Thank you for taking a step to learn more about how to partner with God in the lives of people all around you. Over the next 6 sessions together we will explore and begin to put into practice ways we can partner with God in identifying and investing in people around us (not as projects) but by being intentional about living out simple everyday practices. But before we dive into the “how” let’s refine our “why”. In other words, why does this matter or why should this matter to us?
Who Is ONE Person You Can BLESS?
As we get started on this journey together, I want you to imagine if every follower of Jesus could answer that question with the name of a person who is far from God—a person for whom they’re praying and with whom they are seeking to share about Jesus. God’s people do not merely need a method for evangelism—what we need is a passion to help the people we love find the God who loves them.
Can you imagine if together we prioritize our personal ownership of our part in Matthew 28:18-19 as we each intentionally and lovingly pursue ONE person with the hope that Jesus offers. Not as projects but out of our love for people and love for God.
At times, it seems the mission is simply too complex and too vast for people like us. While we can’t do everything, we can do something. We can personally take responsibility for ONE. And, because of God’s power and the work of His Spirit, each of our ONEs can add up to make a significant impact for God’s kingdom.
Today we will focus on God's heart for 1/99.
We will learn together to discover Jesus’ heart for people around us.
This is always the starting point which we want to return to…if we enter this journey without connecting with Jesus and His heart we start from the wrong mindset and wrong motivation…
Ask Jesus to open your heart to be broken for people who don’t know Him and His love for them yet…
God’s Heart for People Around Us (Luke 15)
In Luke 15, Jesus gives us 3 parables of Lost things…this reveals God’s heart for those who are far from Him. Today, we will look at one of these parables.
Luke 15:1-4 NIV: Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?
Jesus always told stories that everyone could RELATE to. Anybody who knew anything about SHEPHERDING and SHEEP immediately knew the answer to this question. In our culture, we think- Why risk the 99 sheep to go after THE ONE? Bad business! But that’s not how they thought, this is what you do, you leave the 99 to go after the 1.
Luke 15:5-6: And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’
Found
He’s ELATED because he may have risked his life to find the lost sheep. The TERRAIN was very harsh so it was dangerous to go after the 1. So when he finds it, it is a BIG DEAL. He’s just reacting the way WE’VE reacted before when we find something valuable that has been lost. We feel better about it than we felt BEFORE it was lost.
Luke 15:7: I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
More rejoicing- MORE!
One sinner: He’s talking about us! We are the sinners in this story. This is really not a STORY about sheep. This is a story about God and how He sees people….all people.
Who’s is ONE person you can BLESS?
Who is that person in your life, who doesn’t know Jesus and His love for them?
Someone that you are intentionally investing in? You are praying for, spending time with like Jesus did…encouraging, helping, serving and inviting.
They are like the LOST sheep in the parable. They ARE where we ONCE were.
Maybe it’s a spouse, a family member, a co-worker, a neighbor, or someone at the gym.
If you don’t have someone who comes to mind, would you be willing to allow God to guide you towards this?
The reason this question is so important is because…
When our heart focuses on one person at a time, we connect with God’s heart…because this is His heart for the people all around us.
The point of this story, and the next two parables He told after it is this is the WHOLE reason Jesus came…. for lost sheep!
Another reason this question is so important is
Our faith was never meant to be just for us. Our faith was meant to impact people around us.
Jesus gave His life for us. But this does not just stop at us. He gave His life for us so that we could point others around us towards Him..
He’s invited us to make the greatest impact we can make on another person. To help them discover the hope that only Jesus can bring us
Stewardship of Relationships
We have a tendency to see ourselves on center stage of our lives and the people around us as background scenery (extras).
However, I believe…GOD has placed us in the spaces where we live, work and play, not by accident but to be wise stewards of the relationships He has entrusted to us in those spaces. He didn’t send us to India or some remote location to reach people there, but He sent us to the streets we live on, the places we work and places we frequent for a purpose, His purpose.
GROUP DISCUSSION:
After This Meeting
Pray daily, this simple prayer, “Lord. Fill me with Your love. I want Your heart for people around me who don’t know You and Your love for them.”
