- Find Persons of Peace: Taken from Luke 10 and Matthew 10, as we serve, we are prayerfully seeking out a worthy person, or a person of peace. This will be someone who is open to discussing spiritual things, and curious about the idea of following Jesus. A lot of times these are people who have some type of influence in the community or group you are trying to reach. For example, in Africa, it may be the village chief, or it may be the village drunk. If either come to the path of following Jesus, their change can drastically impact other people around them. Once you have this truth seeker, you invite them to experience a Discovery Group with you, and you encourage them to invite their friends and family, and/or to share what they are learning with them. If you share the the reign of God with someone within the group God calls you to reach, and they are disinterested, you move on because they are not yet ready to hear and further efforts may actually increase their resistance.
- Persons of Peace—these are not yet saved people who God’s Spirit is preparing to be bridges for the Gospel to enter their families and communities. These are the kinds of people Jesus sent the 72 out in pairs to find in Luke 10:1ff. Cornelius (Acts 10), Lydia and the Philippian jailor (Acts 16) are examples of Persons of Peace. In each of these situations “households” came to faith together and that is what we anticipate can happen. Remind people in the harvest force that when you are harvesting apples and oranges you pick them one by one, but with grapes and bananas you harvest them in bunches.
- Scriptures:
- Acts 11:1-18 (Cornelius was responsive, but a vision and tongues from the Holy Spirit were necessary to get the messenger to go).
- Matthew 10:1-16 (Jesus sends the 12 out two by two looking for “some worthy person”).
- Luke 10:1-16 (Jesus sends 72 others looking for Persons of Peace).
- Acts 16:6-15 (The gospel enters the “oikos”—household of Lydia after Paul listens to the Holy Spirit).
- John 4:1-42 (the woman at the well contrasts greatly with the thinking of the disciples in this story). .
- Activities:
- After practicing the Discovery Group format for three weeks, do the fourth week in public places (e.g., a Starbucks, a mall food court, at your gym’s cool down area). Be sure that there are no more than four people in each group. In addition to doing the study, watch for people around you who are eavesdropping on your Discovery Group.
- Every week Question # 3 is focusing on our efforts to obey what we heard and to share about our efforts to find Persons of Peace.
- Celebrate successes!
From the Desk of John King 