"You are Called to Your Work Place and Neighborhood"
One Direction Commmunity
Good morning Jesus, send your Holy Spirit to guide my life today
Acts 18 is a chapter on discipleship. In this chapter we meet Aquila and Priscilla. A couple that took Paul in and were discipled by him for 1 1/2 -2 years in Corinth. And where did Paul’s discipleship training take place? In a church classroom? In a lecture hall? No, At work! “Because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade” (v.3). Paul discipled them at his workplace. The result was that that when Paul left Corinth for Ephesus, it was not Timothy or Silas that accompanied him on his trip, but Aquila and Priscilla.
While Paul was in Ephesus, God led him to witness in his neighborhood. “Then he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue. Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized.” (v,7-8). Paul walked next door, walked around his neighborhood, and made disciples of his neighbors. Paul’s discipleship training also took place in his neighborhood. Aquila and Priscilla went with Paul as he talked to his neighbors, watching him, learning from him, being discipled themselves. The results of this was that after Paul spent time in Ephesus, he left but Aqulla and Pricilla stayed behind, continuing to make disciples there and helped plant and birth the church in Ephesus.
We see later in chapter 18, how Aquila and Priscilla took Apollos into their house, and discipled him for a time, then sent him out to Achia to plant grow the church. “But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” (v. 26). Discipleship changes individual(s) to go out and change the world and to go out and make disciples who make disciples.
The Lord spoke to Paul, ”Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people." (vs. 9-10). The Lord said there were many in his city that were “his people”, people who the soil of their hearts was good and ready to receive the seed of the gospel if Paul would just go and sow it in them. The Lord is speaking the same to you and I. Put your name and city in that verse, “Do not be afraid Gary, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in Madison, Toney, and Huntsville who are my people."
So who are you discipling now? In your workplace? In your neighborhood? All the years you have attended church and and walked with God, all your personal knowledge of Jesus and love for Jesus has absolutely no impact or any benefit at all to those around you, brings absolutely no light to the darkness around you, is a “light hid under a basket,” unless you personally share it with others. You are not called to your church. You attend your church, just like Paul attended the synagogue. However if all Paul did was attend his synogague once a week, you and I may not be going to church on Sundays. You are called to your work place and your neighborhood. You attend your church, however it is the front door of your home that you are called to open and invite people into. Who are your Aquilas and Pricillas your co-workers; who are the Crispus your neighbors, that you are pouring into and giving them real access to your lives so they can watch you, learn from you, read the Bible with you, pray with you, and grow as disciples? Real access does not happen in a hour church service or by sending text messages or FB posts. Real access requires a personal involvement and an investment of real time. We are called to be a church with discipleship making at our core. Discipleship requires investing personal and intimate time with other individuals.
Memorial Day is coming up when we remember the thousands of men and women who gave their lives to grant us and give us the freedom, hope, comfort and privileges we now live in as citizens of the USA. As a citizen of the USA, you have won the lottery with all the resources available to you.
We also remember we are citizens of the Kingdom of God. You have had thousands of saints of God and Christ himself who were martyred and died to grant you the position you are in now as citizens of heaven and to receive all the resources, power, grace, joy, mercy, forgiveness that has been bestowed upon you. You add those two together and we are blessed and equipped to share the gospel and disciple others greater than any other people on this earth!
You have won the two biggest lotteries available to you in the world! You and I had thousands of men and women give their lives to grant you and give you the freedom and privileges you now live in as citizens of the USA. You and I had thousands of men and women give their lives, and God himself gave His Son and Jesus willingly gave his life to grant you and give you the freedom and privileges you now live in as citizens, sons and daughters of the Kingdom of God..
What are you doing with it all? How is your life honoring those that died to give you the position of these two citizenships? You have won two lotteries, one from heaven and one from earth, how are you using those resources given to you at the cost of the lives of others? You and I have more resources than anybody else in the world to share the Gospel and bring people to Christ? How, where, to whom are you using your resources to bring people to Christ?
Prayers:
Discipleship flows out of us individually investing more personal and intimate time with God. Pray this morning that God will strengthen your resolve to invest time in Him by daily reading our chapter in the New Testament and reflecting on it. By, fasting day a week in prayer, spending at least one solid hour a week in prayer, and meeting weekly in a group for accountability.
Pray that our church, your church will finally awaken and move out of individual lives of isolation and move forward so we will invest more in each other, that true discipleship among us will occur. Pray for unity among us.
Pray as we move forward we will invest more in others by opening out homes to our neighbors and starting Bible studies and house churches, Band groups, and increased fruits into and of those you are discipling now.
Pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal to you two or three people you know who need discipling in their life right now. Pray that God will give you the love to step into their life. In Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
Please share your thoughts and reflections on Chapter 18 with myself and others in the comments box. My purpose for writing the daily reflections is to encourage your own reflections and prayers. I would love to hear what God is revealing to you.
One of my passions is helping churches or small groups understand and embrace their call to be disciples of Jesus out in their community. I offer and lead discipleship trainings in person and on-line. If you or your church are interested I would love to help you and talk to you bout it. Email me at garyl@onedirection.community.
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