Sermon Snippet Summary: "D. None Of The Above"

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Anh Viet (Phillip Ma)

"D. None of the Above"

Luke 9: 10- 17 Feeding the Five Thousand

¹⁰ And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. ¹¹ But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. ¹² When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.”

¹³ But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.”

And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ For there were about five thousand men.

Then He said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.” ¹⁵ And they did so, and made them all sit down.

¹⁶ Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and brokethem, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. ¹⁷ So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

Picture yourself 5 hours prior to hosting a fabulous dinner party. You open the fridge and there's only 1 frozen steak, 1 bottle of soda, and a lump of cheese. You're expecting 100 people. 100 hungry people. What would you do? Most likely, you'd run to the nearest Costco, grab a cart and pile as many bags of frozen wings, ready-to-eat salads, platters of pre-made hors d'oeuvres and boxes of soda you can fit inside your budget.

The twelve disciples probably looked at Jesus like He had gone bonkers when He told them to feed all 5000 people with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. 5000 people can fit inside the Walter Pyramid at Cal State Long Beach! That's a whole lot of people to feed!

HOW DO YOU FEED 5000 PEOPLE??

A. Send them home (they'll eat at home)

B. Go into town and buy food for them

C. Send them home (again)

D. None of the Above

As humans, the disciples thought only the obvious: A & B. Most likely A. Buying food for 5000 people would be very costly, and they would need multiple trips just to carry the food back. Sending the people home would be the safest answer.

Jesus' answer was "D. None of the Above". He told His disciples to feed the people. Afterward, He told them to sit the people down in groups of 50. "Sitting down" back then wasn't like how we sit down on the couch. It's more like sitting at the dinner table waiting for mom to bring out the food. When Jesus told His disciples to have the people "sit down" it meant that He knew that they would be fed ahead of time. By this, the disciples thought, "well, how in the world do we give them food to eat??" We don't know how the process of breaking bread and the fish worked, but we do know that at the very end, everyone was full and satisfied. There was 12 baskets leftover, too!

In application to our lives:

Sometimes the most obvious answer isn't the right answer. Sometimes the answers we think are the right aren't. To have a good life, we have to learn to be flexible. To have a good life spiritually, we cannot be rigid or set in our ways. We have to flexible. The disciples had to be flexible and trust in what Jesus told them to do.

Wayne Grudem, a modern theologist, and a group of highly intelligent scholars gathered together one summer to translate the bible into the English Standard Version. All they did all summer was gather and translate God's awesome Word. Every morning Wayne would get up early and have his devotion. Weeks went on by and the job got tiring. So for about a week, he stopped waking up early to do his devotions. He thought that extra sleep will help him as he worked the long hours. The week went on and he noticed that he was more angry, frustrated and irritable. He traced everything back and realized that for that particular week, he didn't do his devotions. It was so obvious that sleeping more would produce better work, but it didn't. Doing his devotions was what got him through the day with less negativity.

My perspective:

We have to learn to be flexible. There is no way for a potter to mold and shape clay that has already harden. Same goes for our hearts and our habits.

Little things that aren't too obvious can make a huge difference. For me, I noticed that switching from my indie cds to 95.9 The Fish in my car makes me drive at a more relax pace. Just saying "Thank You" through my day makes me calmer and less irritable. The mood at the dinner table changes so quick when you pray out loud and thank God for your meal.

Try the little things that you think aren't as obvious: Changing your radio station, praying before every meal, reading one verse from a book in Psalm, or singing a verse from a worship song.

How awesome is it that one little utterance of prayer, praise, or thanks can change the entire mood or countenance of a person. One word can turn the spiritual battle around that you think you're losing.

Until next time ;)

LUKE 9:7-9 The Importance of Preaching the Gospel

[Saturday Nights at Selah with Phillip Ma]

Last week, we looked at a profile of the Christian messenger.  In studying the twelve apostles first call to missions work, we observed how we, as believer should preach the gospel.  Not only how to preach the gospel but how to do it well.  But the failure of the modern church today is the very little gospel preaching it does.  As believers, how many of us really do a good job evangelizing?  How many of us consistently, constantly and continually tell people about Jesus?  I’ll be the first one to admit that I don’t. 

