Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Serving
like Jesus
Luke 9:1-6
1 When Jesus had
called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all
demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to preach the
kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 He told them: “Take nothing for
the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. 4
Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. 5 If
people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their
town, as a testimony against them.” 6 So they set out and
went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people
everywhere.
It’s
amazing to think that God uses us to partner with Him in His kingdom work. He
uses people who are available and dependent upon Him. God is not looking for the best and
brightest; but He is looking for those who are available and humble. We know this because Jesus used the Twelve to
do the work He was doing. There are several
things we can learn from Jesus sending out the Twelve to serve. How can I go out and serve like Jesus?
Jesus gathers us
together and calls the play, “Go out and do what I have been doing. Love
people. Serve people. Heal people. Touch people with grace and truth.” He sends
us out with his power and authority. Are
you following the Lord’s plan?
Luke 9:1-6
1)
Know that He sends you out to serve. – Jesus called the Twelve together and gave
them power and authority. Power is the
ability to do something. Authority is the
right to do it. Jesus sends us out with
the ability and the right to serve others the way he did.
2)
He sends us out with a message. He sends
us out to proclaim the kingdom of God. What is the kingdom of God? In verse 6
we learn that it’s the gospel. The gospel and the kingdom of God are synonyms.
In other words, we go out talking to others about Jesus and his saving grace.
We tell others about His love. We let other know that Jesus accepts them and
wants them to follow him. The message we bear is the good news of Jesus!
3)
He sends us out to serve relying on Him. We don’t go out in our own power and
talents – but we go out with trust in Him. The instructions in verses 3 and 4
seem odd. Don’t take anything for the journey.
Whatever house you enter stay there. If people don’t welcome you, move
on. What is Jesus saying here? He’s saying that all you need is to depend on
me. You need to depend on me for
strength, for guidance, for provision, for success in your serving ministry. Jesus is making it
clear that the more we think we need to have the less we really depend on
Him. I believe there are many people who
are not ministering for the Lord in power and authority because they are
getting ready. They are in the preparation stage. The mistakenly think they
need this or that in order to be effective. Jesus teaches something different. Jesus teaches us that we don’t need what we
think we need, what we need is to trust Him completely.
4) He sends us out to
serve those who are receptive. He tells us to stay with the people who welcome
us. Find the people who are hungry for
what you have to offer. Look for the ripe fruit that is ready for the picking. Walk through the doors that the Spirit is
opening. Sometimes we become frustrated
trying to open doors that are shut.
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