Everything we do must begin with God! We work in His field which we cultivate for His glory. Understanding our Heavenly Father’s heart is the key to all we do. Our motivation for work we do should come from a clear understanding of God’s perspective on the world–His heart for the nations. This comes by hearing and obeying His word, and through abiding in Him through prayer.
When disciples gather, we must constantly remind one another of what matters most to our Heavenly Father, by casting vision so people will see the “big picture” and not lose sight of Kingdom priorities.
Vision-casting is an essential activity of leadership for every group or church, yet it is one of the most neglected elements. Without vision, people forget their purpose and direction, lose their focus, and they fall back into a self-service mode. You must be faithful to cast a clear vision—a picture of what God sees—to mobilise disciples in mission. Here are some brief stories that you can use to help keep the “big picture” before the people.
Stonecutters
Long ago, three men were cutting stone in a French quarry. One day, a traveler was walking by and admired their hard labor. He asked the first man, “What are you doing?”
Without looking up he said, “Cutting stone.”
The inquiring visitor asked the second man, “What are you doing?”
He replied, “I’m making 30 francs per day.”
Finally, the traveler asked the third man, “What are you doing?”
The third man stood up proudly and exclaimed, “I’m helping to build the greatest cathedral in all of France!”
For the first man, cutting stone was just hard work. For the second man, it was all about making money on which to survive. But this third man could see the big picture–he had more vision than the others. That vision drove him to work passionately with an enduring hope that filled his heart with joy.
We, too, must keep the big picture in mind. God is building His kingdom, and you are one of His chosen servants. What great joy we have in our work if we keep the big picture in mind!
Why Do We Exist?
William Temple was a priest in the Church of England who served various roles including Archbishop of Canterbury. One of his most famous quotes is, “The Christian church is the one organisation in the world that exists purely for the benefit of its non-members.” This profound statement reveals the very heart of the Father. Jesus came to earth, laying aside His heavenly reputation to become flesh and eventually to lay down His life for mankind.
We, the body of Christ, should likewise be willing to lay down our lives for people who are far from God. Whether we gather as churches, disciples training groups, or mission teams, let’s remember that we exist not for ourselves, but for everyone else.
Tsunami
A tsunami is caused by an earthquake. When an earthquake occurs under the sea, it sometimes produces a circular motion of water, perhaps 1 km in diameter. This impulse can travel up to 800 km per hour, speeding through the open water virtually unnoticed. When conditions are right, this disturbance in the water forms a very definite wave form which has incredible power behind it. As it enters shallow water, it forms a large wave which we know as the destructive tsunami.
Our efforts are a bit like the earthquake. They seemingly go unnoticed. Yet a powerful, latent force builds up, and at the right time appointed by God, something big happens. We just need to keep on doing what God designed us to do, and in His timing, the results can be much bigger than we ever imagined! (submitted by Jared Khu)
What Was Missing?
We love to read about the amazing transformation that happened in Acts chapter 2. The Holy Spirit came and filled the 120 gathered in the Upper Room, and the results were nothing short of amazing. Three thousand people were converted as a result of hearing the gospel proclaimed–many from other nations hearing in their own language. These new believers gathered into what most people would call the first church, and everything seemed absolutely perfect: their worship, their devotion to God, the way they gave to one another sacrificially, and they way they grew.
But…something was missing. Something very important. What is it that was not so perfect about this new and exciting church?
What was missing was in fact a blind spot which is not revealed until Acts chapter nine. After Paul’s dramatic conversion, God told Ananias, “Go, for he [Paul] is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9.15). Then in chapter ten we see Peter in the house of Cornelius, leading this Roman’s entire family to the Lord, and in the next chapter defending the need to reach the Gentiles. Two chapters later, Paul and Barnabas are sent out to reach the Gentiles. Amazingly, this has been God’s plan all along as we see in many Old Testament references. But that “perfect” church in Acts 2 had completely missed the point, reaching only the Jews.
We must be sure not to miss this precious part of the Father’s heart–that ALL people matter to Him: every race, every nationality, male and female, rich and poor. God loves them all, and we must continually keep our focus on reaching people far from God.
Death of a Million
Communist dictator Joseph Stalin is credited with the quote, “The death of one is a tragedy. The death of a million is just a statistic.”
