July 23, 2006

Pentecost 8

There’s only so much you can learn from sitting in a classroom.  At some point, you’re going to have to get some real life experience!  If you want to be a teacher, you need to practice working with real kids!  If you want to be a mechanic, you need to practice working on real cars.  If you want to be a nurse, you need experience working with real sick people!  Your education really isn’t complete until you get out there and use what you’ve learned!

The same thing is true in our Christian lives.  In Mark 6, Jesus is teaching his disciples how to do the work of the ministry.  And now, he’s taking them to the next level.  He’s saying, “Alright.  You’ve watched me preach.  You’ve seen me do healings.  You’ve observed me driving out demons.  You’ve watched me love people that have never been loved before.  You’ve seen me do the things that a servant of God would normally do.  Now it’s time for YOU to do it!  I didn’t pick 12 apostles so that you could stand around and watch me do all the work!  It’s time for YOU to get some experience!  My job is to prepare you to do your job!”

In our text, Jesus gives them five tools for ministry.  First, He gives them a MODEL for ministry.  Verse 6: “Jesus went around teaching from village to village.”  Jesus led by example!  Before He tells his disciples to go out there and do the work of the ministry, He was out there doing it first!  Jesus didn’t hide up in heaven and tell us what to do from a distance.  He came down here and showed us what to do!

And notice: Jesus didn’t wait around for the villagers to come to Him.  He left Nazareth and went to them!  Isn’t there a lesson here?  We talk a lot about getting people to come to our church.  And that’s great.  But do we talk enough about getting our church to go to the people?  That’s what Jesus is talking about here!  He doesn’t say, “Wait in the sanctuary, and pray for people to come in and fill the chairs.”  He says, “I want the people in the pews to go to them!”

Most of the ministry that God calls us to do is outside the church building.  It happens when we reach out with God’s Word to the people in our own community.  When we teach our children about the love of God.  When we discuss Bible stories around the dinner table.  When we reach out with Christ to coworkers that God has placed in our lives.  Telling people about Jesus beyond the walls of this building.  Here is where we get motivated and prepared for it.  But out there is where most of the real ministry happens.  Jesus gave us that model for ministry.

The Second thing that Jesus gives us is COMPANIONSHIP for ministry.  Verse 7: “Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two.”  It was customary in those days to send messengers in groups of two.  That way, if something were to go wrong, there would be two witnesses to testify on behalf of the sender.  But the bottom line is that God never intended you and I to do the work of the ministry by ourselves!  We need help!  We need encouragement!

I can’t tell you how glad I am that I was sent here to start this mission as a team.  My wife has been a huge blessing in my life and my work.  The Lord knew I could never have done this job by myself.  He knew it would only be possible by the skills and blessings and encouragement and support that my wife would bring to the table.  I couldn’t imagine having come out here by myself.  And now, having a staff minister and his capable wife has been a double blessing!  What can be accomplished with a team compared to what could be accomplished alone is amazing!  I wish that every church could have what we have.

Look at the apostle Paul.  As great as he was, when the church sent him out on his first missionary journey, they didn’t send him alone.  They sent Barnabas with him.  You know what the name “Barnabas” means?  Son of encouragement.  We all need encouragement in our lives.  We need people who will love us.  People who will build us up when the going gets tough.  It’s not as fun or as easy trying to do God’s work by yourself.  That’s why Jesus sent them 2 by 2.

This is why we are transitioning to team ministry from singular service.  On Sunday mornings, instead of a bunch of individuals serving in various aspects, we are building service teams; usher teams, audio-visual teams, altar set-up teams, etc, so that people get to serve together.  This is why we are trying to get small groups going.  So that people can grow together around God’s Word and serve together.  So that people can encourage one another!  Before you head off to serve the Lord, ask Him to give you a “Barnabas,” A son of encouragement, a team member who will go with you two by two.  Don’t try to do it yourself!

Third, Jesus gives us POWER for ministry.  As He sent the Twelve out two by two, verse seven tells us that Jesus “gave them authority over evil spirits.”  So He didn’t send them out empty handed.  He gave them the power they needed in that situation and in that time.  Sometimes, I hear people say: “I can’t serve the Lord!  I can’t even overcome the demons in my OWN life!  Let alone anyone else’s.  I’m not strong enough!  I can’t do it!”  That’s right!  You’re not strong enough!  But Jesus isn’t asking you to do this in your own strength.  He’s not asking you to minister in your own power.  He’s not asking you to battle the forces of evil by yourself. 

He’s giving you HIS power for ministry!  He has armed you with his WORD!  In those days, He had to give his disciples power to cast out demons.  Today, He gives us the powerful tool that we need.  His Word.  His sacraments.  Through these powerful, miraculous tools, we can do the work He wants us to!  His Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe!  And He promises to be with us always as we use his Word and Sacraments!  We are more than equipped!  We have the power of Christ’s Word with us!

Fourth, Jesus gives us the PROVISIONS for ministry.  Verse 8: “These were his instructions: ‘Take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.”  Galilee was a very hilly and rocky place.  So no traveler would be without his staff.  The staff was a very useful stick.  It helped you to steady yourself when you climbed up a rocky hill.  And if a wild animal or thief attacked you, you could use it as a club and beat them over the head. So for a traveler, the staff was an indispensable item. Jesus allowed them to take one along.

According to verse 9, they could take the clothes on their back and a pair of sandals.  But that was about it!  Jesus was saying, “Travel light!”  Why?   Number one: to teach the disciples that when they are working for the Lord, they will always be able to count on God to take care of them.  Jesus wants them to know that God’s call will never lack God’s supply.  Two years later, Jesus was having the disciples look back on this experience.  In Luke 22:35: “Jesus said, ‘When I sent you without purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?”  And the disciples said, “Nothing.”  In other words, there was never a time when we didn’t have what we needed.  God always took care of us.”  God put that in the Bible for us.  He wants us to know that when we step out in faith to serve Him, we will always have everything we need to live our lives.  The reason God limits the provisions of his called workers is so that they will trust in Him!

The second reason Jesus told the apostles to travel light was so that they would be totally committed to their mission, and not preoccupied with material things.  Today, we live such comfortable lives that it’s easy to forget that we’re supposed to be on a mission!  We’re supposed to be here to win people for Christ!  To bring them with us to our real home!  Would it make sense for God to put us on this earth to accumulate lots of toys only to leave them here for someone else when you die?  And if God’s people have so many earthly possessions, won’t that give the wrong impression to the ones we are trying to reach with the message of heaven?  This is certainly true for those of us in the public ministry, but it is also true for every Christian.  Let’s not give the wrong impression with material possessions.  Let’s have clear goals and priorities!

In verse 10, Jesus said, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town.” In other words, “Don’t go around looking for the nicest possible accommodations.  Stay wherever you are welcomed.”  Back then, there were a lot of traveling philosophers wandering around Galilee.  They would stay the night with whoever would take them in.  But when someone with a nicer house made them a better offer, they would ditch the first host and stay at the nicer place.  Jesus is telling his disciples: “Don’t do that.  Don’t leave these people with the impression that your ministry is all about you rather than all about God.  Don’t lead them to believe that you’re in this only for yourself.”  There’s nothing wrong with experiencing the finer things in life.  But when this becomes the main reason why you live your life and why you serve the Lord, then there’s a problem.

Finally, Jesus gives us PRACTICE for ministry.  In verse 11, Jesus says, “If any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.”  In that day, it was the custom of any Jewish person who had traveled outside of Palestine to carefully shake off all of the dust of the Gentile territories where they had passed through.  By this action, they had disassociated themselves from the sin of those countries and their impending judgment.

So Jesus is saying that if anyone doesn’t welcome you or your message, then you should treat them the same way they treat the Gentiles!  Give them a taste of their own medicine!  Do this as a reminder to everyone in that town that you have fulfilled your ministry obligations, and that someday, they will have to answer to God!  This is the ultimate preaching of God’s law to a person; that you, God’s messenger, need to disassociate from their sin of unbelief.

We all know people that we would love to see come to faith in Christ.  But for whatever reason, they haven’t been open to our witness or to spiritual things.  Maybe there is a sin in their life that they don’t want to give up.  Maybe they’re just not ready.  Keep them in your prayers.  God isn’t through with them yet.  But if they get hostile, shake the dust off.  Say, “Lord, I have fulfilled my responsibility to do what You wanted me to do.  Now I hand this person over to You and ask that You take it from here.”

Verse 12 says that the disciples “went out and preached that people should repent.”  The word repent used here means to “change your mind.”  People need to change their minds about sin.  They need to change their minds about the way they have been living their lives.  And they need to change their minds about Jesus Christ.  The disciples were pleading with people to stop living their sinful lives and stop relying on themselves to be right with God.  And instead, trust in Jesus for forgiveness and eternal life!

It isn’t hard to see how this kind of preaching could cause a problem.  Some people don’t like being told that there are things in their lives that they need to change.  They don’t like being told that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  Do you?  They don’t like hearing that they need someone greater than themselves to save them.  But that is the message the disciples were sharing with them!  And they were sharing the wonderful news that Jesus is our Saviour from sin!  And inviting people to trust it.  Leading them to repentance:  godly sorrow over sin, and faith in Jesus.

In verse 13, we see that their mission was blessed!  The training session was successful!  God worked through them!  Demons were driven out and people were healed!  The Gospel message was shared!  Notice, at Jesus’ direction, the disciples ministered to the people’s eternal needs, but they also ministered to the people’s felt needs.  Their physical needs.  God cares about the whole person.  And sometimes, the only way we can minister to people’s eternal needs are when we show we care about their immediate needs.  Because God cares about those too.  He is concerned about the problems we have right now.  And just as Jesus sent the disciples to help the hurting people of Galilee, He is sending us to help the hurting people of Mississauga.

The old picture of the church where the pastor does all the ministry work simply isn’t the way Jesus wants it done.  His job, after redeeming us, was training his disciples to carry out the kingdom work.  Just like with Jesus, my job is to train you so that YOU can do the work of the ministry!  Ephesians 4:11 says, “It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up!”  So in other words, “My Job is to Prepare You to do Your Job!”

God never intended for us to be spectator Christians.  We all need to be involved in some kind of ministry.  Whether it’s Bible Study, or evangelism, or visiting the elderly, or encouraging other believers, whether it’s getting involved with the Sunday morning service teams, or getting involved in a small group Bible study, or helping us get the Milton outreach off the ground, each one of us needs hands-on practical experience!  Otherwise, our Christian education isn’t complete.  Let’s use the gifts that God has given us – to thank Him!

Why thank Him?  For his mercy.  For his love.  For his promise to always be with us.  He has forgiven us for all our failures in faith and service.  He not only did it perfectly for us while He was here, He paid for our mistakes on that cross.  He made us right with God.  Let’s thank Him with our service.  With our ministry!  (Making Pancakes story – optional)  Amen.

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