“Then Jesus went around
teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he sent
them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.” These
were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no
bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra
tunic. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that
town.” (Mark 6:6-10, NIV)
Yesterday, I had learned about
Jesus calling, sending, and giving the disciples authority. Today, I
looked at the instructions Jesus gave his disciples.
Observations:
I asked
myself what were the instructions Jesus gave His disciples.
-
Take nothing for the
journey except a staff.
-
Take no bread.
-
Take no bag.
-
Take no money in your
belts.
-
Wear sandals but not an
extra tunic.
-
Whenever you enter a
house, stay there until you leave that town.
Interpretation:
I asked
myself the significance of Jesus’ instructions for them to take nothing
for the journey except a staff.
Jesus was sending the disciples
two-by-two on a journey to different places. We do not know how long the
journey could have been. I believe they were being sent on a mission to
at least six towns. Two of them were to go to a different town to be a
missionary there for Christ. The staff was to become a support structure
for them as they walked to the towns. It is possible they could have
been hungry too because they had no food or money. The staff could also
have been a protective measure to lean on and against any wild life.
I asked
myself the significance of Jesus’ instructions for them to
‘wear sandals but not an extra tunic’
Jesus wanted them to be
dependent on the people they were being sent to minister. The concept of
fundraising for ministry purposes or missionary purposes can be inferred
here. The disciples were not to depend on themselves to be taken care of
but on those who would host them as they were called to be a missionary
in that particular town. They were messengers of the Lord doing His
work.
I asked
myself the significance of Jesus telling them
‘Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you
leave that town.’
Of all the instructions this
instruction emphasized the concept of people ‘being ministered to’
taking care of those that are ministering to them or supporters taking care of
missionaries so they could continue the work without being bogged down
for places to look each day where to stay. In essence, it emphasized the
concept of hosting missionaries to me.
Jesus wanted the disciples to
depend on a family from a town to host them until there work was done
there as a missionary. This is exciting to know and still happens.
It is also possible they could
have received shelter from a place/family that did not believe in Jesus
because they saw the good works they were about to do in the town. That
makes sense because I know of people willing to support a cause even if
they are not part of the cause because they know the difference that
cause will make. In this case it is possible non-believing people could
have hosted them too. This is all inference but possible.
I
continued to ponder this commandment and asked myself why Jesus gave
this
instruction:
“When
you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town.” (Mark 6:10)
Things started popping up in my
mind such as could it be because
-
Jesus wanted them
to be committed to the mission at hand without getting burned out?
-
Jesus wanted them
to be a witness in the place they were staying?
As I thought about it, those
reasons made sense to me so I decided to look into them deeper and was
reminded of things I already had thought earlier too.
Point 1: Being committed to
the mission at hand without getting spiritually burned out.
It is possible the more places
they were involved in, the busier they could have been. That would
initiate the spiritually burn-out stage. Rather, Jesus wanted them to
depend on Him and focus on staying in one place in that particular town
and become ready to do ministry. Not having to be involved with more
than one house, I believe they would free themselves to be able to focus
more on the mission Jesus gave them. Each night and day they would not
have to worry about what place they were to stay but remain in that same
house in town. This would help them a lot.
Point 2: Being a witness in
the place they were staying.
As long as they were in one
house, they could focus on people in that household. It is very possible
those people who would have housed them may not have been necessarily
followers of Jesus but seekers of Jesus. This would give them a serious
opportunity to witness to that household but if they were there only few
days and went to different houses to stay, the relationships would have
been superficial too and suffered because of the lack of time invested.
By staying in one house they
could focus on those that were there without spreading themselves thin.
This would also give the disciples the opportunity to be involved in
discipleship making. They could have the opportunity to reach out to
those that were there and then possibly give those ministered to the
vision and excitement to do the same as they sought the Lord and spread
out to do the Lord's work there until the Lord calls them somewhere
else.
Jesus also prepared them ahead
of time to know that there will be places that will not welcome them.
