Dynamic Servants of Jesus!
Mark 6:7-13
Intro. Summertime is mission time. Now some of you are on mission to go to the nearest beach, baseball game, vacation, party, etc. Some folks plan all year for their summer mission of fun! What would happen if we put as much emphasis on being on mission with Jesus as we do our own summer vacations? Have you ever thought about your life being on mission with God? Our mission this summer at church is to simply take one step forward in that mission of loving God and loving people.
Did you know God has a personal mission for your life? Jesus Christ said our first and greatest mission is to love God with all our heart and love others like we love ourselves. If we’ll stay focused on that – on loving God and loving people – we are choosing to take one step forward.
Read Mark 6:7-13, “7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. 8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts— 9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics. 10 Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. 11 And whoever[a] will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.[b] Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”
Just as you would never leave for a vacation unprepared, Jesus never leaves you unprepared for your life on mission with Him. That’s so encouraging. He was leading his disciples one step forward in their journey with Him. He was taking them out of the classroom and calling them out into the field to put their faith into practice. From this, their first mission trip, we can learn some practical principles as to what it takes today to become a dynamic servant of Jesus.
(1) THEIR TIME WITH THE SAVIOR
“And He called the twelve to Himself…”
Before they went out and became dynamic servants of Jesus, they needed time alone with Jesus. Jesus had modeled this before them. He had modeled a life of personal fellowship with the Father before them. For Jesus, ministry to others wasn’t his first priority. What was His first priority? It was fellowship with His Father!
For example in Mark 1, we read about an amazing day in the life of Jesus. Jesus healed Peter’s mother in law; all day and late into the night He healed people who were sick and demon possessed. You would think after such a busy day, Jesus would sleep in. However, in Mark 1.35 we find, “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out to a solitary place; and there He prayed.”
Jesus knew where His power came from! It was from His time alone with the Father. Do you have time alone with your Heavenly Father? You say, “I’m too busy.” You know what I’m discovering? It’s amazing how we can find time to do the things we want to do! You take the time for the important things and the most important thing is your time with God. A couple of benefits they received from their time with Jesus.
A. They received partners
“…and began to send them out two by two.”
I believe what Jesus was teaching them is that to become a dynamic servant of God, you aren’t going to be able to do it all alone. They were going to need each other.
May I remind you today that God has not called us to be “Lone Ranger” Christians? Christians who think they can live the Christian life without other Christians are only fooling themselves. Just as a coal in the fire will lose it’s fire if it gets out of the group, so will believers who distance themselves from others in the Body of Christ. Church is a place to find some partners – partners with people who are going to help encourage, comfort you, lift you up, spur you on in the Lord.
* In Seminary, our Evangelism professor gave us an assignment of witnessing to the neighborhood around us. He made us go in teams to two. I went with a girl named Heather and we knocked on doors trying to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was not easy, but having a friend made it much more bearable and we could hold each other accountable.
B. They received power
“…He gave them power over unclean spirits.”
There really is victory in Jesus! The name of Jesus brings fear to the most ferocious of demons. Jesus gave His disciples power to tread over the enemy. On our own strength, we can’t defeat the devil and His demons. If we try to serve the Lord on our own puny strength, we’ll be defeated every time. In fact, the Bible says, “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of HIS might.” Have you found that out? By the way, how much did it cost the disciples to receive that power? Jesus said in Matthew 10, “Freely you have received, freely give.”
* The hymn says, “Freely, freely you have received. Freely, freely give. Go in My Name and because you believe, others will know that I live.” Is something keeping you back from experiencing God’s power in your life today? Are you willing to simply receive the power over sin, Satan freely through faith in Jesus Christ or will you hang on to your own way, do things in your own strength?
* Billy Graham tells the story about a little child playing with a very valuable vase. He put his hand into it and could not withdraw it. His father too, tried his best to get it out, to no avail. They were thinking of breaking the vase when the father said, “Now son, make one more try. Open your hand and hold your fingers out straight as you see me doing, and then pull.” To their astonishment the little fellow said, “O no, dad, I couldn’t put my fingers out like that because if I did I would drop my dime.”
How many of us are living powerless, defeated lives because we won’t let go of the dime in the vase in order to receive great liberty in Jesus Christ. It’s time to give God control and let His awesome power work through in our lives so that we might bless others with the amazing love of Jesus!
If we are going to become dynamic servants of Jesus, there must be time with the Savior.
(2) THEIR TESTIMONY TO THE SICK
After Jesus called them to Himself for a time of preparation, He sent them out for a time of proclamation. Moving forward one step and becoming dynamic servants of Jesus means no longer coming to church and filling a pew, but going out and spreading the news of our Savior. To do this effectively, they needed to share the testimony of Jesus with them. What kind of testimony would they give?
A. It was a conquering testimony
Matthew 10.8, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.”
In other words, they were to do exactly what their Master had been doing under HIS authority. Jesus had been ministering to people like this and now it was the disciples turn. They were doing exactly what we are called to do as a church today and that is to minister effectively to those in our community and throughout the world.
* Our church mission statement on our weekly bulletin reads, “We, Colonial Woods Baptist Church, are a body of believers called together in Jesus Christ, gathered together to worship and discipleship, sent by the Holy Spirit to witness and minister within our community and throughout the world.”
