Missiologist George Patterson has developed a list of the seven essential commands of Jesus. (www.paul-timothy.net) These commands are being taught all over the world and are bearing fruit for the Kingdom. How are they faring in your life?

Here is an adaptation of that list.

1. Repent, believe, and receive the Holy Spirit

2. Baptize new believers.

3. Love God and people.

4. Break bread together.

5. Give sacrificially.

6. Pray continually.

7. Go and make disciples.

My first real job was as an assistant box boy at the mom and pop grocery store in the little town where I grew up. During the first month of my career I was competently supervised by Jim the “senior” box boy. (he literally was a senior in high school.) Things went well untill Jim left the store to pursue bigger and better financial pursuits. In those days a boxer wore many hats from butcher, to checker, to order clerk. Very quickly I began to get bogged down in the thousand and one details of my job. Things got so bad at one point that I heard through the grapevine I was in danger of being fired.

One Wednesday evening  Jim came back for a visit. I was so excited I couldn’t stand still. A feeling of peace and security filled me in a way unlike anything I had experienced since he left. When we got a minute alone I poured out my troubles to him. I told him how I had been unable to keep up with the complicated and overwhelming load of responsibility that had been placed on my shoulders. I even went so far as to ask  if he would come back and take his old job supervising me.

He then said nine words that changed my work there forever. He told me that the job was really very simple, “…just keep the shelves full and the cusomers happy.”

Those words were a lifesaver. For the first time I was able to see the many things I did through a simple compelling prism. I went on to become the assistant manager of that store and worked in retail for the next twelve years.

The same thing is true in ministry. We go to work or school and see so many problems that we literally don’t know where to start. We wish that someone more knowledgable and experienced might take us by the hand and lead us to fruitfulness.

In John 5:19 Jesus gave us a simple definition of success in ministry. He lived by it and taught his initial twelve to live by it. Through the centuries the most fruitful people in the church both great and small have followed his nine word explanation on how to minister successfully in any situation. He articulated these words confronted by the Jewish leaders:

 So Jesus explained ” I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing.” (emphasis added)

These nine words will revolutionize your work in ministry. Try it. For the next thirty days, every time you enter your principle place of employment (or study), ask the Father what he is doing and how you can cooperate with him. You will be amazed at the results.

It seems that a young student approached this man and asked to be “discipled” by him him. The answer my friend gave him was insightful and practical. He told the student to get three color hi-lighters: one green, one yellow, and one blue. He then directed the new disciple to go through the gospels and find all the commands of Jesus (there are about 300).

As he identified each command he was to mark the verse in green if he was obeying it and in yellow if he was not obeying it . After making it it all the way through the gospels he was to go through again learning how to obey all the commands marked in yellow. Each time he began to obey a “yellow” command he was to mark it in blue which would, of course, turn the verse green.

“When you have all the commands marked in green,” he concluded, “Come back and see me and I will will tell you what to do next.”

Jesus said, “Why do you keep calling Me Lord, Lord, when you don’t do what I say? (Luke 6:46)

Let’s begin to pray and work for a revival of obedience in our lives and ministries.

Here are a few of the sites I have come to enjoy and even depend on in ministry through the last few years:

1. www.e-sword.net  Do you want to build a world class Christian library in just a few minutes for FREE? This is the site for you.

2. www.harvestime.org This site provides comprehensive Bible College cirriculum in seven languages on pdf files for FREE.

3. www.livingwaters.com Probably the best evangelism training site available today. Many FREE resources as well as low cost outreach training and materials.

4. www.sermonindex.net  Over 16,000 sermon audios from the last one hundred years. Hours and hours of instruction and inspiration.

5. www.newchurchreport.com Compilation site of the latest articles from across Christian cyberspace. Currently under new management.

6. www.biblicalspirituality.org Lots of articles and resources both FREE and low cost about spiritual disciplines.

7. www.biblegateway.com Premier site for dozens of versions of the Bible online.

8. www.oneyearbibleonline.com read the Bible in one year from the version of your choice for FREE. New feature lets you start on any day of the year.

9. www.ccel.org Christian Classic Ethereal Library. Hundreds of Christian books available FREE online.

