SERMON: THE POWER OF BLESSINGS

27 August 2017

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Mark 10:13-16

Mark 10:13-16 [New International Version (NIV)]

13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

            -- one day, a group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit -- All the other frogs gathered around the pit, and looked down at their two friends -- when they saw how deep the pit was and how steep the sides were, they lost all hope -- they told the two fallen frogs that they were as good as dead

            -- The two frogs in the pit didn’t listen to their friends and jumped with all their might, trying to leap up out of the pit -- the other frogs kept telling them to stop wasting their energy -- that it was hopeless and they were as good as dead -- finally, one of the fallen frogs took heed to what they were saying and gave up -- He lay down exhausted and died.
            -- The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could -- once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die -- but the frog in the pit just jumped harder and harder and, lo and behold, he finally made it out

            -- when he got out, the other frogs said, "Didn’t you hear us? -- Why didn’t you give up like the other frog?” -- the frog who made it out of the pit explained to them that he was deaf -- he thought they were encouraging him the entire time he was struggling to get out
            -- This story teaches us a lesson that we need to understand put into practice in our lives today:
            -- There is power of life and death in the tongue -- Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit”

            -- what we say to ourselves and to others makes a difference in what we do -- An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day -- on the other hand, a destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them.

            -- Be careful of what you say, both to others and yourself -- we need to take care to speak life and not death to those who cross our paths every day¹

            -- tonight, I want us to talk about the power of the tongue -- the power of words -- and, especially, the power of speaking blessings into the lives of those around us

            -- in our day, we take the concept of blessings and curses lightly -- if someone sneezes, we flippantly say, “Bless you,” without even thinking -- the idea of blessing someone has just become common-place and is considered just empty words without true power or meaning -- but the Bible says otherwise

            -- if you look back at the Book of Genesis, when God created the heavens and the earth -- the plants and the animals and Adam and Eve -- He looked at what He had created and He saw that it was good and He blessed it

            -- to bless something is to speak life into it -- to speak goodness and holiness into it -- when God blessed Adam and Eve, He was speaking meaning and purpose and goodness into their lives -- and His word brought that blessing to life

            -- that is why the blessing of the father to his children was such an important ritual in biblical times -- as the father spoke blessings into the life of his children -- as he proclaimed God’s goodness and righteousness and providential blessings into their lives, his words formed new life and a new reality through the blessing -- that is why it was such a big deal when Jacob stole the blessing of the firstborn from Esau -- because words had power and the blessing of the father onto his sons carried with it the future

            -- it was because of the power of the blessing that Jacob, when he was wrestling with God before his reunion with Esau, wouldn’t let God go until God blessed him -- blessings, and words, were powerful in the Bible

            -- even in our day, words matter -- the old adage, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me” is not true -- harsh and negative words can wound deeply and affect the future course of a person’s life -- in the same way, encouraging words can lift up the broken-hearted and inspire others to greatness

            -- let me give you an example of what I’m talking about from Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy’s book, “In a Heartbeat,”

            -- There is a little-known congressional program that awards internships to young people who have aged out of the foster care system -- these are the kids who were never adopted and have turned 18 and are no longer eligible for state support.

            -- A senator the Tuohys met hired one of these young men as an intern -- one morning the senator breezed in for a meeting and discovered that his intern was already in the office, reorganizing the entire mailroom. The senator said to the intern, "This is amazing—the mailroom has never looked so clean. You did a great job."

            -- A few minutes later the senator saw that the intern had tears streaming down his face.   -- [He] said, "Son, are you okay?" -- "Yes," the intern answered quietly. -- "Did I say something to offend you?" -- "No, sir." -- "Well, what's wrong?"

            -- The young man said, "That's the first time in my life anyone's told me that I did something good."

            -- "A little bit of attention and a kind word—that's how little it takes to affect someone's life for the better."²

            -- we need to realize this truth, and be careful of the words we speak to those around us -- we need to speak words of encouragement and blessing -- and we need to realize that when we bless others, it isn’t just meaningless, empty words, but a prayer for God’s grace and mercy and power to be made manifest in their lives -- by blessing others, we are asking that they would come to know the providential grace of God and that they would experience His presence in the manifold spiritual and material blessings they enjoy

            -- blessings still have meaning and power in our day, and we need to remember and reclaim the power that is inherent in this spoken word

II.  Scripture Lesson (Mark 10:13-16)

            -- we see an example of that truth in this passage from the Book of Mark, where the little children have been brought to Jesus for Him to bless them -- let’s look at this passage together now

            -- verse 13

13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them.

