Investing In others: Using God's R.O.I.

This past Sunday, my message to our LifeSpring Church family, ProgressReport: Investing in others,  was as followers of Jesus (AKA: Disciples in training) we are called to invest in others by helping them to …

live into Their POTENTIAL for their life

live into God’s PURPOSE for their life

live into Jesus PROMISES for their life

One of the definitions for the word “Investing” found in Dictionary.com is

to use, give, or devote (time, talent, etc.), as for a purpose or to achieve something:

In the business world, there is an acronym called ROI: Return on Investment.  It is a ratio used between the amount (usually money) that a person invests in something and the return (or profit) that is received by the investor for their investment, usually over some period of time.   This ROI is typically expressed in the form of a percentage.  The higher the ROI percentage, the more a person can expect to receive from their initial investment. 

Given the choice of investing a $100 in “product A” that has a 50% ROI, and investing $100 in “product B” that has a 100% ROI, the wise investor would go with investing in “product B” because they could expect twice the amount of return for the same initial investment of $100.

Here’s the thing about being a disciple of Jesus.  When Jesus calls his followers to “go and make disciples” in his Great Commission, he never asked them to “calculate the ROI on their investment of their personal time, energy, or resources” while doing this.  He just asked them to be obedient and trust that he would be with them while they were doing it, even “to the end of the age”.

However, some Christians today want to “Pick and Choose” who they invest their time, energy, and resources into while helping others become disciples too.  Many times they look at the outward appearance and decide, that a certain person’s ROI is too low, and wait on a better person to invest in.  Some are still waiting to find the best person to invest in , while hundreds of people pass by them.

In choosing the person to succeed King Saul as the leader over Israel, God once told the prophet Samuel,

Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”   1 Samuel 16:7

The bottom line is this.  God has already calculated the ROI of every individual who has ever lived,  and God’s calculations are perfect!   He has determined that every person is worth the investment of our time, energy and resources.  In fact, God backed this up by investing the most valuable thing to Him, His one and only Son Jesus Christ, to provide the opportunity for people to restore their relationship with God, and have eternal life.

So why would I choose my personal ROI calculations about who to invest my time, energy and resources in, over God’s, when it comes to investing in others.  I think I will trust Jesus and do what He says…. “Go, and make disciples” 

Progress Report- Give IT Your All

This past week my message revolved around the 180 degree turn King Josiah (2 Kings 22 & 23) made after he allowed the Truth found in the scriptures to transform his life.  Not only did this transform him as an individual, but Josiah also allowed it to transform his kingdom.  In fact, one of the greatest statements made about a person was written about Josiah….

Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.                        2 Kings 23:25 

There are 6 things that Josiah did with the Scriptures (the Bible of his time), which helped him to become such a remarkable leader of Israel.  For many of us, if we could do these same things with the teaching of the Bible, I believe, no I’m counting on God using the Truth found in the Bible to not only transform our lives but also our communities.

1) He FOUND It.   (2 Kings 22:10)    

On average, 85% of U.S. households own a Bible; the average number of Bibles per household is 4.3

Can you find your Bible?

2) He READ It.   (2 Kings 22:10)   

Well, actually someone read it to him.  The great thing about reading from the Bible yourself is that you can go at your own pace.  Yeah, it’s big, and for many of us it is the biggest book we’ve ever picked up to read.  But remember what they say about how to eat an elephant, ONE BITE AT A TIME.   Small portions are best!

3) He BELIEVED It.   (2 Kings 22:11)   

Josiah believed what he read… but that doesn’t mean that he understood all of what he read.  Some of us digest food at different rates that others.  The same is true of how quickly we understand passages from the Bible.

4) He PRAYED ON It.   (2 Kings 22:13)   

Seeking God for understanding and application of the Truth found in the Bible to our lives should be high on our priorities.

5) He COMMITED TO It.   (2 Kings 23:1-3)   

Living by the Truth found in the Bible takes commitment.  Especially when we don’t know where that Truth will lead us.  For many Christians, this is the area that they struggle with the most.

6) He LIVED It.   (2 Kings 23:4-24)   

Josiah was born and raised during a very confusing, dark, and evil time for those following God.  Many teachings by evil men had taken root in their culture to the point that human sacrifices were made outside of their city walls.  Male prostitutes live in the Temple of God.  Multiple false gods were sacrificed to and worshiped in the same Temple that was original built by King Solomon for the worship of the one TRUE God.  Once Josiah read from the Bible and realized that many things he and the people of Israel once believed to be true were in fact misrepresentations of the truth, he took immediate actions to change things.  For him and for those he was responsible for to lead. 

I know, I know, some of you reading this are saying.. “I know, I know…. I get it, I get it!  I’ve heard this all before.  For your information, I’m a believer of Jesus Christ.  I’ve skimmed through parts of the Bible, and I basically get the jest of it.  There’s no need for me to keep reading it over and over.  I GET IT!”

Well, take a look at this blog from Seth Godin about people who said “I GET IT”  

Blowing A Still: A Christian Progress Report

I recently read a great blog by Seth Godin called, “Sure, but that's not a plan”, that caused me to reflect on the “shortcuts to success” that people are spending so much time and energy searching for in hopes of achieving a dream, goal, or a solution to some problem or difficulty they are having (like financial struggles, relational dilemmas, weight or health issues, etc). 

For some, their “financial plan” to success is to continue to play the lottery, picking numbers from a “divine selection process” (meaning they pick numbers and pray that God will intercede and allow the balls to match their lotto picks).

Others pray that God will “bless this food to the nourishment of my body, and help me to reach my target weight goal”, as they bow their heads over their afternoon snack of Moon Pies and Cheetos. 

