The Great Commission
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Let’s Build Bridges
Let’s Build Bridges
God Gave us a great commission… to share the gospel with everyone.
How can we do that?
Knowing who God is and who we are is the foundation to Knowing What to Do!
1st Know God!
Who Is God to you? What attracted you to Him? What is the good news?
2nd Know Yourself!
Know your weaknesses and prejudices, Recognize the difference between you will and the will of God
3rd Know People!
Know people better by listening and by knowing them individually don’t generalize and use a broad brush approach. Its insulting to people if you don’t treat them as individuals. Recognize their value and their struggles. offer solutions, not guilt and blame.
3 steps to building bridges!
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
Now go in my authority and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
But how can people call on him for help if they’ve not yet believed? And how can they believe in one they’ve not yet heard of? And how can they hear the message of life if there is no one there to proclaim it?
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
The calling is clear its the How that causes trouble.
How do we Proclaim, and Who to whom?
1st thing Jesus said was Go…
We need to understand the need to Go… We cant proclaim without going. Going out of our way, Going where we can be used, Going to a place where you will meet people in need.
We must build bridges!
So if you know of an opportunity to do the right thing today, yet you refrain from doing it, you’re guilty of sin.
Jesus did this Himself.. He left heaven to come to earth!
He came to us… not the opposite. He came to cities and locations all throughout His ministry.
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
The Samaritan woman is a great example of building bridges and preaching the good news
But He needed to go through Samaria.
Jesus took the time and the risk to go to Samaria
The Samaritans and the Jews were at odds with one another. They were brothers but because of their worship practices they became enemies.
To call a Jew a Samaritan was offensive. The Jew had the upper hand and looked down on the samaritans...
Jesus went to those no one wanted. The downcast the rejected.
We are called to reach all people, by sharing The good news that no matter how big your need God is able to meet it.
And that because of what God did for us we are going out there and meeting them where they are at.!
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”
Jesus initiated the conversation
Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
This was unusual
Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
Jesus challenges her to respond to the good news
The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?
She doubts at first
Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,
Jesus reassures her of the good news
but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
This week I want to challenge you to build a bridge with someone.
Reach out to that clerk, friend, neighbor or waiter at the restaurant. or Walmart. take the time to sit with them and talk.
Give God something to work with.
Be willing to go. Who are you going to?
Jesus had already taught His disciples how to do this.
And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.
Know that you have great power through Christ Jesus in you. You have been sent by Jesus. Its not your personal mission.
And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
The Message is simple Yet Powerful! The Kingdom of Heaven is Here! God reached down to us to bring us into His Kingdom!
“Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.
In this case they were traveling from town to town. They needed support. The support was to be given by someone “Worthy” Worthy means of equal value.
In this journey you sharing the gospel you need to find people who share your values.
And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
This sharing of values meant that they recieved the peace that the disciple was sharing.
When sharing check for peace. Is there and open heart?
Sharing with someone who is closed and non receptive is to be avoided. Jesus doesn’t force… He invites and waits.
Those who recognize their need of God are the ones who will receive it.
And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.