Mission and the Disciple
The call to be ‘witnesses’ of the unparalleled love and saving power of Jesus is a calling given to every Christian. At City, we express it as ‘inviting everyone to encounter Jesus’. It’s something we can all grow in, so let’s look at a simple toolkit we can use to help us- the 3 Ws (Words, Works and Wonders). But before we open the bag of tools, the container they come in is of crucial importance. A few things the tool bag is made up of include love as the motivation, mission as worship, obedience as success and reliance not on our own communication skills but on the power and direction of the Holy Spirit.
Mission is simply another form of worship- ‘the focus isn’t mission, it’s Jesus’ (Pete Grieg).
Love is the motivation: loving God and then allowing His heart of love to flow out from us to the world around us. Put another way, obedience is God’s love language; so a life of worship includes stepping out in faith, taking a risk of being rejected or having some awkward moments (and in some places imprisoned or worse), and depending on Him in a way that really leaves no room for self-reliance. And here comes an audible cheer, because it means that we don’t have to feel pressure or make anything happen- the outcome is up to God; ultimately only He can save, so for us stepping out in obedience to the nudges of His Spirit and His opportunities is how to define success. So let’s listen for His delighted cry of ‘Well done good and faithful servant!’ rather than focusing too much on what we could have said better or only on people's responses. And I personally feel another reason God has called us to mission is because He knows that having a front row seat in seeing and being part of people getting saved is utterly thrilling for us too!
God is committed to making us into people of fearless love, so he provides the power for us to do what we naturally can’t or don’t want to do. He fills us with the Holy Spirit for:
boldness and courage
the right words to say
the ability to show mercy when we’d rather heap on judgement
supernatural power to see demonstrations of what it’s like to be around the King of Love - bodies healed, minds brought peace, broken hearts made whole, the trappings of darkness smashed in pieces, freedom, miraculous provision & intervention, words of knowledge so accurate only God could have known,
His manifest presence filling the space around us in a tangible way that people are undone by His kindness and acceptance and awesome near-ness.
He is the One who takes our words and makes them into profound arrows that land in people’s hearts and causes a faith response to the gospel. So it goes without saying that reliance on the Holy Spirit, regular filling and regularly dwelling in His presence, asking for fresh filling with His love and power is the only way to do mission without being burnt out, fed-up, and ineffective.
So let's briefly open the tool kit and look at the tools we can use to share Jesus with others, broken down even further into practical steps, (8 ways that conveniently begin with S!)
Works of love- Smiling, Socialising, Serving,
Wonders- praying for Sickness & Supernatural signs of His power
Words- Sharing our story, Sharing His story, Sundays, Stepping stones (e.g.alpha)
If you’d like further explanation or inspiration on how to use these tools see the church website for the sermon series ‘Invited’.
We can look in our toolkit and ask the Spirit to highlight tools for us to use with each person we find ourselves with, and I’ve often found that when the 3 Ws come together it’s dynamite! But let me finish by asking what could be the next step for you? What is the Holy Spirit highlighting for you to grow in and what could you do about it?
Recommended Resources
Naturally Supernatural by Wendy Mann
Dirty Glory by Pete Grieg
Everyday Supernatural by Mike Pilivachi & Andy Croft
Get Real by John S. Leonard