Jesus has given us a conquering testimony, but too many of us are not answering the call of Jesus Christ. The problem is not the harvest. Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful…” The real problem is our hearts. “…but the laborers are few.” Jesus told us the answer to this problem…He said to pray. Pray to the Lord of the harvest…
* Deacons, are you praying that God will raise up laborers to win souls to Jesus? SS Teachers, are you praying that God will raise up laborers? Parents, are you praying God will call your children to serve Him? May we never lose sight of the fact that God placed us here to go tell this community Jesus saves.
B. It was a compassionate testimony
Matthew 10.6-7, “But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
This specific mission was a short term mission trip to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The disciples were not to be spending all their time dealing with everyone in the region. Jesus specifically commanded them to go to the Jew first. Jesus was saying, “Go to your family, friends, neighborhood. Begin with those right around you."
If we are going to do this, it’s going to require a change of heart IN US first and then those around us. We can’t sit and pray that God will send the people in – we are called to go and tell.
* Legend tells of Satan trying to tempt a great pastor to give up in ministry. Satan offered the man great wealth, power, women, houses, but nothing would make the pastor give up. Finally, he found the pastor and Big Lazy Boy Chair and a 46 inch Hi-Def TV loaded with sports and his favorite channels. The pastor soon became so comfortable, he lost sight of the mission of Jesus Christ. If the devil couldn’t get him to quit, he made him comfortable and apathetic to lost souls!
* I’m reading a powerful book from Pastor Ronnie Floyd and he mentioned three hills a minister should die on. Hill #1 is the TRUTH OF WORD OF GOD. God is the author of the Word of God. I don’t change His Word, His Word changes me. Hill # 2 is MORALITY. There are many issues facing America today morally that we are absolutely failing in. What a challenge that is to the church to be salt and light…to love people without compromising the Word of God…to forsake sin instead of dabbling in it. Hill # 3 is THE GREAT COMMISSION. Some of us have heard the Great Commission for so long that it no longer stirs us with passion and commitment.
* Recently, I asked a young believer what the Great Commission was and where it was found. He didn’t know, but wanted to know. What a joy it was to show and share Matthew 28:18-20 with him and explain what it meant.
* Under the leadership of Dr. Johnny Hunt of FBC Woodstock, there is a new resurgence in the Great Commission in our SBC convention. One of the goals is to see churches get back to the Great Commandments of loving God and people and living out a Great Commission lifestyle.
*One of the commitments is that “Every Christian is called first and foremost to love God and secondly to love others. Greater love for God will always lead to greater love for people created in His image. The Great Commission flows from the Great Commandments. We believe too many of us have lost some of our love for God and others somewhere along the way. This has devastated our witness. If we love Jesus as we should, we will love sinners as we ought and pursue them as He did. Though we believe that God calls believers to speak out against moral ills, this must not be done in a way that is hateful toward unbelievers or trades gospel priorities for political influence. We must not condemn those who are already under the just wrath of God, but must seek to serve them and proclaim Christ to them with the hope that God will save them.” www.greatcommissionresurgence.com
To be a dynamic servant of God there must be (1) Time with the Savior (2) Testimony to the Sick and…
(3) THEIR TREASURES FROM SERVICE
One of the greatest joys I have is seeing people catch a vision of serving God with their lives. A wasted life is a life lived for self. A winning life is a life lived with Jesus in and through you to the glory of God. There really are special treasures on earth and in heaven for those who serve the Lord Jesus faithfully.
A. The treasure of seeing changed lives
If you are faithful to go for Jesus and to become a dynamic servant of His, one of the joys is going to see the changed lives. This does not come about by your power, but God’s power working through your obedience. We’d always love to see a dramatic change, but sometimes a selfish person becomes selfless. A bitter person receives and extends forgiveness. A greedy person becomes a generous persons and begins to lay up for himself treasures in heaven.
Some gladly receive the message of Jesus Christ and some do not. Jesus didn’t say all would. In fact he said, “11And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” 12 So they went out and preached that people should repent.
Some of us need to let the fear of rejection go this morning. If people reject you because you stand with Jesus – it’s really not you they reject, but Jesus. Focus more on those who do want to hear.
B. The treasure of being used of the Lord
“And they cast out many demons, and anointed them with oil many who were sick, and healed them.”
God was with these folks in a special way and He used them to help many people physically, emotionally, spiritually. God is with us in a special way. It’s time we understand, though we may be small in number, we serve the All Mighty God.
* The 400 pound Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting receives the same size gold medal as does the 75 pound gymnast. If larger churches are the 400 pounders and we are the 75 pounders, it’s ok!
As we are faithful to God and become His dynamic servants, what a treasure He will bless us with.
* I was reminded in my devotional time this week of a woman in the Bible named Hagar. God had given Abraham and Sarah the promise of a child, but they became impatient with God in the process. Eventually, trying to hurry up the process, Sarah told Abraham to sleep with her maidservant, Hagar. Abraham did what he was told and eventually she gave birth to a son. Even before Hagar’s delivery of her son, Sarah abandoned and dealt harshly with Hagar. Fleeing into the wilderness to escape, but not really knowing where she was going, Hagar encountered the Angel of the Lord. The Lord told her she was with son whose name was to be “Ishmael,” meaning God hears. It was there where Hagar called God by the Name of El Roi, “The God Who Sees.”
God sees you and me serving Him in this small community. He sees us taking that one step forward in His direction. Folks, we matter enough to God for Him to send His Son for each of us and receive the call to become His dynamic servants. To reach this goal we must have (1) Time w/Our Savior (2) Testimony to the Sick and (3) Treasures from Serving.