10. www.cpforum.net and www.mentoringleaders.com  two of the most dynamic Church leaders today.

11. www.davidwa.org  David Watson is arguably the most successful church planter alive today. His site is full of provocative articles and video about soul-winning, disciplemaking, church planting, and missions.

12. www.raycomfortfood.blogspot.com Thius blog entitled “Atheist Central” is a no holds barred discussion of faith with agnostics and atheists.

BONUS SITE: www.pandora.com Register at this site and build your own praise and worship radio station.

Luke 10:1-21

1. The Call and the Cost: Deciding to become a missional  believer regardless of the personal sacrifice involved. (Lk 10:1)

                 The call from above: Isaiah 6:8

                 The call from below: Luke 16:27-28

                 The call from inside: 1 Corinthians 9:16-17

                 The call from outside: Acts 16:9

                 Three costs: Luke 9:58-62

                 Material, Relational, Spiritual

A key strategy: (Luke 10:4)

Surrender Wealth, Emotional Baggage, Agendas, Relationships

2. The Practice of Prayer: Developing an extraordinary prayer life. (Luke 10:2)

Persistence: Ephesians 6:18

Passion: Hebrews 5:7

Pattern: Matthew 6:9-13

Precision: Philippians 4:6

Patience: Luke 18:1-8

A key strategy: (1 Timothy 4:8) Consistency, Distance, Speed

3. Pockets of People: Gaining access to relational networks. (Luke 10:5) oikos

Noah: Genesis 7:1

Abraham: Genesis 19:12-23

Rahab: Joshua 2:17-20

Demoniac: Mark 5:19

Cornelius: Acts 10:23-25

Lydia: Acts 16:14-15

Philippian Jailer: Acts 16:30-33

A key strategy: L.O.V. E. (John 15:13)

-Listen & Learn

-Offer Help

-Verbalize your Faith

-Extend an Invitation

4. Person of Peace: Identifying God’s insider to reach the   network. (Luke 10:6)

Prince of Peace Isaiah 9:6

Worthy Person Matthew 10:11

Samaritan Woman John 4

Religious Leader John 7:48-50

Ethiopian Eunuch  Acts 8

A key strategy: 12 Step Discipleship (2 Timothy 2:2)

1) Invite them to study the Bible (John)

2) Go through the 10 Commandments with them (Exodus 20)

3) Challenge them to repent (Matthew 4:17-22)

4) Baptize them in water (Matthew 3:13-17)  

5) Lead them into the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1-2)

6) Break any family curses (Exodus 20:5,Ezekiel 18:20, Galatians 3:13)

7) Expel any demons (Luke 11:14-28)

Get them a Bible (1 Timothy 3:16-17)

9) Do a 14 day basic training (Matthew 5-7)

10) Train them to tell their story (Revelation 12:11)

11) Train them to do devotions (Deuteronomy 17:18-20)

12) Get them into a cell (Acts 2:42-46)

5. The Power of Presence: Establishing an outpost for the Kingdom. (Luke 10:9)

                 My church (Matthew 16:17-19)

Two or three (Matthew 18:19-20)

Four things (Acts 2:42)

All of You (1 Corinthians 14:26)

Motivate (Hebrews 10:24)

A key strategy:  Welcome, Worship, Word, Works, Witness

6. The People of Purpose: Multiplying workers into the

harvest. (Luke 10:17)

Disciples Luke 6:12-16

1×12=12  Luke 9:1

6×12=72  Luke 10:1

36×12+72+12=500+ 1 Corinthians 15:6

250×12=3000 Acts 2:41

A key strategy: James 4:7-10 Surrender, Deliverance, Devotion, Character, Compassion, Call, Expectation

7. The Promise of Problems: Dealing with difficulties.     (Luke 10:10-16)

Persecution Acts 4:1-3

Sin in the Camp Acts 5:1-2

Discontent Acts 6:1

Criticism Acts 15:36-40

Overwhelmed 2 Corinthians 1:8

Troubles and Hardships 2 Corinthians 6:4-10

Misc. 2 Corinthians 11:23-27

A key strategy: The armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18)