Today we introduce to you a simple tool that will help you partner with God in the lives of people around you.
What’s the tool? I can summarize it with one word. That word is BLESS.
Here’s where we get this idea. To start, we have to go all the way back to the first book of the Bible, which is called Genesis.
You see, God’s mission didn’t just start when Jesus came to Earth or when He commissioned his closest followers to “go and make disciples.” The truth is that God has always had a mission, and he has always invited people like you and me to be a part of it. Here’s where it started, in Genesis, with a man named Abram. Genesis reads
Genesis 12:1-3 NIV: The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
Do you see it? Our word bless is repeated FIVE times in just these three short verses. God says to Abram, “I will bless you…and you will be a blessing…and I will bless those who bless you and not only that…all people on earth will be blessed through you.”
We see right here that God’s very first strategy for reaching the world was “blessing” others.
And so God said to Abram, “Go. I will bless you to be a blessing” Thousands of years later, Matthew 28, Jesus repeats God’s words by telling His disciples to GO. Our God is constantly on the move, and He wants His people to be on the move as well. It’s His desire that wherever we go-as we go-we are about the mission of blessing the people we come across. That is how we bring the hope of Jesus to every home.
Here’s what this means for you. Think about the blessings you’ve been given- your gifts, your talents, your resources, your personality. God didn’t bless you with that to keep for yourself. God blesses us so that we can bless others. What’s great about this is you and i- we don’t have to be anyone we are not when it comes to investing in one person who doesn't know Jesus.. We can invest in them by blessing them with what God has blessed us with. It’s that simple!
A great example of blessing we see is found in the life of Jesus.
Throughout Scripture, we see again and again how Jesus blessed the people He came in contact with. He would heal people, encourage people, forgive them, and then invite them to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Time and time again, Jesus would go and bless others.
And Jesus invites us to do the same. What we see is that when it comes down to investing in people around us, we can do this by BLESSING them. So, how do you BLESS one person in your life?
As we look at the life of Jesus, we see 5 everyday ways that Jesus used to Bless others. We can do these same 5…. which forms an acrostic BLESS…
We start with B…b stands for Begin With Prayer…
When Jesus started His earthly ministry, Luke tells us that Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, but prayer was not only how He began His mission, it was actually part of His mission from beginning to end.
L …l is for Listen
Asking questions then listening was central to Jesus’ life and teachings. Of the 183 different questions he received Jesus answered only a handful. He was a world-class listener, He loved people by listening to them when no one else would listen and it was life changing. True listening may be the kindest and most loving gift you can give someone.
E..e is for Eat
Jesus liked to eat! Over and over as in Matthew 9, we find Jesus with tax collectors and sinners…doing what? Eating! There is something about sharing a meal together that moves any relationship past acquaintance toward friendship-faster than anything else we can do.
The first S is for Serve…
Jesus told it straight to us, The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve….He modeled for us that once you begin with prayer, listen, and eat with someone there is a good chance that you’ll discover how you can best serve that person God is asking you to bless.
The last S is for Story…
When people were ready to listen, Jesus would share His story. Like when doubting Thomas came to Him asking, “How can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
As you build relationships with people and bless them, in time, they feel relationally safe and want to know your story. Then and only then, you can tell them how the love of God has changed and is changing you.
Where we are doing in the next few weeks is unpacking each of these and giving us steps to take so that we can practically BLESS one person. For the rest of our time together today, we’ll start with the first step which is…
BEGIN WITH PRAYER
This is the first practice of how you invest in your one. You pray for them. We see Jesus begin with prayer as He started His day, but He also started His ministry with prayer. Prayer was how He began His mission on Earth. Which means as followers of Jesus, if Jesus began with prayer, that’s our starting point too.
Honestly, if you are not regularly praying for your one person by name, I doubt God is going to use you to bring life change into their life.
Let me give you a couple reasons as to why. First, God has chosen to work through us. Prayer connects us to the source that will bring life change in others. I’ve heard it described like this - We serve WITH God, not for God. God invites us to partner with Him to bring hope to others. We do this with Him by starting with prayer.
