Today’s Gospel reading from Luke chapter 6, verse 17 to 26 is about Christian discipleship
The dictionary says a disciple is somebody who strongly believes in the teachings of a leader, a philosophy or religion and tries to live according to them
But as Christians there is something more important that tells us what discipleship is about.
God’s Word, His Holy Scriptures
One of the most commonly quotes passages of scripture comes from Matthew 28 verse 19
and it tells us to go and make disciples of all nations.
Every Christian is a disciple.
Is called to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ
This means believing in the teachings of Jesus and His way of life above everything.
It means having our lives orientated around Jesus and his way of life as found in the scriptures
Jesus is not just part of our lives
But our aim is for Jesus to be the reason for our lives,
is the reason for why we do the things we do 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
So think about the Psalm we heard earlier, Psalm 1
Blessed is the one who obeys the law of the Lord.
He doesn’t follow the advice of evil people.
He doesn’t make a habit of doing what sinners do.
He doesn’t join those who make fun of the Lord and his law.
Instead, he takes delight in the law of the Lord.
He thinks about God’s law day and night..
Now remember when you hear the word law in the Old Testament we should not confine this to simply a set of rules that we must follow
But rather when you hear law in the Old Testament think of it as teachings of God
This is the way of a disciple of Jesus Christ to think about God’s law day and night
His teachings day and night
And the Gospel reading today highlights the absolute importance of relying on God
Of listening to God as a priority in your life over other things and people in our life
Today’s Gospel reading reminds us to regularly open up scripture and be exposed to God’s wisdom
Why?
Well 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 21 says the world does not know God’s wisdom.
And today’s gospel reading highlights this
It appears to turn everything upside down and inside out.
For many people it does not make sense
They would rather live the life that the world suggests to live
Than the life God suggests to live
To give you an insight into this
Over the last 2 weeks there has been a debate arising from some church’s displaying a sign that says Jesus loves Osama
John Howard the Prime Minister has even got involved and suggested that the church’s have got their prayer priorities wrong.
But think about it isn’t John Howard’s response simply limiting God’s love to how he or we see things, what is the popular belief of where God should love and not love?
God loving Osama bin laden does not take away from the love he has for you or those who have been hurt by his actions
In fact scripture is quite clear….
In Romans 3 verse 23 we are reminded that everyone is a sinner and falls short of God’s expectations
And in John chapter 3 verse 17 we are told that Jesus came to save the entire world and that is why Jesus died
So God does love Osama and he loves You
He has reached out his hand to save both of you
And how does God turn everything upside down
In today’s Gospel reading we see that what is considered important for many people in the world
wealth,
having plenty of food,
being happy
and looking good and being liked is dismissed by God as unimportant
Infact God indicates that if these are your goals in life
If this is what is important to you
then you are living a dangerous life
A life that could very well affect your salvation
and the salvation of those close to you
And a bit later we will discover why???
Also what many people consider unimportant and unworthy
not worth asociating with
God considers special and important
God indicates if you are poor,
hungry,
mourning
or being spoken poorly of because you speak the truth then you are blessed by God
But before we explore these two aspects of discipleship
lets consider what comes before these words of Jesus and how this affects our view of discipleship
Discipleship involves Jesus meeting people at their level
Listen to verse 17
He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples were there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon..
The people we Jesus came to were from two types of regions
One region was renowned for its dedication to God, the other was not so renowned
Jesus shows no favours he comes to both, even today
Jesus does not discriminate,
He comes to everyone’s level
Where does Jesus meet you?
When bible translators, translated the bible into languages people could read and understand, this was Jesus coming down to our level
When you share Jesus’ love through your life at work, amongst your family and friends, to people you know
This is Jesus coming down to their level
When any member of the congregation comes visiting you, bringing you support and encouragement,
whether they indicate they are from the church or not
This is Jesus coming to your level
There are many things that come into our life
So as a disciple of Jesus Christ we need to be focussed on Jesus
Discipleship involves being focussed on Jesus
above anything else
And being focussed on Jesus means listening to Jesus
And being healed by Jesus
Listen again to verses 18 and 19
They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
People whether they go to church or not recognise there is power in Jesus
Not an oppressive power, but a caring loving helpful power
Isn’t it interesting that when people are trouble or in need
That one of the first places they turn to is the church.
Why?
Because as one person seeking help one day said to me
I believe that God is a God of love and that the church is God’s agency where this love is available?
Think about that for a moment.