            -- Mark tells us that people were bringing little children to Jesus so that He might touch them and bless them -- I don’t think we need to just pass over what Mark is telling us here -- when we bless someone -- when we are speaking into their lives -- we are doing the same thing the people were doing in this passage -- we are bringing others to Jesus

            -- “A spoken blessing is a positive, Biblical statement that invokes the blessing of God in the life of another -- A spoken blessing does good to those who hear it”³ because you are bringing them before the throne of God and into the very presence of Jesus -- in a way, blessing others is a means of interceding for them -- of standing up for them before God Himself

            -- so that’s what we are seeing in this passage -- the people were bringing these children to Jesus so He could touch them and bless them

            -- John MacArthur points out that the parents in this passage were seeking a blessing that was a form of prayer -- a prayer “that God would pour out on this life all the goodness that would lead that child to become famous in the Law, faithful in marriage and do good works”

            -- but Mark tells us the disciples rebuked them -- we don’t know why the disciples tried to turn the people aside -- we do know that at this point, Jesus is headed to Jerusalem for the final time -- the cross is before Him -- and His ministry has taken an almost frantic pace as He sets His face towards Jerusalem -- perhaps the disciples sensed this urgency and were trying to keep Jesus from being delayed -- perhaps they were just worried about Jesus -- but, as Jesus shows in this passage, nothing could be more appropriate than letting the children and the people come before Him

            -- verse 14-15

14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

-- Jesus became indignant -- this means that He was angry or annoyed at the unfair treatment of these children -- no one should be kept from Jesus -- no one should be kept from the gospel or from the grace of God or from the blessing of the Creator

            -- so Jesus turns the rebuke around on the disciples and tells them to let the little children come to Him -- He sees their hearts -- He sees their innocence -- their whole-hearted faith in Him -- their unadulterated belief and trust in Jesus

            -- this, Jesus says, is the attitude that leads to the Kingdom of God -- and if you don’t let them come -- and if you don’t come like them yourselves -- then you will never enter it

            -- He tells them to come and invites them, not only into His presence, but into His lap -- into His arms -- into His heart

            -- verse 16

16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

            -- Jesus took the children into His arms and put His hands on them and blessed them by pronouncing God’s goodness and grace into their lives

            -- The word “bless” in this passage actually means to eulogize -- to speak well of or to speak good things of  -- as Jeff Schreve said, “When Jesus was blessing these children, he was speaking good things into their life about who they were and what they were going to do” -- and their lives would never be the same again

            -- one thing to note here is that Jesus laid His hands on the head of each child -- this was not a general blessing or benediction, but a personal blessing for each child, much as a father would have blessed their first-born or as the Rabbi would bless children brought before them

            -- this tells us that each child was important and each blessing was individualized for them -- that was a personal blessing and a personal time of intimacy with the Savior -- it reminds us that our faith and our salvation come through a personal relationship with Jesus -- we are not saved because we go to church -- we are not saved because we claim the name of Christ -- we are saved because we have personally come before the Savior and He has blessed us with salvation and forgiveness through His body and blood

            -- just think about what is going on here -- even though He was headed for the cross, Jesus thought enough of the power of the spoken word and blessings to stop and lay His hands on each of these children and bless their future

            -- we should do the same -- we should become more aware of what we are saying and the impact of our words on those around us -- we should learn to speak life, not death -- to speak blessings that inspire and empower others rather than negative words that bring people down

            -- Keith Miller, in his book Passionate People, which he co-authored with Bruce Larson, describes two kinds of people -- "basement people" and "balcony people."

            -- "Basement people" are the discouragers in our lives -- They may be people from our past, or present, but their words go with us everywhere we go -- They are the negative influences in our lives and their words go something like this: "You can't do that." -- "That's a stupid thing to do." -- "When are you going to get it right?"

