I mentioned in last week's post that I relate a lot of things to movies. So when I hear the phrase "Follow me," many scenes burst into my mental movie player. Joan of Arc in "The Messenger" crying out to the tired and weary soldiers, "Follow me and I will give you victory!" Or how about in the closing scene of "The Last Crusade" when Marcus Brody exclaims in joy, "Indy, Henry, follow me, I know the way. Ha" as his horse thunders out of a dry canyon.
But the one that sticks out the most is not the exact same phrase. But it's close. Come with me back to the early 80's. Granted I was just a tyke back then, but imagine if you will, a neon night club. Full of feathered hair, mega-bangs, and some of the worst fashion sense this side of a burlap sack. People are screaming in fear as a giant man lumbers through the place with an automatic weapon spraying bullets. The heroine of the story is trapped under a once badly dancing club goer. The giant is upon her, when out of no where a dashing hero in a trench coat jumps in firing a shot gun into the man. The giant staggers back and crashes through the window into the street.
"Come with me if you want to live..." says Kyle Reese to Sarah Connor.
That's right, I'm referencing "The Terminator" in a blog about Jesus. (Yeah, you can do that!)
Ok so what does any of this have to do with Jesus or discipleship...or anything? I'm glad you asked. There are many people, programs, and personalities out there that want you to follow them. The whole concept of Twitter is to get people to "follow you." So-called reality TV is about "following" the lives of who ever the flavor of the minute is.
But there was someone saying this long before all of this.
Imagine again, not a movie, but a place. It's warm, the sun is beaming down on you as you approach a lake. You hear the waves. The birds. Other people working and talking. You reach down into your fathers boat and pull out one of the nets you use to catch fish. You can smell the dampness in it. You and your brother get to work in the shallows. It's going to be a long day. Knee deep in the water casting and hauling. Hoping to get a good catch for the market.
A few hours later a man approaches you both. He looks at you and smiles. "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Without hesitation you look at your brother, he shrugs his shoulders and you both drop the nets on the shore and follow him.
You and your brother follow this guy along the shore. A while later you come across some other fishermen. These guys are in a boat with who you assume is their father. The guy you are following calls out to them, and they leave the boat and join you.
Ok, back to here and now. How cool is that?! Jesus just walks up to these guys, says, "Follow me." and they do. They didn't hesitate. They just dropped their stuff and went. Can you imagine that. Hearing the actual voice of Jesus call out to you and say, "Follow me." It gives me chills.
We can still hear the voice of Jesus today. He whispers to us when we see a homeless person who is ignored by the ocean of humanity breaking around him as if he were just a rock on the sidewalk.
follow me
He weeps at our shoulders when we comfort a friend who has just lost a loved one and is lost and confused about life, and death and hope. follow me
He cries out in a voice like thunder when we see a child hurt and abused. FOLLOW ME!!
His voice is all around us. Calling us to follow him. When you see the homeless, drop your pride and see the human being that no one else does. When your friend is hurting, cry with them. Drop the facade that everything is always sunshine and puppies. Leave your nets, leave your boats and go. Go to where Jesus leads you. It won't always make sense or be easy. But we have the promise that if we follow him, if we go...he will be with us always.
So listen to the voice of Jesus. Look for it in your daily life. He's there, calling you out from yourself.
"Follow me."
Grace, Peace & Hope
-Jersey
Welcome to the M28 Discipleship Blog. For thoughts, ideas and discussions about discipleship, organic life and following Jesus.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Sent Out - The Rest of Us
Alright, the last post in this series.
In the last post we looked at Jesus sending out the 72. This time we're looking at his last sending out of disciples if you will. What has been called, "The Great Commission."
The scripture for this commission is found in Matthew 28, verses16-20. To set this moment up, here's a quick recap of what led up to it. Jesus has made is triumphal entry to Jerusalem. He teaches, he heals, and continues on as he has done for the last three years. He is then betrayed, arrested, put on trial, beaten, flogged, crucified, buried and raised from the dead! So his disciples, the elven remaining, and all the other followers have been on an emotional roller coaster. But he's back.
I think of things in terms of movies. This is the final epic heroic moment. It's Robert the Bruce leading the armies of Scotland after William Wallace is executed. Only better. Because the hero that everyone thought was dead...is alive! He's there telling his "captains," and in turn us what's next. So here we are in Matthew 28. Jesus tells the women who came to his tomb to sent the disciples to Galilee where he would meet them.
