“Jesus on Teams”
(Luke 6:12-16)
R Files Video opens…
TRANS: That’s the story of how one person has been changed by Jesus! Yes, Dennis has an R File (show file and give to Dennis) … his life has been changed by the resurrection and he will forevermore be a different man.
You know, Dennis, you are now on Jesus’ team! And it is God’s intention that you now extend your arms and be an ambassador for him? That’s right –you are now “on mission”… “on assignment” … on God’s team! And you are to be intricately involved in God’s plan to make more disciples!
You see, this is how God intends for his kingdom to be spread – spiritual reproduction! This is how God increases his family. His plan is for changed people to tell other people. That’s right – his team must tell!
This is exactly what he initiated in Luke 6 – the birth of his first team…the beginning of his plan for impact! And this mini-series, The R Files, [show slide] is a look at the biblical characters who, because of the resurrection, were changed and constituted his first team, and also a glimpse at some current FFC-ers who have been changed by the resurrection and are on God’s team. You’ll enjoy this extended look at this text, which culminates on Easter weekend with our production of The R Files.
Turn there, would you? And let’s look and see what Jesus had to say about teamwork as he initiated his global plan.
[READ TEXT and COMMENT]
6:12 – This is the only recorded time in the Bible that Jesus prayed all night! This action takes team selection to a whole new level, eh?
6:13 – Apparently there were more than 12 (i.e., “disciples”), but, after much prayer with God, he initially selected 12 to lead the others. [This concept fits well with John 6.]
6:13 – These were also designated “apostles,” and they became the foundation of the church in Acts. FFC owes it to these 12 for the work they did, amen?
6:14-16 – These 12 are always listed in 3 groups of four…check out the other times they are listed and you’ll see they were a group of 12 with subgroups of 4. And these subgroups always seemed to have a leader (the one listed first usually…DYK Peter leads all the lists?). Even Jesus believed in the large group/small group strategy.
So what can we take from this about Jesus’ strategy of teamwork? What can we learn about how he expects teams and leaders to have impact?
1. Prayer is the foundation of biblical teams.
Circle the words “praying to God.” This was the foundation for his decision making, and it was critically important as he selected his team.
Now let’s be honest – we’re approaching a huge topic here! Books have been written on this one word, so understand we’ll only scratch the surface about this topic. But let me address one aspect I think is important that ties in with our text – prayer lays the best groundwork for God’s work. Truly, prayer is our surest foundation when entering the spiritual world of warfare!
For example…
Acts 6 – the whole reason deacons were selected was so that the apostles could remain focused on the ministry of the word and PRAYER. Other wise, they’d have to leave that arena of discipleship and handle the widows’ needs…and the church would stop growing! The first church kept prayer as a foundational priority and simply created additional teams to handle the additional load. So must we at FFC!
Ephesians 6 – Paul used the word prayer more often than any other word as he laid out our plan for defeating the enemy, Satan. WOW!
You see, this is what separates us from all other clubs, civic groups, and community organizations: WE ENGAGE THE SUPERNATUAL! That’s right, prayer interacts with the Trinity, and that’s something no other “group” can lay claim to! WOW! The church should be impacting like no other organization because of prayer! As teams pray, we stay in touch with the coach…there’s the key. Staying on the same game plan as God!
When FFC was first being formed in early 2004, do you know what we did first? We prayed! About 20-25 of us were on the church plant team at that time being sent out by Grace West, and every Sunday morning from 10:30-11:30 we gathered and prayed! Remember that Bob? In light of our text today, not a bad way to start, eh?
Now let’s be honest – we don’t pray enough. And neither do you! However, I want to humbly report to you some prayer notes about FFC as a way to encourage you to pray more with the people you interact with…
I dropped by The R Files practice Wed and they were praying! In fact, they trade prayer requests each week and pray all week long for one another.
At one of our LH fireside chats they asked if hey could pray for us! WOW!
One of our ladies’ Bible studies is focusing on prayer, and they e-mailed me and asked for personal and church requests so they could spend an entire session devoted to prayer…Thanks!
Our Elders pray for each of you weekly, and each of our staff has their own day in which the Elders pray all day just for that team member.
I get reports from some of our Lighthouses that they are not getting to the “lesson” because they spend so much time in prayer…they’re wondering if that is okay? You bet!