The Second thing, prayer is also connecting to the source that is going to change us. When we begin with prayer, God begins to change our hearts and we begin to feel what God feels for other people. We begin to see people the way that God sees them. We start to see them as people that not only matter to us, but they matter to God. Investing in them doesn’t become a project. They are someone who really matters to us. People that we genuinely care about.
When we begin with prayer, what happens is that God’s Spirit allows you to begin to feel what God feels and pretty soon you start to get ideas, hey send that text to a neighbor, ask how they are doing….or…maybe ask your friend do you have time for coffee this week...I have done this…many time… and often…I have found…the timing of these promptings aligns with something God is doing in their lives.
In prayer, we open ourselves to God and the leading of His Spirit to partner with Him in where He is at work in the lives of people around us… Through prayer, we receive the direction we need to discover the people God is calling us to bless.
We never know how God will answer our prayers, but we can expect that He will get us involved in His plan for the answers.
I have found that when we begin anything in prayer it becomes a great spiritual adventure. Because when God gets involved, our lives become this outlandish powerful adventure and things begin to happen.
To help you begin with prayer…here are 4 P’s that you can use to put into practice today….
Following Jesus isn’t meant to be comfortable. It’s better than that. it’s meant to be life-changing! For you and the people around you. There’s no telling where He might send us and what He might lead us to do!
So let’s do that, let’s begin with prayer! Beginning with ONE person God is guiding you towards.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
You and I live in a world where hardly anyone listens to each other. You don’t have to look much further than social media to see that most people are more interested in what they have to say than what someone else has to say. There is a saying: “The opposite of listening is not speaking, it’s waiting to speak.”
Isn’t that true? That even when we’re not talking, we can simply be waiting for our turn to talk-and not actually listening to the words someone else is saying?
We probably all know what it’s like to be on the opposite end of that, the one not being listened to, who feels unheard. How many times have you been in a conversation with a person who was there but not REALLY there? Lots of oh yeah…uh-huh on the other end.
Here’s the real issue, when the person in our lives feels unheard and unknown, it ultimately leaves them feeling unloved.
If you want to love your neighbors and bless the people God has put in your path, you have to become more intentional about listening and listening to understand.
Jesus was the ultimate listener. He modeled this practice in amazing ways. He was motivated by love for every person He encountered. Not only did He perform great miracles and teach mind-blowing truths, but Jesus also took the time, again and again, to show love in the most practical and simple way: He listened.
In Luke 18, Jesus was on His way to Jericho…this was one of the last stops on his way to Jerusalem to participate in the Passover feast. Jericho was extra busy ... .picture times square maybe on New Years eve…hoards of people…in the midst of them was a blind man crying out…have mercy on me…in all that commotion, Jesus heard that singular voice. Imagine that. Now the people traveling with Jesus, told the man to leave Jesus alone, but he wouldn’t, instead he cried out even louder…and here’s what happened next…
Jesus asked the man, what do you want me to do for you? Lord, I want to see he answered…Jesus replied, “look and you will see! Your eyes are healed because of your faith…(Luke 18:40-42 (CEV)
You knew that was coming right? Blind man can’t see, He calls out to Jesus, and Jesus heals him. The end.
But not so fast…what I want you to notice is the question Jesus asks: What do you want me to do for you?
Seems like a silly question almost doesn’t it. I’m sure Jesus knew the man was blind, so why does He ask him that?
This question Jesus asks tells us something profound about His character. It shows that Jesus didn’t assume He knew what people needed-and He didn’t want you or me to assume we know what people need either. He asked questions and listened.
You want to bless your neighbors, your friends…one person in your life....you want to help them know the love of Jesus, imitate Jesus in the way you listen to them and don’t just listen to hear the words that come out of their mouth, really listen, put down your smartphone, slow down the busyness and give them your full attention. Because that’s how you really get to know the people in your life.
Ultimately, when you take the time to listen and really get to know someone, that's when the people around you feel fully loved and blessed.
