This is Lesson Four of a training manual Kathy and I are writing. We would very much enjoy any comments for improvements and corrections anyone has. We will be teaching this training program for 26 weeks this next year. Please help us by subscribing to this blog, commenting on each post, and telling your friends about it so they can join in too.

Copyright 2015, Chris and Kathy Scruggs, All Rights Reserved

Looking for People of Peace

Once we know what to say,  we are ready to sow some seeds. Perhaps you have already been sharing God’s love by sharing the Good News and your personal testimony with other people. Maybe they have not responded as you wish they would. Perhaps you feel like you are just not the kind of person who can or should share their testimony with others.

Some people become discouraged when sharing their testimony. Please do not. Remember the basic principles that we shared right at the beginning:

1. Go and tell people. Do not wait for them to come to you.
2. Share with everyone, not just some.
3. Concentrate on making disciples in long-term relationships, not just new members for a church.

Nevertheless, there are some sharing’s that are more likely to bear fruit than others. Jesus, as he was beginning his ministry and his training of his disciples told the following story:

Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” (Mark 4:3-9).

In this parable, Jesus describes the human heart as like different kinds of soil with differing interest and capacity to absorb the Gospel and grow.

When Jesus and his disciples were alone, they asked Jesus to explain the parable, which he did saying:

The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.” (Mark 4:14-20).

As we go out into the world, we are going to meet four basic kinds of people:

1. People whose hearts are as hard as rock and who simply will not hear the story.
2. People who are spiritually shallow who will follow Jesus for a while but when times are tough the will fall away.
3. People who could be really powerful disciples but who are so immersed in the things of this word, their day-to-day activities that their faith never matures.
4. People who have a deep spiritual capacity and who grow in Christ and become disciples who make other disciples and bear fruit for God.

Our problem is that we do not know which is which until we sow the word. Sometimes people who we think have no interest in God and in Christ at all turn out to be the best disciples. Conversely, people who we thought would be the greatest disciples turn out to be big disappointments. This is why the first principle of D4D is to “Share the good news with everyone, not just some.” When we share liberally, we do not leave anyone out.

Looking for Good, Deep Soil

Farmers are always on the lookout for good soil. For a time, we lived in a farming community. Good farmers are always on the lookout for good land to farm. This same thing is true for us. Sure we share with people who are hard-hearted, shallow, or self-involved. Nevertheless we are looking for those who will receive the Gospel with joy and share that Gospel with others enthusiastically. We are looking for deep soil that will bear a produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown” (Mark 4:20).

The Bible has a term for people like this. It calls them “People of Peace.” When Jesus sent out his disciples on a training mission, he told them to look out for persons of peace. Here is the story as Luke tells it:

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you” (Luke 10:1-6).

Who is a “Person of Peace? Luke gives us a few clues.

1. A Person of Peace is a person we meet as we go into the world as we have been asked to do by Christ.
2. A Person of Peace welcomes us and in welcoming us welcomes the Gospel and Christ into their lives.
3. A person of Peace is someone who welcomes the Gospel so that the peace of Christ enters the life and relationships of that person.

David and Paul Watson describe Persons of Peace as follows in their book Contageous Disciple Making: “Persons of peace have three primary characteristics. They are open to a relationship with you. They hunger for spiritual answers to their deepest questions. And they will share whatever they lean with others.” [1] Open to you. Open to God. Open to share. These are three important things to look for in a Person of Peace.

We don’t use the phrase “Person of Peace” often in our daily lives, and we all think of peace as the absence of conflict. So we might think that a Person of Peace is simply someone who doesn’t react negatively to the Gospel. This is true, but there is a deeper characteristic of a Person of Peace. The Hebrew word for “Peace” is “Shalom.” Shalom is more than the absence of conflict. Shalom is a situation in which everything is as it should be. It is a situation of harmony and blessing. Jesus says that he brings a peace unlike the world brings (John 14:27). This is a peace created by the Spirit of God. It is a peace that transcends our physical, emotional, or mental wellbeing. A Person of Peace is a person upon whom the Spirit of God rests and in whom God has found a home. Such a person is bound to bear fruit for the Kingdom of God.

Take a few moments and think about who are the People of Peace in your life. These would be people who are not yet close to Christ, but who you think might be searching for his Shalom and ready to receive it.

 

 

[1] David L. Watson & Paul D. Watson, Contageous Disciple Making: Leading Others on a Journey of Discovery (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2014.

Copyright, 2015, Chris and Kathy Scruggs, All Rights Reserved