When the Savior Sends
Mark 6:6-13
Series: Then Jesus…
July 7, 2013
Morning Service
One of the good things about Abigail getting her driver’s license is that she is willing to run errands for us. She willingly volunteers to drive to Kroger’s and pick up whatever we need. Elizabeth and I are more than willing to send her on those errands. It allows us to get the errands done and do whatever else we need to do at the same time.
Being able to send Abigail out to do those various things that we need extends our ability to accomplish more. The reality is that Jesus does the same thing with the church. We are sent to do the work of His Kingdom. We are sent to expand His reach in the world around us. We become extensions of His mercy and grace.
1) Care: show concern for the person, and concern for your life before him.
2) Dare: it takes courage to witness--courage if the person is a stranger to you, and even more if the person is a close friend or relative.
3) Share: If you want to make a lasting impression, share yourself with the person. Get involved in his interests, get your shoulder under his burden, be genuinely glad when he has a success.
4) Prayer: Don't discount the effectiveness of prayer in the preparation of people's hearts for the Good News.
Mission: Why Jesus came to earth
Ministry: What Jesus came to accomplish
Moments of Mission
Baptism of Jesus (Empowerment) – Beginning of the mission and the ministry
Temptation of Jesus (Enablement) – Power over the evil one
Sending of the 12 (Equipping) – Expansion of the mission
Moments of Ministry
Raising of Lazarus (Power) – Display of Christ’s power over death
Feeding of the 5,000 (Provision) – Demonstration of Christ’s ability to provide
Garden of Gethsemane (Petition) – Dependence on the will of the Father
6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. 8 These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff--no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 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." 12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. Mark 6:6-13
Two key issues with outreach
1. Show – Example
People who do not know Jesus are looking at the lives of those who claim to know Jesus to see if faith makes a difference. Why would anyone want to become a Christian, if they cannot see any difference between us and the rest of the world? People need to see the example of Christ in our lives before we can share the message of Christ with them.
People want to see Jesus in our lives before they will listen to our message. People need to see the Messiah in us before they will hear the Good News. People want to see transformed lives and genuine change. In essence, people want to see proof and that is the power of testimony. Testimonies are simply the stories of God’s transforming work.
One problem that comes with example is that many people try to live a Christian life to show an example but never get to the sharing. God cannot use our silence when it comes to witnessing.
2. Share - Evangelism
D.L. Moody and once spoke with a woman who didn't like his method of evangelism. "I don't really like mine all that much either. What's yours?" She replied that she didn't have one. Moody said, "Then I like mine better than yours."
We have been called to share the good news of Jesus with others. Jesus said that the harvest was vast but the workers are few. Think about it this way. We live in a society that is filled with non-believers and that means that we have a vast harvest field around us. What are we doing to reach into that field?
Mission is about more than just countries far away. Mission is about what we are doing here in our own neighborhoods to reach people for Jesus. Mission is about taking up the call of Jesus to follow Him and become fishers of men.
Calling to Connect
The connection with Christ begins with faith. Without faith, there is no connection with Jesus. The first thing that Mark does in this passage is signal back to the end of the previous one. Jesus was amazed at the lack of faith that people had. The specific problem is that Jesus returned to His home and no one believed. Jesus was unable to have the same kind of ministry that He had elsewhere and He was unable to perform many miracles. Jesus was so limited because of the lack of faith in Nazareth.
Jesus was shocked at the inability of the people to embrace Him with faith. These would have been people He personally knew, they were friends, family and neighbors. Notice that the first place that Jesus goes to connect with is His own hometown, His own backyard.
It is only when the people of His own community were unreceptive that He moves on. We should adopt a similar attitude when it comes to ministry – we focus on reaching the community around us. We have the best chance of making the biggest impact on the area we are already in. Now one issue with this church is that we draw from a large area and we need to be focused to reach the whole community, not just Mount Orab.
Jesus came to build connections with people. Jesus came to bridge the gap between earth and eternity. The purpose of His coming was to connect with a lost and dying world. Jesus is calling the church to do the same. We are called to help connect people with the saving grace of Jesus. We have been called to take up the mission of Jesus and reach out to those who are not yet part of the church.
Calling to continue – We are to go with a ministry
A witness is someone who by explanation and demonstration gives audible and visible evidence of what he has seen and heard without being deterred by the consequences of his action. Stuart Briscoe
The Mission of Jesus is to make disciples of all nations. The word nation is ethnos, which literally means a tribe or people group. Jesus desires for every group of people to be reached with the gospel.
The mission field is not only in some distant country. It is also down the street. Some of the richest mission fields are in our own backyard. We just need to change the way we think about missions. All of us are on a mission, the only question is to where and to whom.
If you take a moment to think, there are mission fields all around you.
Neighborhoods
Workplace
Grocery stores
Fast food places
Schools
Everywhere you look there are people who do not know Jesus. This means that our opportunities are endless. All we need to do is seize these opportunities.
Calling to complete – We are sent to continue the mission
Jesus increases the impact of His mission by sending out the disciples. Jesus sent the disciples out two by two to continue the work of His mission. The moment that Jesus begins to expand the workers for the harvest, His mission is magnified by their work. The calling of the church is to complete the mission of Jesus.
What is the mission of Jesus?
Go and make disciples of all people
Mission of Jesus
Evangelism: Share the good news of the gospel
Teach: Build up believers – Assist with personal and spiritual growth
Train: Equip believers for service
Multiply: Raise up leaders to increase opportunities
The church today seems to believe that only those who are involved in missions work are sent. Jesus never made this distinction. He sent all of the believers. Why? Those who believe in Him are given the task of carrying on what He started. The work of the Kingdom is not just for the professionals but for all who believe.
There is an interesting play of words here. When Jesus was sent it was part of God’s command. It was an understanding to be appointed to a place. Then when Jesus sent the disciples, it gives the understanding of carrying on His appointment or work.
The sending of Jesus was ultimately to glorify the Father and then God glorifies Jesus. The change in terms makes it clear that we are not sent to bring glory to ourselves but to bring glory to the name of Jesus.
Jesus is the Master and we are the servants. He is the King and we are the subjects. He is the teacher and we are the disciples. This means that we are to carry on His purpose and His mission. When we are sent it is to do what he wants, not what we want.
