Luke 9:1-62
There is so much in this chapter that I have really struggled with how to sum it up in my mind. There seems to be a transition in Christ's ministry here as He begins to prepare the disciples for their future ministry. I chose to look at four qualities that Christ seems to be instilling in His followers and then four deficiencies that stand in contrast to that which Christ longs to see in our lives as we strive to serve Him.
CONFIDENCE NOT COWARDICE: As He sent His disciples alone, He gave them authority to preach, heal and cast out demons. They scattered to a variety of locations and seemed to have a tremendous impact on those to whom they ministered. However, Christ warned them that not all would hear, honor or help them. They were not to allow this type of rejection to cause them to cower in fear, but were to move on with confidence knowing that they were doing the work of God and had the truth. Later on in the chapter, they fail because of their lack of faith and confidence. As we serve God and proclaim His Word, we can be confident in the truth and validity of our message and ministry. We must not allow the negative responses of people to cause us to shrink away from His work or be ashamed of His Word.
COMPASSION NOT CONTENTION: People rarely do what we expect or want them to do. Jesus and the disciples wanted to go away and have a quiet "debrief" after their ministry experience. The problem is that 5,000 hungry men show up. Later on, they want to go into Samaria and rest along the way as they travel to Jerusalem. They are turned out. In the first case, the disciples want to send the crowd away. In the second case, James and John want to call fire down from heaven to consume the city. They were being contentious but Jesus wanted to teach them compassion. He fed the crowd and simply moved on to the next city having explained that He had come to save and not destroy. When people start to "get under our skin" or resist our ministry in their midst, we must respond with compassion and love and not treat them the way that they might deserve. We must remind ourselves of the compassion with which God has so patiently treated us.
COMMITMENT NOT COMFORT: Following Christ is not for the weak of heart. Their is a cost to discipleship and it comes in the form of a cross. Several people claimed that they wanted to follow Christ, but they balked at the cost of having to leave the comforts of home and follow Christ who was homeless. Self denial does not come natural to any of us. We would all rather carry a suitcase stuffed with all the things we enjoy than a cross. But it is a cross on which Christ died that we might be free from sin, and it is a cross we must carry if we are going to be successful at helping others to know how they too can be free from sin in Christ. The cross is an instrument of torture and shame. It is not a pleasant thing to carry around and is not a very popular message to proclaim, but it is what Christ demands of disciples. May we be faithful to rise from our recliners and carry the cross to the nations of the world.
COOPERATION NOT COMPETITION: As we go about serving the Lord, we will, inevitably, come across people or groups of people that are striving to do the same thing in a different way. Competition is a part of the fiber of our being. I love to play games. I love to win. I love to compete. This spirit has no place in the service of our Lord. We do not compete against one another, we are on the same team. Our competitive spirit must be saved for our adversaries and never be directed toward our "teammates." Following Christ is a a "team sport" not an individual competition. We each have our individual gifts and responsibilities, but we must not allow our individuality breed independence. Anyone who plays a team sport knows that the only stat that really matters is wins. The only people who care about individual statistics are the ones who lost. When we compete with one another for positions of prominence, recognition, size of ministry and success of programs we are being distracted from the task at hand and our true adversary will seek to use this to his advantage. We must work in cooperation with one another for our own personal growth, the expansion of the kingdom and the glory of God.
CONFIDENCE NOT COWARDICE: As He sent His disciples alone, He gave them authority to preach, heal and cast out demons. They scattered to a variety of locations and seemed to have a tremendous impact on those to whom they ministered. However, Christ warned them that not all would hear, honor or help them. They were not to allow this type of rejection to cause them to cower in fear, but were to move on with confidence knowing that they were doing the work of God and had the truth. Later on in the chapter, they fail because of their lack of faith and confidence. As we serve God and proclaim His Word, we can be confident in the truth and validity of our message and ministry. We must not allow the negative responses of people to cause us to shrink away from His work or be ashamed of His Word.
COMPASSION NOT CONTENTION: People rarely do what we expect or want them to do. Jesus and the disciples wanted to go away and have a quiet "debrief" after their ministry experience. The problem is that 5,000 hungry men show up. Later on, they want to go into Samaria and rest along the way as they travel to Jerusalem. They are turned out. In the first case, the disciples want to send the crowd away. In the second case, James and John want to call fire down from heaven to consume the city. They were being contentious but Jesus wanted to teach them compassion. He fed the crowd and simply moved on to the next city having explained that He had come to save and not destroy. When people start to "get under our skin" or resist our ministry in their midst, we must respond with compassion and love and not treat them the way that they might deserve. We must remind ourselves of the compassion with which God has so patiently treated us.
COMMITMENT NOT COMFORT: Following Christ is not for the weak of heart. Their is a cost to discipleship and it comes in the form of a cross. Several people claimed that they wanted to follow Christ, but they balked at the cost of having to leave the comforts of home and follow Christ who was homeless. Self denial does not come natural to any of us. We would all rather carry a suitcase stuffed with all the things we enjoy than a cross. But it is a cross on which Christ died that we might be free from sin, and it is a cross we must carry if we are going to be successful at helping others to know how they too can be free from sin in Christ. The cross is an instrument of torture and shame. It is not a pleasant thing to carry around and is not a very popular message to proclaim, but it is what Christ demands of disciples. May we be faithful to rise from our recliners and carry the cross to the nations of the world.
COOPERATION NOT COMPETITION: As we go about serving the Lord, we will, inevitably, come across people or groups of people that are striving to do the same thing in a different way. Competition is a part of the fiber of our being. I love to play games. I love to win. I love to compete. This spirit has no place in the service of our Lord. We do not compete against one another, we are on the same team. Our competitive spirit must be saved for our adversaries and never be directed toward our "teammates." Following Christ is a a "team sport" not an individual competition. We each have our individual gifts and responsibilities, but we must not allow our individuality breed independence. Anyone who plays a team sport knows that the only stat that really matters is wins. The only people who care about individual statistics are the ones who lost. When we compete with one another for positions of prominence, recognition, size of ministry and success of programs we are being distracted from the task at hand and our true adversary will seek to use this to his advantage. We must work in cooperation with one another for our own personal growth, the expansion of the kingdom and the glory of God.
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