The Master's Plan, Part 4: Purposeful Relationships

Secret Mission, not Self-Help Session
Jesus chose His disciples, showed them servant leadership, invested in them, challenged them, gave them the perfect example, and introduced them to the Powerful Spirit. After doing all this He did not just allow them to go on with their lives as new and improved people. No, he sent them out to do His work. What was that work, you might ask?

First Scripture: Luke 9:1-2
And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. 2And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing.

1) Get the word out about God’s new world order (aka Kingdom)
2) Alleviate people’s suffering

And, not surprisingly, they met with fantastic success. (Find out next week why they were successful and why we sometimes are not…)

Then after His death and triumphant resurrection, He tacked on one more task: Make Disciples.

Second Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20
19"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Discipleship Defined
“Disciple” is a thoroughly Christianized word – even my three-year-old knows what a disciple is. But do we actually understand what that means? More specifically, do we understand how to do it? How do we make that huge leap from Jesus-follower to Disciple-Maker? In our discussion last night we really got to the heart of it – you can go ‘make a disciple’ if you have a relationship with a purpose.

We talked about how it is almost like raising kids – my kids are totally dependent on me and I spend a lot of time and energy training them. Jesus gave us a good example of how He laid out His daily life to build relationships with a purpose.

Simple (not easy) Steps:
Live differently and walk the walk
Take time for people
Get to know them
Love and care for them just as dutifully as we love and care for ourselves

Call to Action
In keeping with Jesus’ example, the point of this blog is not to help us become better people. The point is to call us to action.

Where, or to whom, has God sent you? How will you reach them? What will you do today that will support this mission, or should I say, The Mission?

Discipleship: Purposeful Relationships Perfected
Jesus didn’t call us to stay. He called us to go! And when we go to make disciples, we go with his authority and power.


Extra Credit:
First Scripture:
Luke 9:1-6 and 10:17-20
1 And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. 2And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing.
3And He said to them, "Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics apiece. 4"Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city. 5"And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them." 6Departing, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.… 17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." 18And He said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19"Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20"Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven."

Second Scripture
Matthew 28:18-20
18And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Bonus Scripture:
Acts 1:4-7
4On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
6So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
7He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8But 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."

The Power

More about The Power

Last week we talked about how Christ was The Example, and when He left He was going to send the Spirit to be The Power. Jesus gave his disciples some advice about the Spirit and what the Spirit would do for them. It is clear that Jesus felt that this was very important, so we too should pay close attention to His words.

First Scripture:
John 16:5-15
"But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?'
"But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. "All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

Questions about The Spirit:
Q: How is the Spirit our ‘helper?’ What is the purpose of the Spirit?
--Gives the fruits of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, self-control
--Provides ‘parental guidance.’ We can ask for advice, permission, and ideas about what we should do.
-- Gets us out of a bind by telling us what to do.
--Reveals things to us
--Gives us courage and comfort.
--Prays for us when we don’t know the words
--Knows the mind/will of God
--Teaches us
--Deposit in our hearts as a pledge

Q: Why did Jesus have to leave the disciples in order for the Spirit to come?
--Jesus had to die and rise to provide the good news for the Spirit to proclaim
--God loves to use a process to accomplish His work. Think about creation.

Q:Why does the Spirit seem to come and go, or be more active in certain places (like Africa)?

We discussed how the Spirit is always working and always ready to work. It is true that sometimes there is an extra outpouring of the Spirit, but that is usually due to our issues, not His. So why does the Spirit work mighty miracles in places like Africa? Well, for one thing, He does work mightily here in the good old U.S. of A, there is no doubt about that. But, it is a good point that revivals often occur in very dark places. Part of that is probably because God works with people who are humble. He also works with people who have faith, and who are not weighed down by unbelief. Sometimes those of us in the US find ourselves thinking that we don’t really have any needs, and the Bible says that worries and wealth can choke out the gospel. (Matthew 13:22)

Bottom Line:
Because of the Spirit, Jesus’ words can apply to us:
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Extra Credit:
Brief Overview of the gifts of the Spirit: Here or Here
All the New Testament verses that contain the word "Spirit" Here or Here

The Master's Plan, Part 2...

The Example and The Power

Jesus gave the disciples (and us) a perfect example of how to live this life. In so doing, He gave up everything He had and poured out His life like an offering. He finished pouring Himself out by giving His Spirit to them. This allowed them to carry on effectively, and today the Spirit still gives us what we need to accomplish even more than Jesus did.

He showed the disciples many things:
How to pray
The importance of Scripture
He was selflessness
He had compassion for the lost and a passion for truth
Patience – he told them and retold them and told them again!
Always forgave.
Denied his flesh
Submitted to God’s will 100%
He was at peace and calm – He knew that everything would work out.
Loved His enemies

Above all, Jesus showed everyone how to love. His life was the perfect example of how to love God and love people.

=============Take Home Message=============

1. Jesus lived His life to be the perfect example for us. What do we need to do differently to follow that example? How do we help others follow that example?
2. How does our example affect people in our family, at school, at work, etc?
3. Do you love God? If so, how do you demonstrate it? How do you prove it? How do you know it?
4. Challenge: Read John 13-17 this week. Savor Jesus’ last words to His disciples, His friends