AUGUST 1, 2021 SUNDAY MESSAGE
JOIN US LIVE AT 10 AM TODAY!
Mission 8.1
Transcription
Mask: The Marion County Public Health Department is recommending individuals wear masks in public indoor places, regardless of their vaccination status.
Last week of the perspective shift and next week we will start a new series called WILDFIRE next week.
We are ending on a final talk dealing with the idea of MISSION.
...and what I want to do today is let you in on a strategy that is often used in overseas mission work but tends to be under-utilized here in our own lives. It’s an evangelism strategy to help START - to plant the tiniest seeds - of a church in any context!
I know it as the “Luke 10 Principle.”
Interestingly, the first time I heard about it was when a man in about 2009 challenged a small group of House Church folks at a mini conference to take the Holy Spirit seriously and be bold in engaging others with God...he gave this example:
Driving down the freeway in His city
Felt a little tug from the HS to notice a small trailer park community that was between his job and home
He began to pray for it and eventually felt God tell him to go in an pray for the community
Prayer walks after work (Crystal Lake):
woman getting evicted
Their church helped her get back on her feet and into a new spot on a hill in a trailer.
Since the church helped her, she began to ask about God and asked to be a part of a bible study (let’s do one at her new trailer).
Food in the trailer park
Neighbor said, “You’re the one” - christian who had been praying for help!
They invited a few others, one was a drug dealer who had influence in the community
Soon they had a 50-60 people showing up for a potluck meal at the bible study every weds and
the drug dealer (laughing) said, “hey pastor, if you just pass the plate this would be a church!”
He said, “we don’t need to pass a plate...this IS a “church.”
I truly believe that this story:
is NOT a “one off” incident
He was NOT an especially gifted person, evangelist, etc
He just took the mandate to GO seriously:
He heard a tiny whisper from the HOLY SPIRIT and took IT seriously,
and was bold enough to take the risk and DO IT!!
AND A CHURCH ERUPTED...
I believe EACH AND EVERY person in this room can do the same thing!
I believe every single one of us has the ability, the tools, and the resources to start a CHURCH!!
THE SEED with the DNA of a church is sitting inside us and it’s up to us to activate that which is dormant inside you.
Go ahead and turn to Luke 10 and I’ll show you I mean…
Before we get too deep, the passage begins with 2 words “AFTER THIS” so we have to stop and ask, “After What?”
We know in Ch. 9, Jesus just challenged them to consider the COST of being a disciple. That FOLLOWING HIM would REQUIRE a huge amount of sacrifice...even tells them they will be HOMELESS!
Someone says:
“Yeah but, first, let me bury my father…”
“Yeah but, FIRST, let me say goodbye to my family…”
We ALL have a “yeah but first...” - something that we prioritize over following Jesus (money/greed, sex, power, we are covetous of our time
Joining a church looks more like finding the perfect amenities offered by a church.
Jesus CHALLENGED them to sacrifice...insinuating: “You’re not ready to follow me!!” and “AFTER THIS” moment the scriptures says...
...the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.
2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 GO! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you.9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’
There’s a LOT to break down here and we can’t touch on everything but there are a few key principles that I want to draw out and then issue a Fall Challenge to our congregation going into our next series WILDFIRE…
1. God SENDS His people.
“72 OTHERS”
At the BEGINNING of Ch. 9, Jesus sent the 12 to cast out demons/heal and proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven and, here, He INCREASES the amount of those being SENT - it wasn’t just the 12 ELITE disciples that were commissioned out to prepare the way for Jesus and proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven AND I think it pertains to us today!
Follow the trajectory:
First, he sends the 12,
In a similar way then, he sends the 72,
Then in Matthew 28 - a great commission - a GREAT SENDING takes place that takes the Kingdom of Heaven to ALL NATIONS.
In addition, they didn’t go alone, they were sent in PAIRS, always a good principle so you can be prepared together, encourage each other, and utilize each others gifts
Catch this though, their presence was necessary as they were sent. There is power in your presence as a “SENT ONE.”
There is more we could get into but the thing that I think is MOST important in this section is the HARVEST!! The first BIG IDEA that I want you to consider is the HARVEST!
Remember what Jesus said, “The harvest is PLENTIFUL, but the workers are FEW.”
Do you believe that??
You see, because, we tend to act like the opposite is true “The HARVEST is FEW and the Laborers are PLENTY”:
I’ll let someone else talk to my neighbor about Jesus OR
We assume people are NOT ready and WON’T receive a conversation about Jesus well
we give into the fear that it’s too awkward or they might say no!
Look, when we succumb to that fear or we avoid spiritual conversations with those who don’t know God...we are actually guilty of saying no to Jesus FOR them! We didn’t even give them a chance to say YES!
BUT, what if you went into this with the mentality that the HARVEST IS PLENTIFUL and...
people WANT TO know about Jesus and
they are WAITING for,
maybe PRAYING FOR,
someone to engage them with JESUS or invite them to church?! It’s a total shift in mentality.
