Deployment - Pentecost Sunday 2024
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We are in our final week of our equipment series - looking at the life cycle of a believer. We stay focused as a church on the equipping of Saints, giving you the tools and training you need to go into the world as believers, understanding that is our purpose. The pastor, the council, the elders can not do all of the evangelism that this church is called to do. I cannot do all of the serving that we are called to do. The bible says that the offices of the church are given, to equip the saints for the ministry of the Gospel.
The things that we go through - you might not use for a while - because you are not there yet. You might really just be trying to figure out discipleship - which has to be the foundation of all of this. And what we are seeing is that within the life cycle of a believer - you build from ddiscipleship, into discovery of who God is and who you are, then into development of strengths and understanding of weaknesses, and then deployment - as God calls us into ministry to those around us. Today we look at deployment.
Discipleship
You are going where he goes, you are doing what he does. You are Following, you are learning from him, and you are willing to change who you are for him. We want to be paying just very close attention to what Jesus did in the Bible and what God is still doing today. We want to move where he moves. I’ve used the idiom - be covered in the dust of your rabbi to indicat just how close you aught to be walking and sitting with Jesus.
Discovery
While discipleship is happening, there are going to be seasons of discovery. Discovery is the process where you begin to understand aspects of yourself and God from a formal perspective, for the purpose of determining what God has planned for your life as much as we are able to understand it.
It is a process of coming to know yourself, and coming to know God, so that you understand what he designed you to do.
Discovery happens, suddenly or intentionally. Suddenly - is where God speaks to us in a moment, like to Moses at the burning bush
Intentionally is more likely, where we spend some time during a pause in our lives to seek God out.
If you are in a pause in your life, at a crossroad or just what feels like a dead end, discovery is probably necessary.
Take some time with the Father.
Learn about yourself and about Him.
Learn what would desire and who He has created you to be.
Development
In that - God begins to do work in us. God’s word does not return void. He who has began a good work in us will complete it.
So we respond, we learn and grow, we trust in the lord. Knowing that he is doing an incredible work in us. Development isn’t really a 4 step process, it is much more organic than that. It goes a lot of different ways.
But we can know this for sure, as we go through discipleship - as we discover the call of God on our lives - there is going to need to be some development. There is going to need to be some growth.
The biggest thing, is to trust in the Lord.
And finally - as God sees appropriate - We see Deployment.
Deployment
Deployment is bringing resources into action.
As you develop, you enter into a new season of usefulness. Just like with children at home, or new employees at work - you train them a little at a time, and then you let them try. And you watch. and you see how their doing, and then you give them some more.
Luke 16:10 (CSB)
10 Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much.
Make yourself useful.
God does not need us to serve him - not in the way that we might think.
God does not hunger.
He does not thirst.
We can’t make him wealthy.
And yet there is work that we can do, laboring alongside Him in the work that He is doing. His plan for the salvation of the world includes people sharing it.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works.
Listen for Instructions
Our deployment is often multi-faceted.
You will have these things:
Deployment into your home.
Who are you called to be in your house? In your family? How are you called to serve the Lord there?
Men - we have written edicts from the Lord on how we are to conduct ourselves in our homes. Ladies, you do too.
Is there more than that?
We are going through a lot right now in my house. And then this verse was sent to me.
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn,
3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the Lord to glorify him.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the former devastations; they will renew the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
And I know the call of God on my life in my home.
Generations of crap - stop here. Former devastations stop here. The devastations of generations ends now.
Deployment into the local church.
You have assignments here.
We don’t volunteer. The world volunteers. We serve. Out of the love we have for our lord we serve His bride.
The church is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing Christ to life, not through “volunteers” but through "members" of the body of Christ. The world has casual helpers called “volunteers” that come and go. The church has committed members and dedicated disciples, active participants in the Lord’s mission who are united in their devotion to Christ and each other. Dr. Leonard Sweet
Sometimes this is a look around and do what needs doing - sometimes it is ask what you can do.
But its not just here as a place but here as a people. How can you serve the families that are here. How do you love the people that call this place home. What do you need to be doing for these?
A lot of things here, that we have going on right now, are covered. But that doesn’t mean they are always covered, or that we can’t or shouldn’t expand what we are doing.
Some of you know, I am not super good at delegating. That’s a developing thing.
Some of you will be in this church for a long time, others - life might take you somewhere else. Find ways and places to serve in local churches. Find the people here that you minister to.
Deployment into the city.
Do you think there is a city in bigger need of believers to rise up? Keokuk. If God hasn’t called you somewhere else specifically, he has called you and is deploying you right here. In this community.
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”
Dan Winn served on the city council and ran for mayor, there is room for more of us in those roles in our community. To lead it and guide it.
We own and run businesses here. We are in major positions of influence here, and also in major positions of service.
Deployment to the nations.
God calls us to the ends of the earth.
If you don’t know what those assignments are - those are areas we need to be praying about.
Know that you Can.
Today is Pentecost Sunday.
We are PENTECOSTAL. We EXPECT the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We expect MIRACLES.
4 While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about;
5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.”
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
17 Let each one live his life in the situation the Lord assigned when God called him. This is what I command in all the churches.
35 Jesus continued going around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.
36 When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.
37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few.
38 Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”
We are those workers. And we are those who need to pray.
Do not be confused. We are a deployed people.
We are a sent people.
If you are working through discovery - your deployment might change.
If you are working on discipleship, your deployment might be small.
But we are a deployed people.
Make yourself useful.
Listen for instructions.
Know that you can do the things you are called to do.