However, Jesus did not want that to become discouraging or a stumbling
block to continue the missionary work they were called, sent, and given
authority for. Instead of dwelling on those that were not willing to
receive the message, they were told a profound commandment.
“And if
any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your
feet when you leave, as a testimony against them." (Mark 6:11, NIV)
Implications 1:
I saw important implications for
my own life. I need to help those the Lord puts upon my heart to help,
when help is asked, after seeking the Lord about the situation. There
will be certain groups the Lord will put upon our heart to support at a
particular time.
When Lord calls, sends, and
gives authority to anyone to do mission work, He wants them to be
provided for. Lord uses His children to provide for His other children.
I ask you
now dear friend, can they stay with you.
Dear friend, when you support
missionaries through your help and giving they can be staying with you.
This does not have to be literally but figuratively. If you are asked
for help, if you are able to and believe in the work that is being done
for the Lord, may you take time to support them financially but mostly
through prayer.
I am not asking anyone to
support me because the Lord has provided me with a wonderful full-time
tent-making job with wonderful full time benefits and everything so I
can do ministry on the side without having to worry about finances. When
I was doing full-time ministry, the Lord always provided for my needs no
matter how little money I had because I did not have time to do a
full-time job.
However, if you feel led to donate money to the Pittsburgh Standard so we
can raise enough money to put out a print edition, etc, please feel free
too. However, please don't feel obligated to! If you can great, if not that
is okay! If you are able to help otherwise such as writing, taking pictures,
etc, that would be awesome too!
Getting back to the disciples,
wherever the disciples went and were welcomed, they did not have to
worry about housing because the Lord provided and while in the town they
get down to business as v. 12-13 reveal:
“They
went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many
demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” (Mark
6:13)
Implications II:
I saw important implications
for my own life as I pondered on v.10 and an analogy came to my mind
which is not 100%. What I am sharing now does not directly deal with
missionary work but where we decide to stay in a fellowship or church
setting.
Wherever I am in my life, I need
to choose a fellowship and church and stick to it as much as possible so
my time can be spent in ministry reaching out while I am ministered to
without being burned out. Those that are out of college, a college
fellowship may not be in the horizon but just finding a good church and
being part of it.
I am going to use fellowship
synonymously with church but it is important to remember a college
fellowship should never be a substitute for being involved in your local church. A
college fellowship is not equivalent to being involved in a church. A
fellowship among college students is important but going to church is more
important and there is a lot that is offered at church that will not
even come close to in a college fellowship.
Right now I am going to focus on
fellowship but the principles can be applied to finding a church and
sticking with it!
With that in mind, through my
time at Pitt before I was on InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) staff, I would not whole
heartedly stay in one fellowship. Even then occasionally, I would go to
multiple fellowships and be involved in different areas of ministry.
Naturally, I did get spiritually burned out.
Not only that, it did not
give me the opportunity to build lasting friendships because I would not
be in one group but spread myself thin. In the process, I also did not
have the opportunity to disciple and mentor faithfully those in one
group because I wanted to be there for everyone. It only hurt me and the
groups I was in at times. Being involved in more than one also did not
give me opportunity for evangelism as I would have wanted to have.
The flip side of it is that I
also did not give that fellowship the opportunity to minister to me and
disciple me because I spread myself thin. That was not good in the long
run.
Even in ministry though all
fellowships were good, it did not help me because I spread myself thin.
I felt Jesus told me the importance of commitment to one fellowship as
long as I was on campus as a student without fellowship hopping.
Doing staff work with IVCF for
years, I stuck to that principle but there were times I did not and it
did affect a lot of things. The main point I learned is commitment in
where I am rather than doing things superficially.
I
ask you now dear friends, where are you staying?
Dear friends, I do not know what
fellowship you all are staying at or even if you all are involved in a
fellowship on campus. If you are, I learned there is so much value and
benefit in being involved in just one fellowship and giving it your all.
