20190224 ready to be sent
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How is it that Christianity continues spread amidst opposition?
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20190224 ready to be sent
- 1. READY TO BE SENT
- 2. John 17:6-9 (NIV) “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them.
- 3. John 17:6-9 (NIV) They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.
- 4. John 17:10 (NIV) All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.
- 5. John 17:10 (NIV) While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
- 6. John 17:13-15 (NIV) “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. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.
- 7. John 17:13-15 (NIV) My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
- 8. John 17:16-19 (NIV) They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
- 9. READY TO BE SENT
Editor's Notes
- In the modern West religion is seen as “a detachable aspect of personal (and even national) identity” it is seen as very personal or private held beliefs. We treat God as a “unique, transcendent, somewhat isolated metaphysical point.” In Mediterranean antiquity the closest modern equivalent is “cult, those rituals and offerings whereby ancients enacted their respect for and devotion to the deity and therefore solicited heaven’s good will. ” (Paula Fredriksen, Christians in the Roman Empire http://www.bu.edu/religion/files/pdf/Christians-in-the-Roman-Empire-in-the-first-three-centuries-.pdf). People worshipped one divinity above all but had many god’s that filled in the gap between the High God and humanity. These god’s very localized in that they were firstly attached to places, groves, mountains, cities, temples etc. Secondly they were attached to people, religion ran in the blood, cults were ethnic designations something that identified ones people or kingship group. Romans Practiced Private and Public Religion The religion of ancient Rome dated back many centuries and over time it grew increasingly diverse. As different cultures settled in what would later become Italy, each brought their own gods and forms of worship. This made the religion of ancient Rome polytheistic, in that they worshipped many gods. They also worshipped spirits. Spirits of the rivers and trees Rivers, trees, fields and buildings each had their own spirit, or numen. Worshipping more than one numen, or numina, was a part of early Roman culture. Household spirits Every Roman household also had its own protective spirits. For instance, Vesta was the goddess of the fireplace. Even food cupboards had their own spirits, called penates. Family spirits Families also had a protective spirit, called a lar. Each family had a larium, or shrine, to this spirit, often kept in the atrium or courtyard. The head of the family – the paterfamilias – was responsible for making regular sacrifices to honor the family’s spirit and make sure that it continued to watch over them. Dinnertime offerings Families also asked for the blessings of the spirits before any special family event. A portion of every meal was thrown into the fire as an offering. Household slaves were also expected to worship the same spirits as their owners. Like most of the ancient world, Romans believed that spirits gathered around crossroads. It was therefore common to find a small shrine, or compita, set up wherever paths or roads met. These would have four altars to honor the spirits in each direction. Festival of the Crossroads This practice was honored in the Festival of the Crossroads, called the Compitalia. On this feast day, families would hang woolen dolls and balls at the nearest compita. Each doll represented a member of the family, while each ball represented a slave. It isn’t clear why they did this. Perhaps they hoped that the spirits would spare each person represented by the woolen offerings, or maybe they believed that the power of the spirits would strengthen each person represented there. In any case, spirit worship was just one part of Roman religion. The Roman state had its own gods and, like the spirits, these were the product of diverse cultures and ancient beliefs. (https://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/mythology.html) Roman worship was divided into the public and the private. Families would honor their household spirits while Rome had colleges of official priests to ensure that its actions met with divine approval. Roman religion involved cult worship. Approval from the gods did not depend on a person’s behavior, but on accurate observance of religious rituals. Each god needed an image – usually a statue or relief in stone or bronze – and an altar or temple at which to offer prayers and sacrifices. Quid pro quo Requests and prayers were presented to gods as a trade: if the god did what was requested (the nuncupatio), then the worshipper promised to do a particular thing in return (the solutio). This trade was binding. To persuade the gods to favor the requests, a worshipper might make offerings of food or wine, or would carry out a ritual sacrifice of an animal before eating it. The Romans believed that their gods or spirits were actively involved in their daily lives. As a result, sacred meals were held in their name during certain religious festivals. It was believed that the god actually took part in the meal: a place was set for him at the table, invitations were issued in his name, and a portion of the food served was set aside for him to enjoy. (https://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/worship.html) Romans therefore tolerated other religions “When in Rome do as the Romans do” while everyone had their own god they didn’t believe their gods to be the only ones, in fact when you went to another city you added worshiping those deities to your gods. To not do so would be a great insult to that city and it’s people. Christians however believed their God was the only God and the only one to be worshiped. They were increasingly seen as too exclusive, as bad citizens and a threat to the social order. This is why they were so terribly persecuted. Yet Christianity continued to grow and spread. Why in the face of such social cost did people keep on turning to Christianity? (Tim Keller, Sharing the Joy we have in Christ)
- John 4:25-34 25The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” 27Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” 28Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30They came out of the town and made their way toward him. 31Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 33Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” 34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.35Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.36Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.37Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.38I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labour.” In this event we see an example of why the gospel had such an effect. Here we find a women evangelizing after an encounter with Jesus. We see a women that is no scholar and didn’t have all the answers to life just tell people about what Jesus is meaning to her. She just let people into her heart. She was like a person in love, they can’t help but telling others. In the early church the faith spread not by bringing people to church because that was too risky. Great events with great speakers and awesome music wasn’t the way either. The faith spread through “ordinary individual informal every day missional living by people just sharing who they were.” Tim Keller She pointed to Jesus not a course or program but to a person. She told others to think on Him, to look at Him. Her joy overflowed. For Jesus joy was found in being with Him. Sorrow (grief) for the disciple is being separated from God. Joy is having been reunited with God. Sorrow is Is 59:2 Isa 59:2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. 1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. 5Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. 7Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.