They weren't arguing over how communion should be served. They weren't debating what songs to sing at their next gathering. Their mortgages were not important. They weren't worried about what shoes to wear to the funeral. They were in fear for their lives. They had been following a man that promised them so much. They hung all their hopes on him. He was taken, and executed.
All hope was lost.
But it wasn't! Hiding in a room, waiting in fear for the soldiers to come for them. Then Jesus is there among them. He isn't dead. There's nothing to fear any more! He overcame death!
Oh. Right. He told us he would.
I love how in the gospels it's written something to the tune of, "but they didn't remember this until after..."
But that's a whole other post for another time. Point here is...their leader, our leader, came back. His death wasn't the end of his mission. It was just part of the plan. And it's not even the end of the plan. It's more like the end of the introduction to his mission. Ok disciples, training is over. Go do it. You don't need me physically with you. But I'll send you my Spirit to be with you until the end. Not just your end...but the end of the age.
And what does he tell them, and us, to do?
He tells them "All authority on heaven and earth has been given to me." He's in control.
Of everything.
So, Jesus has the power over heaven and earth. What does he do with it? He tells eleven guys, who are about to become for lack of a better word, outlaws, to make more of themselves. He gives them 3 instructions and a promise.
1. Go, make disciples of all nations (note he doesn't say "in all" nations, but of all)
2. Baptize them (disciples)
3. Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you
The promise: And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
It's so simple. But it's so hard. We, as flawed humans, want to tamper with what it means to be a disciple, to put regulations on being baptized, to teach beyond our obedience.
The great commission, is a charge to Jesus' disciples past/present/future to crawl out from under our hiding place, to leave the safety and comfort of what we know, to remove the mask of self-righteousness and just follow him.
After all that's what being a disciple is. Following Jesus, and bringing him to others.
And that wraps up our "Sent Out" posts. Please leave a comment or question below. Also, you can subscribe to the blog in the links to the right.
Grace, Peace & Hope
-Jersey
In the last post we looked at Jesus sending out the 72. This time we're looking at his last sending out of disciples if you will. What has been called, "The Great Commission."
The scripture for this commission is found in Matthew 28, verses16-20. To set this moment up, here's a quick recap of what led up to it. Jesus has made is triumphal entry to Jerusalem. He teaches, he heals, and continues on as he has done for the last three years. He is then betrayed, arrested, put on trial, beaten, flogged, crucified, buried and raised from the dead! So his disciples, the elven remaining, and all the other followers have been on an emotional roller coaster. But he's back.
I think of things in terms of movies. This is the final epic heroic moment. It's Robert the Bruce leading the armies of Scotland after William Wallace is executed. Only better. Because the hero that everyone thought was dead...is alive! He's there telling his "captains," and in turn us what's next. So here we are in Matthew 28. Jesus tells the women who came to his tomb to sent the disciples to Galilee where he would meet them.
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them ina the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”There is no story on the planet that is this exciting! Can you imagine!? You're following Jesus, everything is awesome. He's given authority to heal, and raise the dead, and proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Then...he's arrested and killed. Everyone saw it happen. It's not a rumor. That had to be the darkest hour of the disciples lives.
They weren't arguing over how communion should be served. They weren't debating what songs to sing at their next gathering. Their mortgages were not important. They weren't worried about what shoes to wear to the funeral. They were in fear for their lives. They had been following a man that promised them so much. They hung all their hopes on him. He was taken, and executed.
All hope was lost.
But it wasn't! Hiding in a room, waiting in fear for the soldiers to come for them. Then Jesus is there among them. He isn't dead. There's nothing to fear any more! He overcame death!
Oh. Right. He told us he would.
I love how in the gospels it's written something to the tune of, "but they didn't remember this until after..."
But that's a whole other post for another time. Point here is...their leader, our leader, came back. His death wasn't the end of his mission. It was just part of the plan. And it's not even the end of the plan. It's more like the end of the introduction to his mission. Ok disciples, training is over. Go do it. You don't need me physically with you. But I'll send you my Spirit to be with you until the end. Not just your end...but the end of the age.
And what does he tell them, and us, to do?
He tells them "All authority on heaven and earth has been given to me." He's in control.
Of everything.
So, Jesus has the power over heaven and earth. What does he do with it? He tells eleven guys, who are about to become for lack of a better word, outlaws, to make more of themselves. He gives them 3 instructions and a promise.
1. Go, make disciples of all nations (note he doesn't say "in all" nations, but of all)
2. Baptize them (disciples)
3. Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you
The promise: And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
It's so simple. But it's so hard. We, as flawed humans, want to tamper with what it means to be a disciple, to put regulations on being baptized, to teach beyond our obedience.
