

• Upright and moral governance of public servants; repentance and salvation for government leaders and citizens for a Christ-centered Philippines.

• For legislators to promote and support bills and laws aligned with God’s Word.

• War in Ukraine to end, loss of lives prevented.

• For the rest of the Israeli hostages to be restored to their families safely. For Israel’s war with terrorists to end according to God’s purpose and for His glory.

• Pray for Jewish people worldwide who are experiencing a surge of antisemitism; may this lead them to the Messiah, Jesus as they turn to God for help and comfort.

• For protection of Iranian, Syrian and Lebanese Christians and other minorities, and freedom from oppression. Pray for the gospel to spread rapidly throughout their region.

• Pray for Sudanese and Nigerian persecuted Christians; earnestly seek God’s intervention to stop the bloodshed. Pray for freedom from oppression, that God’s word and His people bring them comfort and hope.

• God’s help to rescue and comfort flash flood victims in central Texas, USA who have lost loved ones, many of them young children; strength and protection for first responders.

• That CCF Members would honor and love God and make disciples.

• Elders, pastors, dleaders, and families (holy, humble, harmonious, happy, heart-working).

• Ministries and churches expand worldwide.

• Worship and Training Center

• Prayer Mountain

• Deeper intimate relationship with God.

• Righteous living.

• Salvation of family and friends.

9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ…