Chapter One
Be Motivated: How Does the Bible
Model the Importance of Visitation?
It was a cool and sunny February Sunday afternoon. I was helping
Bethel Church do a community ministry survey. My visiting
partner was Paul, a middle-aged man, and our assignment
was to discover any needs community residents had that the
church might meet. On that Sunday afternoon Paul and I found
most people home, and we were received rather well. As we chatted
about the information gathered and some of the things we
thought that the church might do to minister to these people, we
approached the last house in our assigned territory.
As we knocked on the door, we could hear noises coming
from inside the house, but no one answered. We began to wonder
if anyone would respond. Finally we heard a woman's voice
call out, "Who is it?" "Paul and Jerry from Bethel Church," we
replied. "We were just wondering if we could get some information
from you." She opened the door, holding a four-year-old
child who was limp in her arms. "I've been praying all day
that someone would come who could help me with my sick
daughter." She then told us that the girl had been running a
fever for two days but that she was worse today. Her husband
was a long-distance truck driver, due home any time, but she
had no way to contact him. She had run out of money and
didn't know what to do.
Paul and I assured her that we would help get medical care
for her daughter. Our community ministry survey now seemed
unimportant in light of the opportunity to meet an urgent
immediate need. We took her to a nearby hospital emergency
room that would treat her daughter and allow her to pay later.
We stayed until the medical personnel had completed their
treatment, and then we took mother and daughter back to their
home.
As Paul and I drove back to church we agreed that, although
we had set out to conduct a community ministry survey, God
had given us the unexpected privilege of engaging in on-the-spot
ministry. We thanked God for this opportunity to minister
to the woman and her daughter.
The next morning I called the woman to see how her
daughter was doing. Her husband, who had arrived during the
night, answered the telephone. He reported that the medicine
was working and that the little girl's fever had broken. She was
expected to make a complete recovery in a few days. He said
we'd been an answer to prayer by showing up at such a critical
time of need. When I called Paul and shared the news, we
prayed together, thanking God that we could be his chosen
instruments to meet this family's need.
A few days later Paul and his wife visited this family and
told them about Bethel Church and about the ways they
thought that the church could meet their needs. It wasn't long
before they visited Bethel Church. This incident illustrates just
one of many forms church visitation can take.
Most Christians want to be sure that what they do is based
on Scripture and follows biblical models. The Bible is filled
with visitation examples. God himself made visits; angels visited
people; the prophets went directly to people; and Jesus
practiced visitation as he went to special events, walked along
the roads, and went to homes. The apostle Paul was a frequent
visitor as he spread the gospel message on his missionary journeys.
Peter visited in the homes of Cornelius and Dorcas. The
list could go on and on.
Visitation is an ancient practice going back to the times
recorded in the book of Genesis and running throughout Scripture.
I'll highlight several Bible characters who practiced visitation
and then show why they did it. These biblical characters
illustrate principles that apply today as we engage in visitation.
I trust that this will motivate you as you realize how important
the idea of visitation is for God's people right now.
JESUS' COMMISSION
Matthew 28:18-20 has been called the Great Commission
because it directs the people of God to be active in visitation
and in disciple making:
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."
Visitation is not just a weekly church activity, nor is it an
activity that Christians do through their own strength and ingenuity.
Making contacts for Christ is serious business that
requires us to visit in the same spirit Christ had, seeking his
blessing and power for this significant endeavor. As Christians
we can go out, knowing that Christ's authority goes with us and
that he will be with us always, even to the very end of time.
Mark 16:15, a briefer version of the Great Commission,
states, "[Jesus] said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach
the good news to all creation.'" In some ways Mark is more specific,
insofar as the Christian is commanded to go into all the
world and preach-to share the good news of Jesus Christ with
everyone.
VISITATION ESTABLISHED BY GOD
God visited Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden both before
and after their fall into sin:
The Lord God took the man and put him in the
Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the
Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat
from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when
you eat of it you will surely die." Genesis 2:15-17
God personally placed Adam in the Garden of Eden to
work and take care of it. God spent time with Adam there and
saw that he needed a helper, so God created the woman, Eve.
After this first couple had eaten the forbidden fruit from the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, God once again visited
them in the Garden of Eden:
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the
Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool
of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the
trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the
man, "Where are you?"
He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was
afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you
not to eat from?" Genesis 3:8-11
This wasn't the first time God had visited with Adam and
Eve in the garden. He was such a frequent visitor that they
knew the sound of his footsteps. So at the beginning of human
history, God himself modeled the practice of face-to-face interaction
with us humans.
God Had Contact with His People
This practice of visitation didn't stop after Adam and Eve
were expelled from the garden. Note several other examples:
Noah (Genesis 6:12-7:4)
God visited Noah regarding the evil that humanity was
doing and told him about his plan to destroy the earth. God
gave Noah specific instructions about how to make the ark and
which animals he was to take on board along with his family
members.
Abraham (Genesis 13:14-17; 15:1-16; 17:15-22)
The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the
land I will show you." Genesis 12:1
God visited Abram and called him to establish a great
nation, to enjoy his blessing, to make his name great, and to be
a blessing to all peoples on earth. As Abram obeyed God these
things came to pass. Thus began numerous visits from God.
Moses at the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:1-4:17)
In one of the most dramatic events recorded in the Bible,
God confronted Moses in an isolated place as Moses was tending
sheep for Jethro, his father-in-law. This passage describes
how God and Moses interacted at the burning bush, where
Moses was more than a little bit reluctant to be the instrument
God was calling him to be.
Throughout the pre-exodus and exodus experience, Moses
and God had frequent visits with each other as problems and
issues arose. To see more of the dynamics, you can read the
entire story in the book of Exodus. At times God took the initiative
in visiting Moses; other times Moses sought God. An
important relationship ingredient to note is that once Moses
agreed to lead the people out of Egypt, God continued to be
present as a source of encouragement and help. From this we
can glean the principle that once a person agrees to do a task,
the person who enlists her has a responsibility to continue to
work with her as they do the job, offering additional instruction,
guidance, and encouragement.
Moses at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:3-9)
The movie The Ten Commandments dramatically portrays
God's response to Moses when Moses sought him. If you've
seen the movie, perhaps you recall the scene where Moses
climbed to the top of Mount Sinai, which had been enveloped
in a thick cloud and smoke as the ground shook and a trumpet
(Continues.)
