Search This Blog

Commissioned to Reach Out Together

Sis Joanna Dorai
08-11-2020


At the heart of the biblical community is the Great Commission. At the heart of the biblical community is preaching the gospel. For every believer in the body of Christ, reaching out to the lost is our primary purpose and permanent priority. Even Paul, at the end of his life, said, “I have fought well. I have finished the race, and I have been faithful.” (2 Timothy 4:7)


Consider this reality check:

  • 1)    Is reaching out your first priority in your CG/home fellowship?
  • 2)    Is sharing the gospel your permanent priority in your CG/home fellowship?
  • 3)    Are you in a connect group/home fellowship?

 

Today, the environment that we are living in suggests that the commission to reach out together cannot be done in big groups but instead in small groups.

 

The Word of God tells that that without the small groups, it will be difficult to make the Great Commission your first priority. Without a connect group or a home fellowship, it will be difficult to make the Great Commission your permanent priority. When we lose sight of our priorities, we lose balance and we find that we are doing things that are unnecessary. We can look busy on the outside but not really achieving anything in the kingdom of God. We start to waste energy in the things that are not really important and it will lead to things like burn out. And we are in the danger of becoming fruitless—not bearing fruits in the kingdom of God. That is why we see all around us today a ripple effect of the imbalance of priority of the kingdom of God which is about reaching out, saving souls and preaching the gospel results in our home ministry and our church shrinking instead of growing.

 

Today’s encouragement is that the Lord wants to do something great in our midst. And the Lord wants to do something great in your life. When the Lord wants to do something great, He starts small. And I pray that He will start something great in your small group.

 

If we were to start small and the Lord is making this shift, and out of the pain of the pandemic, the restrictions and the lockdowns, the Lord is able to make something new and bring forth a revelation to His church, the Lord brings us to His Word. The question is, how small? Is it 6 or 60? What is the ideal number in being engaged to be effective in the Great Commission? When we look at the Word of God, we realise that it’s less about the numbers. The question should be, what is the optimum environment to reach out?

 

Mark 6:7,12-13

New International Version

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

 

Luke 10:1-3

New International Version

10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 

 

We see that the Lord began to send them out two by two. The definition of reaching out together is actually two by two. Two by two by definition is the smallest unit of a group (more than one).

 

Why two by two?

a)    Team dynamics takes time

b)    When there is synergy and unity, we can move with speed when there is less people.

 

The Lord’s heart is not to burden us.

 

Ecclesiastes 4:9

New International Version

Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labour:

 

Ecclesiastes 4:9

Good News Translation

Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively.

 

Ecclesiastes 4:9

New Living Translation

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.

 

 

Two gives that dimension of effectiveness and success. It gives a higher probability of good and best returns.

 

Deuteronomy 19:15

New International Version

15 One witness is not enough… A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

 

Ecclesiastes 4:12

New Living Translation

12 …Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

 

Jesus Himself said:

Matthew 18:20

New International Version

20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

 

How is this practical for your CG/HF? How can we start a movement starting small and growing big?

 

#1 – Set apart those who are called

 

Mark 6:7

New International Version

Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two…

 

In the Book of Acts, while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:2)

 

Recognise the calling upon people’s lives in your CG/HF.

 

The perception is that those who are called are considered the elite. Paul and Barnabas, James and John are big names but the Scripture actually shows us the concept of how Jesus actually calls. The truth is, calling comes from Jesus to everyone. And He said, “Follow Me.” The difference between the one who is chosen and the one who is called is the one who says, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you.” It is actually your response.

 

Luke 9:59-62

New Living Translation

59 He said to another person, “Come, follow me.”

The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”

60 But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”

61 Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”

62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

 

Nobody says no to Jesus. But there is always an excuse. “Actually this is not my gift” or “Actually this is not my personality” etc. Jesus calls this kind of attitude not fit for the Kingdom of God.

 

Which category are you? Are you fit for the Kingdom of God or not fit for the Kingdom of God?

 

If you want to be in the movement of God, what can you do?

 

Commit to a CG/HF.

 

And if you are a member of the CG/HF, the way to be called is to be a volunteer. Do not turn down the call to preach the gospel.

 

And if you’re a leader, how do you know that someone has a call in their life? The person who is willing to make a sacrifice whether big or small, the call is on their life. The Lord doesn’t look for capability; He looks for availability.

 

There are two people in your CG/HF who are called. For leaders, lead by example. That is one of the burdens and responsibilities that we carry. We go first. We be sent out first. We volunteer first. We do it even though nobody else will.

 

#2 – Release them to win souls, two by two

 

Mark 6: 12

New International Version

12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 

 

The reality in church is that we prefer to keep people because if we send them out, we’ll lose manpower.

 

The Lord is saying, “Send out your best into the kingdom, not hog your best to serve a system.” Release people into their calling. Release people into the harvest field. Bless them, set them apart and release them so that they can preach the gospel and the clear outcome is actually salvation would be the fruit, not building another organisation or ministry or forming another committee. Winning souls does not equal coming full time. Calling upon your life does not equal coming full time.

 

Jesus was a carpenter. He was not a Pharisee and He was not in the temple courts.

 

Nobody can do the preaching of the gospel apart from the Christian.

 

When we release them, do not discard them. Continue to care and support with training and support their needs. Encourage their heart. Keep that relationship.