As you look at Jesus’ life and how he models these practices, His more frequent and ordinary interactions start to jump out. The moments when He paused, pulled up a chair, looked someone in the eye, and simply listened.
I don’t want you to miss this: Living a life of blessing others like Jesus did is not a journey of the spectacular. In fact, it’s usually best lived out in the regular. In the everyday. Often in these seemingly mundane moments of life, that we can get within arm’s reach of another person and actually listen to what is going on in their hearts and minds, that’s when we may have our greatest opportunity to love someone, to bless someone and ultimately to share the good news of Jesus with someone.
PARTNERING WITH GOD’s TIMING…
I want to share 2 passages from Scripture to help us become better listeners of what it looks like to partner with God’s timing in the lives of people all around us.
1 Corinthians 3:6-9: I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
Ephesians 5:15-17: Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is.
There is a lot in these verses we could look at and examine…but the reason I chose these two passages of Scripture is because they highlight the importance of partnering with God’s timing…being aware of what God is up to in the lives of people all around us…what God is up to in the lives of people around. And they also highlight that we have a part to play in this process…yet at the same time…reveals that it doesn’t all rely on us…we partner with God in this…yet it’s all about Him and what He is up to in the lives of people all around us…we have a role to play…but it is about God…not us…
I want to share with you a framework to help you become more aware of what God may be up to in the lives of people around you… it is called The 5 Thresholds of Faith.
The 5 Thresholds of Faith:
THRESHOLD 1: Trusting a Christian
The journey of faith usually takes place when an individual outside of faith begins to significantly trust a follower of Jesus. Most often, followers of Jesus are suspect, and distrust has become the norm. This may be unpleasant for followers of Jesus and can result in defensive posture that makes trust even more difficult.
How can we as followers of Jesus pray rather than become defensive, learn instead of attack, engage instead of avoiding, affirm the good rather than judge the bad and welcome instead of arguing?
SUMMARY STATEMENT that may help you know if someone is in this Threshold: “I try to value all kinds of people, but I don’t usually trust Christians.”
THRESHOLD 2: Becoming Curious
The stage of curiosity tends to unfold over time. It’s a subtle shift from being passive to being provoked to think differently. Jesus lived a curious life and asked hundreds of questions in the gospels to provoke curiosity in others.
How can we live strange lives that produce curiosity while engaging with questions instead of preaching?
SUMMARY STATEMENT that may help you know if someone is in this Threshold: “I’m curious about how other people see and experience the world.”
THRESHOLD 3: Opening to Change
This is the hardest threshold to cross and where a lot of people turn back or stay where they are without moving forward. However, this is the stage where the Holy Spirit is especially at work, and when a person can finally become willing to make changes in their lifestyle.
How can we walk with others in patience, praying for the Spirit to move, while challenging like Jesus (nudge, mirror illogic and connecting dots)?
SUMMARY STATEMENT that may help you know if someone is in this Threshold: “I’m open to seeing if God can meet a need in my life”
THRESHOLD 4: Seeking After God
This threshold is about coming to a conclusion. To follow or not follow Jesus. There may not be a lot of questions about behavioral change here because they are just about to make a decision about Jesus.
How can we help them count the cost of following Jesus and show them the incredible family they will join if they do?
SUMMARY STATEMENT that may help you know if someone is in this Threshold: “I’m searching for deeper meaning? Could Jesus be worth following?”
THRESHOLD 5: Making A Decision
This is the point when the person decides to follow Jesus! They have decided they want to cross a real and eternally significant line. They go from seeking to commitment. They look Jesus in the face and say “I do.”
How can we clearly proclaim the heart, truth and call of the gospel through an invitation to commitment?
SUMMARY STATEMENT that may help you know if your ONE is in this Threshold: “I’m ready to follow Jesus with my whole life.
As you listen to people around you, pay attention to what God may be up to in their life and where God may be guiding them towards next.
If you want to love your neighbor and change the world….Begin with Prayer and Listen.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Describe a time when you misheard a word or phrase but what you thought you had heard totally made sense in your head?