While many people may be shocked at both the quote and the quoter, there is indeed some truth about this saying which teaches us something about the way we perceive lostness. In most countries today, over 90 percent of the population do not have a living relationship with Jesus. Millions upon millions of people are on a collision course with eternity and will perish–yet to most of us, this is merely a statistic. On the other hand, if we picture just one person of any gender or race who is facing a godless eternity, somehow it pulls our heartstrings.
God knows and loves every individual. He knows and loves every person who is separated from Him and deeply desires them to be reconciled with Him. We must do whatever we can to make lostness more personal–to see every person the way God sees them. This is where our People List is so important! To us, they are not merely statistics or numbers, but people we know and love. They are souls for whom God cares deeply, and we are the agents God uses to touch their lives with the life-giving message.
The Snail
A certain snail was particularly fond of peaches. One day this snail decided to go in seach of a peach tree. He found such a tree and began to climb up the trunk slowly. As he climbed, a bird came along and began asking questions.
“Where are you going?” asked the bird.
The snail replied, “I’m climbing this peach tree to get a peach.”
“Silly snail, it’s not the right season–there are no peaches on this tree!”
The snail replied, “Well by the time I get to the top, there will be peaches!”
This story teaches us the importance of vision. The snail could “see” peaches and made a firm resolve to get started on the critical path. We must keep the endvision in mind–the “fruit” that God desires–but not wait around for it. We must get to work doing the things that matter most to Him, and in due time, we will see fruit.
Seven Billion
On 31 October 2011, something significant happened for the first time in history. Our world’s population reached 7 billion people. A million in hard to imagine, and yet this represents 7,000 million human souls. Most of those 7 billion do not know Jesus, a great many of them having no access to the life-transforming message. And the rate of growth continues to rise much faster than the rate of current growth in churches. How do we reach every one of them in the most personal way possible, to bring them the message of salvation? Through multiplying disciples. We must train disciples who train disciples, passing the message on through families, friends, and acquaintances—among every nation, tribe, and people.
King George
In 1783, George III of England was the leader of the greatest empire at that time. But despite his power in such a great kingdom, he lost 13 colonies all at once. How could it be that those 13 tiny colonies could successfully sever ties with England and form their own nation? The answer is simple: they joined forces and worked together. None could have done it alone, but together they made it happen.
We as followers of Jesus must remember that God didn’t put us on earth to fight our battles alone, but to partner with Great Commission Christians in the battle against the darkness. Alone we can do very little. But together, with the power of the Holy Spirit, we can achieve the Father’s will.
The Chess Board
Imagine a chess board, 8 x 8 with a total of 64 squares. Place a one-cent coin on the lower left-hand square. In the next square double the amount to 2 cents, and in the third square double it again to 4 cents, and so on, doubling for each square. By the time you reach the 64th square, how much money would be on that square?
The answer is 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 cents, which is 92 quadrillion dollars–more money than exists in the entire world!
What this illustrates is the amazing power of simple mathematics. Starting with just a very tiny amount, and multiplying it step by step, the results grow to amazing proportions. The same is true when we multiply disciples, workers, and churches. God desires for His kingdom to multiply to fill the earth!
Microbes
Think of an ordinary glass jar. Inside this jar let’s place one single-celled microbe. Through cell division, this microbe turns into two microbes in the space of one minute. In the next minute the two microbes divide and create four microbes, and so on. If we started at 12.00 noon with one microbe, and the jar is to be completely full at midnight, at what point will the jar be half full?
The jar is half full at 11.59pm–just one minute before midnight. This illustrates the acceleration of things that multiply. Things start small and progress at a seemingly unnoticeable rate for a long time, but the results are quite evident in the end. Don’t ever doubt what God can do when you let Him multiply the work through faithful disciples. You begin with just a few, training them to train others, but after several spiritual generations you find that you have reached many people.
The Lost Sheep
In Luke 15.1-7 we read the story of a shepherd with 100 sheep. When one runs away, the shepherd leaves the 99 to go find that lost sheep. When he returns with the lost one, there is great rejoicing!
Now imagine the same flock of 100 sheep, but this time 95 of the sheep have become lost and only 5 sheep remain. How much more will the shepherd be compelled to go and find those which are lost. The task will take much more time and will require the help of many people. This is the scenario in many nations today, where over 95 percent of all people do not have a living, vibrant relationship with Jesus.
The Starfish
Most of us have heard the story of the little boy walking along a beach covered with starfish. He began tossing them into the water one by one. A man approached saying, “Son, with thousands of starfish lying in the hot sun, how do you expect to make a difference?” The boy picked up a starfish and tossed it into the sea, “I made a difference to that one!”
