Pursuing God- You’re the App For That !
In 2006, when Steve Jobs presented the original iPhone – it was a combination of "three revolutionary projects"—a cell phone, an iPod, and a handheld internet capablecomputer. I don’t think even he knew the monster they had created! I was a tech junkie and loved my iPod, and even remember wondering how long it would be until they added cell phone capabilities to this music player. I was so disappointed that it was only available through AT&T and I was committed to Verizon!
Apple then introduced the App Store and soon the iPhone became capable of performing almost any task.
Remember those annoying ‘I have an App for that’ commercials?
An app is simply computer software broken up into smaller pieces, or ‘applications’.There are now, as of June 1st 2014, more than 1,200,000 applications on Apple’s App store! So now you can say, not only "There's an app for that," but there are probably dozens of apps for that! And that's where I want to launch from today.
We've been in a series called Pursuing God, and looking at how our lives can have the significance and impact they were meant to have… Last week, we looked at the illness of society and how ‘Staying Connected’ to Jesus was the answer, giving us the ability to impact the world around us. Further back, we said that we are a unique creation, shaped by the hands of our loving Father God who is the Master Potter and Craftsman.
Today we're going to discover a simple concept: You're the App for That!
Let's look at what Jesus had to say about this. And he did it through a miracle, and it's the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels. It's a miracle we're not supposed to miss.
Here’s the familiar story:
The crowds heard where [Jesus] was headed and followed by foot from many towns. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
(I like what Pastor Rick said last week- Jesus didn’t ‘do Ministry’ he simply lived it!)
That evening the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves." But Jesus replied, "That isn't necessary—you feed them."
"But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!" they answered.
God does not require us to bring the solution! He wants us to be the vessels that He uses to bless others. Our job is to be ready!
"Bring them here," he said. Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children! (Matt. 14:13-21, NLT).
Now why is that event, that miracle, is included in each of the 4 Gospels? It's becausewe’re really supposed to get this! There are at least three points that speak directly to how our lives can have a big impact.
The first principle: When there is a problem, when there is a need, when there is something that God wants to do in this world, you are the app!
The problem here? People were hungry and needed to be fed. What did Jesus say to his disciples? You feed them. You're my app. Go feed them. ‘Just do it!!!’
We're the apps for what God wants to do here on Earth.
I heard a message once where the pastor said that that was his response anytime someone came to him with a brilliant idea like, “Our church really needs to…” He’d reply, ‘Great! Write it up and bring me your plans!’ But we don't usually think that way, do we? Did you catch the first thing the disciples said to Jesus? They had basically said:“Sorry Jesus, we got nothing! There's nothing we can do. This one is beyond us, bigger than we are, more than we can handle.”
This is one of the biggest ‘fails’ in the life of the believer, the reason why more of usdon't have the power God desires for us to have.
God says, "You're it," but we say, "No, I'm not."
God says, "You're the one I want to send, you're my answer to solve this, fix this, andachieve this," but we say, "Nah, you got the wrong guy."
We need to get this! When it comes to what God wants to do in our culture, we are the app.
If you are a follower of Christ, there is a call on your life, and that call is to be a part of Christ's mission in our world. Make no mistake about that mission. In Matthew 28, Jesus gave us his clearest, most direct mission statement:
"Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19-20, NLT).
That mission is so all-inclusive it is known simply as The Great Commission. And God is inviting, even commanding, us to be a part of it.
So what is it that God is doing exactly?
First and foremost, he's reclaiming a lost world back to himself. He sees human lives lost in the darkness. These lives are spent apart from a relationship with him. He wants to bring grace, forgiveness, restoration, reconciliation, new beginnings, and new identities to these lives. He wants to give them health and healing, wholeness and meaning. He wants to restore marriages and strengthen families. He wants to infuse a sense of calling into each life. And most of all, he wants to change their destinies. He is on a mission to save people!
But that's not all. Within that Great Commission, rooted in the creation narrative itself, is a cultural commission. God wants to use us in the battles against societies problems like poverty, disease, homelessness, and crime. He's declared war on racism, abuse, oppression, and injustice. Bible tells us that God is on the side of the weak and thedefenseless, the widow and the orphan, diseased and downtrodden. So don't water down this mission. Some people believe, "My job is my ministry," or "My family is my ministry." True, but that’s not the whole story!
Your spiritual gift was given to you for the sole purpose of building up the body of Christ and for advancing his mission. There are 10,000 things that are worthwhile, good, and noble that you could invest in. But there is only one church, one mission, one cause. Don't confuse that with anything else. Let’s get the first principle down: God has looseda revolution on this planet, and you're the app for it.
