The Jesus Way
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION:
My name is Adam Jones
SHOW PICTURE OF FAMILY
My wife is named Grace
We’ve been married for 24 years and we have 1 son named Andrew
Andrew is serving as a youth minister
THANK YOU FOR WELCOMING MICK AND I INTO YOUR CHURCH THIS MORNING
We’ve known Erin for a LONG time and have been praying for you
It’s so good to finally get to meet you!
***************
There are a lot of ways to “do church.”
There are a lot of…
Strategies
Programs
Formulas
But there’s only one way that Jesus modeled…
One way that works…
Every time
In every generation
In every place
In every nation
It’s simple enough to explain to a child…but powerful enough to turn the world upside down.
I call it the “Prayer-Care-Share Way”
We’re going to spend time with Jesus in Luke 6 today but first I want to read Acts 2:42-47 to you…
I like to be reminded of what the church looks like when we live in Jesus’ “Prayer-Care-Share Way” …
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
The “Prayer-Care-Share Way” begins with people…
Being devoted to prayer — LISTENING TO GOD
Caring for each other & the community — IN WHATEVER NEED AROSE
Sharing the Good News of Jesus — SO THEIR NUMBER GREW EVERY DAY
PRAY
12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
Two kinds of prayer…
FLY-BY PRAYER
Throughout the day…
Briefly mentioning a lot of people…
Constant contact…
Shallow in depth of conversation…
Illustration: Text Messages
I get text messages from a ton of different people all day long
Some are easy…quick…simple…and I reply to those with a quick remark, or even better — a thumbs up
CONCENTRATED PRAYER
Illustration: Intentional Conversations
Some of the text messages I get require more than a quick remark…
I save those, sit down, think it through, and respond.
When I talk to my wife, I give her all my attention…
I don’t walk in the door, say, “How are you?” and then I listen…
Not all of the things that burden her seem super important to me…but I listen…
Not all of the things that burden me seem super important to her…but she listens…
If I were to wager a guess…. Most of the prayers you and I pray are “FLY-BY PRAYERS.”
But most of the prayers Jesus prayed were “CONCENTRATED PRAYERS.”
FLY-BY PRAYERS are NOT bad…like I said… I engage in them all the time.
I pray for people I see as I walk down the street
I pray for homes I pass by
I pray for the cashiers that help me check out at restaurants and stores
But I think it’s worth taking note that when Jesus was ushering in His Kingdom and modeling the WAY for His people, His model was CONCENTRATED PRAYER.
Jesus modeled for us a way to trust in the Father’s Will
He showed us how prayer is more than a mere method — it is SUBMISSION to God’s Authority
It is the first step in OBEDIENCE to His Way
In Luke 6, Jesus prays a CONCENTRATED PRAYER as He considers the 12 men He would be calling to be His disciples…
NOTE: The text doesn’t necessarily tell us that He was praying over the soon-to-be disciples but the context indicates that He probably did…
These men would be the first leaders of the Church
These men would be foundational for everything that came later
These men would set the tone and pace for the rest of Church history
And Jesus modeled how He took time to CONCENTRATED PRAY for them before choosing them.
13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
As I read that list of names, which was immediately preceded by Jesus’ time of CONCENTRATED PRAYER, something occurs to me…
Before you can talk to people about God, you have to talk to God about people.
There was a time in my life when I practiced - and taught - disciple-making ways that cut right to the chase….
Knock on a door
“Can I tell you a story that brings me hope?”
Three Circles — TELL THE THREE CIRCLES STORY
Are you living in brokenness? OR.. Are you living in God’s plan for your life?
It was very simple — but it also yielded varied results…
Some people refused to answer their door to a stranger
Others were super quick to reject whatever story they thought I was about to tell them
Very few ever got to hear the Three Circles story
But when I realized Jesus had a better way — and I adjusted my approach to to begin with talking to God ABOUT people first…
Form a friendship
Pray CONCENTRATED PRAYERS about my friend
Look for an opportunity to offer prayer TO my friend
And then ask — “Can I pray for you?”
I get pray for nearly 100% of the people I offer to pray for. AND THEN I share the Three Circles story with over half of the ones I pray for.
If you want to be at the center of a powerful movement of God’s people…
STOP “yelling” at them ABOUT God
START talking to God ABOUT the people your heart longs to reach
WATCH for every opportunity God will inevitably bring to you
Question for you:
Who can you begin PRAYING for right now???