The great commission, is a charge to Jesus' disciples past/present/future to crawl out from under our hiding place, to leave the safety and comfort of what we know, to remove the mask of self-righteousness and just follow him.
After all that's what being a disciple is. Following Jesus, and bringing him to others.
And that wraps up our "Sent Out" posts. Please leave a comment or question below. Also, you can subscribe to the blog in the links to the right.
Grace, Peace & Hope
-Jersey
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Sent Out - The Seventy Two
Last week I wrote about Jesus sending out the 12. That is the 12 disciples he called to follow him. This week we're looking at another time Jesus sent his followers out. This time those sent number 72.
Read Luke 9:51-10:24 (links are to the full chapters)
Jesus is headed for Jerusalem. He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare things for him, but he was not welcome. So he kept going. James and John (I imagine at this point are starting to feel pretty full of themselves) ask if Jesus wants them to call fire down on the village. They've already forgotten some of the lessons learned from the previous outing.
They were told shake the dust of an unwelcoming town from their sandals. Now they want to destroy the village. Jesus also told them they would face opposition and difficulty. Again, they were ready to call down devastation at the thought of not being welcome.
Jesus had other ideas. He was about to send people out again. Other disciples, but not the disciples. Because the verse in most translations say "he appointed seventy-two others." Now there may be a slight difference from 70 to 72 others. Either way it was a larger group of people than the previous twelve.
This time they were being sent to towns Jesus was about to go visit. He doesn't specify "the lost of Israel," this time. Just the towns he's going to.
He again gives the same basic guidelines:
1. Go
This time he adds not to talk to people they meet on the road. Jesus tells them how to behave in the homes again. Looking for a man of peace, and allowing it to rest on him and his house. Stay in that house while there, eat and drink what they give you, "for the worker deserves his wages." (Luke 10:7)
The worker deserves his wages. How many times has that been used in Sunday messages, or to explain payroll for pastors, etc? When you read this does it seem like Jesus is establishing a guideline for his messengers to earn a full-time living doing this?
I don't think so. They are going to these towns for short periods of time, because Jesus is coming. They are there to get the town ready for his visit. They are the "roadies" if you will. They are only there briefly. Then they return to Jesus. While there, they are to heal, and proclaim the kingdom of heaven is near. They are to stay with "a man of peace." This person will serve the disciples while there in the way of providing room and board. After a few days they return to Jesus.
When you read the scripture, it's the very next sentence. Jesus gives his instructions, then "The seventy-two returned with joy..." (Luke 10:17)
Jesus instructs. They go. They do what they were sent to do. They come back.
And they were joyful.
Why?
They were casting out demons. That is what they took out of it. I probably would have too. Can you imagine? You and I are walking to a village, probably near the cemetery. Out jumps the crazy possessed guy. You stare him down and command him to leave in the name of Jesus. Suddenly the guy is back to normal. I look at you and say, "Dude, that just happened!" (No offense, but dude in my book is gender non-specific.)
Then we go back to Jesus all excited. "Jesus! Jesus, fill in your name here just cast out some demons! It was awesome!"
Jesus looks at us and says, "You should be more excited about having your name is written in heaven."
And we are humbled.
Jesus reminds us that no matter what we do, in his name or not, it's not about us. The mission was to tell others about Jesus, and proclaim the kingdom.
I've come to learn that that hard way. And I have to keep learning it.
Discipleship, mentoring, teaching, preaching, healing, and whatever else you want to add to that list, doesn't mean a thing with out Jesus. What we do is not important. It's our attitude, our heart, and motivations that matter.
Whether you lead a mega-church of 3,000-5,000 people or a group of 5, if it's about you it's all wrong.
So if you're like James and John and ready to call destruction down on those unwilling to accept Jesus, or like the 72, on a spiritual power trip...take a moment and pray.
Stop.
Right now. (I'm doing it too.)
Pray. Refocus on Jesus. Cause He is what matters. Not curriculum or lack of. Not fancy tech or flannel graph. It's about Jesus. The Word. Through him all things were made. You. Me. The very Earth itself.
Jesus sent the 12, and then the 72. He wanted them to be dependent upon him. They took nothing with them. Just the clothes on their back. Jesus told them it would be dangerous. Both times he compared them to sheep or lambs among wolves.
Sheep don't get lost or need to fear when they are with their shepherd. Jesus is our shepherd. He is with us wherever we go, whatever we do. Get to know his voice. Spend time with him in the word, in prayer, in worship, in fellowship with other believers.
