It began in the late 90’s when my
husband and I volunteered in a food ministry each Wednesday for almost ten
years. He cooked the main meals and
worked in the distribution end, while I worked in the kitchen making desserts,
packaging the meals and then did the clean-up.
Teams usually went out in pairs
to deliver food parcels designated to people on the needs list. On one occasion that I remember quite
vividly, my husband ended up making his rounds alone, but that was okay since
the people on his list that week were elderly men.
At the end of the day, hubby had
one extra package and quart of homemade chicken soup (what I call “stoup”
because when he cooked it was more like a stew than soup). He was determined not to return to base without
distributing all he set out to give. We’d
soon find out how he tried to achieve his goal.
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
New on DFB – Cape Town South Africa; Bridgetown,
Saint Michael, Barbados; Elhovo, Yambol Province, Bulgaria; Ethiopia;
Arrah, Bihar, India; San Pawl il-Baħar, Central Region,
Malta; Ħal Luqa, South Eastern Region, Malta; Myanmar; Shagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria; Mariveles, Central Luzon & Tarlac,
Central Luzon, Philippines; Kikinda, Serbia; Uganda; Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom; Mazabuka, Southern Province, Zambia.
USA
– Evergreen, AL; Magnolia
& Mountain Home, AR; Mesa, AZ; Fresno & Turlock, CA; Cape Coral & Century, FL; Tinley
Park, IL; Yeoman, IN; Metairie, LA; Crow Wing & Tower, MN; Duquesne
& Koshkonong, MO; Hattiesburg, Sunrise & Pelahatchie, MS; Cedar Rock & Pine Hall, NC; Bridgeton, Vineland & Trenton Gardens, NJ;
Pahrump, NV; Rotterdam, Suffolk County & Milford, NY; Seagoville,
TX; Reedville, VA; Sequim, WA; Huntington, WV.
I am so happy for your visit and hope that you come back
each week to participate in the weekly challenges. God has been faithful and we expect His favor
to abound in the lives of those who chose to be Discipled by Jesus on Daily
Favor Blog.
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(below).
Not Quite What Jesus Had in Mind
We’re not sure how it happened, but somehow my husband was
one up on quarts of soup when it came to his route. Doing his best to find a
“home” for this extra meal, hubby did something unusual by turning onto a busy
main street in town hoping to find someone that could use the meal.
Driving slowly down the old town street you could see that it
was filled with pedestrians moving about, going from store to store on each
side of the road.
Scouting the sidewalks
He spotted an elderly lady who was hunched over, pulling a wheeled cart loaded
with bags and who knows what else. Her
appearance and behavior might lead anyone to believe she was homeless, and perhaps would welcome a
hot meal.
“Aha”, thought hubby, “there is someone who could use
this". Pulling into to the nearest
parking space, he scrambled to grab the food from the backseat of the car hoping
to catch the woman before she vanished.
Keeping her in sight hubby ran as fast as he could calling
out, “Ma’am … Ma’am, I have something for you.”
Well … he got her attention.
Turning around she took one look at this man chasing her and dashed off in
full speed ahead fast as she could.
That didn’t stop this persistent disciple as he continued
on his journey to “feed the hungry” in the name of Jesus. Shouting as he ran down the street he only
had one thing in mind. He went on to
tell me the details of his adventure.
“I wanted to get
this food to her so I took off running, chasing her down the street. As I was running I noticed my reflection in
the storefront windows and realized that people were watching this “Wildman”
chase an old lady down the street.
Reality kicked in superfast
causing my running shoes to come to a complete stop, before I turned around to go
back to the car. The last I saw of the
little lady she was still running as she turned the corner at the last building
on the block.”
There was no way I could keep from
laughing as I pictured my husband running down the street waving a jar of soup
as he tried to flag down that precious woman!
What a sight it must have been for all his onlookers. I can imagine the stories that have been
shared about it over the years. Call it
an inkling, but I doubt this is what Jesus had in mind when He sent out the
disciples on their first mission alone.
Turn Me Loose
By now Jesus and the disciples
were on their third Galilean tour for making the circuit of the surrounding
towns. The twelve men He had chosen had
watched Jesus heal, cast out demons, bring people back to life along with
listening to His way of life sermons for believers. Through all of this the followers noticed the
compassion of Jesus was never ending.
Although the disciples were
learning at a rapid pace, there was still a problem. Jesus, as a man, couldn’t be everywhere all
the time. What was the point in training
people if they didn’t learn to do things for themselves?
