Go for Christ Daily

Go for Christ Daily

(Matthew 28:16-20; John 3:16-21)

Yearly Theme:  “Patience is…”

Series Title:  “Vision and Purpose”

August 21^st, 2022

Something to think about:

Last week – during this month of Vision and Purpose at North Main – we learned about what it means to “Grow Christ continually.”  Today, we are exploring what it means to “Go for Christ daily.”  To Go for Christ daily is represented by the phrase in the Great Commission where Jesus says, “go make disciples of all nations.”  Going for Christ requires love, and love requires generosity.  Let’s read it in context again:

Matthew 28:16-20 (NLT)

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Here’s the takeaway this morning:

Key Point:  “Going for Christ daily, and making disciples, is a disciple’s mission.”

But what does that mission look like in action and how is this action an act of generosity?  Let’s take a look at Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus, the Pharisee, in John chapter 3:

John 3:16-21 (NLT),

¹⁶ “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.   ¹⁷ God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

¹⁸ “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.  ¹⁹ And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.  ²⁰ All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.  ²¹ But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

Though John 3:16 is undoubtedly the most recognized and most often quoted verse in the Bible, what is often missed is the depth of generosity in the nature of GOD.  If we are to believe in and surrender our lives to GOD, it must be a daily pursuit.  If we are to follow GOD’s example in Jesus, we must learn to GO  for Christ daily in the simple act of generosity:

• We go for Christ daily through  .

The greatest picture of generosity is found in God the Father who gave everything that we might have eternal life. God’s giving of Himself led him to sacrifice Jesus for us. His ultimate sacrifice was a sacrifice of love and complete generosity, even when we didn’t deserve it. God gave not out of compulsion or due to manipulation, but rather out of his complete, unconditional love for humanity. This type of generosity gives life and hope! This type of generosity goes and makes disciples of Jesus!

So, what does generosity involve?  According to the passage we just read between Jesus and Nicodemus we can see that generosity involves several things.  Let’s look at each of them individually:

• Generosity involves  .

• Generosity involves  .

• Generosity involves  .

• Generosity involves  .

Something to take home:

The best act of generosity is going and telling someone about the life-saving gift of Jesus.  There is no other gift that can compare, and no other act of generosity that can compete.  Going for Christ daily with the gift of love and the message of salvation is a disciple’s mission and mandate.  To hold back on giving this gift is selfish, and not the quality of a follower of Christ.  Hear the words of Christ once again…

Mark 8:34-38 (NLT),  ³⁴  Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. ³⁵  If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. ³⁶  And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? ³⁷  Is anything worth more than your soul? ³⁸  If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

So, let’s not be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.  Like Paul in his letter to the Romans, let us not be ashamed of the Good News about Christ because it is the power of GOD at work, saving everyone who believes (Romans 1:16-17)!  Let’s Go for Christ daily!