But why not?  Why don’t we tell the gospel to people?  Well there are a number of reasons: we are so busy and caught up with our own things, we think we don’t have time for it.  We don’t care too much about sharing the gospel with other people.  Many times, we’re scared or a little embarrassed to witness.

But let me tell you another reason…we don’t think it works too often.  We don’t think it works that much.  Many times, we think sharing the gospel is a waste of time because it never really works.  No one ever believes.  They mostly laugh or just brush it off.  Every time I try, I crash and burn.  So we kind of lose hope and faith in the power of the message.

But is this attitude correct?  No.  Is sharing the gospel a waste of time?  No.  To have that kind of thought is to directly question the judgment of God.  God has chosen preaching the gospel as the vehicle through which a person can believe in Jesus and go to heaven.  We are commissioned to that and do that only.  That’s it.  There is nothing else.  So to believe it doesn’t really work is to not trust God.  And we don’t want to do that.

So why should I preach the gospel?    Besides the fact that God commands it, why should I preach the gospel?  To put it another way, why is it vital for believers to preach the message of salvation?  Though it seams hard and often a waste of time, why is it important that Christians share the gospel?

Well we’re gonna try to answer that tonight.  As you may recall, Jesus has sent his twelve disciples out on their first missions trip.  The twelve that Jesus took aside for intensive training and teaching are now on their first assignment.  He sends them out to preach to the entire area of Galilee.  We’re about 18 months into Jesus’ three year ministry and Jesus is about to leave this northern area to travel to other regions and eventually on down to Jerusalem.  So before he leaves Galilee, he wants to make a final mega outreach campaign.  He wants to save as many people in this area as possible before he leaves.  Now because Jesus does not have enough time to cover every city and town, he sends out the twelve telling them to preach the kingdom and heal the sick.  To essentially do what he’s been doing the past year and a half.

So in Luke 9:6, we read that the twelve “departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.”  It says they ministered “everywhere”.  They preached in every city and every town of that region.  There was not a place that was missed.  Now during his campaign, at least one or two of the twelve entered the city where King Herod lived.  Herod Antipas was king or what was called tetrarch over the northern area of Galilee and the eastern area of Perea.  He may have been the son of Herod the Great, the one who killed the babies when Jesus was born.  Though he was called King Herod, he was still under the power of Rome.  So he couldn’t do anything he wanted, he still had to be under Rome’s dominion.  Nevertheless, he was still very powerful politically and ruled that area for most of Jesus’ life.  Anyway, one or two of the twelve hit Herod’s city with the gospel.  He preached the gospel, healed people, and may have casted demons out of some people.  Eventually, news of what was happening reached the palace.  People in the palace started talking about how these guys were sent by a man named Jesus who was doing and saying all this crazy stuff throughout the land.  In time, the works and ministry of Jesus landed in Herod’s ear.  So lets read what happens to Herod when he hears kingdom message Jesus was preaching.  Lets turn to Luke 9 and we’re going to read verses 7-9.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?" So he sought to see Him.

The gospel has great potential.

           

Why should we tell others about Jesus?  Though it seams hard and often a waste of time, why is it important that Christians share the gospel?  For one thing, the gospel has great potential.  The gospel message has the ability to reach any person.  The life and ministry of Jesus can impact any person: rich, poor, old, young, important, not so important.  People from all walks of life are never too far from the kingdom message.

           

Up to now, Jesus has been ministering in the outskirts of the nation.  Today, it would be like someone living and teaching in Bakersfield.  Away from the LA, OC, the capital.  An small insignificant area of the country.  Up to now, he has impacted the lowly of society.  Fishermen, prostitutes, tax collectors, a centurion once in a while but no one of great importance. 