Why do we have such a difficult time truly listening to people around us?
Have you ever felt unheard? What was it like for you?
On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate yourself as a listener? Why?
Read Luke 18:35-42. What impresses you the most about Jesus’ interaction with the blind man? How would you have felt if you were that man?
When was the last time you truly felt listened to, known, and loved? What was so special about that experience?
Read Acts 17:21-23. How do you think the people of Athens felt when Paul spoke to them?
Based on your conversation today, create an “I Will” statement. What is one thing you hear God telling you to do?
RECAP:
In Session 3 We introduced a concept that can help us naturally and relationally invest in our ONE’s.
We learned that God says we are “blessed to be a blessing.” He is saying to us, “In the ways I have blessed you, use that to bless others.” We don’t have to manufacture anything-just simply bless others with who you are, and all that God has given to you.
As we look at the life of Jesus and the Gospels, we saw 5 everyday ways that Jesus loved His neighbors…. these 5 practices…forms an acrostic BLESS…as a reminder, or for those who missed this…. I want to give you a quick overview: of these 5 BLESS practices…
B…b stands for Begin With Prayer…
From the beginning of Jesus ministry till the end, he modeled for us what it looks like to begin with prayer, and we model Him by doing the same thing for our neighbors and our ONE’s.
L…l is for Listen
Asking questions then listening was central to Jesus’ life and teachings. He was a world-class listener, He loved people by listening to them when no one else would listen and it was life changing. True listening may be the kindest and most loving gift you can give someone.
E...e is for Eat
Jesus liked to eat! Over and over as in Matthew 9, we find Jesus with tax collectors and sinners…doing what? Eating! There is something about sharing a meal together that moves ay relationship past acquaintance toward friendship-faster than anything else we can do.
The first S is for Serve…
Jesus told it straight to us, The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve….He modeled for us that once you begin with prayer, listen, and eat with someone there is a good chance that you’ll discover how you can best serve that person God is asking you to bless.
The last S is for Story…
When people were ready to listen, Jesus would share His story. Like when doubting Thomas came to Him asking, “How can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
As you build relationships with people and bless them, in time, they feel relationally safe and want to know your story. Then and only then, you can tell them how the love of God has changed and is changing you.
EAT
E stands for Eat…I’m sure you have a list of favorite places to eat or meals you like to make to eat. In general, I think Americans have a love affair with food. Despite all that, we often fail to recognize the power of eating-specifically the experience of eating WITH someone. Something happens when we gather at the table.
Not surprisingly, some of the strongest examples of the power of eating together comes from Jesus. Throughout the Bible we see Him eat with people. But if I asked you to list all the ways Jesus blessed the people around Him during His time on Earth, I’m guessing that eating with people wouldn’t be on your list.
You would probably mention things like He taught, He performed miracles, He healed people, He prayed, and He walked on water, He died on the cross and three days later overcoming death and coming back to life. But did you ever notice that part of how Jesus blessed and saved the world was by …. eating… I know it may sound crazy, but eating was actually central to Jesus’s mission of loving others and showing them God’s love.
In fact, much of His ministry centered around meals. He performed His first miracle at a wedding feast (John 2:1-12). One of His most well-known miracles was feeding the five thousand on a hill in the countryside (John 14:13-21). The night before His crucifixion, He brought together His closest friends for a meal (Luke 22:7-20). And after His resurrection, He shared breakfast on the beach with His disciples (John 21:1-14).
Author and Bible scholar N.T. Wright says, “When Jesus Himself wanted to explain to His disciples what His forthcoming death was all about, He didn’t give them a theory, He gave them a meal.”
One of the things I admire about Jesus is that sometimes He hosted dinner for others. How about the time He had more than five thousand guests and fed them all (Matthew 14:13-21)? Seriously, that had to be a good time! And sometimes He got invited to parties, like the one at Levi’s house (Luke 5:27-32) or the wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11). And when the wine ran out, He made sure there was more and better wine! (That will get you on a lot of invite lists!)
