“Realigning Our Core Motive, Vision, & Role” 2 Corinthians 5: Missions Month Message

1. Realigning Our Core Motive “14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” 2Cor. 5:

1. Realigning Our Core Motive “25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” Matthew 16:

1. Realigning Our Core Motive “14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” 2Cor. 5:

1. Realigning Our Core Motive Motived by Jesus’ love: 1. A desire to be with Him 2. A desire to live like Him 3. A desire to serve Him 1

1. Realigning Our Core Motive “Over time, I realized that when we love God, we naturally run to Him- frequently and zealously. Jesus didn't command that we have a regular time with Him each day. Rather, He tells us to 'love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' He called this the 'first and greatest commandment' (Matt. 22:37- 38). The results are 1

1. Realigning Our Core Motive intimate prayer and study of His Word. Our motivation changes from guilt to love.” - Francis Chan, Crazy Love - Francis Chan, Crazy Love 1

1. Realigning Our Core Motive “You have to stop loving and pursuing Christ in order to sin. When you are pursuing love, running toward Christ, you do not have opportunity to wonder, *Am I doing this right?* or *Did I serve enough this week?* When you are running toward Christ, you are freed up to serve, love, and give thanks without guilt, worry or fear.” - Francis Chan, Crazy Love - Francis Chan, Crazy Love 1

1. Realigning Our Core Motive “14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” 2Cor. 5:

1. Realigning Our Core Motive “… after graduating CMU I went to the San Francisco bay area for work at Yahoo. I got involved with the Homeless Church and spent most of my time serving the homeless on the streets of San Francisco. I ended up working with a friend to start the Jesusmobile, where I lived for around 6 months, leaving my apartment and living in a bus to serve the homeless. Around October of 1

1. Realigning Our Core Motive last year, I resigned from my job at Yahoo because I felt that it wasn't a prudent use of time, making more money than I needed when 80,000 people perish each day in South Asia without hearing the name of Jesus. So the Lord led me to serve here at Gospel for Asia, which works among the unreached villages of Asia through national missionaries. I'm on the web team right 1

1. Realigning Our Core Motive now, working on which is GFA's website. I'm blessed to be able to use the skills that God's given me for His glory.” - Brendan Kiu 1

1. Realigning Our Core Motive Are we so gripped by the love of Jesus that we are motivated to love Him back by living for His purposes? Or are we in love with the world, with the things that God has so graciously given to us but we are not so much in love with Him and for His purposes? Jesus is calling us to a radical but necessary realignment of our life motive. 1

2. Realigning Our Core Vision “16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2Cor. 5:

2. Realigning Our Core Vision How is your vision? Do you see people in desperate and dying need of Jesus’s love and salvation? If not, pray and ask Jesus to give you His vision and His heart. His vision may break your heart, but His heart will sustain and realign your heart and vision! 2

3. Realigning Our Core Role “18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on 3

3. Realigning Our Core Role behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2Cor. 5:

Realign motive, vision, & role “Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says, ‘In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2Cor. 6:1-2 What am I going to do to express this realignment?