Patient Zero

Jesus read this passage from the Book of Isaiah Chapter 61 in the synagogue in Nazareth. 

 

Luke 4:18-19 (ESV)

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me (Jesus),
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and recovering of sight to the blind,
    to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

Jesus saved us, so everything else is a bonus.  We must not live our lives for God's blessings.

  

Luke 19:10 (ESV)

10 For the Son of Man (Jesus) came to seek and to save the lost.”

Since we are saved, we must seek the lost to be like Jesus.   Jesus left the 99 sheep to find the 1 lost sheep (Matthew 18:12).  

Jesus changed His environment and not the other way around (Matthew 19:10).  You cannot build God's reputation if you're not willing to risk yours. 

We are supposed to love people, but to hate sin.  

Matthew 28:18-20  (ESV)

18 And Jesus came and said to them, 

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 

20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

 And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

God has assigned us to reach the world, so they will follow Him. 

2 Timothy 2:15 (ESV)

15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Acts 1:8 (ESV)

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my (Jesus's) witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

We are to witness to what we have seen.  Jesus didn't make us theologians.  

No one with an experience will ever be at the mercy of someone with an argument.  

We are to spend time with Jesus, and talk about it.  

Acts 4:13  (ESV)

13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. 

And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

We are called to catch and carry.  We're all contagious with something.  Are you a carrier of Jesus or sin?  

You caught whatever you're carrying by a person that you're around. Where did you get your attitude?  

Nehemiah 8:10  (ESV)

...for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”    

Where is your joy?  When and where did it depart?

We must be under authority to be in authority (Luke 8:8).  

You will have the health, attitude, and the income of the 5 people that you hang out around the most.  

Jesus had 12 disciples.  Then, Jesus had Peter, James, and John.  Be around the right people. 

You're catching something from people you're around. Paul was a carrier of Jesus in prison.

  

Philippians 1:12-13 (ESV)

12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,

 

13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.

Our purpose is to change the environment of those around us.  We must choose to be patient zero.  It's up to you. 

Matthew 5:14 (ESV)

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

You are divinely set where you are for a purpose.  

  

The early church had to convince people that they weren't gods (Acts 14:12).

It's not about growing our church.  It's about growing the Church.  

John 3:16-17 (ESV)

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son (Jesus), that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

 

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Jesus,  please forgive my past.  Take my life and be my Lord and Savior. 

75% of the people you invite on Easter to church will come. 




Jeremy Foster, Hope City Church
https://hopecity.com/sermons/patient-zero-pastor-jeremy-foster/