Finding Persons of Peace Part 2

 Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

As a church planter, you have been given an amazing, powerful teaching, a teaching that inspires hope and propels you to great fruitfulness in your ministry.  You have received the wonderful teaching of Jesus concerning persons of peace. In Luke 10:1-10 Jesus taught his disciples that “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” He wanted his followers to go to places he described as harvest fields and help people be saved for eternal life. So Jesus gave them specific instructions.  As a church planter, I encourage you to read and re-read Jesus’ instructions in Luke 10 once every month throughout 2024.  By doing so, you will strengthen your faith and maintain your focus on following Jesus’ gracious command.

Jesus taught his followers to go two-by-two to bless and not curse.  He said they should bless the houses they visited by saying “Peace to this house.” We too should make sure that our proclamation of the Good News is full of blessing.

Jesus taught that when we go with a word of blessing to villages that do not know Jesus, we can expect two kinds of responses.  We can expect to be welcomed and we can expect to find people who do not welcome us. But we must humbly admit that we do not know who will welcome us and who will not welcome us until we go with a blessing.

The very encouraging teaching of Jesus is that some people will indeed welcome us.  When we go out blessing people in Jesus’ name, we will find people who are hungry for God.  They will receive us. They will welcome us into their homes. They will look to Jesus for healing and hope. What a blessed assurance for all who have decided to plant new churches in villages without churches!

Every time we decide to obey Jesus, we must exercise faith. When we repented and believed the Good News, we exercised faith that Jesus would meet us.  When we decided to love God and neighbor and stop acting selfishly, we had to exercise faith that God would take care of us. When we decided to give generously and tithe, we had to exercise faith that God would meet our material needs.  

In the same way, as church planters, before we will go to find persons of peace, we must believe God that there actually are people he has prepared to welcome us, to receive us and to connect us with others who are hungry for God.

My brothers and sisters, read and re-read Luke 10:1-10. Let the promises of Jesus fill you with faith to go and find persons of peace in villages without churches.  When you go in faith, God will be honored. If you keep on seeking, you will find persons of peace.  

Where is God calling you to go and find persons of peace in 2024? What family, what village will be transformed in the new year because you faithfully obeyed Jesus and went out to find persons of peace Jesus prepared to meet you?

I’m Dean Davis praying that God will bless you in the new year and make 2024 the most fruitful year you have ever experienced in your church planting ministry!

 

 

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