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Scripture
NRS Luke 10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy others and
sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself
intended to go. 2 He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful,
but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out
laborers into his harvest. 3 Go on your way. See, I am sending you
out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no
sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter,
first say, 'Peace to this house!' 6 And if anyone is there who
shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will
return to you. 7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking
whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about
from house to house.
8 Whenever you enter a
town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you;
9 cure the sick who are
there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' 10
But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its
streets and say, 11 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our
feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has
come near.'
One day Hudson Taylor was traveling on a Chinese junk from
Shanghai to Ningpo. He had been witnessing to a man named Peter who rejected
the gospel but was under deep conviction. In the course of events, Peter fell
overboard, but no one made any effort to save him. Taylor sprang to the mast,
let down the sail, and jumped overboard in hopes of finding his friend. But no
one on board joined Taylor in his frantic search. Taylor saw a fishing boat
nearby and yelled to them to help, but they wouldn't do it without money.
Finally, after bartering for every penny that Taylor had, the fishermen stopped
their fishing and began to look for Peter. In less than a minute of dragging
their net, they found him, but it was too late. They were too busy fishing to
care about saving a drowning man.
Good morning and welcome to this opportunity to explore
discipleship as God intended it to be. Our story with Hudson Taylor, missionary
and extraordinary writer, reminds us that all too often we get so focused on
the world in which we live that we fail to see the world around us. And it also
reminds us that we have precious little time to witness to someone about the
power of God’s love and relationship. Today I want to talk with you about
relationship, about witness and about the scripture. Jesus sent out His
disciples, seventy of them two by two. Why two by two? Because there is power
in partnership and number! One alone would be subject to danger while two will
often get left alone. It is why at malls and places that are concerned about
safety they will tell you to go out in pairs. It is why when we teach little
children about swimming they are required to partner up. There is power in 2 or
3 or more and we are reminded that where 2 or 3 are gathered, there Jesus will
be also.
Jesus sent them out to the places He was going to visit. I
had never caught that before. He sent them to scout out the area for His
ministry. If the area was fertile then Jesus would come there and preach and
teach. If the area was not fertile, He would pass this place by. And the mark
of fertility was whether or not there were people there that would be
interested in peace. I often wonder at those who constantly strive to keep
things at a state of unrest. They are more interested in stirring something up
than healing something broken. Many churches are full of people who would
rather have constant bickering and strife than peace. But Jesus reminds us that
when we encounter those who desire peace, we need to stay awhile and bring it
to them.
The disciples are sent out with nothing but themselves. I
often have heard it said that we struggle in this country because of our
affluence. We have so much that we all too often ignore or turn our back on
God. We think we have it under control and we know more than God knows or more
than we need from God. So God will often break us down so that we find
ourselves in a place where we must rely on God. Or we become the people who
don’t really desire peace at all. You see, I am convinced that peace in this message
is not the peace that comes to mind but rather it is the relationship and love
of God that brings joy and peace even in the midst of struggle, trial and
tribulation. You have heard me say that we must learn to trust God before
anything else, before any decision and before any action. Trusting God is
paramount to being a good disciple.
Jesus wants us to witness to the world. I am often asked how
to we witness. I have asked people over and over again to come to church and
they never come. Or I don’t know enough about the scriptures to witness to
people. Jesus did not say to the disciples, go and repeatedly badger those who
you encounter. Nor did He say, go to school and get your Doctorate in Theology
before embarking on this journey I am sending you on. NO! He said Go! Take
nothing with you but yourselves and your belief in God. And when you find those
who are interested in your message, spend time with them and tell them the
Kingdom of God is near.
I want to share with you how to witness this morning.
Witnessing is about the power of relationship, nothing less and nothing more. People
are not interested in hearing about heaven or about being preached scripture
to. They will be if we first establish a relationship with them, a genuine
heartfelt relationship of sharing and being the kind of friend that we are so
lacking in the world today. So witnessing begins with conversation that is in
part more listening than talking. Learn as much as you can about who they are
and what makes them tick. What are their concerns in life and what challenges
or issues might you help them with. I remember some years ago a young man came
to me worried about losing his job. I shared with him that I had been downsized
many years ago and it was hard. I was on unemployment and because I had a
Master’s degree, no-one would hire me. I can do electric work but they would
not hire me because they felt like I would work for them and look for a better
job. Of course, that didn’t help put food on the table. But I trusted God and
prayed each day and God brought me work during that period of time and then a
great job. See how I was able to connect and then bring my relationship with
God. Notice that I did not invite them to my church or get preachy. Witnessing
is about developing a relationship with someone so that you can become their
friend. And in that friendship bring them into relationship with God. The
Kingdom of God is near.
I want to take a moment and talk about verse 10 and 11.
There are those who do not wish you to share your relationship about God with
them and it is ok. It is not ok in the long run because sooner or later there
will be judgment. But that is not for you and me to worry ourselves over. Our
role is to share the message, to share God’s love and to spend time with those
who want to listen to the message. So when you encounter those who wish to
inform you that they want nothing to do with God or the people of God, wipe the
dust off your sandals and move on. But remember, offer them the peace of God
first and who knows, it may fester in them so that they want to come and learn
more.
When DAVE THOMAS died in early 2002, he left behind more
than just thousands of Wendy’s restaurants. He also left a legacy of being a
practical, hard-working man who was respected for his down-to-earth values.
Among the pieces of good advice that have outlived the smiling entrepreneur is
his view of what Christians should be doing with their lives. Thomas, who as a
youngster was influenced for Christ by his grandmother, said that believers
should be "roll-up-your-shirt sleeves" Christians. In his book Well
Done, Thomas said, "Roll-up-your-shirtsleeves. Christians see Christianity as faith and
action. They still make the time to talk with God through prayer, study
Scripture with devotion, be super-active in their church and take their
ministry to others to spread the Good Word." He went on to say they are
"anonymous people who are doing good for Christ and may be doing even more
good than all the well-known Christians in the world." That statement has
more meat in it than a Wendy’s triple burger. Thomas knew about hard work in
the restaurant business; and he knew it is vital in the spiritual world also. (Source: Dave Branon, Our Daily Bread.)
We have an opportunity to share in partnership with others
this wonderful journey that Jesus has sent us on. Go as partners, sharing the
ride, sharing the joys and the sorrows. Witness to others through the
relationships that you develop with them. Don’t keep harping on coming to
church, rather show them what God has done for you and then share that church
is where you have learned how to be in that relationship. People want to be a
part of something greater, something better and something that brings value to
their lives. And roll-up your sleeves and get to work.
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