R1558 Strategizing for Christ

Sometimes is just so important to remember we have a plan. There is a plan for us, even a strategy.

Let's talk about strategizing for Christ. That's the message today strategizing for Christ from Dr. Don Wilton well-known author evangelist Pastor in these moments together, taking us to the Scriptures. Mark's gospel chapter 6.

As we begin to understand how the way we live out our life in general purposes.

The unique talents and gifts that you have are all a part of God's strategy in your life for Jesus Christ. Again that'll unpack his dive into God's word together today know that we're four years well online@dewonline.org. This phone number 866-899-9673.

We'd love to get together and encourage you now Dr. Don Wilton Bibles and turn with me to walks gospel in chapter 6 you going to need a copy of God's word. Mark's gospel in chapter 6. Perhaps there are very few things that gonna my attention more than give me greater encouragement that help to fuel the things that I need to do in my own personal life and starting and observing Miller Creek.

Amanda's one can only just imagine how many bathrooms have been forked and one against insurmountable odds.

You can go way back in history you take someone like Hannibal for example, that great Carthaginian general, the battle of cannot. If you don't know that CA and in AE the battle of cannot you study that battle. In general, Hannibal you understand that he came against an insurmountable formidable force in the Roman army. The pundits made it very clear that there was no way that he could win the back and in order to accomplish what was accomplished at the battle of cannot general Hannibal did some amazing things. He strategized he valued the fact that he was determined to win that he would be victorious. He knew why.

In the stories of Hannibal leading his army over the Alps and all me that was accompanied by a lot of elephants say elephants can you imagine elephants going over the Alps and yet he did. And at the battle of cannot.

He defeated the Roman empire. We could coming to more modern times uniting 05 Lord Nelson, one of the greatest English admirals ever. You can go to London today and you will see Nelson's column commemorations of Trafalgar in Trafalgar Square.

Lord Nelson was a remarkable man and we will read about it in 1805 held that the British fleet came against a combination Rayleigh of both the Spanish and the French fleets really tantamount to an armada, there was no way the British could win, but Lord Nelson you otherwise he knew he was you, the uniform that he wore. He understood the consequences. He analyzed the battlefield. The enemy and he even have to come to the point at which he recognized that if he wants to win this battle that he strategy would have to involve some of the most un-Orthodox naval tactics known to that day and time.

It was most common in naval warfare for battles to draw a parallel for ships to draw a parallel to one another and they would fire headlong in his strategizing and analyzing based upon the values that he had.

He decided to go unorthodox and Lord Nelson rolled his fleet of ships not parallel but perpendicular to the enemy fleet. The rest is history. He decimated the enemy want to great victory at Trafalgar even though he himself lost his life. Would you be willing to lose our lives because of what we believe the values upon which we stand. The strategies that we need to deploy in order to accomplish the goal. How about America who always one just need no, look no further than the battle of Midway popularized even this week, and a great visual presentation. One thing to read about the names of our great heroes like Adm. Nimitz but this monster strategist is a man who operated and base everything he did on deep and abiding value seen you who he was and what he believed.

One needs to just take a glimpse into the life of those young pilots who were willing to do whatever it took in the face of the formidable Japanese forces remembering the devastation of Pearl Harbor and the loss of lives and the treachery that accompanied everything concerning the heroism about people who even went down) that baby without even being able to sail out and face the enemy themselves.

Young lives.

People like you and me. Those men who flew off those carriers under the express orders of Adm. Nimitz. They understood that they were a people on mission and so they flew into the face of the enemy and history records for us today that perhaps the battle of Midway was the most significant turning point in the Pacific war that ultimately contributed so greatly to the very freedoms upon which you and I stand today what we bickering about what's the matter with us. We no longer value what we value.

I want to read to you something remarkable in Mark chapter 6 because Jesus found himself surrounded by people. They found themselves on a hillside and they would desperately hungry. The commander-in-chief understood this, he valued those people. He understood the need and he deployed a strategy to provide for the needs against wish he measured the success of his strategy. The goal was accomplished over 5000 received food not only they but there was plenty more to go around and to take to the bridge of the mission. Matthew chapter 6 tells us in verse and beg your pardon, Mark chapter 6 and verse 35 and when it grew late, his disciples came to him and say this is a desolate place. This is a desolate place. The is now late. His disciples understood how desolate the place was becoming. They also evidently understood the urgency of the matter.

When you look the enemy in the face.

The hunger poverty or just plain old-fashioned virtues. How much time if you got to quibble, no man, no lady in uniform would have a look.