But eventually, Jesus’ life and ministry trickles all the way up to the most powerful man in the area.  King Herod himself.  The gospel has great potential.  It has the ability to go anywhere and touch anyone.

I heard a story once of a pastor named David Choi who was a Korean American pastor who does a lot of inner city ministry work in Chicago…  He was able to meet Michael Jordan, shake his hands and say “God bless you”.

Adam Baldwin is famous celebrity who got saved a few years ago and is now on fire for the Lord…

The gospel has great potential.  It has the ability to reach any person…rich poor famous or not so famous.  Let me tell you something else, the gospel has the ability to reach even the worse sinners.  King Herod was an extremely immoral man.  He was a horrible sinner.  He comes from an immoral family.  His father murdered hundreds possibly thousands of innocent babies.  As for Herod, let me tell some of the things he did: he had an affair with this brother’s wife Herodias.  Not only did he have an affair with his brother’s wife Herodias, he lusted after Herodias’ own daughter so much so that cut off John the Baptist’s head because of her.  He was not a good person.  Yet the gospel reached even him.

Now you might say I live in a bubble and will never have an opportunity to meet people like that.  I’m never going to meet Michael Jordan or be exposed to hardened sinners or criminals.  I’m never going to take the gospel that far up.  If you completely commit and surrender to sharing the gospel, how do you know God won’t take you there?  Do you think Billy Graham, when he committed his life to serving God think he was going to be praying for Presidents of the United States?  No.  He offered his life to God and God took him there.

The gospel has great potential; it just needs people to faithfully share it.

The gospel stirs up hearts.

Not only is it important for Christians to share the gospel because it has great potential, but also because the gospel stirs up hearts.  Once the gospel is truly heard, a person will be deeply stirred over the person of Jesus.  This message we preach pierces souls.  It is the sword of God’s spirit that cuts into the hearts of people.

Luke says that when Herod heard of all that was done by Jesus, was perplexed.  The actual Greek means he was greatly perplexed.  He was at a loss for words.  Because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead and by some that Elijah had appeared and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod was not just hearing about Jesus he was hearing about what others thought of Jesus.  Some said he was the second coming of John the Baptist.  Some said he was like Elijah.  Others said Jesus was like one of the other OT prophets like Moses or Samuel.  So Herod was at a complete loss for words.  All he could say was “who is this?”  Who is this that says he’s been sent from God?  Who is this that raises people from the dead?  Who is this that invites people to be part of God’s kingdom?  Upon hearing the gospel message, Herod’s heart has been sifted and shaken from the inside out.  All he can say is “Who is this?”

One day when we’re in heaven it might be surprising to find out how many rich, famous, powerful, or even friends we know have had the hearts stirred or shaken up by the gospel message.  We will be shocked to find out how many people have asked Herod’s question within their own hearts.  “Who is this Jesus?”  Who is this man that says he can forgive sins and take people to heaven?  Is he real?  Is what he says true?  Even the critics.  Even the ones who are so expressly anti-God and anti-Christian.  You know that if you throw a brick at a pack of dogs, the one that barks the loudest is the one that got hit.  Well perhaps the reason why some are so loud their objections to Christianity is because their hearts have been hit hard with the gospel message.

The gospel stirs hearts.  But you see we must preach the gospel before it can stir people’s hearts.

Now, I do admit that sometime it seems that the gospel message just goes over a person’s head.  You talk to someone about Jesus and they say wow that’s great.  Cool.  That’s a really good idea.  No emotional response whatsoever.  It seems like you threw the ball way outside strike zone.  Well, we don’t truly know what’s in a person’s heart.  They may seem completely uninterested on the outside but it might be a different story deep inside their heart.  Also, they may just need more time for their hearts to hear.  Sometimes, it might take more than spending five minutes sharing the gospel.  We might have to witness over and over again.  We may have to demonstrate evidence of the gospel in our own life before the words actually sink in.  It seems like the disciples got instant results when they preached.  But they doesn’t always happen.  We sometimes need to learn a little patience.