Whether it was dinner at His place or a night on the town, He saw them as missional opportunities. Wherever there were good food and people, there was an opportunity to deepen relationships and make friends. So don’t just think you have to have people over to your place; see if you can become the kind of person that people actually want to invite over to their place!
I love what author Henri Nouwen wrote about the power of eating together. He said, when we invite friends for a meal, we do much more than offer them food for their bodies. We offer friendship, fellowship, good conversation, intimacy, and closeness.
So, what would it look like if you set aside just one or two meals (out of twenty-one) meals you have every week to bless people by eating with them? Picture a world where people are sitting together, eating, talking, listening and connecting with one another. I believe that’s a picture God is waiting to see!
In their book Right Here, Right Now, my friends Alan Hirsch and Lance Ford write about what it looks like to live on mission every day. They say that sharing meals together is, “one of the most sacred practices we can engage in as followers of Jesus.” They even go as far to say that if every Christian family regularly invited a neighbor or stranger into their home for a meal once a week, we would “literally change the world by eating!”
What if they’re right? I think they are. I think Jesus understood this too. If you know the only thing standing between a neighbor or a friend and eternal life was your eating dinner with them, would you, do it? I know you would.
EAT does not always need to be centered around a meal either. You can accomplish the same thing by simply having coffee with someone as well. The key is hospitality and connection with one other person. Open up your life, invite others in and share a meal or a drink with one other person and see how God uses this.
GROUP DISCUSSION:
One of the most profound examples we find of Jesus serving was in one of His last encounters with His closest followers close to the time of His crucifixion. Jesus knew He would be arrested that night and then the next day put to death. What He did that evening in the upper room overturned a lie that had plagued humanity since the garden of Eden. The lie that says if you want to be blessed, look out for yourself before anyone else.
Jesus knew His position and power and knew that God had put all things under His authority. And yet what He did that evening, He set aside His crown for an apron. The one who sat in the highest position stooped down to serve.
So far we’ve talked about the first three ways to love your neighbors and change the world: Begin with Prayer, Listen and Eat. Now we talk about the fourth BLESS practice, and that is to Serve. Jesus told us pointedly, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…” (Matthew 20:28 NIV). He modeled for us that once you begin with prayer, listen and eat with someone, there is a good chance that by then you’ll have discovered how you can best serve the person God is asking you to bless.
John, Jesus’s close friend and disciple, records the scene this way:
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. (John 13:3-5 NIV)
Jesus is God in the flesh, the Maker and Sustainer of everything, the King of kings and Lord of lords. There is no one higher, no one with more power. Even if you were in the room and didn’t fully understand His cosmic authority, you would still have known Him as a highly respected leader and rabbi.
Keep in mind that this was an honor-and-shame culture. Protecting your reputation and your dignity was critically important. Washing feet that was the job of a servant. Washing feet in public would be a great way to tank your honor score. It's why Peter responds to Jesus this way: “No, you shall never wash my feet.” (John 13:8a). To which Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me…” Then Lord, Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” (John 13:8b-9)
Peter didn’t realize what Jesus was doing. In just a few hours, Jesus would choose to be stripped and humiliated. His crown would again be set aside, but not for an apron-this time, it would be for a cross. He would take on the full weight of our sins and wash us once and for all with His grace so that we could be clean forever and restored to a right relationship with God.
Jesus washes feet. And what I want to drive home here is this: What Jesus did in the Upper Room the night before His crucifixion was not just a kind gesture; it was meant to catalyze a movement. The story continues:
When He had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place and said. “Now that I, your Lord and and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:12-17)
Jesus’s message is simple: It’s now our turn to serve the way Jesus served. It’s your turn to set aside your crown for an apron. We live in a world that believes the higher you rise and the more power and wealth you accumulate, the more leverage you have… to get others to serve you. But Jesus takes that idea and says, “Here is what it really looks like to bless the world, you serve!”
Let me ask you: What do you need to put down to bless someone through serving them? What is your crown? Is it your time? Your pride? Your convenience?
What would it look like for you to put down your crown and put on an apron where you live? In your neighborhood? In your apartment or condo building?