            -- Basement people divert us from our hopes and dreams -- they constantly point out what is wrong, rather than what is right with us -- Basement people cause a room to light up when they leave.

            -- In contrast to them are the "Balcony People." -- They are people who are full of love and cheer us on.  -- they encourage us to be loving, courageous followers of Christ. -- They sit in the balcony of our lives like a heavenly cheering section, saying, "You can do it." -- "We believe in you." -- "You are special to us." -- Balcony people are the great encouragers in our lives and we all need them! -- balcony people bless us and inspire us and speak great things into our lives

            -- Balcony people try to lift people up to where they are, but basement people try to drag people down where they are⁴

           

            -- this passage encourages us to follow Jesus’ example and strive to become balcony people -- we should actively bless those around us by encouraging one another and applauding baby steps of faith to spur people on to greater things in Christ -- we need to speak God’s blessings and empowerment into the lives of those around us

            -- people need encouragement -- they need someone who can bring out the best in them -- right now we're in the middle of college football season -- think about the job of a coach -- what is it the coach does? -- he looks at the gifts and talents of his players -- he looks at what they are doing -- and then he challenges them and encourages them to reach out and do even more -- this is what we are called to do as Christians

            -- too many Christians are negative -- we don't like the music -- we didn't like the preaching -- we don't like the way that person sings or dresses or whatever -- we speak negativity into their lives

            -- but our calling is to be people who bless others -- to speak life and love and purpose into the lives of others, especially as we see the Day -- the end of the age -- approaching

            -- people want to know they are loved and appreciated -- and that is our job as Christians and as the church

            -- it all begins with us -- we must hear the call of God in our lives -- we must know God and we must show God to others -- we must care for the poor and the helpless -- we must speak life and hope to the hopeless -- we must stand up for those without a voice in our communities

III.  Closing

            -- so, how do we begin?  -- let’s turn over to Numbers 6:22-27, and we’ll answer that question

            -- while you are turning over there, let me share with you this thought from Tracy Keck:  “All day -- every day -- we have the chance to speak words that bring life or death -- Whether we are talking to our families -- [our] peers -- [our] co-workers -- strangers -- or even ourselves -- the words we use will either tear down or build up.

            -- “everything we say either leads to life or to death -- if we choose to speak in a manner that is harsh, hurtful, condemning, gossipy, dishonest, or deceitful, we are then choosing death.

            -- “But, if we choose to speak words that are encouraging, peaceful, healing, kind, lovely, and uplifting, then we are choosing life.” ⁵

            -- we need to become people who speak life -- who speak blessings on those around us -- read with me this passage from Numbers 6:22-27

Numbers 6:22-27 [New International Version (NIV)]

22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:

24

“‘“The Lord bless you

    and keep you;

25

the Lord make his face shine on you

    and be gracious to you;

26

the Lord turn his face toward you

    and give you peace.”’

27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

            -- this is known as the priestly blessing -- this blessing was given by God to Moses for Aaron and the other priests to recite as a blessing for the nation of Israel

            -- if you don’t know anything else to say, then use this blessing as a guide for those whose lives you are speaking into -- pray this blessing on them

            -- ask that the Lord would keep them -- that the Lord would make His face shine upon them -- that He would be gracious to them -- that they would know the grace and mercy of the cross and the sacrifice of Jesus on their behalf -- and that the Lord would turn His face towards them, and give them peace with Him and with others

            -- we’re going to close now, and I want to leave you with this challenge -- this week, pay attention to the words you use when you speak to others -- think before you speak, and make an effort to only speak positive and affirming things into the lives of those around you

            -- look for opportunities to bless others -- to verbally speak into their lives the power and presence of God -- to speak to their future and to who God wants them to be -- and see if you notice a change

            -- make an effort to be a balcony person this week and bless others with your words

            -- let’s pray

1 Illustration modified from: https://www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/sermon-illustration-bobby-mcdaniel-stories-christianvalues-14489?ref=AllSermonPrep

2 Men of Integrity, "How Little It Takes," (November/December 2010)

http://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2010/december/5120610.html?id=90272

