He Saves One to Save the Tribe

Have you ever noticed in the Bible how often one person opens the door to God’s Kingdom and then their whole household is positively affected?

Old Testament

• Noah: Genesis 7:1 ESV — Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.”
• Abraham: Genesis 17:7 ESV — “And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” Genesis 22:17-18 ESV — “I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
• Rahab: Joshua 2:18 ESV — “Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household.”
• Obed-edom: 2 Samuel 6:11 ESV — And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.
• Joshua: Joshua 24:15 ESV — “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

New Testament

• Cornelius: Acts 10:1-2 ESV — At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.
• Lydia: Acts 16:15 ESV — And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
• The Philippian Jailer: Acts 16:31 ESV — And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
• Crispus: Acts 18:8 ESV — Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.
• Stephanas: 1 Corinthians 1:16 ESV — I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.

This is a theme throughout scripture that you will often hear me sum by this statement: “Jesus saves one to save the tribe.” You can also say, “He saves a villager to save the village.” In John 4, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman while she is alone at a well. When she discovers who Jesus is, she drops everything and runs back to her village, inviting everyone to encounter Jesus.

Acts 28:7-9 ESV — Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him, healed him. And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured.

The chief man receives Paul’s entourage and shows them hospitality, then all the people on the island are healed. This key-man opens the region to experience the transformational presence of God through his receiving and hospitality. This doesn’t just apply to the bigwig who is the chief of an island. Remember the woman at the well. She is rejected within her community, yet she still holds the key. Every person has been given a realm of influence and stands as a “key-person” to that realm. Our attitude opens or closes the door to the Lord’s presence.

You are a key-person!

When Jesus gives instructions to His disciples about going out and sharing His Kingdom message, He tells them to look for households that receive them and show them hospitality. Hospitality is the mark of a heart ready to receive the Kingdom. It is like a landing pad for the Gospel. He also says that if they do not find receiving, hospitable people that they should kick the dust off their feet and move on.

Matthew 10:14 ESV — “And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.”

Luke 9:5 ESV — “And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”

Let’s take a moment to check our attitudes.

• Are we receiving and hospitable?
• Are our doors open and our hearts generous towards Jesus and His people?
• Are we willing to invite Him into the places where we have influence —our homes, our workspaces, our schools, and our communities?
• Are we willing to humbly and sacrificially host and serve His presence?
• Are we diligently attentive for other key-people who will allow us to bring Jesus into their boundaries of influence?
• What is your realm of influence as a key-person?
• Is there something in you that needs to change in order to host? What comes to mind?
• What growth steps will you take this week?

Let’s pray that we would be hospitable key-people, and let’s pray that the Lord will connect us to other key-people with whom we can share the Kingdom of God.

Seeking His face!
Matt

Matt Neese
Wellspring.Live

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