“Then Jesus went about all the
cities and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the gospel
of the Kingdom, and healing every
sickness and
every disease among the people.” (Matthew
9:35 NKJV)
Even with Jesus healing all He
came in contact with and winning souls for the kingdom, it wasn’t enough. There were too many to reach. His love for the lost was so great that He
asked the disciples to pray that God would stir the hearts of people to have
the same desire as He did in fishing for men.
Do you think they realized He was also referring to them?
It was time for the disciples to go
out into the deep all by themselves taking on more responsibilities for the
soul harvest. Why now? What caused Jesus
to turn the disciples loose? Matthew
9:36-38 tells us what happened.
“But when He saw the multitudes,
He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered,
like sheep having no shepherd. Then He
said to His disciples: The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to
send out laborers into His harvest.”
Sending the Twelve – The Marching
Orders
The time had come for the
disciples to step out in faith and test the waters by putting what they had
learned into action. For the first time Jesus
would give the marching orders and equip each team with the gifts of the Holy Spirit
to do what they’ve only witnessed from Him.
It was their time … their “for such
a time as this” moment for each of the new followers to come into their own
ministry.
Prepared for Action
Making sure that each disciple
had what they needed, being thoroughly prepared the Lord sent them out to do
the work of God without Him tagging along to see if they were doing the job
right. In other words, you can be sure
these “green” servants of God weren’t packing soup for distribution along their
way.
Jesus gave them power against
demons to cast them out, heal sickness and disease and spread the message of
their Master coming to save souls. They were
sent out as teams, two by two to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal. This was the plan and purpose for gathering
them in the first place.
Provision for What Has Been
Received
Up to this point Jesus provided
for them. They didn’t need to stretch
their faith, beg for a meal or take a second job to pay the bills. It was time to see if they had what it takes
to be a true disciple and follower of Christ.
This is where I think many
believers miss it when it comes to evangelism or pastoring a flock. When the Lord sent the men out, it was their job. He told
them not to take provisions, extra clothes, money to buy things or even to make
reservations at the town inn. These things
were to be provided by those who received or benefitted from the calling or “work”.
In this age many people in full
time ministry have to hold down a job to provide for their families. That’s not what God intended.
Preaching or teaching the gospel message with
laying hands on the sick is their job, and according to Jesus they should be
well compensated for it. They too are “worthy”
to be paid for their work as He stated in Matthew 10:10b, “for the workman is worthy of his meat.”
As they traveled with the Lord
each disciple experienced the blessings and favor Jesus received from the
people as He ministered to them. They
were given food, lodging and money for their expenses not because Jesus asked for
it, but because of the grateful hearts that received the message He
preached.
God took care of Jesus, because
Jesus followed the plan of God. If you
really thought about it, why else would Jesus need to keep a treasurer with Him
to handle all the money and take care of their traveling expenses? Jesus gave Judas Iscariot the responsibilities
of hiring boats (He didn’t use Peter’s or the Zebedee’s ships), buy food or
provisions for them or the needy, pay bills and take care of things that had to
do with finances.
No, this was the true test of
whether or not they believed God would take care of them as He provided for
Jesus’ ministry. Their task was hard and
required heaps of faith. Christ informed
them it wasn’t going to be easy and that there would be people who would go
against them in many ways, even to the point of death. (Read Matthew 10)
His Advice, Shake It Off
There was no sugar coating what
it would be like for the disciples to carry on the ministry of the Lord. He made it plain that He was sending them out
into a world that wouldn’t always receive the message they were spreading, and
at times it would get downright mean, ugly and hateful.
Headquarters final instructions
may have sounded something like this:
In teams of two I’m sending you
in different directions to share the message I have taught. I send you out as innocent lambs among wolves. You aren’t to become the wolf, but to remain
harmless as doves even when things get rough.
I say this because you will be
hated, turned in or arrested and persecuted, but as you have witnessed, so was
I. Don’t be afraid. God will take care of you on this journey as
He did for Me. For some, your very own
families will turn against you, but remember this, I won’t.
When you approach the towns and
people, don’t force the message down their throats. If they refuse to receive it, move on to the
next city and shake off the dust on your feet as a measure against them. Let Me judge them. They will be sorry they refused to listen to
what you had to share.
With having received their orders
Jesus sent the first disciples outside of their own cities to spread the gospel
and to heal the sick. Why was it
important that they serve outside of their area? Do you remember what happened when the Lord
tried to do miracles in his hometown?
The Bible tells us that not much happened, because the people couldn’t
get past thinking that “this is the carpenter’s son.”
Jesus knew the disciples wouldn’t
be received well in their own towns based on what the community knew about
their personal lives. Their effectiveness
to minister would be similar to His when He went back home.
“You’re a what? Disciple?
