SIBKL/Pastor Lee Choo/26/2/12
“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee , he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Matthew 4:18-22
How could Jesus build a church so prevailing the gates of hell could not prevail? In just 40 years, the church of Jesus Christ had spread to the whole of the known world from Jerusalem to Spain
Jesus said “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. First we are to come and follow Jesus. Secondly, He will make us fishers of men. Finally, we are to go, as Jesus commanded in His last words before He went to Heaven.
Jesus’ cell consisted of 12 men only. Of these 12 men, Peter, James and John were the core. Why were there only 12? Research has shown that to organize an outing or meeting, 12 is a good number. The core owns the vision and the cell runs with the vision.
The C in CORE stands for Cell Leader’s best friend. The O in CORE stands for Ownership of the cell. R in CORE stands for Responsibility for the cell. E in CORE stands for Empowered as you go.
The disciples of Jesus were an authentic community. They quarreled. They were impatient. Cell is where we can be real. People look for friends in cell. Cell is about real people who struggle together. Cell is where we can say “I had a lousy day”, and the rest of the cell will say “Let’s pray for you!” Cell is where we build disciples, where we learn to be Christlike.
A key purpose of Cell is to have compassion for the lost. The Holy Spirit teaches us compassion. Cell is not just a Bible Study group. It is a Life Group. In cell, we learn how to thank God, how to praise the Lord, how to pray, how to worship. At cell, we pray for each other and study the Word together. Cell groups are wonderful at helping with weddings. Some non-Christian parents of Christians in cell were touched at how helpful and loving their cell members were. At bereavements, when family is sick in hospital, it is the cell group that brings support.
Cell Group is also where we can be accountable to each other. For example, a cell aiming to read through the Old Testament in a year support and encourage each other to complete their goal. Group dynamics are also important. It is hard to pray 1 hour alone, but together with others it is not so hard.
In Matthew 6, when Jesus fed the 5,000, He divided them into groups of 50s and 100s and empowered His disciples to serve them. They all ate and were satisfied! Jesus had compassion on the crowd. His disciples did not. How did Jesus transfer His compassion. He told them “You give them something to eat!” To be effective, we need to break down our church into small groups. Our senior Pastor can’t pray for every single member of the church, but through Cells, every member’s needs can be met.
There are 5 stages that cells naturally go through. Firstly, there is Exploration. The focus is “Do I belong to the group?” The emphasis is on the group. Secondly, there is Transition. The focus is “What can the cell do for me?” The emphasis is on self. Thirdly, there is Community. At this stage, we ask “What can I do for Christ?” The emphasis is on Christ and what I can do for the Cell. Fourthly, there is Outreach. At this stage, we ask “What can I do for the lost?” The focus is on the lost. Finally, there is Multiplication. The question is “What can we do to multiply? The focus is on Growth!
One young cell was told to visit an elderly couple who had no family to take care of them. It took the husband 6 hours to go out and buy lunch. The wife had no choice but to wait patiently, even soaked in urine. This cell continued to minister to the couple for months. They did not just come to share the gospel. They came to bring life! Indeed, if they had not gone, they would not know what it was like to be a helpless old person.
Another cell went for a Mission Trip to Sabah . At the village they went to, the Ketua Kampung was about to give up. The Cell Group had prepared training materials, and released teaching and encouraging to the people. The Village Chief felt God speak to him that he should not give up. The cell suffered, not being able to bathe there, but persevered to serve.
77 cells have gone to Kampung Cempaka now. The Ketua Kampung said he has never seen a people so united. When we serve together and love together, the whole world comes to know we are His disciples.
Basically, cell is where a group of people come together regularly to give thanks to God, to grow and to show Christ’s love to the world. Philippians 1:27 says “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.” We are to stand together with one Spirit, one purpose, fighting together for the faith, the good news of Jesus Christ. We are many cells, but with one focus, one vision, to serve Jesus Christ!
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