Stirred hearts long to know more about Jesus.

Why is important that Christians share the gospel?  Because the gospel has great potential.  Because it can stir up hearts and stirred up hearts long to know more about Jesus.  A person who has been shaken up over Jesus greatly desires to find out more about Him.  A heart cut by the Word of God will hunger to know more about him.  A pierced soul will day after day seek to discover the person who did the piercing.

In verse 9 Herod again poses the question to himself  “John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?”  So he sought to see him.  With the gospel reaching all up to him in his palace, with his heart completely stirred up, King Herod deeply desired to meet this man he had heard so much about.  An open exposed heart now needs to be filled. 

When I was a kid, I used to get and buy those chocolate Easter bunnies during Easter.  You know those little bunny statutes made entirely of chocolate.  Now it depends on what you get.  If you get a good one, it is a solid chocolate bunny inside out.  But if you get a cheap one, when you break off the head or leg to eat you find out it’s completely hollow inside.  And you’re like what a jip. 

When the gospel cuts open a person’s heart, he realizes perhaps for the first time the emptiness inside of him.  He realizes he is not rock solid inside.  He realizes he is not as fulfilled as the thought.  He is empty.  And he now seeks to fill it.

Now I will say this.  Herod never believed.  He spent one and half years trying to meet this man Jesus he had heard so much about.  And when he finally met him during Jesus’ trial, he mocked and rejected him.  What?  He never believed.  He went through all this and he never believed.  A person can go through all this and still not believe?  Yeah.  But you see that’s not my job.  It’s not much job to cause a person’s heart to believe.  That portion belongs to the Holy Spirit.  It is the Spirit that gives a person faith to believe.  The Spirit turns the hearts of men to God.  If preaching the gospel were that mechanical would never need or depend on the Spirit.

Conclusion

Why is it important for Christians to share the gospel?  Because of its great potential to reach any person.  Because of its ability to stir a person’s heart.  And because that stirring will result in a longing for Jesus.

Luke 9:1-6 A Profile of a Christian Messanger

[Anh Viet's Saturday Night Bible Study]

I have a brain teaser for you.  Well hold on.  First of all…heaven.  Heaven is perfect.  Heaven is glorious in every way.  Everything in heaven is a million times better than everything here.  You and I will be a million times better in heaven than we are here now.  But did you know that there is one thing you can’t do in heaven.  We are can in heaven a million times better than we can here.  But what is the one thing no person can do in heaven?  What is the one noble godly thing that can only be done on earth and never be done in heaven?  Well lets think this through.  Why are we still here?  Why are we Christians still hanging out here on earth instead of being in heaven?  Why doesn’t a person, at the moment he prays the sinner's prayer go immediately to the presence of God?  Because really isn’t it better in heaven?  Think about it.  Are we gonna sing better here or in heaven?  Is the music going to be played better now or in heaven?  Isn’t An going to be more musically talented in his glorified body?  Hopefully.  Aren't I going to preach better once I’m up there.  Of course.  And what else?  Everything.  I won’t sin.  I won’t be frustrated or stressed out over every little thing.  I’ll be better looking and in better shape than Vinny. I’ll walk better with God. So with all those benefits why aren’t we there now?

One thing.  We’re still hanging around here for one reason and only one reason.  To make Christ known.  I am not in heaven for one simple purpose…to tell others about Jesus.  That’s it.  God puts up with me, my imperfections and my goofups for only one thing.  Not to hear me sing badly.  Not to have me fall asleep when I’m praying in the morning.  Not to totally mess up in my Bible interpretations.  I’m here to preach the gospel.  That’s it.  Nothing else. Think about it.  Everything else, I can do and do better in heaven.  There’s only one thing I can’t do in heaven and that’s to tell sinners condemned to hell that there is a way to heaven.

It’s NBA playoffs.  Every team has one purpose and one singularly focused goal.  To win a championship.  We have one goal. One sole pursuit.  To proclaim the message of God’s kingdom.  That’s the Great Commission.  That’s what Jesus, before ascending, commanded us disciples to do.  Preach the gospel.