If you’re taking notes, maybe you want to write a name down right now…
If you wait to write the name down when you get home later, there’s a good chance you’ll NEVER DO IT
And then you need to hear the Holy Spirit tell you…
Before people will believe God cares for them, they have to see that you care for them.
CARE
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon,
Wherever Jesus went, crowds ALWAYS seemed to follow. They gathered around Him and they all needed something…
18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases.
When you’re following Jesus, sometimes it might feel like you attract hurting people…
Tell you their problems
Ask for your advice
Call late at night
Show up desperate
WHY DOES THAT HAPPEN?????
It’s because hurting people instinctually seek out helpful people and “Jesus people” are SUPPOSED TO BE the most helpful kind of people on the face of the earth.
Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
When Jesus healed someone…
He was showing the Kingdom of Heaven breaking in
He was showing that God doesn’t just love from a distance…He steps close
You realize that nothing has changed, right???
Jesus’ followers get together….hurting people gather around them….Jesus offers healing.
Question for you:
Who do you need to go CARE for starting today???
If you’re taking notes, maybe you want to write a name down right now…
Caring is NEVER ENOUGH by itself though…
Before people will follow God’s Word, they need to hear God’s Word from you.
SHARE
20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
Just as a sidenote…
“Simple acts of love” are great — but are powerless on their own
“Unexpected kindness” can brighten a day — but it can’t change an eternity on its own
Silently living as a loving, caring Christian is great — but it’s lacking the transforming power of passing the Gospel along
Speaking is infinitely more powerful than any silent act of kindness.
Faith comes by HEARING…not just by WATCHING…
Our actions prepare the soil but the seed is the Word of God
And at some point…Love must move from SILENCE to SPEECH
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22 Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.”
Luke’s Gospel goes on to share his version of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)
In this Sermon, Jesus would go on to…
Tell people to love their enemies
Tell people to not condemn people
Tell people to let their lives be authentic enough to bear good fruit
Tell people to be wise by listening to - and following - what He says
RANDOM ACTS are kind and caring….but REAL WORDS carry the power of life transformation!
Can I tell you a great story????
Story: Jaala (Jaala is originally from Brazil)
My church was starting a new gathering in a new neighborhood
We were praying for people we hadn’t met yet…
We were praying for God to prepare their hearts…
We were praying for God to orchestrate opportunities to meet them…
We were praying CONCENTRATED PRAYERS over the neighborhood…
When we began the new gathering, something completely UNEXPECTED happened…
A lady walked in and joined us…
No one had seen her before
No one had met her before
No one had any idea where she lived or worked
We introduced ourselves and began talking and learned that she didn’t live in the neighborhood we had been praying over…
But she had heard of a new gathering beginning and she wanted to be part of it
WE HAD BEEN PRAYING FOR HER WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING IT
She became a regular part of our gathering
She began to feel the love of the family of God through our church
Her mother came from Brazil and began to feel CARED for — even though she doesn’t speak English (and my Portugese is not good)
And then Jaala told us that… SHE OWNS A RESTAURANT
She wanted to start a Bible study in her restaurant…
And she was asking if that would be ok???
ABSOLUTELY IT WOULD!
She’s been sharing the Gospel through her Bible Study — IN THE MIDDLE OF HER RESTAURANT — IN THE MIDDLE OF LUNCHTIME — every other Tuesday for quite a while now…
And we just baptized a man who learned the Good News of Jesus through Jaala
DO YOU HEAR THE “PRAYER-CARE-SHARE WAY” AT WORK IN JAALA’S STORY?????
Question for you:
Who do you need to SHARE with this week???
If you’re taking notes, maybe you want to write a name down right now…
You don’t have to invent a new way.
You don’t have to carry the weight of a program.
You just have to walk in Jesus’ Way.
The Prayer–Care–Share Way.
The Way that works.
The Way forward.
The Way of Jesus.
So let me challenge you today: take your NEXT STEP.
PRAY intentionally.
CARE sacrificially.
SHARE boldly.
And then watch God do what only God can do — add to our number daily those who are being saved.
INVITATION: Surrender life to Jesus.
How do invitations work at this church???
Baptism???
CHALLENGE: Begin to live on out the “Prayer-Care-Share Way”
