Who among us doesn’t want to live a life with eternal significance and purpose? Put aside the trappings of earthly success in business or ministry and recognize that real impact happens only when you surrender everything to God.
Over the last two months, our staff has studied Life on Mission by Aaron Coe and Dustin Willis. Here’s how they describe the everyday life believers are called to live:
A life on mission is a calling of abandonment. It is the confession of our willingness to set aside—to abandon—our preferences to follow God’s mission. Like a bungee jumper diving off a platform, we must relinquish our selfish hopes with total abandon to spread the true hope we have found in Jesus.
What does it mean to live life on mission for God? I’ll answer that question with 4 words:
- Wait
- Abide
- Watch
- Go
Here’s the full detail of the spiritual truths Coe and Willis present:
1. WAIT on the Lord. Perhaps you spend too little time considering what God is saying in the quiet moments. If so, the watch word is “wait”—create some space in your day to pray, study the Word and worship. Your purpose is to glorify God in everything you do. If you don’t do that, you won’t achieve much that matters.
In the morning, Lord , you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. – Psalm 5:3 (NIV)
2. ABIDE in the Vine. A total realignment takes place when you follow Jesus with abandon. Your life is defined by doing and saying that bears witness to your faith in Christ. More than a head knowledge of who Jesus is, “abiding in the vine” is about living a life in love with the Savior. It translates into doing what God says instead of doing what culture says.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. – John 15:5 (NIV)
3. WATCH for opportunities to share. Seeing the world with new eyes is the big result of waiting and abiding. Once you’ve prayed, worshiped and focused your heart and mind, it’s amazing how sensitive to the Spirit you become. Your new eyes make it easy to identify people who need the gospel.
I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. – John 4:35 (NIV)
4. GO and make disciples. For a Spirit-sensitive person, seeing people who need the gospel leads naturally to sharing a verbal witness. Whether it’s a personal faith story, testimony or life lesson, missional living demands sharing. You are called to invest your life in others as you share the gospel and invite others into disciple-making relationships. Then, you send others out to share their faith.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. – Acts 1:8 (NIV)
So what’s the Big Idea?
Wait, abide, watch and go. Live out radical obedience to God. Live an everyday life on mission.
Resources
- Life on Mission by Dustin Willis and Aaron Coe
- Radical by David Platt
- “From Self-Reliance to God-Reliance” on Serve. Grow. Lead.
- “Make Prayer Part of Your Daily Routine” on Serve. Grow. Lead.
- Life Conversation Guide Training Booklet
- Life Conversation Guide iOS App
- Life Conversation Guide Android App
Source
Dustin Willis and Aaron Coe, Life on Mission: Joining the Everyday Mission of God (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2014), 59.
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