Now if that’s it.  If that’s our whole thing.  If that’s the reason for our earthly existence.  It would probably be a good idea to know how to do it don’t you think?  If that’s my job, I should know to do it well.  I should know how to most effectively, clearly and powerfully proclaim God’s gospel message.  Right? So how do we do it?  How should Christians preach the gospel?  How do believers best deliver the message of Jesus Christ?  Well I need to find people dedicated to sharing the gospel and follow them.  I need to look at people who preach the gospel and do it well in order to model after them.  That’s what we’re going to do tonight.  We’re going to profile a group of Christian messengers.  We’re going to take a look at how a few commissioned guys went about delivering the message of God’s kingdom and hopefully learn something.

So we’re in the Gospel of Luke.  Still continuing in the book.  Just changing the teaching format.  Up to chapter 9, Jesus has been ministering in the northern area of Galilee.  He hasn’t really been anywhere else.  He’s been teaching, healing, casting out demons, calming violent storms and forgiving sinners.  Because of all the amazing works, Jesus starts to gather a large following.  One day, out of the large following people, Jesus picks out 12.  These guys are put through an intense training and instructional course.  The goal is that hopefully one day, these 12 can take over Jesus’ ministry.  So for about 1 to 1.5 years, these guys are sitting and learning at Jesus’ feet listening to him and observing him minister.

Jesus now is almost done with his Galilean ministry.  He knows it’s about time for him to move on down to Jerusalem.  So with that in mind, Jesus needs to do some heavy duty outreach campaigns throughout that northern area.  The problem is he can’t hit every place.  He doesn’t have enough time to preach to every city and town in the Galilean area.  So he decides it’s time to send these 12 guys out.  It’s time to send them out and see what they can do.  So we have here the 12 apostle’s first assignment.  Their first missionary trip.  It was probably a short trip but still the first one.  Here is the first time the 12 are called and commissioned to deliver the message Jesus had been preaching.  So lets turn to Luke 9 and I’m going to read verses 1-6.  Luke 9:1-6.

Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.
"Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."
So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.



How do Christians preach the gospel?  We have only one job here on earth.  So how do we do it effectively?  How can Christians preach the gospel well?


I.  Christians preach the gospel well when they have divine power and authority.

First of all, Christians preach the gospel well when they do it with divine power and authority.  As messengers of God, we are given certain rights and abilities.  These help authenticate the message we’re trying to deliver.  When godly heavenly evidence accompanies me, telling people about Jesus will travel far deeper into a person’s heart.  When I have divine proof that what I am saying is the real deal, it no longer is a joke or fantasy to people, it becomes true.  And truth is powerful.

Here is verse 1, before sending them out on their missions trip, Jesus empowers the 12 with power and authority over demons and diseases.  As you probably know, Jesus did a lot of healing and exorcising.  Probably because in that region and in that day, the occult culture made it easy for people to get demon possessed.  Also, the medical field and sanitation is not like it is today so people weren’t as healthy as they are today.  So they probably would be encountering a lot of sick people and a lot of demon possessed people. Now you can imagine, being their very first missions trip, how nervous the 12 apostles probably were.  I mean Jesus was powerful his message was piercing and now they are suppose to do exactly what he did.  You can imagine the weight the burden the fear the anxiety they were feeling.  And I’m sure they probably had doubts.  I’m sure Thomas did.  Because you know he’s doubting Thomas.  He’s probably thinking: oh man what if I enter a city and this big demon possessed guy starts running at me and I say in Jesus name come out of him and the demon doesn’t leave.  Or worse yet what if the demon leaps out of the man and comes upon me.  Oh man that would be horrible.  Imagine what Peter was thinking.  What if I see a lame man begging for money and I say silver and gold I do not have but what I have I give to you.  In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.  And I pick him with both hands and…he falls right back down again breaking his arm.  Now he’s got crippled legs and a broken arm.  And then I’m going to say believe in Jesus who has the power to raise you up from the dead.  And they are going to go get real this Jesus can’t even heal a lame man, how am I suppose to believe he can raise me from the dead?

