Philippians 2:6-7 (Jesus) being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. NIV
Think about the common expressions of influence and encouragement we hear in the church world today. This is awesome! God is awesome! You are awesome! God’s going to do big things! Future so bright you need sunglasses to dream! It’s gonna be huge!
What if God is purposing a season of micro-movements, grass-root revivals and little wildfires of the Spirit all over the world?
Recently I read a word somebody shared in the UK saying, “I have given blueprints of millions of movements to my people that are needed for this time but many are holding back because they look small and insignificant. They may look small in size or comparison to other movements of the past but they carry the same might, power, and backing of heaven. They are wildfire movements that will be catalysts for revival around the earth and become the infrastructure for stewarding the greatest harvest the earth has ever seen!”
The supernatural can be but doesn’t have to be spectacular. If we’re not careful we miss what God is doing in the ordinary. Jesus was ordinary on purpose.
The world’s system has evangelized the church into thinking big, splashy programs, ad campaigns, well-orchestrated stadium events and finely tuned messages for mass crowds are primary avenues to produce spiritual growth & development.
Our large gatherings serve a purpose, but Jesus demonstrated how deeper discipleship takes place on a smaller scale not in larger crowds.
Our larger gatherings awaken something significant in our hearts. Something about worshipping with a few hundred people in the room – guitar in house intimately powerful but when we gather as the larger family in worship: faith levels rise, hope is inspired, dreams are awakened, and the enemy is more readily defeated in the atmosphere of our lives!
We don’t want to forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrew 10:25). We are family!
There is something about being challenged by God’s Word as a family that is significantly awakening!
Being awake and being actively engaged are two different things. We want to discover how gathering together should propel us to these places of micro-action that the Lord is blessing in this season of the church!
Acts 2:46 says they worshipped all together in the temple and they met in smaller groups to grow deeper in things of God. Jesus often turned away from large, eager crowds to invest in twelve on a deeper level of personal devotion.
God manifests power through Christ in vulnerability and weakness not grandeur and strength. Jesus became a man as our example of how to manage power on a small and influential level.
Philippians 2:3-8 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! NIV
God infuses seemingly ordinary human relationships with His grace, making them powerfully transformational as a key part of His kingdom plan. God can use any means that He chooses to accomplish His purposes, but scripture reveals He most often uses personal relationships.
Your greatest ministry will happen on the smallest level.
In 1768 a 45-year-old Scottish preacher took charge of a tiny, poor, rural school for teenage boys. He found the boys to be unprepared and unruly and the conditions of the school’s only building to be deplorable. He gave his life to this work. Over 26 years he devoted himself to only 450 students.
114 became ministers
49 = U.S. Representatives
28 = U.S. Senators
26 = state judges
14 = delegates to the state conventions that ratified the Constitution
12 = members of the Continental Congress
8 = U.S. district judges
3 = Supreme Court justices
3 = Attorney Generals
2 = foreign ministers
1 = Secretary of State
1 = Vice-Pres Aaron Burr, Jr.
1 = Pres = James Madison
This preacher’s name was John Witherspoon. The small, dilapidated school he took charge of is now Princeton University. One person really can make a difference! Witherspoon wasn’t some big, public influencer in his moment of influence. He changed the world as a teacher devoting himself personally to a small group of people year after year on a micro level having a major impact!
Teachers who invest in students individually and not just institutionally awaken them on many levels of life. Students sense of being liked, respected and valued by a teacher directly affects whether they value the subject matter and expect success.
Students who believed their teacher cared for them believed they learned more. Feelings of being accepted by their teacher were significantly related to emotional cognitive and behavioral engagement in class.
Teachers who expressed greater warmth tended to develop greater confidence in students. These nurturing behaviors were related to students’ adoption and internalization of teachers’ goals and values.
The larger gathering of the class is greatly impacted by a personal connection to each student.
Good teachers teach subjects. Great teachers teach students!
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Search for God’s grace in conversations with others this week. Follow the favor as you sense relational doorways being opened purposing to encourage and bless them personally.
THE TABLE: LITTLE THINGS MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE
DISCUSSION GUIDE
Click here for a downloadable pdf file of this guide.
UNDERSTANDING THE SEASON: A shared meal could be the activity most closely tied to the reality of God’s kingdom, just as it is the most basic expression of hospitality. It comes as no surprise that many significant
stories of Jesus are centered around a dinner table.
When Jesus wanted to explain to his disciples what his death was all about, he didn’t give them an informative lecture. He gave them a relational meal.
In a society that has grown so relationally disconnected, an invitation to Biblical hospitality might be one of the most compelling and irresistible aspects of Christianity. The heart of hospitality is about creating space for someone to feel seen and heard and loved. It’s about declaring your table a safe zone, a place of warmth and nourishment.
God’s plan is for us to hear his voice together as a family. This is why we start each group with the first question:
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
1. Where are you reading in your Bible and what are you sensing from God?
Ask each person in your group to answer the discussion questions below after reading the verses. Don’t move on to the next question until everybody who is willing to share has had the opportunity to give their perspective.
PHILIPPIANS 2:3-8 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! NIV
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
2. Have each person give a 60 second summary of what these verses are saying, in their own words.
3. What do these verses teach us about God?
4. What do these verses teach us about people?
5. What should you do this week in response to what we are reading and what God is revealing?
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Search for God’s grace in conversations with others this week. Follow the favor as you sense relational
doorways being opened purposing to encourage and bless them personally.