Organic Church Reproduction – Pt. 3

Matthew 10:5-15; Luke 10:1-12

Intro: Matthew 10 and Luke 10 are Jesus’ instructions to the 12 and to the 70 to spread His kingdom. These chapters give us about the closest thing we have to Jesus’ teaching on how to do missions. Remember the definition of church: “The presence of Jesus among His people called out as a spiritual family to pursue His mission on this planet.” Today we are going to talk about pursuing His mission on this planet.

Notice Jesus’ references to sheep in this section:

Mt.9:36 “distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”

Mt.10:6 “but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Mt.10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves”

In the first 2 examples, Jesus is referring to unsaved people. In the last, He is referring to His own disciples. The first 2 examples show us people who are pitiful, broken, helpless and hopeless. The third example is of us as sheep going out into the midst of wolves. What kind of shepherd would send his sheep out into the midst of wolves? Perhaps these are special sheep with super powers, like teenage mutant ninja sheep! No! Christians are really no different than non-Christians in that we are all sheep. But notice, these sheep had no shepherd, and they were lost. There’s the difference. We DO have a shepherd and we have been found. The difference is not so much in us, but in JESUS! We don’t need to fear the wolves, because our Shepherd goes with us, carries a big stick, and has a quick swing!

Perspective is the difference between fear and courage. A little kid, walking home from school, is confronted by the neighborhood bully. He runs but to no avail. He stumbles and falls to the ground as the bully approaches with threatening words and snarls, “I’m gonna pulverize you!” Unbeknownst to the bully, the boy’s big brother from college comes up behind the bully. If the boy looks at the bully, he may feel fear. But if he chooses to look at the bother, he may lose his fear and even feel cocky and calm. The difference is perspective.

So why are we sent out? (Mt.10:16). Jesus is not only our protection; He is on a mission to seek and save the lost. We are on a mission too (Jn.20:21). We have gone from being vulnerable prey, to members of a Search and Rescue mission.

This is not a safe calling, but a worthy one. It is not always comfortable to be amid wolves. Is Jesus interested in our comfort? Of course He is; that is why He sent us His Comforter. Our comfort, however, is not to come from safe surroundings, but from a source of strength within. This strength is most evident in distressing scenarios, even when we are surrounded by the wolves. Note that the difference is not in the sheep but the presence of the Shepherd. That is all it takes to go from being the hunted to the hunter.

This morning we are going to look at 5 POPs. Practical Principles for Mission.

1. Practice Of Prayer: Mt.9:37-38. The picture is of a vast crop that needs to be harvested, but there are only a few workers. Jesus instructs us to “beseech” the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. The word “beseech” means to “plead for your life; as though your life depended on it.” Interestingly, what happens directly after Jesus tells them to pray God would send out laborers? Mt.10:1-5. Jesus chose them and send them out! Their prayer prepared them for what God wanted to do in their lives. Pray for laborers, but get ready – Jesus will probably send YOU! Paul and I have set our cell phones to go off at 10:02 a.m. every morning. When that happens, we stop and say a short prayer that God would send out laborers into His harvest.

Not only should we pray for laborers, but we should pray for souls! Rom.10:1. That’s what we do in our LTGs. In fact, some of those people we have been praying for are here this morning (Destiny, John, Tessa, Ty). We need to pray like crazy for the lost. We need to beseech or beg God for their souls. We need to want their salvation as much as God wants it.

2. Pockets OF People: Mt.10:5. Luke 10:1. Jesus instructed them not to go to the Gentiles or Samaritans, but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Notice, these are not called the “wolves of Israel”, but the lost sheep. These are those Israelites who are chosen, but not yet called. They are still lost, but destined for salvation. Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs to various cities and villages looking for a pocket of people, a community of lost souls who were receptive to the message of peace. He taught the disciples to spot a receptive oikos.

When looking for a pocket of people, remember the saying that bad people make good soil – there’s a lot of fertilizer in their lives.

Our story at MBF with Tom and Rebecca. Then Sven & Liz. Then Sean, then Dennis and Dagmar, and 2 of their foreign exchange students. In searching for a fertile pocket of people, look for a strong sense of community and social cohesiveness. Jesus’ plan is for us to identify a pocket of people who do not have a vital Kingdom witness. Then we enter into relationship with those people. We inject the Kingdom virus right into the darkness, and a church is born there from the changed lives. If they are not receptive (which happens frequently) we simply wipe the dust (bad soil) off our feet and move on to the next pocket of people.

3. Power Of Presence: Mt.10:7-8. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. They were to announce that the Kingdom of God has come near, whether they were received or not (Lu.10:10-12).

