The goal of the church, and the goal for us as believers is always multiplication. Jesus’ last words to us on earth were to GO and make disciples of all nations! That’s a pretty clear command to be ready to intentionally change our Oikos throughout life in order to grow the Kingdom. What does it look like to multiply your Oikos in a healthy way as you follow God in each season of life.
What is Oikos?
Its a Greek word that means Home / Household / Family / Dwelling / People
All of us whether we like it or not are going to have to multiply / shift / change up our Oikos throughout life.
The Great Commission: Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
The Great Commission isn’t merely just a program for global evangelism—it’s a command of how the church should participate in God’s redemptive work by drawing others into transformative relationship with Christ.
Matthew 16:24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
Intentionally live to look like Jesus so much, that it becomes unintentional to live and look like Jesus
So as we walk through the journey of life, whether you are young or old, leaving for college / shifting careers / retiring, our Oikos is going to be shifting.
So the question is NOT: will my Oikos ever multiply?
The questions IS: What does it look like to multiply your Oikos in a healthy way as you follow God in each season of life?
Love them:
Whenever I think of loving people I think of the saying a lot of churches have “come as you are” with a picture of Jesus with open arms
Matthew 11:28““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
John 6:37“All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”
John 13:34–35““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.””
So not only do we read what Jesus says about love and invitation, but also by how He lives; Jesus was criticized for eating at a table with tax collectors and sinners gathered around him, He invited everyone to dine in His presence!
Lead them:
Leading them also starts with you allowing yourself to be led by Christ!
You need to model the life that you wish for them to follow, which is why I said earlier; Intentionally live to look like Jesus so much, that it becomes unintentional to live and look like Jesus
How do we do that? We read his stories, listen to his words, look at the life he lived, spend daily time with Him and learn from it!
Matthew 20:25–28 “Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””
Teaching people to obey, not just to consume
John 14:15““If you love me, keep my commands.”
Send them:
Releasing people to lead and impact others in their own Oikos
2 Timothy 2: 1-2 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.
This also is why we focus on smaller groups, for some people that may be 8, other people it may be 20, that depends on your personality traits and training!
1. one person changes
2. their relationships and lifestyle shift
3. others become curious
4. faith and gospel conversations happen
5. multiplication happens naturally
So again; We want to live to look like Jesus because He is the ultimate example of Love
- He loved his disciples, He accepted them for who they were, even with all their flaws and failures
- He lead them to be servant leaders
- He sent them with The Great Commission to spread the gospel and Jesus’ love to the ends of the earth.
Rest seasons:
There will also be seasons of rest! Not any of us are designed to go 24/7, 365 days a year.
Do not let your identity get tied to to productivity, your identity comes from Jesus and your productivity comes as an outflow of your obedience
Missional Seasons:
These are seasons of intentional outward investment and movement, this is where the work is done!
- Maybe you are called to be a lifegroup leader, or on first impressions, or the worship team
- Maybe you are called to a new role at work or a new job completely
- Whatever it may be, when we step up and step into things we are going to be surrounded by new people
8 to 15 quote:
The purpose of the church was given to us by Jesus, the Head of the church. Our job is not to come up with it - our job is to execute it. My mission in life is to help educate Christians about their reason for being alive - to help them discover their purpose, and then prepare them to be effective at fulfilling it. It would be a ridiculous waste of our created design, not to mention of the precious time we have on this planet, if we settle for anything less than pouring ourselves into the process of changing the world. When the truth that God put us here for a reason - to be part of the greatest initiative in world history - burrows deep roots into the soul of a believer, and they understand that no one else can fulfill that purpose in their relational world as well as they can, then something transformational happens. - Tom Mercer