I mean, JESUS chose this analogy on purpose. IF an actual HARVEST field was ripe and in front of we wouldn’t sleep on that moment. We begin to REAP the HARVEST.
Agrarian folks?
Day night
Jesus is saying IT’S READY, IT’S PLENTIFUL, where are the HARVESTERS?!
I do it too! But look, when I take the risk, I am surprised by the openness and reception. Just in the last 2 weeks:
Michael at Castleton Lakes
ANG invited herself to church.
Chris at Ale Emporium
I have to remind myself over and over, people are hungry for Jesus. The Harvest is PLENTIFUL and it’s the laborers that are few so are we willing to do the LABOR?!
One more thing involving the harvest, it said in verse 2 “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” This is a prayer...and one that we can actually be the answer to!!
Prayer is a HUGE priority when you are on Mission!!
We see these ideas intermix with the story of Cornelius and Peter
In interactive prayer, God is moving in their lives without them knowing each other!
God Leads them to one another and there is an unexpected openness to the Gospel in the gentile world
In the context of mission, prayer is important and opens doors you may not be aware of...so don’t be surprised if you find out there are people God has prepared to receive you.
Most great revivals in our history began with prayer
One example is the Moravian Church (1700’s) and Mission Movement.
Refugees - village
Factions - “Brotherly Agreement”
100 years of prayer
Birthed a missional movement
This specific prayer (send out workers into his harvest field) operates like a virus - Luke 10:2 Virus….
So, again, back in Chapter 9 he says
Prioritize me
LIVE as those SENT and
He informs us that the kingdom HARVEST is ready NOW!
2. Second Principle: The WAY Jesus sends them is specific too!
It’s similar to the last sending of the 12 in Ch. 9 (which says: “Take nothing for your journey, qno staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics”)
Jesus is telling them not to bring a bunch of things! Some of the things mentioned are self-explanatory but there are many cultural references that you need to consider, right?
He says, “I am sending you like sheep among wolves” // Real opposition
In that time they took extra sandals in case the ones they wore broke so ...don’t carry extra sandals.
No money bag so they have to rely on God’s provision through the hospitality and generosity of strangers in the places they travel
“eat what is offered to you.” They are often engaging with people of other cultures who are not living Kosher or are even sacrificing food to their deities and he says eat what is put in front of you!
“Don’t greet anyone” = Schmooze meaning “talk in a friendly way, chit-chat, engage in idle conversation, gossip” // In other words, stay focused!
What’s he getting here? What’s he trying to develop in their hearts and minds that he wants to be present in their sending?? TRUST!! He is identifying all the distractions and things they tend to trust in, removing those things from the equation, and forcing them to place their trust in HIM! This trust is essential to mission - essential to evangelism!! We will come back to this
He wants them to TRUST HIM in their sending.
SO, Prioritize GOD, BE SENT ONES, The Harvest is READY NOW and place you TRUST ME ONLY!
3. Third Principle: IDENTIFY a PoP
What is a person of peace. Let me read back to you what Jesus said:
5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them (exchange of peace)
A person of peace is someone who is OPEN to hearing Your Story, God's Story and the Good News of Jesus. It is often someone who is HOSPITABLE and WELCOMES you into their home or their workplace.
Neil Cole is a House Church practitioner who teaches on these ideas often and he writes that a “Persons of peace (is) characterized by three things:
1. They are people of receptivity. They are open to the message of the person and the peace of Christ.
2. They are people of relational connections. They know lots of people and are an important part of the community, for better or worse.
(They have a way of opening up an OIKOS or pocket of people in the community)
3. They are people of reputation. They possess a reputation, whether it is good or bad.”
Maybe you know someone like this!! Often, when someone like this comes to know Jesus, they spread more rapidly, more fervently, and more effectively than you can!
Think about:
The demonized man
Decapolis - TOLD NOT TO COME BTW!
The woman at the well
Cornelius
Lydia
One more thing I want to point out, as your pastor, and as someone who has witnessed supernatural events, don’t be too far gone from your childlike faith to discount the fact that God may want to perform miracles with and through you:
People are still being delivered from demonic oppression
People are still being healed today
Mission is often the context where miracles take place. This is why I think the trust issue (no sandals, no money, etc) comes in and why Jesus removed their trust from other things before sending them!
Our faith in God is compromised whenever we place our faith in other things.
And an EXCHANGE takes place and when you have all you need/want in abundance, you don’t have to exercise the muscle of your faith in trusting that God will provide when you can’t.
This is where we become students of those who lack resources and HAVE to trust God all the time for everything. They are RICH in faith as a result and we who have worldly accommodations, are impoverished in our faith.
We have to learn to exercise this muscle again.
This is partly why we are hosting the event tonight.
It is true that some will not receive you or accept your offering of the Gospel of Peace and that’s fine, Jesus told them when you...“are NOT welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’
Your job is not to force the gospel on people. It is to be obedient to proclaim it - that’s what you’re responsible for.