We have a saying, “Where you go, the King goes, and where the King goes, people bow.” In the Great Commission, Jesus said these words: “all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Me”. That is a lot of authority; it is ALL authority. There is no door that Jesus can’t unlock and open. Jesus begins “All authority in heaven and earth is with Me” He ends, “I am with you.” Now connect the dots: all power of heaven and earth goes with you wherever you go. Wow! The enemy is hoping that we will not realize this important truth, because he is vulnerable to us when we learn it.

There is another saying we repeat in our movement. “There are 2 kinds of lost people in the world, the moths and the cockroaches. In the darkness, it’s impossible to tell them apart, so the best way to discover the difference is to turn the light on. The moths will be drawn to the light, and the cockroaches will flee.

Jesus said that we are light that should not be hidden. Most of us don’t turn all the lights on in our home during the day. Why? A lamp isn’t needed during the daylight. Light is made for the darkness. “You are the light of the world”. We should be brought out into the darkness so that we can shine.

Non-believers are not interested in trying to get into our churches. We need to be out where they are, demonstrating the power of God’s presence. When you are with them and they reveal a desperate need, ask to pray for them, and believe God will come through. My difficulty is the temptation to just stay home after a day’s work, rather than be out where lost people are.

4. Person Of Peace: Luke 10:6-8. Mt.10:11-13. Who is the “man of peace” or “person who is worthy”? The broader used word for this type of man in the Bible is probably a man of honor. In the OT God commanded that Israel show hospitality to strangers since they were strangers in Egypt. The practice was when a stranger came into the village he would go to the center of town and wait for a “worthy man” or “honorable man” to invite him into his home. If no one in the town did this then this was a dishonor to the town. Therefore the person who stepped forward to show hospitality to strangers was a man of honor. The term “honor” in the Ot comes from the word “weight”. It is someone who has weight or influence. These men of honor usually made up the eldership in the villages of Israel. Obviously if such a man took in the disciples the result would be greater credibility for the message in the village since the man of honor had taken them in and thus placed his honor on them.

Jesus said to look for and even inquire about someone who would be receptive to our message of peace. When we find such a person, we are to stay there and reach his or her entire household (oikos). We are to eat what he or she eats and stay where he or she stays. If you saw a human hand sticking up out of the sand waving for help at the beach, you would make an obvious assumption: there is a body attached to that hand and it needs air. When a person comes to believe and follow Christ, we do not just add another member to an existing body. 3 hands might be helpful at times, but it would certainly not be natural. When someone believes, we assume that he or she is a part of a body yet to be uncovered. We keep digging until the body emerges and is whole and healthy. When someone comes to Christ in a new pocket of people, we assume that this is a person of peace. It doesn’t always turn out that way, but the assumption is helpful. More often than not the assumption is true.

Persons of peace are characterized by:

1. They are people of receptivity. They are open to the message of the person and peace of Christ.

2. They are people of relational connections. They know lots of people and are an important part of the community, for better or worse.

3. They are people of reputation. They possess a reputation, whether it is good or bad.

The person of peace becomes the conduit for the passing of the message of the Kingdom to an entire community of lost people. The person’s reputation gives credence to the message and becomes a magnet for a new church. A poor reputation can often be the catalyst for a dynamic church as the whole community sees the life-transforming power of Jesus.

First domino people, who start a chain reaction for the Kingdom.

Good reputation: Lydia, a well-respected businesswoman. Her oikos believed when she did.

Cornelius: Acts 11:11-18.

Philppian Jailer (Acts 16)

Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8)

Bad reputation:

Matthew (Mt.9:9)

Zacheus (Luke 19)

Gerasene demoniac (Mk.5)

5. People Of Purpose: Mt.10:11-13. When the moths are drawn to the light and the person of peace brings several to Christ, a church is born. This is the formation of a people of purpose, born in the harvest, born for the harvest of neighborhoods and nations. Often, though not exclusively, the person of peace has the church meet in his or her home and may even be the new leader of the emerging church. A church that starts this way is unique in that it is born out of the harvest and is bent on a mission to continue to reach the lost. This missional element, inherent in each one’s life-changing salvation, is the important drive to reach out and reproduce spontaneously. Churches that start this way are unhindered by cultural Christianity, because they are born in the harvest. These people learn how to reach their friends from the start and don’t know any better than to follow Jesus and expect Him to save their family, friends, and ultimately nations. They become a people of purpose, a spiritual family called out by God on a mission.

Instead of drawing people out of community and robbing what community already existed, Jesus’ plan is to inject the Gospel into an existing community. Like a virus, the peace of the Good News infects and transforms the community so that the members become a church themselves. Most people setting out to start new churches automatically think of starting in their own home, but Jesus’ idea of starting in the home of the new converts is a small shift with global implications. I suggest that if it takes a little longer to find an open home, it is worth the wait rather than starting in your own home.

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Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By Brian Anderson. © Stone Bridge Ministries. Website: www.StoneBridgeMinistries.net