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Transcript

Vision for Others · First15 Devotional

• 0:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: As we continue our week on vision and boundaries, today we'll explore what it looks like to have vision for loving and serving others well.
• 0:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's loving people something you do intentionally or is it something you believe will happen effortlessly as you live your life.
• 0:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes, God is asking us to intentionally discover vision for certain seasons, and is specific about ways we could minister to or bless someone.
• 0:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: Today, may we learn how to serve people in a healthy, intentional way with good boundaries and vision.
• 0:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the first 15 podcast.
• 1:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: Our verse for today comes from Philippians 2 verse 4 scripture says, let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also the interests of others.
• 1:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: One of the greatest joys in life is the gift of serving others.
• 1:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: Often, in the business of work, family, and society, we draw boundaries around ourselves so tightly that we don't make room to love others well.
• 1:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: God's desire is to shepherd us to a place of inward abundance, not only that we might live in the fullness of life, but also that we would be empowered to give ourselves to others.
• 2:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: Philippians 2 verses 4 through 8 says, let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
• 2:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: Having this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
• 2:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
• 2:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: In his humble loving sacrifice, Jesus set before us the perfect example of loving others.
• 3:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: God might not call all of us to physically die for the sex of others,
• 3:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: But he absolutely leads us to a lifestyle of dying to self that we might live for the kingdom of God.
• 3:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Loving others always requires sacrifice.
• 3:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: The gift of love is never free.
• 3:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: But in pursuing a lifestyle of looking to the interests of others, will discover any eternal purpose,
• 3:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: often in reading or hearing exhortations centered around serving others, I find myself feeling more and more weighed down.
• 3:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: I know that I'm called to love people.
• 3:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: I know that I'm called to give of myself.
• 3:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: And in response to these emotions, I typically engage in a few more activities, find myself empty and burn out and subsequently give up on the notion of living sacrificially.
• 4:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: But after years of going through this cycle, I realized that I was giving not from a place of love, but out of coercion.
• 4:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: I was giving, not as a response to receiving the unconditional love of my Heavenly Father, but to earn the affection of a Christian community that often admires actions over motives.
• 4:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: But we serve a God who looks at the heart.
• 4:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: The call of God on our lives to love others well is designed to flow from a place of fullness and satisfaction.
• 4:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: God doesn't ask us to give what we don't have.
• 4:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you're not in a place of health and abundance, the first step is to ask for the leadership of the Holy Spirit and how he wants to shepherd you to a place of restoration and rejuvenation.
• 5:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: The world doesn't need burnt out givers.
• 5:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: God doesn't ask us to die to ourselves if we don't have life to begin with.
• 5:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: God has amazing plans to use you to further His kingdom today, and those plans are filled with acts of love and sacrifice.
• 5:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: But before you can love others, you need to know that you are loved.
• 5:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: before you can sacrifice four others.
• 5:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: You need to know that Jesus sacrificed for you to a far greater measure than you could ever hope to reciprocate.
• 5:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: And in response to God's love and sacrifice, ask him for ways you can love others well.
• 6:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: Create boundaries in your life in which you can consistently give of yourself.
• 6:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: seek to look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.
• 6:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: Take some time today to meditate and reflect on these truths in guided prayer.
• 6:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: May you find profound joy and purpose in loving others today in response to God's great love for you.
• 6:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: As we begin, meditate on God's unconditional love and overwhelming sacrifice.
• 7:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: 1 John 4 verses 9 through 10 says, In this, the love of God was made manifest among us.
• 7:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: That God sent His only son into the world so that we might live through Him.
• 7:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the
• 8:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: And next, reflect on God's call for you to love and sacrifice for others as a response to his example.
• 8:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: Philippians 2 verses 4 through 8 says, let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
• 8:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant.
• 9:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: Being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross.
• 9:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: And last, in what ways can you love someone while today?
• 10:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: who is God calling you to sacrifice for.
• 10:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: In what ways can you give of yourself for the sake of others?
• 10:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Journal, any people are actions who come to mind and commit to the Lord to see them through in His grace.
• 10:41
  [UNKNOWN]: Thank you very much for watching this video and I'll see you in the next video.
• 11:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: Inward abundance and rest aren't always necessarily marked by the emotions of happiness or a feeling of energy.
• 11:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes God asks us to give even when we're weary.
• 11:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: Just as Paul walked back into Lystra after being stoned to continue sharing the gospel.
• 11:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: We have to get up after being knocked down.
• 11:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: Inward abundance is living with an unshakable and unbroken sense of God's love.
• 11:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's experiencing transcendent joy that can only come from a God whose goodness surpasses the quality of our circumstances.
• 11:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you will seek to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit, you will know when it's time to rest and time to act.
• 12:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: You will know when it's time to retreat with him and time to go out.
• 12:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: His leadership will not fail you, and his grace will always sustain you.
• 12:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: In choir of the Lord today, and discover both restoration and purpose in his steadfast love.
• 12:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for listening to today's podcast.
• 12:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Josh Miller with first 15.
• 12:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: As we land in the middle of this week on vision and boundaries, I think it's helpful to stop and take stock of the value of thinking in this way.
• 13:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: that in general it's so helpful to create just a little space to lift our eyes just a bit from the grind of living everyday and to try and get some vision and clarity.
• 13:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: So we can set up healthy boundaries around what it means to live in a abundant life.
• 13:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: As you go about your day-to-day, try and take a few moments every now and then just to stop and look around.
• 13:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: Take in the world you live in and get some vision and perspective.
• 13:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: Have a wonderful rest of your day, and may God bless you as you see him.