At the same time you can know that fellowship can be there to minister
to you too. You can also develop lasting friendships and fellowship
while you are at college as you stick to one group. Jesus should be the
anchor whatever fellowship you are involved in.
Not only that but you will be
encouraged, equipped, and enabled to do ministry for those on campus
from what the fellowship can offer you. You won’t be spreading yourself
thin but giving yourself space not to be burned out. It is possible that
through you, new members can be discipled and mentored and then they
would be excited to minister to others on campus because they would feel
enabled too as Jesus will work in their lives through the fellowship. I
know Jesus worked in my life while I was a student in InterVarsity
Christian Fellowship before going on to do campus ministry.
Being involved in one fellowship
also gives you the benefit of their training events, retreats, and so on
that can develop your Christian maturity as a supplement to your
personal time with the Lord through prayer and study of His Word. As a
group, you can break out two-by-two’s and as the Lord leads reach out to
the campus with the love of Christ as the Lord will empower you.
An important thing the Lord
Jesus taught me is that ministry should always be an out flowing of our
relationship with Him and Him alone. What we do in ministry should
always point to Jesus Christ and Him alone and never to ourselves. When
the focus becomes us and Christ is not involved in the situation one way
or other, there is a problem.
I tell people if they are
involved in ministry but there personal relationship with the Lord is
suffering, there is a problem there. Jesus taught me that I should learn
from Him, be preached to by Him, and be taught by Him before He could
use me to help others. In essence, I need to do things with Jesus before
I can start doing things for Jesus.
Sometimes we can do so much for
Jesus and think we are growing so much in the Lord but what is growing
is not our faith and relationship with the Lord but the pride of doing
so much for the Lord. However, when we do things with Jesus, Jesus will
always be on the forefront because we have humbled ourselves before the
Lord and He will lift us up in due season! This is exciting to know for
me and hope it is for you too!
I have also learned a fellowship
or church should never be a substitute against spending quality time
with the Lord alone in prayer, reading His Word, and study of His Word
to speak to us. Rather, a fellowship and church should complement our
personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
There are wonderful fellowships
on campus and you may feel that you want to be part of all of them
because each offers something different. That is true but you will be
spreading yourself thin and relationships could become superficial too.
Also, if you are involved in every Christian fellowship on campus, where
does that give you time for spending with your non-Christian friends?
The
question becomes would you even have non-believers as friends because
you spend most of your time hanging out with Christians?
"But what does it say?
"The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that
is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with
your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your
heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth
that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who
trusts in him will never be put to shame." or there is no difference
between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly
blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of
the Lord will be saved." How, then, can they call on the one they
have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom
they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching
to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is
written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
(Romans 10:8-15, NIV)
I have made a lot of changes in
my life and am happy because that gives me time to spend a lot of time
with non-believers too and not just be in my Christian shell.
You can make such an impact by
being involved in just one fellowship. But before you get involved,
there is nothing wrong to check different fellowships out and see which
one the Lord is leading you to be at. Once you know where you ought to
be, then it is important to stay there. There are always exceptions but
by not fellowship hopping, you allow yourself to be committed to one
thing and fulfill the mission you are called to.
Friend that is exciting to know
that the Lord can use us where we are and He does not want us to become
spiritually burned out and spread ourselves thin. He will be happy to
let you reach out to others as you are faithful, available, and
teachable.
There are times that the Lord
could also ask you to move to another fellowship where He wants to use
you there but until then, it is important to stick with where the Lord
placed you.
You cannot be worried about what
other people will think if you are not there at their group. If anything
you will be setting an example for them about commitment. The same
principles apply to church involvement. It is important to be involved
in one church rather than church hopping unless you are still looking.
May you stay where the Lord has
called you to and allow Him to work in your life and the lives of others
through you until He calls, send, and gives you authority to do His work
at another church or fellowship. Until then stay together, accepting
Yeshua's inspirational nurture graciously!
Stay Together Accepting
Yeshua's Inspirational Nurture Graciously! (S.T.A.Y.I.N.G)/”Where
are you staying?”
