Jesus knew that He would not always be with His disciples and even though His desire was always to reach the masses, He knew He had to invest in the few so that ultimately more could be reached. He used intentionality and focus as we can see from His life. Based on his interaction in the gospels, we can identify 17x when he was prioritizing winning people but we can also see of the course of that time at least 46x he was interacting with the disciples.
Transformation of A Life
In order to prioritize the value of multiplication, He looked for people who were AFT’R more.
We can see these qualities in who Jesus hand picked to be his disciples in Luke 5.
Available – These men gave Jesus the opportunity to use their boat as his platform to speak to the masses. Don’t forget that they had been out all night and could have easily said…. ‘Rabbi, we’re tired and we’re hungry, maybe there is another boat that you could use’
Faithful - To have a vocation as a fisherman in that day called for dedication, perseverance and patience. It was not a job for the faint of heart and often came with long hours as we see here in verse 4,5. As a fisherman you know that every day you will have different results, but that you stick with it.
Teachable – They knew the significance of what just took place. Simon Peter recognized the hand of God and it left him completely undone as he was so overwhelmed with his own sinfulness. He saw the awesome power of God in this miracle and worshipped Jesus right away.
Responsive- They left everything and followed him! What? Are you kidding? They had just had their most amazing catch, the most amazing fish story ever! Today God had provided for their needs and there was so much income to be gained right now. They were set for the week, maybe a month, but they walked away. As great as it was to see their needs met, they walked away! They knew there was more to be gained that being wrapped up in the temporal, eternity was at stake and Jesus called them to be fishers of men and they responded. Seek first the kingdom of God and the rest as we like to say is ‘just details’.
Transformation in Appointment
Mark 3 refers to the appointment of the apostles so that they might be with Him in His kingdom mission.
In the same way a King would knight an elite warrior sworn to uphold the values of faith, loyalty, courage and honour, Jesus empowered his disciples
Luke 9 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive our all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
Luke 10 The appointments continue to be made and the essence of His commissioning is that you will be my official representatives. He calls them to travel light except in one area and that is where they must carry the most weight…with the living and powerful presence of Christ.
It is clear that the authority comes only when we appropriate and come in the name of Jesus. The parallel of authority can only be seen in a police officer who must be first obedient to his superiors. He can not run renegade. He also knows that there will be resistance and that he must turn up the heat of his authority when being countered; however he knows that he will prevail. We must be prepared to struggle and lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has taken hold of us.
Ephesians 6 it’s our turn now!
Transformation in Power
Acts 1:8
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you!
The HS breathes the newness of the Christ’s life into us. We are told no many times over in the Psalms to sing a new song…why? Studies have shown that we stop thinking about the lyrics after singing a song 30x. God wants to be more than a memory in your life. he doesn’t want lip-sync worship. He longs for us to discover new postures, new words, new thoughts and bless us with new feelings and awareness so we can not help but speak
Sometimes for us to really sense the presence of the Spirit, we need to change the routine and free up our schedules to feel again. For some of you that might mean you need to volunteer at the Deck, for others, you need to begin a journal of thankfulness to reflect on with others. You may need to take a day off and do a personal retreat.
Exodus 4:2-5 God called Moses to throw his staff down. The shepherd’s staff would about 6 feet long and curved on one end. It would have been used by Moses in warding off wild animals while he worked for Jethro. He would never leave home without it because it was his security. It was also part of his identity and when he looked in the mirror that was all he could see. However, God saw so much more! He saw what He wanted Him to be and that is what matters for all of us. It is not about who we are, it is about WHOSE we are!
Has God ever called you to throw something down? Could it be something that is part of your identity or part of your security for that matter? This July I am taking a preaching sabbatical to keep the routine from being routine. Together with my family we have been planning to go on a missions trip to serve in Ensenada, Mexico. In many ways it is a sabbatical from much more than preaching. It is a sabbatical from our culture and for our children a sabbatical from the typical summer to an opportunity to serve.
We have been asking our kids to pray about it and listen for what God might be telling us as a family. Well this week, Brynley posted this note for us as we came home after being out for the night.
Mom & Dad,
I was reading my Bible. I had randomly opened it to this verse, Proverbs 14:21. It said, blessed are those who help the poor. I don’t know if that means we will be blessed if we go to Mexico and help the poor so I needed your opinion.
- Brynley
Well as it turns out, she didn’t need our opinion. As Addi relayed the story to us, she shared how Bryn was so excited about this verse, she was running around the house.
For us it was so encouraging because you see Brynley is the one that we are most concerned about. She has a severe peanut allergy and we know that she would be the greatest at risk and for God to show Brynley this was an amazing confirmation to us.
So, what if Moses didn’t throw down his staff? It would have remained a shepherd’s staff and he would have gone right back to shepherding his flock.
Mark Batterson states in a book on the Holy Spirit called ‘Wild Goose Chase,’ “If you aren’t willing to throw down your staff, you forfeit the miracle that is in your fingertips.”
It is here that we discover the miracle of transformation for Moses because his staff doesn’t just become a snake…no, it is transformed into the rod of God!
If we find our security outside of Christ then we have a false sense of security.
You might think I’m too old for all this risk taking, more of the Spirit stuff in my life. Well, remember the Bible is chalk full of late bloomers and my mom is an amazing testimony to me. She is 73 and still going on missions trips. She just got back from Haiti last month and she said, Jack, get as many soccer balls as you can find so I can bless the children down there!
I can testify that God loves using us before we feel like we’re ready because that way we will be sure to give him the credit. I wasn’t ready to get married at 21 and neither should Sharon have said yes to me at 19, but she did and you know what, God has shown us a lot of wonderful things along our journey. We weren’t ready to have kids and definitely not four for that matter, but once again God provides and somehow you barely don’t go crazy!! It is the same in the spiritual realm when God calls you to follow His leading. You will be ready when the Holy Spirit comes upon you!
One writer shares
It seems to me that the people God uses the most make the fewest assumptions. Joshua didn’t assume that the sun could not stand still. Elisha didn’t assume that an iron ax head couldn’t float. Mary didn’t assume that virgins cannot get pregnant. Peter didn’t assume that he could not walk on water. And Jesus didn’t assume that dead people cannot be raised to life again.
And you will be my witnesses -
A witness testifies to what they have seen or heard. We testify to what we have seen or heard God do in our lives. Don’t get confused with JWs…you are so much more than Jehovah’s Witness….they do it because they are mandated to do it. We are witnesses to the transforming power of God and we can’t help but share. When you have a ‘God-story, you want to share it! It’s powerful and life changing.
Remember often that human interruptions are divine appointments. I have been involved in every type of witnessing. I have gone street witnessing, I have been door to door, but the most rewarding times for me have been when God has totally ‘set me up’ and I share and His words flow through me.
The Takeaway
Have a holy discontent for the status quo and surrender to the Holy Spirit for His transforming power in your life.
When that happens, you will be ‘totally set up’ to be His witnesses!!!
Questions For Discussion
1. What quality in the disciples in Luke 5 is present in your life right now? What needs to be present?
2. In the past, when have you made a false assumption about God or His will for your life? How did you discover your error?
3. What assumptions do you think could be limiting God in your life right now? How can you challenge those assumptions?
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