
The key events that followed the choosing of the 12 disciples and building his team of followers was that Jesus was preparing them for a life of investing and it began with Him.
Following His great conversations with the woman at the well and Nicodemus teaching the value of reaching all people, He went public with announcing His ministry. In Jesus’ inauguration message, He read the passage from Isaiah and it was a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Luke 4:16-31 (with reference to Isaiah 61:1,2) Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing…
The disciples were following Jesus and they were beginning to be equipped with the priority of His ministry –
The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
It was a ministry of GENEROSITY and INVESTMENT – life investment! The challenge the disciples needed to respond to was this:
Are you willing the risk the life that you know in order to become the person that God wants you to be. You can only move forward when the Spirit of the Lord is on you.
So, what happens…they respond. The disciples begin an unpaid internship and they learn on the job, the filleted the fish from the miraculous catch, they drank the wine in the ceremonial jugs, they were ducking when Jesus was turning the tables upside down in the temple and they were there when a year’s worth of perfume was poured over his feet…
to preach good news to the poor.
Jesus comes for those who know they are poor, not just physically poor, but spiritually so. He taught us to look at people from the inside out.
Mark 2:15-17 / Matthew 9 / Luke 5
Unfortunately the practical outworking of this belief was too hard of a pill for the religious leaders of the day to swallow. It was with disdain they looked at him entering the home of Matthew, the tax collector….why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? We are guilty by association! The religious leaders wanted no part of that kind of association but Jesus wore the title, ‘friend of sinners’ as a badge of honor.
Jesus was equipping his followers with the message that while there is only one road to Jesus, we need to be willing and ready to travel down every road to reach out to those in need of a Saviour. He equipped his followers with a GO mentality. We need to go to where people congregate and meet them where they are at. It is the very reason that I love the ministries that we are supporting. They all have a GO mentality. They are going to the poor, the orphans, to the streets, to the former crack house, to the reserves and transforming them with the living presence of Jesus Christ!
Jesus brought focus to His followers – go to WHO? those who are searching, longing for real life, the abundant life that comes from God.
Mark 2:17On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Focus on the soul sick!
It was a SUPERNATURAL ministry.
The power of God showed up and was evident to all…
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
So what does Jesus do following the giving of this message. He goes out and does the supernatural of course! Now, remember all the disciples are doing at this point are watching Him in action. They are spectators at this point, not participants…
Luke 4:31 First, He casts out an evil spirit and He does it with authority. – He equips with authority and He delivers on His promise – He sets a man free from his prison, the demons of his soul.
And recovery of sight for the blind, Mark 10:46
In the case of the blind Baremaeus, it is this – Ministry Happens! Don’t miss it in the midst of all the busyness, all the requests, all the demands on your schedule. Jesus taught His disciples ‘kairos’ time. Remember ‘kairos’ is a window of opportunity, a moment to see the eternal in the midst of the temporary and Jesus did it all the time.
To release the oppressed,
Luke 4:38 Jesus leaves the synagogue and goes to the home of Simon. He heals his mother in law of a high fever.
Mark 1:32-34 From there He goes all evening right after sunset dealing with the sick and demon possessed and freeing them from their personal hell. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy…Jesus comes to heal, release and restore people to hope and life everlasting! His mission becomes our mission!
We then come to the cleansing of the man with leprosy. Matthew 8 / Mark 1 / Luke 5
We see more supernatural work at heart here, but it is clear that it comes with ‘belief and willingness’ on those who are seeking. The teaching is clear, ‘willingness through faith matched with His empowerment’ brings great deliverance.
And He is not finished as each miracle teaches the disciples about the power and authority that is found in the name of Jesus Christ.
To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
For all that Jesus went through, He equipped his disciples with the message of the kingdom and repentance –Jesus will make you do a 180 degree turn from the way you used to see things to the way that they were always meant to be seen.
Whether it was the appointment of the 12 apostles, the Sermon on the Mount, public rejection by the Jewish leaders or teaching secrets about the kingdom in parables. Life and faith is an investment of your time, talents and resources into the things that will make a difference for eternity.
The Takeaway
When we follow Jesus, the miraculous comes after we step out in faith, not before.
The waters didn’t part on the Jordan River until the nation under Joshua first stepped into the river. That is the problem with most. They want to see the miraculous first. The signs and wonders follow, they don’t lead.
Thomas Jefferson loved the teachings of Jesus. The author of the Declaration of Independence called them the most sublime and benevolent code of morals ever offered to man. However, he couldn’t wrap his mind around the miraculous so he literally took scissors and cut out anything miraculous in his KJV Bible. It took him two or three nights and what was cut out …well the virgin birth, the angels, the resurrection, every miracle was extracted and he titled the book, the life and morals of Jesus…the Jefferson Bible.
It was AW Tozer who said in The Knowledge of the Holy, “When we make God in our own image, we’re left with a God who can never surprise us, never owverwhelm us, nor astonish us, nor transcend us.”
We need God to show up in the power of the Holy Spirit or we have nothing to offer
God has given us favor as a church and we need to continue to pray for favor. We are blessed to be a blessing!
I want to make it clear that these values are not fulfilled in programs. We don’t program BUILDING and EQUIPPING and WINNING and MULTIPLYING for that matter. They often happen simultaneously