Remember, they were sent in pairs, not alone. We are to help one another. And we go with Jesus.
Next Week: Sent Out - The Rest of Us
Read Matthew 28 and Luke 22:7-38
Until next time,
Grace, Peace and Love
-Jersey
Read Luke 9:51-10:24 (links are to the full chapters)
Jesus is headed for Jerusalem. He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare things for him, but he was not welcome. So he kept going. James and John (I imagine at this point are starting to feel pretty full of themselves) ask if Jesus wants them to call fire down on the village. They've already forgotten some of the lessons learned from the previous outing.
They were told shake the dust of an unwelcoming town from their sandals. Now they want to destroy the village. Jesus also told them they would face opposition and difficulty. Again, they were ready to call down devastation at the thought of not being welcome.
Jesus had other ideas. He was about to send people out again. Other disciples, but not the disciples. Because the verse in most translations say "he appointed seventy-two others." Now there may be a slight difference from 70 to 72 others. Either way it was a larger group of people than the previous twelve.
This time they were being sent to towns Jesus was about to go visit. He doesn't specify "the lost of Israel," this time. Just the towns he's going to.
He again gives the same basic guidelines:
1. Go
2. Proclaim the kingdom of heaven is near
3. Heal the sick, drive out demons, raise the dead
4. Don't take anything with you
5. Rules for conduct in towns/homes
This time he adds not to talk to people they meet on the road. Jesus tells them how to behave in the homes again. Looking for a man of peace, and allowing it to rest on him and his house. Stay in that house while there, eat and drink what they give you, "for the worker deserves his wages." (Luke 10:7)
The worker deserves his wages. How many times has that been used in Sunday messages, or to explain payroll for pastors, etc? When you read this does it seem like Jesus is establishing a guideline for his messengers to earn a full-time living doing this?
I don't think so. They are going to these towns for short periods of time, because Jesus is coming. They are there to get the town ready for his visit. They are the "roadies" if you will. They are only there briefly. Then they return to Jesus. While there, they are to heal, and proclaim the kingdom of heaven is near. They are to stay with "a man of peace." This person will serve the disciples while there in the way of providing room and board. After a few days they return to Jesus.
When you read the scripture, it's the very next sentence. Jesus gives his instructions, then "The seventy-two returned with joy..." (Luke 10:17)
Jesus instructs. They go. They do what they were sent to do. They come back.
And they were joyful.
Why?
They were casting out demons. That is what they took out of it. I probably would have too. Can you imagine? You and I are walking to a village, probably near the cemetery. Out jumps the crazy possessed guy. You stare him down and command him to leave in the name of Jesus. Suddenly the guy is back to normal. I look at you and say, "Dude, that just happened!" (No offense, but dude in my book is gender non-specific.)
Then we go back to Jesus all excited. "Jesus! Jesus, fill in your name here just cast out some demons! It was awesome!"
Jesus looks at us and says, "You should be more excited about having your name is written in heaven."
And we are humbled.
Jesus reminds us that no matter what we do, in his name or not, it's not about us. The mission was to tell others about Jesus, and proclaim the kingdom.
I've come to learn that that hard way. And I have to keep learning it.
Discipleship, mentoring, teaching, preaching, healing, and whatever else you want to add to that list, doesn't mean a thing with out Jesus. What we do is not important. It's our attitude, our heart, and motivations that matter.
Whether you lead a mega-church of 3,000-5,000 people or a group of 5, if it's about you it's all wrong.
So if you're like James and John and ready to call destruction down on those unwilling to accept Jesus, or like the 72, on a spiritual power trip...take a moment and pray.
Stop.
Right now. (I'm doing it too.)
Pray. Refocus on Jesus. Cause He is what matters. Not curriculum or lack of. Not fancy tech or flannel graph. It's about Jesus. The Word. Through him all things were made. You. Me. The very Earth itself.
Jesus sent the 12, and then the 72. He wanted them to be dependent upon him. They took nothing with them. Just the clothes on their back. Jesus told them it would be dangerous. Both times he compared them to sheep or lambs among wolves.
Sheep don't get lost or need to fear when they are with their shepherd. Jesus is our shepherd. He is with us wherever we go, whatever we do. Get to know his voice. Spend time with him in the word, in prayer, in worship, in fellowship with other believers.
Remember, they were sent in pairs, not alone. We are to help one another. And we go with Jesus.
Next Week: Sent Out - The Rest of Us
Read Matthew 28 and Luke 22:7-38
Until next time,
Grace, Peace and Love
-Jersey
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)