Heart for the House

Having a Heart for the House Means Having a Heart for People

John 13:35 ESV

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Matthew 22:36–40 ESV

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Having a Heart for the House Means Having a Vision for Reaching People

A number of movies promote a sort of platitude that “if you love something, you’ll set it free.” Often, this relates to some animal that should never have been domesticated. But it isn’t always a good thing to set animals free. A stampede of cattle can destroy a crop, and a raging bull can cause a great deal of damage.

Proverbs 29:18 ESV

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.

When the people are not given a clear vision that is meaningful for their life, they’ll flounder. The image here is of a people whose restraints have been removed going mad with freedom. A church without a vision can flounder in the same way. A church must have a clear vision of who they are and what they are called to do. Fortunately, Jesus has not left us without a mission statement. At the start of the book of Acts, the first history of the church, Jesus has gathered his disciples to him and is about to ascend to heaven. Before leaving them, Jesus gives them a command:

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Despite the passage of time, despite the miles and miles of geography and the numerous cultural differences that separate us from the early church, this is still Jesus’s command us today. This is still God’s vision for the church.

Jesus told the disciples, “You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). What is a witness? Witness is a word that has a lot of different meanings in our society today. Typically, it means you saw someone do something, or that something historically significant happened. But the subsequent action adds meaning to the term. A witness in court is someone who is willing to go public and, under threat of perjury, tell complete strangers what they saw. Then there is the historic witness, the person who realizes they have seen something significant but does not really do anything about it. They think, “Wow, that was neat. I’m glad I got to be a part of that.” And then their life continues on as before. Then there are people in the witness protection program. They saw something bad, and if others find out they saw it, their lives could be in danger, so they have to disappear and live an entirely new life. So, you see, the subsequent action of a witness helps define what the term means. What does witness mean for you when you think about Jesus? How are your subsequent actions helping to define what it means to be a witness to Jesus? The Greek word for witness is martys . This is where we get the word martyr. And this instantly tells us something about the initial witnesses for Jesus: they were so committed to telling others about him that they didn’t give a second thought to the preservation of their own lives.

Where are We to Show our Heart for People

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

There are four geographic regions where Jesus tells the disciples they will be his witnesses. If you envision a map of the region, Jesus is describing concentric circles.

Acts 1:8 Map

Jerusalem would be the center, then Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. The movement moves from the center point outward.

Acts 1:8 Map Explained

Consider: Which regions correspond to our geographical context now? What is our Jerusalem? Is it a school nearby? Is it a disconnected ministry affiliated with the church? What about Judea? Is it our school district? Our municipality? Perhaps our county? Where is our Samaria? Remember, to the Jews, the Samaritans were enemies. This is why the parable of the good Samaritan was so shocking. So who is the Samaria of the church? Is there an ethnic community nearby—perhaps a Muslim community? Finally, the ends of the earth. What is the church doing to help spread the gospel beyond the country?

You are Empowered to Share your Heart for People

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Before giving a command to be his witnesses, Jesus makes a promise: they will “receive power” (Acts 1:8). The power of God’s very own Holy Spirit will come upon them. He will dwell inside them. He will turn these vessels of clay into something both precious and powerful as God’s power resides within them—and us. We do not go out and witness alone. Rather, we go out and witness about God, with God. We do so by the power of God’s Holy Spirit. You have God’s Spirit dwelling within you. If you’re thinking, “I’m not comfortable talking to other people about Jesus, or serving the church, or ministering to others,” then be assured: you can do it. You can do it. Not because of your knowledge or abilities, but because you have God’s Spirit to help you and guide you.

1. A tangible way to help the congregation take the message home with them is to have someone agree to hang signs for you after the sermon starts. Once the message begins, have this person hang signs on the inside of every door—both internal doors and external exits from the church. Each sign should clearly read: “You are now entering a mission field.” The reason for having the signs inside the building is to encourage the members to remember that inside the walls there can be people who do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And the justification for having it on the inside of exit doors is because it is important for the congregation to see their life outside of church as a mission field.