 

Think of someone in your CG/HF or if you’re a leader in a ministry, think about who you want to raise up. But that person steps down. Will you cut off or will you maintain a relationship with them? Will you support their ministry or work even though you’re physically apart or will you pull out?

 

There’s so much hurt in the body of Christ. That’s why people don’t want to go. It’s too painful to leave. But we should encourage and release but also maintain that relational aspect.

 

Will you release and advocate their mission or discourage others to follow suit?

 

There will be tensions and disagreements but love covers a multitude of sins. Release with the love of God. Release them into the calling that God has called them for. That is the concept of loving one another and serving one another with spiritual gifts. All these components will fall flat and not really come to life unless we are actually engaged with the Great Commission that brings out these experiences and the conditions of our hearts.

 

Now, what about the rest of my CG/HF? What can they do?

 

#3 – Disciple towards sending capacity

 

Luke 10:1-3

New International Version

10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two…

 

Where did the seventy-two come from? Perhaps they came from the outreach of the Twelve. Or the second possibility is, those who are not chosen in the Twelve are second-liners. They are those who were not sent first; those who are still following Jesus but maybe they’re either younger or their time has not come. But when the timing became right for them, they began to volunteer and seventy-two of them were sent out two by two. Everybody has a different growth trajectory.

 

Jesus allowed that space to grow. He sent out those who are ready first—the Twelve. Then when the rest are ready, He sent them out. And you see a multiplication out of that. Jesus didn’t keep the seventy-two and settle to form a church. He didn’t institutionalise them but He sent them out; He decentralised them. That is what the Lord is doing with the church today. To be able to send them out, Jesus equipped them and spent time with them. He trained them in the gospel and empowered them for healing. He actually brought the message and the evidence of the message to prove that they are a true witness. Jesus is the one who commissioned people to reach out two by two.

 

CGs/HFs will not move unless they have a leader that sends them out.

 

What if there is no one?

 

#4 – Ask the Lord who He wants to send

 

Luke 10:2

New International Version

2…Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 

 

Pray that we ourselves would be sent. “Lord, send me.”

 

Pray for your CG/HF members to be sent out.

 

We need to believe that anyone can be sent.

 

Believe that everyone can be sent because each of us has a unique way of reaching the lost.

 

#5 – Step out in faith, not fear

 

Luke 10:3,9

New International Version

Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 

Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

 

We have this faith that the Lord doesn’t want you to fail. God will never let you fail. Even though it looks scary on the outside, there is success at the end.

 

Luke 10:16-17,21

New International Version

16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

17 The seventy-two returned with joy…

21 …Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

 

Conclusion

Jesus draws the contrast between the wise and the learned, and little children who are the ones who moved out in faith, not fear.

 

The difference between the wise and the learned is, when we know too much, we fear so much. But the credit is given to the one who has faith. In other words, inexperience with experience. The one whom the Lord rewards is the one without experience because it is the experience that holds us back. Today is not about the methods that we have or the number of messages that we all have responded to. It is about the man who actually steps out in faith and says, “Yes, Lord. Send me, for this is what You are pleased to do,”

 

So, today, start multiplying. Start sharing the gospel. We can do this in small groups.

 

#1 – Set apart those who are called.

#2 – Release them to win souls, two by two.

#3 – Disciple towards sending capacity, not seating capacity.

#4 – Ask the Lord who He wants to send.

#5 – Step out in faith, not fear.

 

Two by two is a powerful start, and it works. And I share this from my own connect group experience. In the beginning, no one wanted to be sent. We were afraid of growth because it will mean a restructure and the relationship that is built over time is lost. Finally when we read the Word of God, we realised that we cannot have this attitude of going our way and not God’s way anymore. The Lord gave us secrets for the optimum level so that it is easy for us to be obedient to His command. We agreed not to risk becoming a social club or a therapy session. We realised that the fruit of discipleship should be multiplication and the commission is to reach out. The reason why we came together is to be sent out. The motivation is so that we can be engaged in the Great Commission.

 

Reflections:

1. CG/HF Reality check: based on our CG/HF meetings or activities in the past one year, what would you decode as our CG's/HF's first, second and third priority? 

 

-Every member writes down individually and reveal answers at the end. Encourage members to share what and why they have listed so. 

 

a) Which of the mentioned priorities would you personally like to maintain or change? 

 

b) For the priorities which you wish to remain as status quo:

 

i. Are the rest of the CG/HF members satisfied to remain? 

 

ii. Is this something God wants? 

 

c) For the priorities which you wish to change:

 

i. Is this something the collective CG/HF wants? 

 

ii. Is this something God wants? 

 

2. CG testimony: share and list down the collective CG/HF efforts to reach out and win souls by leaders and/or members within the past one year (whether done individually or as a group). 

 

-Give thanks to the Lord for his goodness towards this CG/HF.

 

3. Start or continue reaching out: what do you think about reaching out 2 by 2? 

 

Discuss:

 

a) personal calling 

b) desire to be sent 

c) support required 

d) what us stopping you 

e) how would you like God to use you through this CG/HF?

f)  what do you hope to see in this CG/HF in one year’s time?


RELATED:

"ALL-IN" Discipleship


Commissioned to Reach Out Together


Chosen to Fellowship Together


Connected to Grow Together


Called to Serve Together

No comments:

Post a Comment