3 http://iblp.org/questions/what-power-spoken-blessing

4 From a sermon by David Owens, Encourage One Another, 11/3/2009 -- Illustration downloaded from Sermon Central: http://www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/scripture/illustrations-on-hebrews-10+23-25.asp

5 Tracy Keck http://takeck.blogspot.com/2009/02/speaking-life-not-death.html

SERMON: GO INTO ALL THE WORLD

OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO SERIES¹

8 August 2017

I.  Introduction

            [Show Video]

            -- tonight, we are finishing up our sermon series, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” -- in this series, we looked at several commands from God in Scripture where He told us to “Go,” and then we talked about how we could follow His command and what it would mean to us if we did, which is what the video we just watched was all about

            -- we started this series by looking at the story of the adulterous woman in John Chapter 8 and considering Jesus’ command to her to “Go and leave your life of sin” -- to “Go and sin no more” -- then we looked at the story of the Good Samaritan and heard Jesus’ command to “Go and do likewise” -- last week, we talked about God’s call to Abram as He commanded him to “Go to the place I will show you” -- and, tonight, we will be finishing up by looking at the Great Commission and the command by Jesus for us to “Go into all the world”

II.  Scripture Lesson (Matthew 28:16-20)

            -- so, let’s get right into it -- if you would, turn over to Matthew 28:16 

16.  Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.

 17.  When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.

            -- this passage occurs after the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday but before His final ascension to heaven -- in the verses before this, Matthew tells us that Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene in the garden where He had been buried -- He instructed her to tell the disciples to meet Him in Galilee

            -- and, so, as we open this passage again, that is where we find the disciples -- they have come to Galilee at the direction of Jesus -- and it is there that Jesus meets them and tells them what they are to do now

            -- Matthew's account of the resurrection and of Jesus' appearances to the disciples is briefer than the other gospel writers -- he doesn't mention the appearance of Jesus to the disciples in the upper room -- he doesn't tell us about Jesus appearing again in the presence of Thomas -- or of Jesus walking along with Cleopas and his friend on the way to Emmaus          

            -- Matthew gets right to business -- for him, what is important is the fact that Jesus has risen just as He said and that He is leaving them to carry on His ministry on earth -- and so he carries us straight to Galilee -- which begs the question, "Why Galilee?"

            -- surprisingly, most of the commentaries I looked at were silent on this -- they didn't say anything -- but as I studied this passage, it occurred to me that this made perfect sense given the context of these verses and the Great Commission that was to come

            -- you see, Galilee was the starting place -- it was in Galilee that Jesus lived most of His life -- it was in Galilee that most of Jesus' public ministry took place -- especially in Nazareth and Capernaum -- and, it was in Galilee that most of the disciples were originally called -- it was in Galilee where Peter and James and John heard Jesus say, "Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men" -- and now, it is in Galilee where Jesus will once again call the disciples -- this time to an even greater ministry

            -- typically, when people read the Great Commission, they skip verses 16 and 17 -- I think one reason they do so is because of verse 17 -- Matthew tells us that when the 11 disciples saw Jesus, they worshiped Him -- but, he says, some doubted -- and that part of the verse troubles us

            -- Jesus had appeared to the disciples several times -- in response to Thomas' doubt, He had appeared to him in the upper room and told him, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe," -- and even Thomas believed

            -- so, why does Matthew say here that some doubted?

            -- some commentators make the case that Jesus was not just speaking to the 11 remaining apostles in this passage, but that He was speaking to a large group of people there by the Sea of Galilee -- they say this gathering, probably the 500 eyewitnesses who Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:6 saw the risen Christ, included some who believed and put their faith in Christ and some who doubted that Jesus was really risen from the dead and was really the Messiah -- so that’s the reason for Matthew’s statement that “some doubted”

            -- but I think there may be another reason -- when Matthew says that “some doubted,” I’m not sure he means they are doubting Christ -- I think he may mean they were doubting themselves -- there’s several ways this could be the case

            -- first, they doubted their own preconceived notions about who the Messiah was and what He would do -- as Jews, they had believed their whole life that the Messiah would come to overthrow the oppressive Roman government and establish the throne of David in Israel once and for all

            -- but instead of having them meet Him at the temple or at the Roman Governor's mansion where His conquest would begin -- Jesus has them meet Him in the wilderness of Galilee -- it was becoming evident that Jesus was not going to be a conquering Messiah -- at least, not as they originally thought

