The Beginnings of a Movement
What are some of the great movements that have shaped history? Answers…
I. Great Movements always Involve a Cause
• There was a cause (right/wrong). There was an injustice. There was a need that became someone’s cause. (someone saw something that needed to be dealt with – someone was willing to do whatever it took to take care of the problem)
• The need is always greater than one person. The resolution always takes longer than you imagine. You may never see the results of your action.
Nehemiah 2:1-5 is one of my favorites. He saw a need & did something about it.
Is there a need, an injustice, a cause that stirs in your heart? Write three down…
Now: One of, if not the greatest movements in all of history, is the one that turned the world upside down – and continues to shape our world today. It was the Jesus movement. I’m talking about the one that began with a simple word, COME.
II. Great Movements begin with an Invitation to Come
John 1:35-50 NLT – Jesus begins His movement with a simple call, “Come”.
Vs. 35-36 John declares that Jesus is the Lamb of God
Vs. 37 John’s two disciples turn to follow Jesus
Vs. 38 Jesus says, “What do you want?” Disciples say, “Where are you staying?”
Vs. 39 Jesus’ movement begins with these words, “Come and See”
Vs. 40-41 Andrew’s confession – immediately shares what he knows with his brother.
Vs. 42 Jesus calls out Simon – Peter (Did Jesus ask Peter to come?)
Vs. 43 Jesus invites Philip to, “Come be my disciple”
Vs. 44 Philip shares with Nathanael – “Just come see for yourself!”
Vs. 45-49 Nathanael’s confession
Vs. 50-51 Jesus tells them, “You ain’t seen nuttin yet!”
Here is the beginning of Jesus’ Movement. It was here that these men were introduced to Savior of the world. It was here that these men began hands on training that would bring about a religious revolution – absolutely turning the world upside-down. Jesus’ disciples would spend the next 3 ½ years preparing for their mission.
After Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead – He spent a short time with the disciples. He instructed them in their mission and empowered them to launch. (Acts 1:8) In essence, Jesus’ Movement was about to kick into gear.
Look at Acts 2:1-41 – Walk it through… These men, when the Holy Spirit came upon them rocked the world. In one setting, over 3000 souls were added to the church. And they got busy! Think about all the lives that were transformed and from then on they began to change their culture. Whoo! Anyone want to see a day like that again? Why don’t we see things like this today? Is there not a cause? Is there not a need? Does the Gospel have the ability to change lives? Has it changed yours?
Folks, somewhere along the way (over the last 2000 years) the movement of Jesus Christ became civilized Christianity. Somehow we have created a religious culture that has exchanged the transforming power of Christ for the comfort, safety, and security of “Being Saved, Sanctified, and Set-Apart”.
Folks, I wonder if we need to rediscover our Mission! Maybe it’s time for us to step back to the beginning of the movement and simply respond to Jesus call, “Come”! Listen, Jesus wants us to surrender our lives to Him and follow Him into the unknown. The truth is, we have become so civilized that the benefits of our faith have become more precious and more valuable to us than the one who paid for those same benefits with His life!
God’s will for us is less about our comfort than it is about our contribution. We were created to have a life that counts, not so we can count the days of our life – Folks, are you interested in “Turning the World upside-down?” Or are you counting the number of heartbeats you have left before you can go home to glory? (Heartbeat Philosophy)
Jesus’ death wasn’t to free us from dying, but to free us from the fear of death. Jesus came to liberate us so that we could die up front and then live. Jesus wants to take us to places where only dead men and women can go. Are you ready to “Follow Him”
• Every great movement begins with a cause
• Every great movement begins with an invitation to come
III. Great Movements begin when someone is willing to Take the First Step.
Listen: God is inviting you to something greater than your self. God has invited you to be His representative to this world… God is laying out His invitation to something extraordinary! The Risk is worth it.
Your turn: what will you do? Will you walk on water? Or will you stay in the boat? Matthew 14:23-29
• Don’t let Fear rob you of walking the edges with God
• Don’t fill your memories with thoughts of “What if” or “I wish I would’ve”
• Don’t be satisfied with settling for the ordinary when you can walk on water.