They come honoring the face when they know full well what has to be done because they been told what has to be done and say but Sir, if it's okay with you. You think we could just go and take a couple weeks to talk over this. Excuse me, like those young man on board those carriers.

The battle of Midway time without number until I could hardly stand themselves, they were literally drunk. They would date on the feet with fatigue with battle scars with fear, but without hesitation.

They boarded those at Croft in adverse conditions written up those engines fueled the age of those carriers, many of them, not even making it.

Willing to give up their lives because this was serious business in faraway on the mainland. They could see me and I wasn't even yet born, they did that for me and I hadn't even met me back to Mark chapter 6 this is a desolate place in the all is now late send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat. Lacey.

But Jesus onto them.

You give them something to eat. What is this about everybody else needs to do. Who amongst us is willing to stand up and say all way does this begin and I said well in that case, shall we go and buy 200 denarii which was at least the equivalent of a day's wage with the bread and he said to them, how many loaves do you have a nicely done see and when they found out they said five loaves and two fish. Watch this strategy. What's the strategy on the suicide then Jesus commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green cross and so they sat down in groups by hundreds and by 50s, and they all ate and were food so much so that there was plenty left over may submit to us today that to strategize is to plan or to design in order to achieve goals based on values you need to do that in your business. If you haven't already done so, you will never succeed in business without a strategy the strategy that will enable you to go based upon the value that you hold dear is what we've been looking at as God's people spread it just all people that help people to keep focus on this mission. Don't celebrate the right of every individual by taking one as values upon which span and have for generations. Strategist saw people focus on mission because we know we all we know who we all whose we are is my blog.

We belong to him who we all send the site by the grace of God redeemed by him. What a powerful perspective on who we are and how we belong to him by the way your listing to Dr. Don Wilton our teacher here on The Encouraging Word. That's right. The encouraging is what your listing to connect with us online@tbwonline.org anytime day or night you can hear this broadcasts the other videos and resources that's TBW online.org you can also sign up for the daily The Encouraging Word email from Dr. Don you need to do is click on the icon for daily Encouraging Word email in your mailbox with the next 24 to 48 hours that's online TBW online.org back to today's message with Dr. Don Wilton strategist we all. In other words, strategist in a specific time for a specific limit is that I live and move and I have my be so where have we been well you can look at the design even here in the church like Al. The central goal that we all we the church where everyone can invite anyone to come to encounter the living one based upon five very clear values that we hold dear in our hearts.

We hold these values so close to us and because we value absolute truth and intentional unity and the pain in prayer and generational potential because we value these thing we strategize we come together as the garrison. The gods force and from generation to generation. We determine that this is what it takes in order to harness these values and in so doing it, willing, able us to accomplish the very things that God would have of each one of us, your church, my church. Every church me as an individual person you as an individual person and believe a collectively as the body of Christ. This those of us who know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. So what is awful point strategy number one to worship. We worship together look at us.

This gathering time.

Why do we worship together because about value system. When we come together that we pray to God. It's when we come together to worship that we sing full audits when we come together in worship that we read about God. It's when we come together to worship that we hear from God because he is our life if we didn't, what would we be there very few strategic battles that have ever been one that you don't have a clear picture of the compound is bringing in the echelons of Comal and ultimately to all those who are affected by the new all going to carry the mission fold with determination with sacrifice and with great terrorism that they don't gather them together. This is a strategy to help us live up to God. You and I will never survive as believers if we do not come together to worship him. This authority we don't come for any other reason, then we want to gather together to pray in the same and to read and take care from the Lord Jesus Christ by the power base.

We need trucks to be filled with the power and presence of God by his Holy Spirit. That's why we worship together. Our second strategy is quite simple not only to worship but to prepare wanted to try going talk to parents tell them and say to them what is the thing that you value about this baby little squawking chicken that you've got.

And they will rollout that value system and then you say to them while mommy and daddy what is your strategy how you going to accomplish the values upon which you stand in relation to this beautiful new little baby boy that God is given you what is it mean oh you amongst many other things value education.

Do you what is your strategy. Anyone ever heard of actually going to school some interesting common concept is not going to school involves going through here often, you getting up being disciplined doing homework listening to teachers conforming to the rules and regulations becoming part of something bigger than yourself having to learn give up time. Say no to some things because of the priority of the value that that little boy he needs to become educated that he can grow up with a sound mind and make decisions and be a man in this world and be able to accomplish thing. Prepare is our second strategy.

We believe this, we believe we do that based yes as we come as we study God's word even today, but even better as we gather together in multiple life groups on Sundays.

