Trouble MakersSample

//Disrupted//

We live in constant tension between what is and what should be. We dream about how our life could be, but we’re stuck in what our life is. We have goals, but we’re surrounded by obstacles. 

Many times, we choose to abandon our hope for the future because of the world we see around us. But if we truly want to change the world, if we really want to see God’s Kingdom here on Earth, as it is in Heaven, we have to allow the way we see the world to be disrupted. 

This is exactly what’s going on in this passage with Peter. 

In the early church, there was a division between those who thought new converts to Christianity had to follow the Jewish custom of circumcision, and those who thought it was unnecessary. Essentially, there were those who wanted to keep Christianity familiar, following the old laws, and those who saw the possibility of something new. Peter found himself caught in the middle of these two groups. He was, after all, a Jew, but he also knew Jesus had promised His new way would reach far beyond Jerusalem. 

He was caught in the tension between what was and what could be. And in that tension God gave him a vision in which the status quo was challenged. 

Here’s the thing: Jesus isn’t interested in Christianity staying where it is. He wants it to ADVANCE. He wants YOU to move the church from what it is, to what it could be, what it should be. He wants you to make radical changes that will make older generations incredibly uncomfortable. They’ll call you names. They’ll say you’re wrong. They’ll try to stop you. But don’t listen to them. 

It’s up to you to not be satisfied with the status quo: the racism, sexism, nationalism, and exclusionism present in the church is real, but it doesn’t have to be. 

If God has given you a vision, a dream, a goal for the future of His church, don’t let what you see around you limit your hope for that future. Live now as if it’s already here. 

Don’t call unclean what God has called clean. Don’t call impossible, what God has said is possible. Let the truth of the gospel disrupt your world. Let the grace of God be the hope that empowers you to push the church forward. 

1) REFLECT: What obstacles are you allowing to limit your effectiveness for the Kingdom of God?

2) REACH: Who have you been withholding the gospel from, because you thought they needed to change before God could use them? 

3) RESPOND: Pray for forgiveness in settling for the status quo, grace to leave the past in the past, and strength and courage to let God disrupt your life for his kingdom.