Our speaker tonight was the chaplain from Santiago, Chile. Speaking through an interpreter, he took us to Luke's Gospel and challenged us about purpose and priority. 9:1 And he called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. 9:2 And he sent them forth to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. First, look at the authority given to the Twelve... Okay, so how do you resolve that with this: 9:37 And it came to pass, on the next day, when they were come down from the mountain, a great multitude met him. 9:38 And behold, a man from the multitude cried, saying, Teacher, I beseech thee to look upon my son; for he is mine only child: 9:39 and behold, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth, and it hardly departeth from him, bruising him sorely. 9:40 And I besought thy disciples to cast it out; and they could not. 9:41 And Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and bear with you? bring hither thy son. 9:42 And as he was yet a coming, the demon dashed him down, and tare `him' grievously. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 9:43 And they were all astonished at the majesty of God. But while all were marvelling at all the things which he did, he said unto his disciples, 9:44 Let these words sink into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered up into the hands of men. 9:45 But they understood not this saying, and it was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask him about this saying. 9:46 And there arose a reasoning among them, which of them was the greatest. Our speaker suggest that it was because the Twelve had started to be in competetion with one another and had become more concerned with their own importance than they were with doing God's work. He then tooks us into Chapter 10 and asked us to compare the commission of the Twelve with the commission of the Seventy. 10:1 Now after these things the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself was about to come. 10:2 And he said unto them, The harvest indeed is plenteous, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth laborers into his harvest. 10:3 Go your ways; behold, I send you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves. 10:4 Carry no purse, no wallet, no shoes; and salute no man on the way. 10:5 And into whatsoever house ye shall enter, first say, Peace `be' to this house. 10:6 And if a son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon him: but if not, it shall turn to you again. 10:7 And in that same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. 10:8 And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: 10:9 and heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. Looks pretty similar, doesn't it? He pointed out the two-by-two and said we needed to overcome our egos and recognize that effective ministry needs to be shared ministry--even though it means sharing the "credit." And look at this: 10:17 And the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us in thy name. He then asked, "So which do you want to be? One of the ineffective, competitive, bickering but famous Twelve or one of the anonymous but effective for the Kingdom Seventy?" Are you more concerned with your own position, title, and prestige or are you willing to anonymously give it all to see the Kingdom advanced? Because there aren't even names among the Seventy let alone titles but there are names and titles among the Twelve... There are very few roles in the Kingdom that will make you famous and even fewer where that fame actually serves the Kingdom. So what are you going to pursue: being one of the Twelve or one of the Seventy? What are you committed to to: activity that makes a name for you or activity that fulfills the commission you've been given? God will succeed. He will advance His Kingdom. But he'll do it in a way that brings glory to His name. Are you one of the Twelve or one of the Seventy? |
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