1) Living in Truth

2) Walking in Righteousness

3) Prepared to Share the Gospel

4) Covered in Faith

5)  Putting on Salvation

6) Using the Word

7) Pray in the Spirit

Seven steps closer to reaching the world

In doing the work of global outreach, my church matters. Your church matters. The church down the road matters. Every local church can—and must—play a role if we intend to carry out the Great Commission. Consider these simple ways to increase your church’s commitment to global outreach:

1. Ask God to give you a heart for the world. I have seen entire churches burdened about the Great Commission after God moved first in the life of only one church member. Passionate, mission-minded church members are difficult to ignore!
2. Teach about missions. Train children, youth, and adults about the significance of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). Use every opportunity to show why every follower of Christ should be concerned about missions.
3. Promote, promote, and promote again any missions offering that your church supports. Challenge your members to give sacrificially. For example, encourage them to give to missions at least a tithe of what they spend on Christmas gifts this year.
4. Invite stateside missionaries to speak to the church. Nothing speaks to churches quite like a “real live” missionary does, and the time set aside for a missionary speaker is time well spent. Contact any missions agency to find the names of missionaries now on stateside assignment.
5. Challenge church members to pray daily for missionaries. Provide a list of names and needs, being careful to protect missionaries who serve in sensitive areas.
6. Sponsor a short-term mission trip for your church members. Teaching about missions is a starting point, but actually experiencing missions can be life-changing. Set a goal to send at least 10 percent of your church’s active attendees on a mission trip this year. Be sure to commission your members as missionaries as you send them out.
7. Pray corporately that God will call some of your church’s members to be career missionaries. Perhaps he will use some of your members to take the gospel where it has never been.

I recently had a conversation with a fellow who was asking me about God’s love. He talked of all these feelings he had about who God was, how God loved people, and of how we don’t love one another as God intended that we should. I asked him if he knew what the Bible called it when we didn’t follow God’s way for us? He didn’t know so I suggested it was ”sin nature”. He followed up with several examples of not believing in something so negative and tried to assure me of the contradictions in the Bible. When I asked him if he had ever read through the Bible, he confessed he never had.

Now, the thing that resonated in my spirit, is how many of us (professed Christians in church) have never really read the Bible. Or read it through from cover to cover. That our exposure to the Bible consists of pulpit teachings, cell group meetings, occasional “I’m looking for something specific” moments, or relying on a grace-filled God to overcome our dread of reading His word. We often decide what we believe by what someone else tells us to believe, and when we rely on someone else, and not on God alone, those beliefs will be flawed by our human nature. Now I am not saying it isn’t good to hear from others but it is still our responsibility to line it up with God’s word. And the only way to do that is to read your Bible!

Find a place, find a time, find a method and work at it. It’s not always easy but you will eventually know what you believe but even better…….you will know why you believe it!

1. Control Leadership

The first level depends on the manipulation of people using a variety of techniques including:

• Moods
• Threats
• Favoritism
• “God told me” trump card
• Marginalizing
• Anger

These methods work in the short run but ultimately are neither effective nor loving.

2. Corporate Leadership

This level focuses on resources and finances. Some of the characteristics are:

• Feast and famine vs. stewardship
• Best practices
• Comparison with others
• Image management
• If we have the money we will…

This is better than control leadership but is limited by money controlling obedience.

3. Character Based Leadership

This level looks beyond the externals to internal qualities. This level depends on:

• Trust
• Teamwork
• Camaraderie
• Personal Fulfillment
• Personal Strengths
• Affirmation

This is a superior form of leadership but is not distinctively Christian. Many non-believers can, and do excel at this level of leadership.

4. Christlike Leadership

This level of leadership imitates and represents the character of God. Like Christ it:

• Sees beyond what is seen (John 13:19)
• Hears beyond what is said (Isaiah 30:21)
• Operates in the gifts
• Requires that we lead ourselves (1 Timothy 4:7)

In order to lead at this level we mus have these things active in our lives:

• A Vibrant growing relationship with Christ
• A genuine and happy marriage
• A close and healthy family
• Physically in shape
• A creative soul
• Time to enjoy life with family and friends

This is just an overview of the training. If you would like to hear more you can purchase a CD of the training by contacting info@lifecenter.net