Sunday school life groups and Sunday offerings and Sunday nights and every day of the week where people gathering small groups of five and 10 and 15 and 20 and 100 and sit at the feet of cold men and women who spend hours preparing every week to teach the word of God, but it brings together this seems charitable strategy. It helps us to learn together and to grow together and share together invite others to come and be a part of it together and cultivate friendships together. I just love you. That's all I love the fact that we can be together that we growing the knowledge and admonition of the Lord Jesus, but thank you for being my friend. This strategy is designed to help us live with one another because we one another. We the people. Those of us who believe, who know Christ.

Iron sharpens iron mentoring is critical we learn from one another. One of the reasons why we believe in generational potential. We don't sweep yesterday's generational table and even for one minute believe that tomorrow's generation have already arrived before they got yesterday because fathers and sons and mothers and granddaughters need to come together why we need to prepare because when we do this strategy is designed to help us know what it really means to benefit by living with one another. It's right there in that small life group that you going to make friends for life right there where you can all ask any question.

It's right there where you can have the base funding the world and where you can fellowship and you can invite you next-door neighbor to come. It's right there in these places that you will eventually and very quickly get to the point at which you can say you know what I actually do have 2 AM friend and this has nothing to do with ghost busters who you gonna call when not talking about ghosts and goblins.

You are we talking about the preciousness of a people that I look out across the faces today, but just like those men who came together in those women who have come together all these years, and Donald the same uniform and listen to the same monitors and heard the same instructions and stand upon the same values willing to fly off what ever it is and to go into any battle under any circumstances, because they know and they believe in what they believe nation begins to entertain the discombobulated show and of belief and values as a nation that will very quickly find itself on the edge of the rocks. There is one Lord and one faith and one baptism, Jesus Christ does not come by any other name. There is no other God but God and he is none other than the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ strategy is to worship. Our strategy is to prepare, but now strategy. Third is to serve those disciples came to Jesus and said what's the greatest Kaman Jesus said love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind.

Love one another to love yourself. Serve. Jesus was the greatest servant of all.

He came to serve took upon himself our sin and your son. He was the monster servant. We believe this is fundamental to our strategy. We serve others together because we know what Christ has done for us because we have ourselves been sued. We serve others because we do together. But let's understand clearly and fundamentally that this is where God has called us.

Let's play the ball where it applies. Let's get right here, let's do something that we cannot even begin to imagine. Yes, there are places all over the world are so my children serve all over the world. You are engaged wearing giving serving people so I carried out on backyard because right here in this place. There are people everywhere crying out for somebody somewhere. Yes, there are people starving all over the world, but there are people starving in our own backyard. Yes, there are people who are homeless but there are people in our own backyard. Come on church every time you get out the checkbook I challenge you in the face of who we all before the Lord Jesus Christ and the values upon which we stand, and the strategy that we have deployed that we would gather together knowing that this is the house of the living God. And this is the vision God has given to us and this is the place that we will serve and I want you to know that for me and my house we will the strategy is designed to help us live for others worship is that strategy that is designed to help us live up to God. Prepare is that strategy designed to help us live with one another serve is that strategy designed to help us live for others and engage how does the word engage strike you. You can sit on an aircraft carrier until the sun comes up talking about the strategies and I'll tell you when those young men exhausted about study the right battles in Vietnam where our heroes winning the one battle offer another against insurmountable odds and opposition of every kind. They stood up as one person I climbed aboard those tanks picked up.

It was they carried the hand grenades strapped their rifles to their backs and they backpacked boarded the ship, I climbed aboard those Eric Croft and every one of them, knowing full well that they might never ever see their loved one so as any of them ever his time talking how many more times as God saves what's going to be a company to be stroked.

Somehow comforted her opinion going to be considered one more time, God speaking we engage because we once lost we engage because we all engage because strategy designed with a powerful challenge.

Dr. are we ready to engage because we care could be that you're the crossroad right now and you know that that something has to change. You need a course correction. Please take a moment and listen to these closing thoughts from our pastor and chief encourager Dr. Don Wilton are you ready you pray this prayer with me right now. Dear God, I know that Jesus loves me that he died on the cross today, I repent of my sin and I can face my sin and I give him a man. If you pray that prayer from your phone giving your life to welcome you to the family of James to give connected together for ever as believers in Christ giving your life to Christ dedicate your life, perhaps with a fresh shares that time. If you pray with you and maybe help you in some of the next steps. This course correction just want to call us at 86689 pray we can connect with those resources, 866-999-6730 on Margie so chosen the seven financial support the ministry you encourage coming apart 99 wearing it again The Encouraging Word evening meal or 868999673 or online.org