Fresh Start - Real Response
James 2:26 (NKJV)
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Romans 12:3 (NKJV)
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
Romans 12:6 (NKJV)
6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;
How I handle the faith that I have today will determine my level of faith tomorrow!
So my goal then, is to always respond with the faith that I have
The Holy Spirit will be stretching us and leading us into deeper understanding and experience.
Matthew 9:35–10:15 (NKJV)
35 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. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” 1 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. 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. 5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. 11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12 And when you go into a household, greet it. 13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 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. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!
PRAY!
In this passage -
Prayer is a result of compassion
Jesus had compassion on them
Prayer sees past the symptoms and is touched by the sickness
Prayer is inclusive - it wants MORE laborers, because the need is great
Do you pray in a "Me" language?
Here's what I mean when I'm talking about prayer as a RESPONSE
Before I take Jesus to someone, I should take that someone to Jesus
We expand the kingdom by operating in the Spirit
For that to work, I must spend time in prayer!
Prayer is only part of the equation - TRUE prayer partners with action!
GO!
Here's what we see about Jesus' encounter that day:
He PRAYED because he SAW them, and he SAW them because he WENT!
The original instructions to the church were to be a people who GO!
Matthew 28:18–20 (NKJV)
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Gotherefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
The idea - that I should be making disciples while I'm going through life.
We are literally commissioned or sent with the gospel
So I go to work on Monday like I'm going on a mission trip!
When you're at a restaurant - you've got to know that you're SENT to the particular server that waits your table that evening.
Here's a question - Are you going anywhere on purpose?
I would challenge you to spend time thinking about where you are going and not just wonder where you've been.
GIVE!
9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. 11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.
Jesus sends his disciples out and promises them that their needs would be met:
God has commanded a blessing for the people that are sending those who are going.
Compassion ministry vs. sending missionaries
The Spirit spoke to us this year and said this is a year for us to RESPOND
Here's what that means:
We are going to PRAY!
We are going to GO!
We are going to GIVE!