What’s that? Aren’t you that
fisherman who lives near the shore with that brother who is always in
trouble? I know who you are. I used to fish with your Dad and he’s no
angel. Why should I believe what you’re
saying?” Get the point?
This is still true for today and
rare that individuals become ministers in their own area. It does happen, but
not as often as you may think. Strangers
would receive the message of salvation more readily than those that they grew
up with or even their own kin. Thus
another good reason to “go ye into all the world” as Jesus instructed.
Go Two by Two
As a young Christian I witnessed how to disciple from my
mother, and not once did it involve running down a street with a quart of soup. Every Thursday night several men and women
would gather at our church to be sent out in teams of two just like Jesus did
with the first disciples, to evangelize the surrounding towns.
The teams would consist of two females or two males. If
there was an uneven number the teams would go out in threes, two females and
one male. One woman would never be
teamed with two men.
After prayer, each team received instructions on whom to visit and given
direction not to overstay their welcome.
A time preference was under one hour, but never more than that if
possible. For the most part the radius
for sharing the message of salvation and inviting the people to church was
about thirty miles.
Something I learned from my mother was that she didn’t need
to wait until Thursday to “go and tell” the good news. Throughout the week Mom would call a friend,
and with a meal or gift in tote the two would set out on their mission to serve
Christ.
This Week’s Challenge:
It’s Time … Serve Outside Your City
My
husband’s youthful version of what a disciple looks like was his own interpretation
of how to carry out the ministry of Christ.
In other words, “get ‘er done!”
For
the rest of us, we had a good laugh at what “NOT” to do. You can be sure none of us ever took that particular
example to heart.
The discipleship challenge this week is to evangelize
outside our own city or town, sharing the gospel message of the Kingdom of
God. Pick a specific day and time to do
this. Ask a Christian friend to go with you to the next town specifically
to share the message of salvation.
Follow the examples of how to do
this given by our teacher Jesus, and from what you’ve learned here. Since we are practicing how to be “discipled by
Jesus” (not Paul or the other disciples), as guides use the four gospels of
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which outlines the works of Jesus when He walked
with the first disciples. This includes
not going out in mixed pairs unless you are a married couple. Besides, if the group is large there will be
too much “me” talking and not enough witnessing.
Remember you are not on a social
call, but on a commission as a disciple. Before
you set out on your journey of evangelizing to the lost and hurting, make sure
you have prayed asking the Lord to lead, guide and direct your steps, mind and
mouth.
You only have two things to
achieve:
1 - Tell them about the salvation
message of Jesus and that He loves them.
Sharing a brief version of your journey to Christ makes it more
believable for others to receive what you are saying.
2 - Address the healing issues in
their family. Don’t get into anything
else on this first visit.
When you arrive at each location discuss
the purpose of your visit and if they would let you share how you came to know
Jesus as Savior. If they receive you, ask
if they have any prayer requests or “needs” and then pray with them about their
concerns at that time.
Leave them with a gift of helpful
information that may answer some of their questions about Christianity. Then invite them to your church or one that
is near their house, only be sure it is one that preaches the same message as
Jesus. For those who don’t want to be
bothered, thank them for their time and be on your way.
As we progress through the scriptures we learn about the
squealers, the haters and the backstabbers who wanted to bring harm to the
disciples. After all they were about to
meet up with some wolves; but let’s not forget those who became lambs.
Team by team excitedly reported back to Jesus on their
excursions and what happened as they ministered to the lost. Once they were all together Jesus had one
question for them. “Did you lack anything?” No,
they replied … not one thing.
God had
provided for them as He did for Jesus when they took heed to their instruction
when being discipled by the Master.
The favor promises of God’s provision for modern day
disciples still holds whether you are sharing the good news in the next town or
across the globe. As Jesus did, so do I …
so send I you.
Go … be the disciple you were “born again” to be. Love and live the journey you were made to
take, knowing Jesus has equipped you for all you were meant to be and accomplish
for Him.
“And He said unto them
(us), go into all the world and preach
the Good News (gospel
message) to everyone.”
(Mark 16:15 NLT)
If this article has encouraged or helped you, please
consider sharing it by using the social media icons provided at the end of this
post.
Until next time, the favor of God goes
with you!
“Go, tell of me and receive My favor for the journey .”
Jesus Christ
*Unless
noted, the names in articles are changed to protect the individual(s) privacy.
Note: Emphasis
is given in some scriptures to show clarity or understanding and is not to take
away from the inspirited Word of God.
When used,
the words satan or devil are not capitalized deliberately, because we give him
no place in our lives.
... and
yes the word "discipled" isn't a word used by the world, but that of
believers.
Disclaimer:
Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical
issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
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