One Plus One part 2

Introducing a simple way to build friendships and opportunities to witness without using friendships as gospel-fodder.

I have met Christians who object to the way that church is organised around the world.  They criticise the ‘come to church’ model when we are to ‘go.’

Which one is right?  Let’s look at both of these ideas against Scripture:

1. We are to Break Out of Church!

People in churches can criticise church for there lack of ‘going,’ that everything around church life is centred on what happens within the four walls of the church.  The model of church they expose is go, go, go!

Matthew 9: 35-38: Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and illness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’

It is clear from this well known passage that Jesus is telling the disciples that they are the workers!  When we pray that workers are sent out into the harvest we’re praying that it would be someone else!  After all, God can’t use me, right?

Just couple of quick things about this, without trying to condemn us:

Where is Jesus looking?  Jesus is looking outwards!  When He saw the crowds… Our focus has to be on Jesus and what He is saying to us.  Often we find Jesus in the nT looking beyond the church, the followers, to those who don;t know Him.

What motivates Jesus? …he had compassion on them… Again you will find in the NT similar wording over and over again, that Jesus was constantly  moved with compassion.  If we a trying to guilt trip people into witnessing it won’t work.  We need compassion.

What was Jesus moved with compassion?….because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  He has a heart for those He came to save (the whole world).  He sees their plight and wants to change it.

Here’s a great question: how do we get heart for the lost if we don't have one?  I’ll answer this later on this morning.

It is after this process that Jesus says the famous world that the workers are few, to pray that God sends them out.  Why?  Because there is the promise of the harvest!  People are everywhere!  

The problem is not with the gospel message, the problem is that we have too many believers believing that is is someone else's responsibility to go!  But the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19-20, tells us we’re all responsible to go!

Then there is the other model that people talk about:

2. Come to Church!

There is another model in the NT too though.  Bring them in:

John 1: 44-45: The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, ‘Follow me.’

44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’

I preached on this passage last year (Knowing Him is the Key to Knowing You, 27th October 13), so you can listen to that online or check my blog for the notes.

Notice though Philip’s reaction to the revelation of who Jesus is?  He goes to tell his friend!  Now, if you’re paying attention and recall last week’s message, you will say, “Keith, Philip is an evangelist so this doesn't count!”

Philip becomes known as an evangelist, but at this stage he is on day one of being a follower of Jesus - at this point he is a witness!

John 4: 1- 29 (esp. 28-29): Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, ‘What do you want?’ or ‘Why are you talking with her?’

28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 ‘Come, see a man who told me everything I’ve ever done. Could this be the Messiah?’ 30 They came out of the town and made their way towards him.

The account of Jesus’ encounter with the women at the well in John 4 is well known.  What is her response to the hope she has found?  She goes and brings her friends to meet Him.  

We are beginning to see a pattern emerge here that will make us feel a bit uncomfortable.  They received Christ, then told others about Him, and brought them to meet Jesus.

There is also a subtle difference appearing here between inviting someone and bringing someone! 

Invites sound like this: “Would you like to come?”  This is very British and polite.  It gives people an out option and at least we can say, “We tried!”  When I was in sales years ago I was trained to realise that people will say, “no,” three times before saying, “yes.”  Invitations are easy to refuse.

Bringing sounds like this: “I’ve got tickets for us to our Pantomime/Comedy and Curry Night etc., and I know you’ll love it, I’ll pick you up at…”  It sounds forceful on paper, but isn't in practice.  It works.

Immediately we’re uncomfortable with this.  Look with me at a passage of Scripture where Jesus is speaking to Pharisees (He’s having dinner with them).  We know that in all the parables He told them there was a sting in the tail, but not the subtle changes that happen in the Parable of the Great Banquet:

Luke 14: 15-23: When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, ‘Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.’ 16 Jesus replied: ‘A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, “Come, for everything is now ready.”18 ‘But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, “I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.”19 ‘Another said, “I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.”20 ‘Still another said, “I have just got married, so I can’t come.”21 ‘The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.”22 ‘“Sir,” the servant said, “what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.”23 ‘Then the master told his servant, “Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.”’

We know that this parable is showing the Pharisees that the Messiah was coming not just for them but for gentiles too, the lonely and the oppressed.  Did you notice the shift in language?

