Our focus this year is being attentive to God’s presence in the world around us and to join in what he is doing. It is imperative that we develop the spiritual muscles to slow down, listen, and discern what God is doing around us as we live life. It is first in being present to the world around us that we are then able to give proclamation to what the Gospel speaks into each situation. The gospel is proclaimed contextually as we are attentive to what the world needs to hear. That’s not to say that we alter the gospel but that we understand the fullness of the gospel in a way that we can begin in different places to walk people toward Jesus.
As we wrap up this three part series on the practice of proclaiming the gospel, I want us to focus on the posture one should take when proclaiming the gospel. In his book on the Seven Practices, David Fitch points to the instructions Jesus gives to the seventy two in Luke 10:1-16, “He tells them to first go into the villages and be present with people. Go to be among them in their homes. Go without power, as lambs among wolves. Go needy, without money ("Carry no purse:" [v. 41). The disciples go as guests. Don't move from house to house. Instead be present, submit, eat what is offered, be a guest, put yourself at the mercy of the order and relationships in this place. In other words, be present. Only after these many instructions on being present does Jesus then instruct his disciples to proclaim the gospel” (p53).
Be present among the people of the world as people who do not use power over others. Take no position where you might have influence over others through your finances but take a place of submission. As guests, be at the mercy of others and the way they have structured their world. It is only at this point that we then have the right to proclaim the gospel in people’s lives. This takes relationships. It takes time. It can be messy and make us uncomfortable. But it is the way Jesus proclaimed the gospel to the everyday people of the world.
Why is it important to earn the right to speak the gospel into someone’s life?
How can you enter into this world humbly as a guest, submitting to God’s presence?
What hinders you most from being present as a guest in this world?
How does being a guest in this world allow us to create space for the Kingdom to break in?