What Is A Person of Peace

 

Hi there, my name is Dean Davis, and this is a word of encouragement for village church planters.

Jesus gave instructions to 72 of his followers whom he sent out two by two to go to all the towns and villages he was planning to visit. Those instructions, found in Luke 10, form one of the biblical teachings which is most helpful to a church planter as he or she begins ministry.  Jesus’ words recorded in Luke 10 prophetically tell church planters what to do and what to expect when they begin making disciples. The Bible says,

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.  He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” 

Jesus said, “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.  Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.  Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you.  Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.”

A lot of people ask, “What is a person of peace?”  A person of peace is a person who is receptive and open.  A person of peace is a person who recognizes their own need for God’s blessing.  Jesus taught that people would open their homes to his followers as they shared a message of peace and blessing. Our Lord taught us that men and women of peace would invite us, his followers, into their homes and into their lives as we shared the Good News about how to have peace with God.

Persons of peace are receptive.  Persons of peace are also hospitable.  They share what they have with those who come to their homes to share the Good News.  They recognize that the peace of God and the Good News of Jesus could be the very thing they have been wanting and waiting for.  Persons of Peace are hungry for God. In their spiritual hunger they share their physical food as they open their homes to the Gospel messenger and to the Good News.

Persons of peace are connected to others in their village.  They introduce the Gospel message and the Gospel messenger to friends, family and neighbors.  Persons of peace build trust between the Gospel messenger and the others in their town.  Because of this, the blessing of God can flow to other people who are healed and redeemed.

As a church planter, I strongly encourage you to read and re-read Luke 10:1-12.  Meditate on it.  Look at it verse by verse.  Learn what a person of peace is. Let the words of Jesus strengthen your faith and grow your boldness. Trust God to lead you to persons of peace.  When you find them, stick with them so that they and their friends and family can follow Jesus as his disciples.  

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.  

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters  #PersonOfPeace

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