            -- second, they doubted their own traditions and orthodoxy -- Jesus was not only rearranging what they thought about the Messiah -- He was rearranging what they knew about being Jewish -- He had already changed the Passover Meal and introduced a new sacrament -- Holy Communion -- and, He had instituted a new covenant, fulfilling the old Jewish Law and making a new covenant of grace through His death on the cross -- all that they knew -- all that they believed -- was being shaken before their eyes

            -- and, finally, they doubted themselves in the sense of who they were and what they might accomplish -- remember, the majority of Jesus’ followers were not men and women of position or power or prestige -- they were fishermen -- tax collectors -- common, everyday folk -- they were not priests or scribes -- they were not Pharisees or rulers -- but now Jesus was calling them to go and change the world -- and they doubted their abilities -- they doubted whether they could do it

            -- which brings us to verse 18

18.  Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

             -- in response to their doubt and their feelings of inadequacy, Jesus said, "Don't doubt" -- I have the authority over heaven and earth -- it was I who established who the Messiah was and what I would do -- it was I who fulfilled the Jewish Law -- it was I who poured out myself for your sins and the sins of the world -- and it is I who will fill you and who will empower you to go forth in My name to do great things

            -- and just as the world does not define Me or what I will do as the Messiah, the world does not define you -- I do -- the world does not give you position -- I do -- the world does not give you power -- I do

            -- it is My authority and My will for you to go forth and to change this world in My name -- don't doubt who you are -- you are Mine -- and I have given you this charge today

            -- verse 19-20a

19.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

 20.  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

            -- we’ve been talking a lot over the last several weeks about what it means when God tells us to “Go” -- Jesus uses the same word here in what we know as the Great Commission when He tells us to Go to all the nations -- to go into all the world -- and make disciples of them

            -- now what’s important to understand here is that in the original Greek, the word translated as “Go” here actually means to “Go” -- everybody clear? -- when Jesus tells us here to “go,” He literally means for us to get up and to go

            -- the Greek word for “Go” actually means, "as you are going" or "go and keep going" -- it implies a continuation of movement -- an action on our part -- and we haven’t been doing a very good job of that in the church today -- church membership and church attendance is at an all-time low in America -- every mainline denomination in this country has been losing members over the past 50 years -- why is this? -- it’s because somewhere along the line we quit going and started waiting

            -- honestly, I think we've gotten complacent -- since the time of Constantine, the Christian church has been the dominant religion of the world -- at least, the western world -- and I think we've gotten used to being in a position where we're the only game in town

            -- why bother to go and seek disciples when there's nowhere else for them to go? -- it's easier to just sit here within the walls of our churches and wait for them to come to us -- and for most of the history of Christianity, that approach worked -- the churches were built -- the bells rang out on Sunday morning -- and the people came

            -- but, now they're not coming -- and instead of going after them, we just ring the church bells louder -- we come up with catchy slogans and snappy bumper stickers -- we put little Jesus fish on our car and say, "Follow us -- we're going to church" -- and we wait and we wait and we wait while the culture drifts away

            -- instead of going, we are just sitting and waiting for people who aren’t ever going to come on their own -- that’s not what Jesus told us to do

            -- look at verse 19 again

19.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations

            -- "Go and make disciples" -- not “sit around and wait for people to come” -- but to get up and go out and make disciples -- we’ve forgotten the going part

            -- one thing that I’ve learned in the past several years is that Christianity is, first and foremost, about relationships -- I always thought that it was about going to church -- about reading the Bible -- about prayer and the sacraments -- and those are important -- they are a part of what it means to be a Christian

            -- but, if we are going to do what Jesus says in this passage -- if we are going to “Go” and make disciples of all nations -- then we have to be intentional about making relationships with other people -- about sharing with them the good news of Christ -- about showing them the presence of Jesus through our love

            -- this means we go where the people are -- we don’t just stay where we are at -- we don’t just stay at church or stay at home but we go out and meet others and tell them about Jesus -- that means where we work and where we play and everywhere we find ourselves, whether at the coffee shop or the grocery store or the park

