Weekly Reflection 5/28/24

Chairs? Who Cares?

Recap

Why does the church still exist here on earth? To make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:18-20)
What is our motivation for this mission? Love God and love others because God loves us. (Matthew 22:36-30, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
What are some basic things we must do in order to fulfill this mission? We must be a praying people, we must walk in wisdom, we must purchase the opportunities God brings into our lives, we must speak graciously and salty. (Colossians 4:2-6)

4 Chairs

Chair 1 – Come and See

John 1:35-39 – The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, [36] and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” [37] The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. [38] Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” [39] He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
Name – Seeker (nonbelievers)
Need – Gospel, answers, Christian friends.
“Come and see” assumes curiosity.

Chair 2 – Follow Me

John 1:43-46 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” [44] Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. [45] Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” [46] Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
If we only had John’s Gospel, we might think that this was the first time Jesus had met these men from Galilee. The other gospel accounts inform us that Jesus had met many of them before; yet this was His formal invitation to Philip.
Name – Believer, disciple of Jesus (baby, child)
Needs – Identity, Explanation, parenting
“Follow Me” assumes commitment.

Chair 3 – Fish for People

Matthew 4:18-22 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. [19] And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” [20] Immediately they left their nets and followed him. [21] And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. [22] Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
When we read all four Gospels, we see that Peter, Andrew, James, and John knew Jesus. This was not the first time they had met Jesus.
This seems to be a move from following Jesus to becoming part of His ministry team. Jesus says, “I will make you fishers of men.”
Name – worker (young adult)
Needs – ministry, opportunities, peers.
“Fish for people” assumes intentional training for the work to be done and opportunities to start doing the work.

Chair 4 – Go and Bear Fruit

John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Name – disciple maker, (parent, grandparent)
Needs – wisdom, other models, mentors.
“Go and bear fruit” assumes multiplication, a disciple who is making disciples who makes disciples.

Why is this important?

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 ESV
Is it important to you?
God had a plan.

Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, [5] to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
Much of scripture shows the intentionality and plan God had/has for the redemption story.
Shouldn’t we have a plan?
To evaluate our growth or lack of growth.

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” Ephesians 4:11-16 ESV
This plan, these four chairs, can help us each see where we are on our journey.
Knowing how we’re doing is important, isn’t it?

Published by livinghopeny