Our story of planting a house church in our last neighborhood.
We began to prayer walk all the neighborhoods in our CG together one week after another and we asked God to give us a heart for the people, an opening for the Gospel, and a person of peace.
Split into smaller groups and invited people in (bar, house, VBS, AWANA, dinner, sports teams, etc)
At some point, we moved, and when we moved and asked our last CG/HC to “send us” just like a church sends any missionary.
They put us in the middle in chairs, prayed over us, then continued to prayer walk our new neighborhood and pray for God to start a new group there.
They resourced us and came over to help us do movie nights and grill outs for our neighbors
A few came to help us accomplish our goal
Within a few short months there were multiple families hanging out with us and doing a bible study every week.
One was a family that grew up in church and walked away and we became their avenue BACK
One told me she would never step foot through the doors of a church and that I should give up on her. The thing is, SHE DIDN’T NEED TO, the front door our church came to HER!!
The reason I tell you this is that:
I think the desire to reach neighbors is there but we lack the MISSIONAL IMAGINATION of “how” to do it.
YOU ARE THE Front Door of Common Ground Northeast and every person you interact with has the opportunity to know God through us THROUGH YOU!!
Everything a person needs to know to be in a saving relationship with Jesus is in YOU
Everything resource necessary to start a church in your neighborhood is in YOU
Our small group was not extraordinary! We just took God seriously, lived like sent ones, prayed, and proclaimed. This is what it means to be a house church network and living out ALL THREE PILLARS DEVOTION, COMMUNITY, AND MISSION!
You don’t have to do it exactly this way, but you can’t do nothing to reach your neighbors...as a follower of Jesus, you have been called to prioritize this in your life and to be sent to make disciples!!
Here is my challenge to you all this Fall: begin Prayer Walking your neighborhoods and ask God to open doors for the Gospel. This is a great way to interact with multiple things we just talked about:
You prioritize and create an intentional moment for evangelism when you schedule time to do this and it may be able to happen in your day to day but you may have to so “no” to something in your schedule to do it!
As you pray, listen to God and do what you THINK God might be telling you to do or a person he might be telling you to talk to and be open to doing something out of your comfort zone and see what He does.
Pray for the good of your neighbors
It also creates natural conversations with people and you’re there to pray so ask if there is anything you can pray for them about!
Ask God for a Person of Peace who is open to the Gospel and open to the community.
Take courage and have spiritual conversations
Don’t be surprised if God begins to move - even supernaturally - as you pray and take risks. I guarantee the Harvest is ready, you just need to
Are there some things you need re-prioritize in your life to do this? How is the way you are living now contributing to your ability to live and evangelistic life?
Are you present in your neighborhood or to a people you are called
Do the things you prioritize in your life and with your time create moments for you to proclaim the Kingdom or distract you?
Do the things you trust in help you prioritize or distract you from proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven?
If you’re in a HOUSE CHURCH (especially if you’ve been in the same one for years), I am challenging you to reach out. You’ve settled into Devotion and Community too well.
If you haven’t seen anyone come to know Christ through your HC your love FOR and desire FOR the LOST has been diminished.
Where is our love for those who don’t know the saving power, grace and love of GOD?
Maybe you’ve built a community already and you need to be more bold when it comes to spiritual conversations, or dialing people into the teachings of Jesus.
I said it before but I want to re-emphasize it again, COMMON GROUND, everything we need to catalyze a wildfire of kingdom movement in the city of indianapolis is here. It’s in us and I want to see lives changed, people baptized, and healed!!
COMMUNION:
(1 COR. 11:23B-26)
“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
PRAYER REQUESTS:
We are hosting prayer team meetings for both the congregation at large and individuals to sign up for individual prayer.
SUGGESTIONS FOR WORSHIP:
“Praise & Worship” Spotify playlist and “Praise & Worship” YouTube playlist (slightly different from each other), both of diverse music that are being constantly updated!
Bethel Music :
Bethel Music’s hours of live music YouTube Playlist, also being constantly updated
Bethel provides chords to most (if not all) of their songs here (just have to register email, but free!)
Live worship moments from the Upper Room YouTube Playlist
Journal writing! (I’m a writer too, so sometimes creative writing and writing my thoughts to God is my form of worship.)
Declare and worship with truth by singing and praying scriptures.
WORSHIP NIGHT! Dedicate a night to worship with friends and family, your house church or neighbors, those who need prayer, love worship, or just enjoy music through a video chat platform like Zoom. You can have one person leading at a time (switching off to whoever else wants to lead) while others sing along, pray, or prophesy, etc.
Serving your community, both online, in person, or both, is a great way to worship God, from spreading encouragement and God’s Word online to physically serving food to others. If you are able to go out and serve, click here for opportunities.
COMMISSIONING:
As Jesus said in John 20:21,
"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
Go, be the Church!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.