Indeed, the boy could save one at a time, and he could never save them all. But let’s consider this story in a new light. Imagine that every starfish which was saved was able to join forces with the boy to become a starfish-saver. With this new strategy, how long would it take to save all the starfish on the beach?
Your People Group
Frequently begin your sessions by asking the question, “What would your people group be like if everyone loved and obeyed God?” Our Heavenly Father wants no one to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3.9). To reach everyone is the very heartbeat of God. Unrealistic as it may seem, we must yearn for this to take place and work toward that end.
The Call from Below
In Luke 16.19-31 we read of the story of a rich man and a beggar. The beggar sat at the rich man’s gate, but that man of wealth was unwilling to reach out to help him. Eventually they both died, and the rich man ended up in agony, desperately wanting just a drop of water to cool his tongue. While this is a terrible end for the rich man, the real tragedy is that he wanted someone to go witness to his brothers so they would not come to that awful place. Abraham made it clear that no one could go back to tell his brothers.
What this story tells us is that Hell is filled with people who want us to tell their family and friends the truth about eternity. They want you and me to witness boldly so they may hear. We have the message and the opportunity to share, and we must go tell them before it’s too late. (from Ying Kai)
Jonah’s Lesson
I’m sure that the story of Jonah is one that we’re all familiar with…the man who runs away from going where God sent him and then gets swallowed up by a great fish! We may not know however that the reason why Jonah is so determined NOT to go to Nineveh (in the land of the Assyrians) is because the Assyrians have persecuted the Israelites over and over again at various points in their history. It would be like someone whose family had suffered under the hands of terrorists, now being sent to go give them a message from God! Now we can understand why Jonah’s reaction is like NOOOOOOOO!!!!
After being rescued from the fish, Jonah does go to Nineveh and then we know the people of Nineveh actually repent. “So God relented from the disaster He had threatened to do to them. But Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious.” (Jonah 3:10, 4:1)
In Chapter 4, God gives Jonah an object lesson in response to his anger. He causes a plant to grow up which provides Jonah shade from the scorching heat. But the next day, God appointed a worm to eat the plant, so that Jonah is left exposed, and suffers to the point where he says “it is better for me to die” (4:8).
I found God’s response in verses 9-11 absolutely staggering! Read it for yourself. It made me ask myself the following questions:
- Jonah cared so much about the comfort the plant gave him. Am I caring about the right things–the things that the Lord cares about–or just my own comfort and security?
- God cared about the “great city” of Nineveh which had 120,000 people. How much should I care about the people in this great city of London with about 12 million people? (add a couple of zeros to Nineveh’s 120,000)
God described the people as people “who cannot distinguish their right from their left”. How much does the state of people’s lostness/darkness break my heart? How much compassion do I have from the people, young and old, that I see all around me who are far from God? (submitted by Alex Shoderu)
Final Destination
When you board a train to go to another station, you usually don’t look for the name of the station where you’re heading. No, you must look for the FINAL destination. For example, if you are in London at Westminster station, and you want to go to Tower Hill station on the District Line, you need to look for the train going to Upminster–much further than you intend to go. That may not be your final destination, but it is where the train is going to eventually arrive.
When Jesus said, “may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” He is giving us the final destination. In Romans 15, Paul said there was no place left from him to work in his region, and it was time to move on to another place. Such a “final destination” is God’s big vision for the nations, and we must always keep that great vision before us.
The ALS Challenge
Chris Kennedy’s brother-in-law has ALS, a disease that stops someone from being able to use their muscles and usually leads to death. On July 15th, 2014 Chris Kennedy poured a bucket of ice water over his head and uploaded the video to Facebook in order to draw attention to the disease. Thus began what became known as the “Ice Bucket Challenge.” In the video, he challenged six close friends and his cousins to do the same in order to raise awareness for ALS. Through the power of close family and friend (oikos) networks within 6 weeks, over 17 million people had uploaded their “Ice Bucket Challenge” videos to Facebook and had raised over 115 million dollars for the charity. If pouring ice water can touch 17 million people in 6 weeks, how many people can be touched by the living water through our relationship networks? Are we challenging people with the Gospel? (submitted by Andrew Howell)
On the Way
Sometimes the simplest ways to cast vision are the most effective. Consider this brief statement:
“The gospel came to me…on the way to others.”
The fact is, God never wants the gospel to stop with anyone, so it should not stop with me. It is alive and active, and it must not stop with me. We need to pass it on!
(from David Ford)