The “…So That(s)” Make All the Difference

What are your personal “so thats” as you live your life as a disciple of Jesus?

What are your church’s “so thats” as it carries out it it’s many activities each day, each week, each month?

Why does “so that” matter?

My friend, Dr. Will Sohns, The Grove, TX taught me about this at retreat of the Texas District Staff a week ago.

In the New Testament, the phrase “so that” or “in order that” or just plain “that” appears 570 times. Each time it occurs it is called a ἵνα (English transliteration is a hína), a subordinating conjunction, which means “for the purpose that” or “in order that”, looking to the aim (intended result) of the verbal idea which was being expressed. How does that play out in the Mission of God as it expressed in the New Testament? Just looking at a few of these verses tells us quite a bit about God’s mission.

John 1:7-8 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. {8} He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

John 9:3, 39 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life… {39} Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

Luke 1:3-4 Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, {4} so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

John 17:13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.

Romans 16:26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him—

Acts 26:17-18 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them {18} to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

Each time a “so that” appears in the life and words of Jesus, it tells us that every action and word He spoke was purposeful and intentional. Everything was tied to God’s ultimate rescue mission for humankind, a rescue from sin, death and the devil. The “so thats” most often link to the mission of Jesus, His disciples and His church.

Through the mere passing of time, many believers and churches start programs, activities and groups. Many serve the mission of Jesus well. Some may not. If we put a “so that” after each program, activity or meeting that takes place in your congregation what would it tell us? I will be bold here. If the “so that” can clearly be linked to the mission of Jesus in the world, it’s probably a good one to continue. But if we find ourselves scratching our head and wondering what the real “so that” is, perhaps it’s time to discontinue the program, event, activity, meeting or group.

The time is short and the mission to share Jesus’ love with a dying world is urgent and important. We don’t have time to carry out programs for which a strong missional “so that” can’t’ be found. For me, this means taking a close look at how I spend my time, energy and resources. I need to make sure my “so thats” are clearly connected to the Great Commission. In areas where that is not true, I am asking God to continuously be about transforming me. What about your church? Have you looked at your “so thats” lately?

Who Do You Invite to Your Party?

Luke 14:1-11 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. {2} There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. {3} Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" {4} But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away. {5} Then he asked them, "If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?" {6} And they had nothing to say. {7} When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: {8} "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. {9} If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. {10} But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. {11} For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem for one last Passover week as he goes to the cross. While on his way there he visits many villages and towns, meeting a collection of people including tax collectors and sinners, 10 lepers, little children, a rich young ruler, Blind Bartimaeus of Jericho and Zacchaeus - the dishonest tax collector. It was a motley crew of people desperately in need of Good News. Many of this collection of folks were not the prominent people of society, but the unimportant, the despised and the unclean. Jesus was ready to share the good news of the Kingdom of God with all of them including the prominent Pharisee at whose house he now sits on a Sabbath Day. Jesus wants to find out if the Pharisees gathered there get it - the Kingdom of God that is. He affords them every opportunity to express that they understand God's love and what He is doing in their very sight and hearing.

A guy shows up with "dropsy" which the medical dictionaries describe as an accumulation of water particularly in the feet due to congestive heart failure. This guy's life hangs in the balance. If Jesus doesn't heal him, his life will end soon. So - he give the Pharisees a chance to demonstrate that they understand. When asked if it is lawful to heal him, the Pharisees don't have a single thing to say. Their silence was deafening. For them, keeping the letter of the law mattered infinitely more than a human life. Jesus is undaunted and taking physical hold of the man, He heals him, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind that Jesus did this. Even after reminding them that the law allows for the rescue of a donkey that might fall in a pit on a Sabbath Day, they still have nothing to say. Their devotion to rules and regulations makes it impossible to see the bigger picture of God's love come down in the person of Jesus. Their seething silence does little to mask how much the despise Jesus.

As we believers go on mission together, it is vital that we never allow our systems, traditions and rules to become more important that the redeeming of a single life. Like one invited to a banquet with lots of important people, Jesus encourages us to take the posture of one who honors others and their needs more than our own status or place in the pecking order. Jesus goes even one step farther. He suggests that when we throw a banquet or party, that we invite those in physical, emotional and spiritual need. That gives us a great opportunity to bless others. In doing so, we might experience the thrill of someone saying to us at the resurrection of the righteous (v. 14) "Thanks for sharing your life and Jesus with me. If it were not for you, I might not be here."

The Catalytic Growth of the Kingdom of God

A catalyst is “a substance usually used in small amounts relative to its reactants that modifies or increases the rate of reaction without being consumed in the process.” Yeast fits the description of a catalyst. Jesus taught about yeast this way in Matthew 13:33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.” Jesus is describing a scene that every Galilean would recognize. Yeast (not the powdered kind, but a little piece of dough kept from the previous baking) was mixed into three pecks of flour (roughly a bushel) and the resulting bread fed 100 people! What looked like a very little “catalyst” had amazing power. While tiny in comparison to whole batch of dough, it changed it and multiplied it exponentially!