            -- Jesus says here that we are to go to all the nations -- in the Book of Acts, Jesus told His disciples that they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth -- in other words, the disciples were to go out and make disciples first in their hometown -- then their community -- and then beyond that to the ends of the earth

            -- we can do the same -- we don’t immediately have to jump on a plane and head out to Africa or Asia or to parts unknown -- we can begin to go and make disciples right where we are -- beginning with our family and friends and branching out from there

            -- and, whether you’ve considered it or not, you have the unique ability to impact the world right from where you live -- just look around you when you’re in town this week at the diversity of people in our community -- with the university and the Air Force Base and with the large migrant worker community -- we have a lot of people right here in our midst from the ends of the earth we can reach with the gospel of Christ

            -- who knows what impact you can have just by reaching out to a migrant worker and sharing with them the good news of Jesus? -- what if you reach just one worker or one student or one airman who then carries the message of Christ back home? -- you may just have impacted an entire region for Christ

            -- and think about the internet -- right in your home -- probably right in your pocket if you have a smart phone -- you have the ability to speak to people from around this world in an instant -- you can share God’s message with people on the other side of the world, even people in countries where Christianity is outlawed or persecuted -- with my blog, with as few people as I reach, I have people from around the world come to that site and read my messages -- I’ll never know what the impact of that is, but it is a form of “going” as Jesus tells us to do here in this passage

            -- the methods are many -- the key is to actually start “going” -- to just get up and do something

            -- now, you might be thinking, “I can’t do this -- I can’t talk to others about Jesus -- I don’t know the Bible good enough -- I don’t know what to say” -- that brings us to the rest of this passage

            -- verse 20b

20b.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

            -- here’s the good news -- you don’t have to do this alone -- Jesus promises to always be with us -- to never leave us or forsake us -- in Matthew 10:19-20, Jesus told us not to worry about what to say or how to say it -- at that time -- when we need it -- we will be given the words to say, because the Holy Spirit will speak through us

            -- our job is to just trust and obey -- to believe in Him and to go -- to open our mouths and tell others what Jesus has done for us and in us -- and to trust that God will give us the message He wants them to hear

            -- it all begins with the going and with believing that we are not alone, but that Jesus goes with us and that His authority and His power are there for us

III.  Closing

            -- let me close by leaving you with the story of a preacher in a small European village -- He was greatly loved by the people there and they believed he had an especially close relationship with God -- the preacher had this strange habit -- every Friday, he disappeared for several hours and could not be found -- the villagers boasted that during those hours the preacher actually ascended to heaven and talked with God face-to-face

            -- now, there was a newcomer in that village -- he was a skeptic who made fun of the faith of all the other people -- and he got increasingly irritated by all the claims about the minister and his supposed devotion to God -- so the newcomer became determined to find out where the preacher really spent his time on Fridays -- one Friday, the skeptic hid near the preacher's house -- he watched as the preacher rose early, spent time in prayer, and left his house in the clothes of a peasant.

            -- The young skeptic followed the old man from a safe distance -- he watched him cut down a tree and chop up a large stack of firewood -- he continued to watch as the preacher made his way to a shack in the poorest part of the village and stacked the wood -- it was the home of an old woman and her sick husband -- after leaving the couple enough wood to last them a week, the preacher quietly returned to his own home without a word to anyone

            -- The villagers were startled the next Sunday when the young newcomer was in church -- they were even more surprised when he became a Christian shortly thereafter -- the former skeptic thought highly of the church's godly minister and -- upon his death -- became his successor and took over as the preacher for the village -- for the rest of his own life, whenever he heard one of the villagers speak of his predecessor and say, "On Fridays he would ascend to heaven," he would add softly, "If not higher."

            -- this is what Jesus meant when He told us to “Go” here in this passage -- this is a picture of what Jesus envisioned for us and for our churches -- He wanted us to “Go” and make a friend and be a friend and introduce that friend to Christ -- to “Go” and minister to others in His name -- to teach them what it means to follow Him by showing them how a Christian lives and loves and serves

            -- so this week, I want to challenge you to do just this -- to go and do what Jesus commanded in this passage -- to get up and go out and share your life and the message of Christ with the world around you

            -- let us pray