Waikoloa Community Church Elder Pat Dunham fills in for Pastor Greg this week while he is on vacation. There is no video of her message, so we used the title slide as a continual image for her message. “CHANGING OUR WORLD”
MESSAGE NOTES
“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”
~ G. K. Chesterton from his book “What’s Wrong with the World?”
Changing our world involves four fields of ministry:
Ourselves, Others, Our Community, and Our World.
What does the Lord require of you but to do justice (community and world), and to love kindness (others), and to walk humbly with your God (self)?” ~ Micah 6:8
FIRST FIELD OF MINISTRY: Ourselves
‘’Basing myself on the Talmudic saying that if all…repented, the Messiah would come, I decided to do something about it. I was convinced I would be successful. But where was I to start? The world is so vast. I shall start with the country I know best, my own. But my country is so very large. I had better start with my town. But my town, too, is large. I had better start with my street. No: my home. No: my family. Never mind, I shall start with myself.” ~ Elie Wiesel
FOUR POSSIBLE TRAPS
1) The Pharisee 2) The Do-Gooder
3) The Savior Complex 4) The Burned Out
“Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.” ~ Luke 23:39
Changing our world begins with changing ourselves and sustaining that change in our heart (piety), mind (study), and will (action).
SECOND FIELD OF MINISTRY: Others
“If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. ~ John 12:26
1) Infuse our network of relationships with the grace of Christ …
2) Make an inventory of your relationships …..
Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law of the Prophets. ~ Matthew 7:12
Our friendship with others is the means by which we can share our life and offer Christ. Remember this motto, make a friend, be a friend, introduce your friend to Christ.
THIRD FIELD OF MINISTRY: Society
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. ~ Luke 4:18-19
1) Identify situations of human need.
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.” Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, “Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?” And the King will answer and say to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” ~ Matt 25:31-40
2) Work to correct the situation.
3) Joyfully witness for Christ in everything you do.
FOURTH FIELD OF MINISTRY: The World
Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve; whom He also named apostles.” ~ Luke 6:12-13
Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching then to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the age. Amen ~ Matthew 28:19-20
We will need a strong and firm foundation:
Faith, Study, and Action.
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.” ~ 1 Corinthians 3:5-9
What is your plan? Changing your world begins with one small step.
What can you do now to make a difference?
GO DEEPER
ALOHA GROUP STUDY QUESTIONS
READ: The G.K. Chesterton Quote In The Notes
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) What do you think about that quote? Do you think he is right or wrong? Why?
2) Pat mentioned Four Fields of Ministry in her message. (Ourselves, Others, Our Community, and Our World.) Which of these fields are you actively engaged in changing?
READ: Micah 6:8
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) How do you live out this verse in your life? Can you think of some specific ways we can do justly and love kindness and walk humbly with our God? How are you doing your best to do these things right now? Can you be specific to help others in the group gain wisdom and understanding of how they might increase their own efforts to live out this verse?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) Pat talked about four possible “traps?” Have you ever fallen into one of these traps? If so, which one? Do you feel like you are in one of these traps right now? What can your group do to help free you?
2) Pat challenged us to “Remember this motto, make a friend, be a friend, introduce your friend to Christ. “ Do you find this easy or difficult? If Pastor Greg were to offer fun and fulfilling training to you to help you feel more comfortable doing this, would you be willing to attend a series of discipleship and evangelism training conferences?
READ: Luke 4:18-19
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) Does Jesus still do these things that the Spirit anointed Him to do? Is He still physically on the earth? How does His Body physically continue to carry out this mission on earth now? How well is His Body doing in that goal? How could His Body do more?
READ: Matthew 25:31-40 and James 2:14-26
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) Based on Jesus’ definitions in this passage, if He were to return right now, and separate all humanity into the sheep and the goats, honestly speaking, which group would you be sorted into? How do you feel about that?
2) If you feel like you would be counted amongst the “goats” right now, what can you do to change your sorting status before He returns? Be specific.
3) Does this passage teach “works righteousness?” Why or why not?
4) Reading the passage from James as additional context (C.I.E.) what does this tell you about the relationship between faith and works?
READ: Luke 6:12-13, Matthew 28:19-20 and 1 Corinthians 3:5-9
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) What would it have felt like, to you, to be chosen from all the crowd of people following Jesus, to be chosen as one of the original twelve?
2) Pastor Greg has shared that the word “disciple” means “a learner or a student.” The word “apostle” means “one who is sent out.” Is the first step of the Great Commission a “disciple role” or an “apostle role?” Why? If we are going to be disciples who obey and actively participate in the Great Commission can we just be disciples or do we have to also be apostles?
3) How often do you focus your Christian life on being an apostle in this way?
4) Sometimes we try to invite a friend to church or invite a friend to become a follower of Jesus and they say no. Sometimes we ask ten times or one hundred times and they still say no. It can get discouraging. Reading Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 do you find any encouragement there for the next time your friend says no to your invitation? If so, what is it?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1) Pat challenged us to have a plan for changing our world. She said changing our world starts with just one small step. She asked us a challenging question. What is your plan to change the world? Remember, it doesn’t have to be BIG or have all the details figured out yet. You just need a goal and you have to determine what the first small step will be. Have you given any prayerful thought to your answer to that question? Are you ready to share it with the group and tell them your first small step? If you aren’t sure what that step should be, seek some wisdom and encouragement from your group.