Many might expect that the Kingdom of heaven would come all at once with raw power. But like yeast, it has amazing power which might not be immediately observable. Instead it transforms people internally and then externally. The power of yeast is that once worked into the dough, it can’t be stopped! When God’s Kingdom comes in, the same is also true. Look at what is happening in the Global South:

In Africa, Christians were 3% of the population in 1911. Today they are 47%. In China today there are more Christians than Communist party members and the spread of the Kingdom is being led by young people 18 to 30 years old. In India, 2% were Christian in 2002. In less than 10 years India is at 10%. Each time a new disciple is formed by the Holy Spirit they take a “little piece of dough” with them to their family, village and region and the catalytic yeasty process continues. Altogether that has resulted in 500 million new believers within a century. That spread has happened because newly discipled believers believe that sharing what they have just learned is exactly what should be done.

Meanwhile, the fastest growing “religious” grouping in North America is labeled “unaffiliated”. Barna Associates report that in North America, 10% of any city is reached on average and 90% is unreached. In Luke 10:1-3 Jesus said “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.”

God’s Kingdom yeast is as powerful as ever! It starts seemingly small in the person of Jesus and in small groups where he is present (Matt 18:20) and becomes so shockingly big that that today over a billion people around the word identify themselves as His followers.

There is much to learn from the yeast of Kingdom growth in the Global South. Ying Kai, a Chinese American missionary to Asia suggests the following in order to get that yeast outside the walls of institutions. Some shifts in our thinking might be necessary. “Go, not come: The Great Commission says we are to go, not just invite people to come to us. We must go to where the lost are, training new believers to also go to the lost, into workplaces, homes, shops and neighborhoods. Everyone, not some: We must make disciples of all, not just a few. We typically choose whom we want to share the Gospel with, trying to pre-judge who might accept it. But God said to share with everyone. We cannot predict who will believe and whom God will use to birth a movement of Kingdom growth. Make disciples (trainers), not church members: We must not satisfy ourselves with making converts and church members. Jesus commanded much more. He wants true disciples.” And what do true disciples do? Matthew 28:20 “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” including going and making “disciples of all nations.”

You – your family – your churches are bears Kingdom yeast where God has placed you. Work it into the dough of your community and it will do its work of permeating and transforming people and culture through the power of the Spirit as believers carry little pieces of that “yeasty dough” with them everywhere they go. Like a catalyst, it will never be used up.

Cultivating or Planting - What Season Is it?

Just like farming, there are two activities for a life of witness: cultivating and planting. If you do the right thing in the wrong season, you get zero results." That somewhat paraphrased statement from Ben Arment in Church in the Making: What Makes or Breaks a New Church Before it Starts has a great deal of wisdom in it. Knowing which season you are in can be used by God to produce a bountiful harvest.

One who is planting a garden (small scale) or a field of grain (large scale) understands that the sequence is important. You turn over the hardened ground before you put the seeds in the soil.

In our life of witness we will meet people whose hearts have been hardened by broken homes, sexual abuse, death, divorce and a myriad of other life circumstances. They are just not prepared to receive the seed of the Gospel. That's the time to cultivate, patiently waiting to plant the seed. Too often we walk away from such people, seeking instead those people whose hearts are already cultivated and ready for the seed. It seems so much easier.

But an eventual harvest requires both activities. Paul understood this. He said of himself in Romans 15:20 "It has always been my ambition to preach the Gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation." Paul was ready to do the painstaking work of cultivating people's hearts.

5 ways to cultivate people's hearts (with some thoughts from Ben Arment and some from me)

1. Pray like crazy for people you meet who seem to be hard soil. Pray for softening of the hard ground and patience for yourself in seed planting.
2. Purposefully spend time with "hard ground" kind of people, loving on them, spending time with them, being their friend even if they never come to know Jesus. This likely will mean you will have to go to some places and people groups you wouldn't go to if it were just up to your comforts and conveniences.
   
3. Understand that every encounter has the potential for a redemptive relationship of cultivation. Spend tons of time listening to people who are outside the churched world. Listen for their hurts, concerns, fears and challenges. Don't just give them the Gospel in written form - give them yourself.
4. Build strong friendships with high trust. People want to know you're a friend, not a missionary first.
5. Be aware that with many people you will have to restore Christianity's reputation first. The book UnChristian interviewed thousands of people 16 - 35 who find Christians not to be very much like Jesus but instead find them judgmental and cold. Your warmth and love to a those outside the world of the church gives them a glimpse of Jesus.

The privilege of it all is that the potential is there for God using us in overlapping mission activities at once. If we are faithful disciples we will likely always find ourselves cultivating hearts, planting seeds and seeing the joy of the harvest of 10's, 100's and perhaps 1,000's who come to know and love Jesus.