In my message Progress Report: Blowing A Still  at LifeSpring Church, I shared the BIG IDEA: Continuous steps in the right direction will get us to the right place over time.  This Big Idea is also known as “A PLAN”.

Periodically we need to “Blow A Still” in our lives and review our PLAN and our PROGRESS in working the PLAN.  (Blowing a Still is an old maritime expression still used in the Navy that calls for sailors undivided attention while pausing what they are doing and reflecting on (1) what am I doing, (2) what should I be doing (3) what adjustments do I need to make next (4) redeploy to that activity at the next strategic opportunity).

So, what would happen if Christians, the followers of Jesus, were to regularly “Blow a Still” in their spiritual lives and give themselves a PROGRESS REPORT on how well they are living out their PLAN to do the Great Commandment and Great Commission Jesus asks of us.

The Great Commandment Matthew 2:37-40

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The Great Commission Matthew 28:18-20

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

A Christian PROGRESS REPORT should contain

1)             Honest ASSESSMENT of your progress (answering the question “What am I doing?)

2)             Recast the VISION (answering the question “What am I suppose to be doing?)

3)             Course ADJUSTMENTS (answering the question “What do I need to change and do next?)

4)             Start to REDEPLOY (Begin again at the next strategic activity with your adjusted plan)

 Next week I will talk more of specifics you and I can do to help us improve our PLAN as well as systems and motivation to live into that PLAN.

What Does LOVE Require Of Me?

Recently, my messages for LifeSpring Church were based on a similar sermon series and small group study taught by Andy Stanley called Christian, It’s Not What You Think. 

         Over the last couple of weeks I’ve tried to raise the awareness of our congregation that “Christians” and “Disciples of Jesus” are not always the same thing.  I did this by placing an emphasis on Jesus’ teaching & His modeling of what many call The Great Commandment found in Matthew 22 with His followers (insiders) and others (outsiders), along with Jesus’ own definition of what the defining characteristic of His Disciples…

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”   John13:34-35

This past week, I concluded the message by challenging everyone to ask of themselves (at least once a day) …

WHAT DOES LOVE REQUIRE OF ME?

I have received several texts, emails, and I have even had multiple conversations with people who have been wrestling with this question since last Sunday’s message.  The comments range from

“I don’t know what love requires of me” to “I think I know, but don’t think I can do it”. This combined with other comments like “I don’t think I’m worthy to be a Disciple of Jesus”, “I love God, but struggle with loving others”, “thinking about what Love requires of me makes me very uncomfortable” leads me to believe that I have touched on a very important issue for many. 

Well I have good news for those of you who are struggling with this question! This Sunday, June 2^nd, I will give everyone the answer to this question.  The answer is based on what the Bible teaches and will be life altering for many people who hear it.  You do not want to miss this message.  If you are unable to attend personally, please visit our website and listen to the podcast or watch it online.  

Inside vs. Outside the Church

Hey Everybody,

I cannot BELIEVE what a Sunday we just had. Thank you SO much for coming out.

As a follow up, we posted this on our Facebook page to see our what type of responses we would get.

"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”
1 Corinthians 5:12

How does this passage challenge your assumptions about what the Bible says regarding judging others? As Christians we have to hold ourselves accountable rather than judging nonbelievers.

 In response, I just wanted to give you guys my answer.

In this past Sunday’s message, I used 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, I also used 1 Corinthians 9:19-22, and connected them to John 13:34-35

I explained that when we Love one another as Jesus Loves, then we will be recognized as Disciples of Jesus. This type of love draws “outsiders” or “non believers” toward Jesus and encouraged “insiders” or “believers” to learn more of Jesus teachings and together with the encouragement and help of others, live them out daily.

I summed it up by saying…

Loving one another as Jesus loves means:

• Loves both Insiders and Outsiders
• Stop judging OUTSIDERS
• Hold Insiders ACCOUNTABLE

Too often, followers of Jesus do exactly what Paul chastised the Corinthians for doing—judging nonbelievers, while failing to hold themselves and other followers of Jesus accountable for their behavior.

It’s not a Christian’s job to judge the behavior of a nonbeliever.

In fact, followers of Jesus lose influence when they approach nonbelievers with anything but love.

When we connect this with Matthew 28:19-20, we find that Jesus commissioned us (His Disciples) to “go and make disciples…”. In other words, help “outsiders” become “insiders”.

Now, let’s clear this up here and now.

1) It’s not a disciples place to try and do the job of the Holy Spirit.
2) The Holy Spirit guides people toward the choice or decision to accept the Truth of Jesus or reject it (John Wesley would call this the Prevenient Grace of God.)
3) The Holy Spirit uses the actions of the Disciples, as well as many other ways, to accomplish this.
4) Just because the Holy Spirit works through the actions of a Disciple, it doesn’t make that Disciple the Holy Spirit… just an instrument of the Holy Spirit.

Once an “outsider” accepts the Truth of Jesus and becomes a believer, or “insider”
(John Wesley would call this the Justifying Grace of God),
then the Holy Spirit guides the “insiders” to learn and obey the things that Jesus taught… “Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you….”
(John Wesley would call this the Sanctifying Grace of God.)

When I read “teaching them to obey”, I feel this is the point where accountability comes in for Disciples.

Notice in the great commission that Jesus gives His Disciples, that it is only “AFTER” the outsider has been baptized into the body of believers, AKA “insiders”, that the “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” occurs.

You see, for the most part, Jesus is saying “I taught you 1st, you must teach them, but it won’t make sense to them and they won’t be able to fully give themselves to this way of living until they accept me as their Lord and Savior. Because once they accept me, then I will send them the Holy Spirit to help them in their efforts to obey my commands. And remember this, You are not alone, nor are they. I will be with you all, to the ends of the time. So what are you Disciples of mine waiting for….”

Your Pastor,
Dorsia