How do you react when you see someone asking for help?
Or when someone asks you for help?
Remember the people who cross your path
Are the people God has put in your life so they can experience His love through you!!
Let me tell you the story of a person who came seeking help
We will call this person Tim
Tim wasn’t the most attractive guy
He didn’t have much to offer
And had so many problems that he could probably write not one book but three about his problems
From time to time he occasionally would come to the church seeking help
Depending on who he met,
depended on the help he received
Some people would try to ignore him
Others would suggest he go here or there for help, believing that it was someone else’s responsibility to help out, that specific agencies existed to help the homeless and needy
And some would listen to him and help him out where they could
Tim then got sick and had a lengthy stay in hospital
Some people from the church who helped him out visited him
One day one of them said,
Tim, God loves you!!
Tim, said I know
and I experienced some of his love through our congregation
When I first started coming for help i was simply after a handout
But some of the people at your church,
Showed me that God truly did love me despite my appearances
and despite who I was
They listened, they gave me some food and occasionally some money
They treated me with respect, like no one else
And over time I began to be fed with more than material things,
What these people said about God loving me started to make sense through their actions
I could see that God’s love is genuine
That he truly unconditionally loves me despite my flaws
And you know what this interaction from Tim changed the perspective of some of the members of that congregation
No longer did they see people seeking help as problems or people attempting to rip off the church
Rather they saw them as people needing Jesus love
And they saw their interactions with those seeking help
as an opportunity to share God’s love in the same way he loves us
So as disciples of Jesus Christ we should not be concerned about people’s motives for coming to Jesus or the church
If we are honest with ourselves we probably have a few motives for seeing Jesus that are a bit selfish or skew whiff too
Rather we should remain focussed on Jesus
On the unconditional love he wants people, especially undeserving people to experience
And remember what the scriptures tell us what anyone intends for evil, God can use for good
because it is God’s love that brings healing to people in many different ways
So part of the responsibility of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, is to receive God’s love and to share his love
This week I give you the challenge to share God’s love with someone you think does not really deserve it
And now to answer the question
Why does God bless the poor, hungry, the weeping and people who are hated or spoken ill of, and says woe to those who are rich, satisfied, laughing and are well liked and spoken well of?
Well think of it this way?
Who do you think realises they need God’s love
Those who Jesus says are blessed, the poor, hungry, crying and hated
Or those in the woed group
Those who Jesus says are rich, satisfied, happy and loved?
it is not a case that God does help one group and not the other
But it is a case that one group realises it is God helping them
and the other is easily led to believing they don’t really need God
And God blesses those in need because
Helps them in more than they need
Like Tim, he came for material things because he was down on his luck, and ended up receiving something that would outlast any material thing he was given….
He received the way to eternal life
But people who are focused on
Being rich, by the way do you realise that if you earn more than $200 a week you are in the top 15% of the wealthiest people in the world
Being satisfied
Being happy
And being well liked and spoken well of
Will do whatever it takes to make sure these things happen?
Even tone down their relationship with God and other Christians
Even look for excuses why they should avoid difficulties in their relationship with God
One retired pastor said to me
Of all the reasons he has heard why people miss a Sunday worship service
Or put off sharing God’s Good News
They fall into one of the following
So a person can
Earn more money
Have their stomachs satisfied
Be happy
Or be well liked and spoken well of
And yet the life of the disciple of Jesus Christ will involve
Being poorer than you could be and being around the poor
Being hungry and being around the hungry
Crying and weeping and being around those who are sad
And being spoken poorly about and not being liked because you speak the truth and being around those who are not like
During these occasions God will blesses those who are struggling
Why?
because God’s love and blessing are clearer when we need to rely on him more
When we fill our lives with our own importance
With what we have and can achieve
Then it is too easy to push God aside and out of the picture
And trick ourselves into believing how good we are.
But the reality is what we are capable of is very little
Even what we achieve on this earth
Is because of the gifts and the opportunities God has given us?
And even if we think we have achieved something,
how long will it last,
what affect does it have on our eternal future?
Not only will you experience difficulties as a disciple of Jesus Christ
But other disciples will too,
And if we are truly focussed on bringing the Good News to people
Then our values and way of life formed by Jesus will at times conflict with the values and way of life that the world attempts to form us into adopting
And so when you see someone who is poor, hungry, crying or having their named drag through the mud then get beside them
Show them God’s love
be God’s light in their life
This is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus
Amen
