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1 Corinthians 9:11
"If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it
too much if we should reap material things from you?"
Relationship
With Jesus
The Key
To Effective Ministry
Section 3, Chapter 1
The Salvation Work of Jesus
- Why did Jesus come?
- What was the will of the Father for Jesus?
- How did Jesus carry out the will of the Father?
- What is Jesus' will for us?
- What is the motivational foundation of Jesus' will for our lives in whatever we pursue?
- What does committing our life to the sole purpose of the spread of the Gospel and the development of our abilities and talents to that end mean?
- Have You committed Your life, talents and abilities to the sole purpose of
the spread of the Gospel?
THE THREE PHASE WORK OF JESUS
Jesus comes to us in three ways: Jesus comes to save us,20 Jesus comes to sanctify us, and Jesus comes to minister to others through us. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:30, But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.
THE SALVATION WORK OF JESUS
In Section 4 we will deal with the Sanctifying Work of Jesus and in Sections 5 and 6 we will deal with the Ministry Work of Jesus. What we want to talk about here is the salvation work of Jesus. Now, when we say the salvation work of Jesus we are not talking here about your salvation personally, but how Jesus wants to work through you through the ministry of the Holy Spirit to save others.
WHY JESUS CAME
Why did Jesus come into the world? Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John 4:34-35,
"My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest." (John 4:34-35).
Jesus states in this passage that He came to do the will of His Father.
THE WILL OF THE FATHER FOR JESUS
What was the will of the Father for Jesus? Jesus gives us this answer in the Gospel of Luke, "For the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10).
HOW JESUS SEEKS AND SAVES THE LOST
How did Jesus seek and save the lost? Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John, ". . . I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:6). The Father’s will for Jesus was to seek and to save the lost by drawing men and women to Himself.
We are saved by repenting of our sins and then accepting God’s forgiveness for our sins through Jesus’ death and shed blood alone, not by any works of ours. We then personalize this by receiving Jesus into our hearts as Savior and Lord.13
JESUS WILL FOR US
Jesus’ will for our lives is the same as it was for His life: To seek and to save the lost by bringing men and women to Himself. Jesus states in the Gospel of John, "As You did send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world." "Peace be with you, as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." (John 17:18, 20:21).
MOTIVATIONAL FOUNDATION
OF JESUS’ WILL FOR OUR LIVES
Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, states,
"Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, and every Christian is under divine orders to be a faithful witness for Christ. Jesus said, "Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you prove that you are my disciples." It logically follows that the most important thing I can possibly do as a Christian is to allow the Lord Jesus Christ in all of His Resurrection power to have complete, unhindered control of my life, otherwise he cannot continue seeking and saving the lost through me."21
The Scripture clearly shows us that the foundational motivation for Jesus’ will for our lives is asking the question, "Jesus, in what career, life-style, and relationship with the opposite sex can I best be a light for you?"
Jesus created each of us individually with our talents and abilities. Because Jesus created us therefore it follows logically that he would know best in what vocation, life-style, and relationship with the opposite sex we could best be a light and witness for Him.
Being in the vocation, life-style and relationship with the opposite sex that he wants us to be in will not only assure that we will be able to be the best light and witness for him we can be, it guarantees it because this is where we are going to find fulfillment and happiness as well. When people see that we are happy and fulfilled they are going to want to know why we are. The answer: JESUS! Jesus is why I am happy and fulfilled in what I am doing.
Committing our lives to Jesus for the sole purpose of the spread of the Gospel and the development of our abilities and talents to that end means:
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First, using our free time to go out and aggressively share the Gospel with others.
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Second, it means seeking Jesus, our commander and chief, as to where and in what vocation we can best be a light for him.
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Third, it means seeking Him about which person of the opposite sex would be best for us in order to bear the most fruit possible for Him in the spread of the Gospel.
If you have not done so already, why don’t you pray the following prayer right now and commit your life to the sole purpose of the spread of the Gospel and the development of Your abilities, talents and free will use of time to that end.
Jesus, by faith I commit my life to You for the sole purpose of the spread of the Gospel and the development of my abilities, talents and use of free time to that end. In light of this commitment, I ask You to please show me where and in what vocation I can best be a light for You and also in what relationship with the opposite sex I can best be a light for You. I pray and believe You for the answer to these prayers and will not to act out of my own initiative in these areas until You make plain to me Your answers to them. I do this by faith in Your name, Jesus Christ, amen.
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