My point? Keep on praying, and pray more! You can never pray enough! Prayer is he best way to start a team, keep a team, and build a team.
In fact, I’d like to ask you to do something right now – take 45 seconds and tell the person next to you something for which you really need prayer (i.e., an upcoming decision, a situation or relationship, a habit or sin that is choking your spiritual life, etc.), then pray a one-sentence prayer for one another. Ready? Pray!
There’s something else we learn about teamwork from this passage…
2. Partners are the framework for biblical teams.
Circle the word “twelve”… this is Jesus’ starting lineup! These were his original partners. Not necessarily employees, workers, or hired personnel…partners!
And what is a partner? A willing participant and an invested participant! When you combine a called leader with willing partners, you get an effective team!
Willingness is what separated some of the disciples, the “men from the boys” so to speak. This was the “line in the sand.” Some simply weren’t willing to go to the next level. (Reference John 6 again as well as the rich young ruler). Jesus wasn’t afraid to engage in team ministry (which means engaging people at various levels and calling them out to lead and serve in greater ways if they are willing) and neither should we. And willing people make the difference! It is this spiritual cooperation and willingness that really sets teams apart. You can’t buy unity, you know…you can’t put a price on genuine, heartfelt cooperation! You can’t purchase a true, biblical team – they come from a willing heart!
Good teams – willing and invested partnerships – are seen all through the Bible! In fact, I’d say that God is team oriented! Really? Allow me to make a strong case for team ministry, would you? Give me moment to hopefully convince you that doing something alone just isn’t as effective as doing it with others who are willing!
For instance…
The Trinity in creation - “Let us make man in our image…”
Adam and Eve- “It is not good for man to be alone.”
Moses and Aaron
Moses and Jethro
Nehemiah
David and his mighty men
Daniel and his 3 friends
Paul and Silas
Paul and Barnabas
Paul and Timothy
Jesus and the 12 disciples
The Elders of the early churches
WOW! God is a team oriented God, isn’t he?
Now watch this – there are only a few “loners” in the Bible. In fact, I asked our staff this week to think of those who went “on mission” all alone. There are a few, but they are rare. One of them was Jonah, and remember how he ended up? He ended up in a pity party! It just isn’t God’s “SOP” for you to be alone ranger! Why? Because you simply can’t accomplish a mission as large as God’s all by yourself! You need a team!
Many of you don’t know this, but when we started FFC, it was our goal to blitz the city – to visit every home in Ankeny. Now remember, there were only about 60 of us at that point, so this was one daunting task. Yet, did you know that right about 80% of our town was visited personally before we launched on September 12, 2004? WOW! How did that happen? Through the efforts of a team!
And as we look at some of the next phases of growth, like our building, how will we actually accomplish it? Think about it – paying off or land, designing the building, constructing it, etc…how in the world? Trough the efforts of partners! For instance, right now our offerings are averaging about $7500/week. And in order to afford phase one of our building, we’ll need to average about 10,500-11,000 a week. You ay, “There’s no way we can do that…that’s huge!” But did you know that if each adult in our church gave an extra $15/week, we’d be there! That’s a lot of extra money, no doubt. But it does at least show you the power of partnerships and cooperation. And that doesn’t even include the additional people who will be involved at FFC over then next several months and years. See? The big elephants are simply eaten bite by bite!
This same principle holds true in our location change. As we seek to upgrade our ministries over the summer in what we’re calling “second stage ignition,” it will happen as each person attending becomes a willing and invested partner. From the parking lot team to the praise team to the facilities team to the café team to the childcare team…every person should be connected to at least one team where they serve willingly and invest joyfully! This is what will take us from a good church to a great church – willing partners who chase God’s vision no matter the cost!
Question – What team are you on? If you’re serving and giving willingly and joyfully, you have no reason right now to feel convicted…singled out! But if you’re squirming right now, well, consider this your invitation to willingly join a team and get involved. We need you now more than ever!
So let’s put these thoughts together: PRAYER + PARTNERS = TEAM IMPACT
This is what God is calling his R Filers to do! He started with 12…he continues today with you! And if he has changed your life, get with God’s game plan: pray and partner. That’s what makes a biblical team!
[Pray]