NOTE: “It’s not the most gifted (although it helps) that makes the greatest contributions in life; it’s the most available.”
Action Plan: Choose one of the three causes that stir your heart and covenant to do something about it…
1. Gather information – make a call
2. Set a date
3. Gather the resources and help needed
4. Go and do it
5. Design a follow-up
6. Give a report – On July 20th we will have a “Service of Praise”.
INSERT -NOTES
The Beginnings of a Movement
Nehemiah 2:1-5; John 1:35-50; Acts 2:1-41; Matthew 14:23-29
I. Great Movements always ____________________
Write three needs that God has stirred in your heart:
1. __________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________
II. Great Movements begin with an _______________
III. Great Movements begin when someone is willing to ______________________.
• Don’t let Fear rob you of walking the edges with God
• Don’t fill your memories with thoughts of “What if” or “I wish I would’ve”
• Don’t be satisfied with settling for the ordinary when you can walk on water.
Action Plan:
1. Gather information – make a call
2. Set a date
3. Gather the resources and help needed
4. Go and do it
5. Design a follow-up
6. Give a report – On July 20th we will have a “Service of Praise”.
Examples of movements...
The Civil Rights movement: Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the main figures in the Civil Rights Movement. He was born in 1929 and eventually led and influenced millions through his espousal of non-violent protest against segregation and racial discrimination. King was assassinated in 1968.
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. By December 5, 1955, the Montgomery Bus Boycott had begun. African-Americans refused to ride the public bus system in Montgomery. The boycott lasted 382 days. In the end on December 21, 1956, the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation on public transportation was illegal.
The American Revolution: In 1763, King George III and his government looked to taxing the American colonies as a way of recouping their war costs. They were also looking for ways to reestablish control over the colonial governments that had become increasingly independent while the Crown was distracted by the war. Royal ineptitude compounded the problem. A series of actions including the Stamp Act (1765), the Townsend Acts (1767) and the Boston Massacre (1770) agitated the colonists, straining relations with the mother country. But it was the Crown’s attempt to tax tea that spurred the colonists to action and laid the groundwork for the American Revolution.
The colonies refused to pay the levies required by the Townsend Acts claiming they had no obligation to pay taxes imposed by a Parliament in which they had no representation. In response, Parliament retracted the taxes with the exception of a duty on tea - a demonstration of Parliament’s ability and right to tax the colonies. In May of 1773 Parliament concocted a clever plan. They gave the struggling East India Company a monopoly on the importation of tea to America. Additionally, Parliament reduced the duty the colonies would have to pay for the imported tea. The Americans would now get their tea at a cheaper price than ever before. However, if the colonies paid the duty tax on the imported tea they would be acknowledging Parliament’s right to tax them. Tea was a staple of colonial life - it was assumed that the colonists would rather pay the tax than deny themselves the pleasure of a cup of tea.
The colonists were not fooled by Parliament’s ploy. When the East India Company sent shipments of tea to Philadelphia and New York the ships were not allowed to land. In Charleston the tea-laden ships were permitted to dock but their cargo was consigned to a warehouse where it remained for three years until it was sold by patriots in order to help finance the revolution.
In Boston, the arrival of three tea ships ignited a furious reaction. The crisis came to a head on December 16, 1773 when as many as 7,000 agitated locals milled about the wharf where the ships were docked. A mass meeting at the Old South Meeting House that morning resolved that the tea ships should leave the harbor without payment of any duty. A committee was selected to take this message to the Customs House to force release of the ships out of the harbor. The Collector of Customs refused to allow the ships to leave without payment of the duty. Stalemate. The committee reported back to the mass meeting and a howl erupted from the meeting hall. It was now early evening and a group of about 200 men disguised as Indians assembled on a near-by hill. Whopping war chants, the crowd marched two-by-two to the wharf, descended upon the three ships and dumped their offending cargos of tea into the harbor waters.
Most colonists applauded the action while the reaction in London was swift and vehement. In March 1774 Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts which among other measures closed the Port of Boston. The fuse that led directly to the explosion of American independence was lit.
The Declaration of Independence: Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence when he was 33 years old. He was chosen partly because he was a Virginian, also because he was eloquent in his writing. He was also liked by everyone…