Here's the second principle: God is the power for your app. When God says, "You're the app for this," that doesn't mean you're on your own. It means that if God is choosing to use you as an app, He will empower you. God's power takes what you bring, what you offer, and multiplies it in ways that only God can.
4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Acts 1:4-5 ESV
Do you think Jesus needed the loaves and fish to feed all those people? No! Remember how God fed the Israelites in the desert? Remember the temptation to make stones into bread?
So why did he ask for them? He asked for them because he wanted people to see that when they brought what they had to the table, he would bring what he had to the table. When they offered to serve with their lives, he would bring his life and his power
When it comes to God's working in our lives, most of us are waiting for God to do something for us. But did you ever think that God wants to do something through us?
What do you have right now that Jesus is asking you to bring to him, but you think it's insignificant? Or perhaps you think he won't show up when you act out in faith. Or maybe you think your app really isn't all that.
Is Jesus calling you to give him your gifts and abilities? Your money? Your prayers?Your time? Do you have a gift, and think if you try to use it, that it won't matter, that God won't use you?
If that's how you're operating, then you will miss out on the miracle of multiplication. It is indeed a miracle. It is a God thing. But it's a God thing you were meant to experience!
When John tells this story of the feeding of the five thousand, he adds an interesting line. Right after Jesus asked for what they had, John says,
"[Jesus] said this to stretch [their] faith. He already knew what he was going to do" (John 6:6, The Message).
Think about that. God already knows what he is going to do through you when you bring what you have to him, when you use your gifts and abilities, when you serve and sacrifice your time. He's just waiting to see if you'll bring it. And when you do, it will be multiplied. And not just through you, but for you. Its impact will be multiplied, not only in others' lives, but in your life, too. Serving is not just for the benefit of others; it is also for your benefit.
App + power = impact
This is the third principle: Your God-given app plus God's power is what gives your lifeimpact . Think about what happened. Not only were thousands of people fed; there were 12 baskets full of food left over. Does your life experience that kind of production, that kind of yield, that kind of outcome? A life that has impact is a life that has launched itself into the great revolution that God has unleashed on this planet through Christ, who was a servant.
When you give your gifts, resources, time, sweat, and most of all, your servant's heart to Christ's mission, God shows up. He empowers your efforts. He multiplies your results. He works through you in ways that only he can. And that gives your life impact. The results are beyond anything we could imagine.
Have you experienced that yet? Have you given your all and experienced his multiplying power? Have you looked around and seen basketfuls all around you? Or, are you still hanging on to a few loaves and a couple of stinky fish.
There are two kinds of lives that you can live.
The first is a life that ends with nothing more than what you started with, because you never gave yourself away. This type of life is lived on the sidelines, or in the bleachers, watching, not participating. But that's not a meaningful life!
Getting a girlfriend, getting into a college, finding a major, getting a job, getting married, having kids, buying a house, putting some money away, taking trips, and then retiring—that's not the essence of a meaningful life. But some people think that's all there is to life. They are born with their five loaves and two fish, and they die with five loaves and two fish. And they think that bread and fish is everything.
But there's another life that you can live—a life in which you give yourself away. In this kind of life, God shows up and multiplies things in ways that only he can. He's gives this kind of life the significance, the weight, and the force it was meant to have. And the multiplication is amazing.
Which life do you want? All of us are capable of experiencing incredible multiplication. God has given you incredible talents and gifts. You may be an athlete, an entrepreneur, a leader, an artist, a wealth-builder, a counselor, a lawyer, a real estate developer, a physician, a writer, a or teacher. Some of you have money. You all have loaves and fish, abilities that God wants to use and multiply. But many of you don't think those things are worth giving away. You don't see yourself as an app for God's kingdom. If that's the case, God hasn't empowered you, and you haven't experienced multiplication.
Many of you have already moved off the sidelines and into the game. You've said to God, "Use me wherever there's a need." You've opened up yourself to having a servant's heart and a servant's life. And many of you have found that God has used you in incredible ways. For you, the adventure has begun. Your life has started to gain force in ways you can't even begin to imagine.
But some of us haven't stepped out. Don't wait. Don't delay. Don't stay on the sidelines. Join us today. You're the app God is looking for. He's waiting to empower you and multiply your gifts, to give it the force you long for.
Thanks for reading this! I hope you’ve been challenged and blessed! We’ll be continuingthis talk about pursuing God and all that it means to us as Christ followers. See you next week!