So Jesus probably knowing the anxiety and fear they would have says I’m giving you guys power and authority over all demons and diseases.  You’re going to go and when you see a demon, you’ll be able to cast them out.  When you encounter the lame or sick, you’re going to be able to heal their diseases.  So go preach the kingdom and heal the sick.  And don’t be ashamed of message because you’ll be able to prove that the message has power and is real.  They’ll see that these words are true.  You see the miracles Jesus did, the healings, the raising from the dead authenticated Jesus’ message.  They were evidence that Jesus wasn’t crazy.  That his words didn’t come from man but God.  So these miracles, these signs and wonders he gave to the disciples so it would bolster the message they gave. Christians will preach the gospel well when they have divine power and authority.

Now let me say this.  Do we need God’s power and authority today?  Yes.  But that power and authority might be expressed differently today in America than it did back then.  Because I think the common everyday needs of people today are different than they were back then.  People have different problems here and now.  As I said before.  Back then because of bad sanitation and primitive medicine, people’s health was not as good.  So people die younger and sicknesses/diseases were more prevalent.  Also, because people in that culture more openly dabbled in the occult, there was probably more demon possession cases.  So if Jesus would preach the gospel to a crowd, there is a good chance that more than half of those people were either sick or demon possessed.  But today if you go to Harvest Crusade, and you look at these American 16-17-18-20 something year olds in the stands, how many of have as their list of top problems diseases and demon possession?  Probably not many.  Now if you go to a senior citizen you might have people with major health issues. 

If you go to a 3^rd world country you might have more encounters with demon possessions.  But, here not as much. But we have our own problems.  21^st century Americans have their own issues to sort out.  I think one of the big problems we have in this individualistic culture with broken families on the rise is the issue of loneliness.  How many people feel isolated or alone?  How many people are there who rarely experienced true sacrificial love?

Huong told me a story of a client of ours.  I can tell you because you don’t know who she is.  She is a 40 something year old women with an 8 year old son.  Five years ago, she divorced her husband because he was cheating on her.  He went to Vietnam, met a girl had an affair.  Someone told her about she refused to believe it.  She thought they were so much in love and he wasn’t the type of person who would do that.  But he completely changed.  Every once in a while the phone would ring and he would run upstairs into his office to pick up the call.  Still in denial, one time she went up to the office with her 3 year old son to tell her husband dinner was ready.  As she opened the door he freaked out and kicked the door shut smashing her face as well as her sons.  When she had enough she divorced.  During the divorce proceedings, he told the judge he would have custody of their son visit their son 3 days a week and wouldn’t leave it all for his wife.  Because of that, the judge reduced the amount of child support he had to pay.  For the last five years, never once did he ever take their son home to his place.  Rarely even visits him while paying a reduced child support payment.  This woman needs to hear the gospel message.  But this woman also needs to see that the message is real.  She needs to see a husband love his wife and family with a Godly love.  She needs to know that God can help get her life back in order. 

You know another problem we have…stress.  Stress.  Worry.  Anxiety.  We live in a complicated world and the more complex life gets there is greater potential for worry and fear. So I go to my friend and talk to him about he kingdom of God and how Jesus is the mediator.  He’ll say what about my burdens?  What about my worries and fears?  And I can say let me tell you about the peace that surpasses all understanding.  Let me show you my worry free and fear free life because I am trusting God with everything.  This message I am sharing is real.  That is power and authority.

If I am walking right with God, that power and authority will be shown in my life.  The power to sustain a good healthy loving marriage will be there.  The power to heal me from emotional trauma is there.  The power to bring peace.  That is the sign and wonder to meet the needs of those around me. 

Now why do I need authority and power.  Shouldn’t the Word of God prove itself.  Can’t I just say Jesus is the way to heaven and leave at that?  If that was the case, why would Jesus spend a good part of 3 years healing, exorcising, and raising the dead?  If that’s all he needed to do, Jesus would just stand on top of the temple.  Yell out I am the way the trust and the life no one comes to the Father but by me and then die on a cross and leave.

Why did he spend a good chunk of his 3 year ministry serving people?

God has chosen to communicate the message of the gospel through human lives. That includes my words and my deeds.  For my words to be effective, they must be expressed in non-verbal aspects of my life.

II.  Christians preach the gospel well when they have the ability to maintain simple lifestyles.

Christians preach the gospel well when they have divine power and authority to authenticate that message.  Secondly, Christians preach the gospel well when they have the ability to maintain simple lifestyles.  To be effective, the Christian must be able to live plainly while fulfilling his mission.  For us to do our single job of sharing the gospel well, we must learn to be content in whatever financial/material situation God puts us in.

Along with the commission to preach, Jesus gives instructions to the 12 about what to pack and where to live.  Let me read to you verse 3-4:

And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece. 
"Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.

So Jesus says go spend a few weeks traveling to cities and towns in northern Galilee and preach the kingdom.  You have authority and power to cast out demons and to heal the sick.  By the way, don’t pack anything.  Just wear the shirt on your back and one staff for walking or protection.  That’s it.  Don’t take anything else.  Don’t bring a bag, don’t bring food, don’t bring money.  Instead just go and depend on the people you minister to to take you in and support you.

Let me tell you what this does not mean.  It does not mean that to live properly as Christians, we must sell everything we have and live off of those we share the gospel with.  It doesn’t mean that a pastor or evangelist is supposed to do that.  We know that because at times and we will see it in a second, Paul lived fairly comfortably.  This does not mean that this is a blanket command for all of us to follow strictly.   Remember that these are partly training missions for the disciples.  Jesus is not only sending them out to minister he’s also training them to do it well when it comes time for him to leave.  So what Jesus is saying is that for this particular missions trip take nothing.  Learn to depend on God.  Learn to trust in God to provide for you.  Also, learn to have flexible lifestyles.  Again the second point is that to preach the gospel well, Christians must have the ability to maintain simple lifestyles.  It doesn’t you always must be poor.  It means that do your one job well, you must be able to live on very little if you have to.

We talked about this with one of the guys’ small groups but you know if I had $10 million dollars, what would I do with it?  I would give a tenth to the Lord.  Go down to these new 3000 square feet million dollar homes near the beach they are selling in Laguna Hills and buy one.  Then take the remaining 8 million dollars put it in some money market account that pays 7-8 percent interest.  That’s about $500,000 a year.  Quit my job close my office and do ministry full time.  I would get a new S class Mercedes to drive to and from church.  That would be my dream scenario.  On the other hand, if I had to move into an 850 square foot 1 bedroom apartment and drive 1999 Toyota Corolla, assuming Huong would be cool about it…I think I would be perfectly content.  Because being able to have the flexibility to be in God’s perfect will is the place I could ever be.  Paul mastered this type of attitude in Philippians 4:11-13.  Let me read it to you:

…for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

So is it wrong to be rich?  No.  Abraham was a very wealthy man.  Job was wealthy.  Joseph of Arimathea was wealthy.  It’s okay for me to be rich, I just can’t love to be rich.  Money is not the root of all evil, the love of money is the root of all evil.

Why do I need to live simply?  You can be rich to do share the gospel effectively.  High maintenance people limit their options. I want to be able go wherever God wants me to go. 

Conclusion
Christians preach the gospel well when they have divine power and authority authenticating the message while having the ability to maintain simple lifestyles.  The only thing we can’t do in heaven is to tell the lost about Jesus.  That is the only reason why we are still hanging around here on earth.  That is the only reason why we have to learn to put up with each other.  The world needs to know that there is a way to heaven.  And if I want to do my job well I must show proof that this message is real and I must be flexible enough to wherever God leads. Me.