What would it look like for you to put down your crown and put on an apron at home? With your spouse? Your children? Your roommate? These everyday ways to love your neighbor and change the world aren’t just for somebody somewhere; you can start with the people you interact with every single day.
I’m convinced that when you begin with prayer, listen, and share meals with people, more opportunities to serve than you can count will present themselves!
Eventually, someone might even ask you what makes you different or why you serve the way you do. Then you can put into action the fifth and final B.L.E.S.S practice we’ll be talking about in our next session!
GROUP DISCUSSION:
We have been talking about simple practices that can help us naturally and relationally invest in the lives of people around us, starting with one person..
Which consists of 5 practices…that forms an acrostic BLESS
For most of us, we were able to quickly get on board with the first four bless practices that we've discussed.
Yes, they require some intention and effort, but they aren't particularly difficult to carry out…I mean for the most part they don't push us too far out of your comfort zone to begin with prayer, to listen, to eat and to serve.
However, this final “S” this fifth bless practice makes many well-intentioned Christians nervous or even reluctant to move forward but here's the deal you can't spell bless with only one s and you won't likely help anyone discover the Hope Jesus offers without using your words and telling your story that's the fifth practice.
S stands for story.
Now if we're going to bless others and share the hope of Jesus there will be times when words are necessary there's really no getting around it so why are we reluctant and why do we often hold back from sharing our story?
Well…let me give you three reasons….
1. Maybe first of all….you bought into the lie that says I just don't have what it takes. So many people think sharing their story is only for like super religious people who understand the bible both backwards and forward after all I mean what if a debate breaks out what if someone asks me a question that I can't answer if you remember just one truth about sharing your story let it be this one you will not have all the answers to people's most challenging questions. Let me say that again…. because I really want you to get this you will not have all the answers to people's most challenging questions….
But what you do have is even better…you actually have the Spirit of God inside you and you have your own experience with God. No one else is an expert on that except you…You have what it takes.
2. Here's the second reason we're so reluctant….
We think to ourselves I don't want to impose my beliefs on my neighbors, my friends, my family…. You know the stereotype of the angry Christian whether it's real or digital with a bull horn trying to scream biblical truths into people's heads…
If that's what you're afraid of being…that's good, don't do that…
What I’m asking you to do is just humbly share the difference that following Jesus has made in your life and continues to make in your life…. that's not imposing your beliefs on anyone.
The story of what Jesus is doing in your life can help people who are unknowingly desperate for the hope that only Jesus can give….
Your story is compelling because it's the story of how YOU found and continue to find hope in Jesus….
1 Peter 3:15 reminds us….
….Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
This is simply about you….sharing your story of what Jesus is doing in your life today…
Many of us are scared with sharing our story because you may have seen an example of someone sharing their entire life’s story and it becomes all about them…and points towards steps they took…
Which leads me to a third reason I think we're reluctant… I think we're reluctant
3. Because we always tell ourselves sharing my story makes me feel uncomfortable.
And the truth is yeah you might feel uncomfortable sharing your story, it doesn't have to be complicated…
In fact, let me show you what I mean if you look to the bible in John 9 right after the blind man when he was miraculously healed by Jesus he simply shares his story by saying
I was blind and now I see…
I love how simple that is. He doesn't try to quote scripture, he doesn't articulate any theology, he doesn't pull out a giant post-it pad and draw diagrams explaining everything he just simply shares his experience, his story….
I was blind and now I see…
And I think this once blind man's story in John 9 gives us a great framework for how we can share our story in just three parts and it looks like this:
And I promise you if you build friendships based on prayer, listening, eating together, and serving…. you'll have a chance to share your story
In fact, they might just ask you to share your story and when they do it will be powerful and it'll be life changing because you will be sharing about something that is fresh, describing how Jesus continues to bring hope in specific areas of your life… something that points towards Jesus as the Hero of our story, instead of ourselves.
Be bold, be willing to be stretched out of your comfort zone, and ask God for an opportunity to share your story.
GROUP DISCUSSION: