Jesus and His Disciples (3): Go and minister in His Name

(Mark 6:1-12)

So far in this series we have seen  that Jesus calls his disciples today with the same commission that we find at the end of Matthew 28 – go and make disciples teaching them everything that I have commanded you. The commission remains the same, we are the hope of the world carrying the good news which is to be lived out, and spoken, and explained until the end of time and until all nations have received it.

We have also seen that Jesus not only calls us but he equips us to do this especially by giving us the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts to carry out the task. We are all different and we have different gifts but we have the same Spirit. He calls, he equips, he inspires, and today I want us in this last talk in the series to see that we must now obey, we need to go and minister in His Name. We have received the call, we have been equipped and now we must live as obedient servants of God wherever he has placed us on this planet.

Going back to the passage we read in Mark 6 we see that this sending out of the disciples was probably on Jesus’ third tour of Galilee. On his first tour he only had four disciples, by the second tour he had twelve disciples and he was teaching them through them observing his ministry and now on his third run he was delegating the task and sending them out two by two.

There were some things that were unique to their situation but there are some things which are similar to our situation as disciples today. What was unique? Well it was definitely a frontier situation. They were in the vanguard of taking the gospel to people. They were to travel lightly and they were to stay in other people’s houses.  They also seemed to have a particularly blessed and powerful ministry of healing and of driving out demons.

Some comments on this. There are Christians who are in frontier situations today and they have more of an itinerant ministry, they travel lightly and depend on the hospitality of the local people. Also some who have been involved in frontier style mission have remarked about the number of miracles they have seen – more than in a settled situation. It is not that God does not do miracles and spectacular healings in more settled situations but sometimes it is as if he is saying this is not as necessary to establish the Christian witness. In a more settled situation God works more gently and more subtly. However we must always be open to him working through us, even in a miraculous way.

It may also be the case of course as we see in Mark 6:6-7 that there is less openness and less faith in the people and as himself Jesus found there were some areas where even he could not heal much, of God did not move.

The true story is told of two Scottish ministers who were comparing notes about a church that they had both preached in. “And how did you get on” asked one. The minister replied “I found the congregation very cold”. “Aye, cold”, said the other, “I preached there two years ago and I have not got the chill out of my bones yet.” As a preacher you can go to places and feel your words being received well and other places where it feels as if the words are just bouncing around the walls. The difference is faith and openness. Even Jesus experienced this.

Although we are of course to be open to God using us we should not expect to go forth with the same amount of miracles and signs following us as the early disciples. This is not generally our experience. Listen to Darren Bock on this difference between the early disciples and us who live in a more settled context – “Though the service of the disciples involved miraculous activity to demonstrate God’s power in the new era, that aspect does not mean that miraculous ministry is called for today in order to give testimony to the gospel. They key to the disciple’s activity was the combination of message and compassion…God can and may act in a sovereign display of power, but usually our ministry of evangelism requires a more mundane approach, but one that is just as meaningful”.

The disciples were introducing the kingdom, there were powerful signs accompanying their testimonies but our call in a more established context is to reflect the kingdom’s presence in humble service. Sometimes we can feel inadequate and think I cannot expel demons, I cannot perform great miracles of healing so can God use me? Well he can use us in our small way. But if you are open and obedient he might use you for a great healing or miracle – you need to be open always to this possibility.  Be open to miracles yes, but do not be disheartened if they do not follow. God is in control of these things.

Notice that the disciples travelled lightly here. We again are more settled, but maybe we have something to learn in this. Maybe we are too settled, maybe we surround ourselves with too much stuff and we hold on to it too tightly and the world observes that maybe we value things more than we value God. This is a challenge for all of us; are we depending on God or on our own resources? Are we so comfortable that our evangelistic edge has worn off? We are back to the question of whether we are a cruise liner or a life boat. Are we on mission or on a holiday?

There are other principles here that are abiding and for us today. We need the willingness to hear God’s voice and to be a disciple maker where he has placed us. We need the recognition that the mission is ongoing and we are a part of that – we have the good news for the world to deal with our greatest problem – our sin. Do we have this at the front of our minds or is it buried so far at the back of them to be an irrelevance? God’s kingdom is to be established upon the earth and he wants to use ordinary people for that and I am one of those ordinary people and so are you. Do you wake up in the morning and say “good morning Lord, use me today to help bring in your kingdom”. That may be in a very small way, a simple way through giving someone a lift, lending a book, cooking a meal, a word of encouragement, being a Sunday School teacher, ushering in the church, being on the offering rota or the choir.

You are here to serve the purposes of God in your generation and in your culture. The interesting thing about our generation is that we have not just one culture but we have a number of cultures. With the proliferation of money and leisure time we have a proliferation of interests and sub-cultures. Just go into Easons and see the variety of magazines which cater for different interests. Young people can reach young people, older people older people. God can use us to speak to others who are part of our sub culture.

One of the great things about the Contagious Christianity book and course is that it acknowledged that each of us has different personalities and we have different styles of being a witness for Christ. One is not more valid than the other and we all have a part to play – there is the confrontational style, the intellectual style, the interpersonal style, the testimony style, the invitational style, the serving style. Each of us are comfortable with a certain style –it is how God made us. The point is that we are putting our style into practice and we are encouraging each other in this - that we are on mission, it is on our agenda for each day. We are on the look out for people to introduce them to our Lord.

We are called to mission, but we are also called to ministry. This emphasises the church body more than the world but we can also serve in the world. Again the NT emphasises that each of us has gifts and we can use that gift for God’s glory. Each year we run Improving Your Serve which helps people to know what the gifts are and which they might have. Do you know your gift? It would be such a shame if God have given us these resources and we simply were not using them because we did not know what they were. Or you may be using it and not even realise that you are using it. Coming to the course could confirm that gift for you and ensure you use it even better.

So as Jesus sends out the disciples we see principles for today – we also are on mission, each of the disciples were different and so are we, but God can work through our style. We are here for our generation and for our culture or cultures, so be open and willing. Don’t take the attitude that the paid staff do the mission. Don’t take the view like what we sometimes see on TV where someone does some extraordinary feat and it says “do not try this at home, this is for the professionals”. No, do try this at home, do try this at work. You too can learn the skills, they are not beyond you.

We are the hands, feet and lips of Christ. What greater privilege is there than going in his name and serving, and speaking and offering prayers of healing in the name of Jesus Christ. Ministry is not just for the ordained professional. Jesus pattern was to teach, train, release. He delegated the work, he supervised it, he got feedback, he corrected if needs be, but again he released so that the ministry could be multiplied, disciples making disciples.

For too long our churches have held back the ministry of the saints. Some have been used in children’s work but not released into ministry to adults. There is no telling what God can do when people are committed to being ministers and missioners in Christ’s name.

Notice also that he sent people out in two’s. Jesus believed in teamwork – in teams you have encouragement, strength, a balance of gifts, help and advice. Ministry teams are good. It is so much easier doing the work together. In Greek the word two is duo (2x2 is duo duo) Here was the original dynamic duo. If you are doing something new, or risky then it is good to have people stand alongside you. We are in this together. It makes a difference knowing that we go out together to bring salt and light into the world - I am not on my own. It does not have to just be two’s - we have many teams in High Kirk – people working together and it is marvellous. As we prepare for 40 Days of Community there are over 80 people already working together in planning teams. This is wonderful and so much more is achieved. We are on mission together.

At the AGM I outlined my vision and my dream – to be a grown up church; a disciple making church, disciples making other disciples; a strategic church where there is a clear path for people to follow in being equipped; a loving church where we are truly committed to one another.

So brother or sister in Christ – where do you see yourself in this? Are you on mission? Are you a disciple or just a passenger? Do you know your gift and are you putting it into practice? Are you praying actively for non-christian family or friends to come to the Lord?  Are you serving on a ministry team in the church? Are you discipling a younger believer? The days are short, the night is coming when no man can work. The Lord is coming again? We are called, we are equipped, let us go in ministry and mission for the glory of God and the wellbeing of our generation.

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