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for sending your disciples and giving
them specific instructions. Thank you Lord you wanted them to depend on
you and you alone. Thank you for teaching me from your Word. Help us to
help missionaries do what you have sent them, called them, and given
them authority to do. Let us please be your vessels. We pray right now
for all the missionaries who are solely dependent on you to provide for
them. We pray for those who are tent-making missionaries who use their
jobs as a means to making a living but spend their side time doing
ministry for your Kingdom’s sake. We pray for those who are taking
mission trips to different parts of the world to spread your loving
Gospel. We ask you for your dear help. Lord, now I as think about
fellowships and churches, I thank you that you do not want us to get
spiritually burned out. I pray Oh Lord that you will guard our hearts
and help us to be focused on you and depend on you where you place us.
Help us to seek you first before all things and let you guide us through
your Word more than anything. We believe Oh Lord that your Word has the
answers to our lives, you even use circumstances in our lives and
confirm it through your Word. Help us to be the witness you want us to
be and also we pray that you would let us be mentored and grow in the
fellowship and church we are part of. Forgive us Lord when we have not
committed ourselves and superficially gone to everything. We are sorry
Lord and ask you for your help. Show us what you would want us to do
Lord and make it clear for us, for we are surrounded by enemies that
like to turn us the wrong way. Help us to listen to your Spirit and
follow you. I thank you Jesus for dying for our sins and coming back to
life to save us. Thank you for shedding your blood for me and cleansing
me. Thank you we can give our lives to you and you answer us. In Your
Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!
If
you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him a
daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be
alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them
come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to
wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as
you pray this prayer, meaning it in your heart.
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, I am a sinner Lord. I am so sorry for
my sins. I confess my sins to you. I confess the wrong things I have
done and messed up my own life. I need you Lord right now and in the
years to come. I have gone my own way and have not found what only you
can give me. You alone have the words of Eternal Life. You alone love me
unconditionally for who I am. I thank you Jesus. I accept you Jesus into
my heart. Thanks Jesus for coming into my heart. Thanks for forgiving me
of all my sins. Thanks for giving me a new identity in you. I
acknowledge you as my Lord and Personal Savior as I believe in my heart
that you died and came back to life to save me now and forever. I give
myself to you and ask you to be in control of my life. Thank you Jesus
through the days, we can do things together. Thanks for being my
Lord and Personal Savior. Thank you Jesus you have heard my prayer and
answered me. Thanks Jesus for changing me and helping me through life's
storms and winds. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!
Friend you may feel something
or may not feeling anything but do not go by your feelings. When you ask
Jesus to come into your life, He will and does. He will take over from
here as you depend on the Lord and let Him work in you and through you!
This is exciting friend! May each one that came to know Jesus be filled
with His Holy Spirit forever more and those that know Jesus come to know
Him more and more! Amen!
Get yourself involved in a campus Bible study,
fellowship, and most of all find a Bible believing church and be involved
to grow in your Christian walk with the Lord. They all need to be
supplements for your own precious time with the Lord in prayer and
meditating on His Word. If you need a Bible, please let me know!
As the movie DaVinci Code opened across the
theaters on May 19, 2006, which speaks against the church and most importantly
degrades the Name of Jesus Christ, we need to make ourselves available to
speak the truth to the falsity presented in the movie and the novel. If you
plan to watch the movie or have read the book and have questions or your
faith seems to be shaken, please email me or give me a call at 412-720-4579
so we can discuss the false claims in the book that are presented as fact
even though the book itself and the movie is presented as fiction. May the
Lord bless you and guide you!
If you need anyone to talk to, pray
with, or study the Bible with this Spring or Summer of 2006, you can email
me at reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com or call me at 412-720-4579.
Please do not hesitate. One-one Bible studies
can be so powerful to because the Holy Spirit is still in the
midst.
"This is my work and I can do it
only because Christ's mighty energy is at work within me." (Colossians
1:29, TLB)
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