17: The servant went to the invited; they refused.

21b: the servant is told to bring in the poor etc.

23b: There’s still room, so the servant is told to go and compel others to come in.

My friends we are not at the stage of forcefully compelling our friends to come to church but I do believe that we are beyond the stage of invitation!  We need to be bringers, not just invite givers! 

3. We Need to Break Out to Bring In!

The truth is that BOTH models are valid.  It’s just rare to hear them mentioned in one message.

So today I want to give us a simple tool to help us to Go but also to help is to Bring!

We’re calling it oneplusone:

At the end of the service we are going to be at the doors as will give each of person one (or two) little business size cards.  You can keep these in your wallet or purse, use them as a Bible book mark, put them on your fridge - but somewhere where you’ll see them every day.

On the cards is a space for you to write the name of a friend who lives locally.  If you don’t have any non-Christian friends this will be a good way to turn an acquaintance into a friend over time.

Then there are four oneplusone statements that you promise to do; four commitments when added together (1+1+1+1) could change the lives of our friends: 

I will PRAY for them Once a Day! 

How do we get a heart for the lost when we don’t have one?

Some people talk about this as though it is something that we cannot pray into being.  This is because we hear testimonies of people who, for unknown reasons, suddenly are woken in the middle of the night with a burden to pray for someone and then they pray until ‘the burden lifts.’  This is something within the heart of intercessory ministries that has made us think that burdens are unusual, unexpected and for the special few.

Jesus, as we said earlier, has compassion regularly for the lost and is always looking beyond the church to those who don’t yet believe.  He is our model.  

So how do we get a heart for the lost when we don’t have one?  We pray for them everyday until we get a burden for them!  As much as a burden can come out of the blue from heaven we can also pray a burden into being!

Pray for their salvation, their family, their work, their lives.  Intercede for them.  Soften the found before you as share your faith!

I will SPEAK to them once a week:

It’s great to pray for people but we also have to talk to friends too.  After all it isn't much a of a friendship if we don’t talk to each other.

By speak I mean more than just saying hello.  How do you know what is going on in their lives if no conversation even tales place.

Please don’t ask, “Do you have any prayer requests!”  In time you might be able to say, “I’ll pray for you!”

These once a week chats can be on the phone, over a sandwich a lunch time, over the garden fence.

Talk to people!

I will have COFFEE with them once a month:

this promise doesn’t mean that you promise to start drinking caffeinated beverages!  It’s a way to remind us to start doing something outside of woe work with them, outside of the ‘norm.’  Something on a social level.

For many of you it will be as simple as inviting the neighbours in for a cup of tea each month.  In time this might become a meal.  Over time your friends will invite you to their home too.  After all, isn’t this what friends do.

I will BRING them to Life Church Once a Year:

For some of us we will not feel we have to wait a whole year to bring someone to an outreach event.  We will be happy to do so sooner.  For others it will take longer if we don’t have many friends at the beginning of the process.

If we take the whole year as an example after this year we will have:

• prayed for our friends 365 times,
• talked to them 52 times,
• met with them 12 times,
• brought them to church at least 1 time.

Some other things to mention here.  Sometimes we are uncomfortable with local church language and Kingdom language.

• If you want your friends who are not Christians to become Christians and they live far away this local church is unlikely to impact them.  You need to pray for them but also ask God to send someone into their lives to witness to them.
• Surely it doesn’t matter what church they end up in?  Why bring them here?  Once they are saved it really doesn’t matter which church they go to.  Salvation and discipleship are the most important things (that’s Kingdom language).  
• As a church leader I also have to balance that with the growth and health of the church to which I am called to.  If you believe Life Church is a great church then why wouldn’t you want your friends here with you?

Two caveats:

• This is not a ‘get-‘em-saved-quick’ scheme.  This could take a month, a year, a decade, or maybe they will never accept Jesus!
• So if they don’t get saved, what then?  Then your friends have a gained a great friend in you and you have gained a friend in them.  That’s not a bad thing either!

Wrapping This Up:

I hope you see the simple potential within this idea.  I hope that as I have been speaking one, two or more people have come to mind.

Come as see one of the pastors at the door after church and get your oneplusone card on the way out!