Tuesday March 18 Exercising Authority Compare the following passages: Mark 6:7-13, Matt. 16:14-19, 18:17-20, 28:18-20, John 20:21-23. What do these verses tell us about the kind of authority that Jesus disciples had? What does this mean for us today? Peter had expressed the truth which is the foundation of the church’s faith, and Jesus now honored him as the representative of the whole body of believers. He said, I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. The keys of the kingdom of heaven are the words of Christ. All the words of Holy Scripture are His, and are here included. These words have power to open and to shut heaven. They declare the conditions upon which men are received or rejected. Thus the work of those who preach God’s word is a savor of life unto life or of death unto death. Theirs is a mission weighted with eternal results.-Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 413, 414. As the Father commissioned Jesus, so Christ commissions His disciples. Through the Spirit, the Father invested Christ with divine power. Through the Spirit, Jesus likewise invests His disciples with divine power commensurate with their earthly assignments. No follower should fear that Christ has shortchanged them. Every skill, talent, capability, and strength necessary has been supplied. Sometimes human leadership fails to recognize the principles involved. Whenever leaders assign tasks without extending commensurate power, failure is predictable. Often leaders insecurities surface through controlling behaviors that subjugate the thoughts, God-ordained creativity, and individuality of others. Thus emasculated, the subjugated disciple fails to be effective. Such behavior would look like the conductor attempting to play every instrument simultaneously instead of conducting the symphony. Jesus example speaks volumes here. If anyone ever possessed the right to withhold authority and dictate behavior, Christ certainly did. Instead He invested others with authority, commissioned them to labor outside of His presence where His only influence would be His instruction and examples and sent them to minister and witness. Wednesday March 19 Laborers for the Harvest But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest (Matt. 9:36-38). What important message can we take from these verses for ourselves, today, and the task ahead of us? The spiritual harvest overflowed, but harvesters were scarce. Heart soil had been prepared, spiritual seed had been planted; germination, plentiful moisture, and abundant sunshine spurred unbelievable growth. Ripened souls awaited harvesting, but where were the harvesters? Utilizing simple, easily understood word-pictures, Jesus sought to inspire contagious zeal. Sometimes Christians covet their fellowship with other believers and cluster together, blindly bypassing worldly seekers who are ripened for harvest. Perhaps not realizing their divine accountability for perishing souls, they busy themselves with church engagements, civic responsibilities, building maintenance, and other worthwhile projects dedicated to preserving the status quo. These are doubtless good things. Well-intentioned members sometimes question the value of evangelism or express this sentiment: Pastor, this evangelism stuff is all right, but don’t we need programs for people who are already in church? This is a fair enough question, though one must also ask, When did Jesus ever lament the shortage of grain preservers? Instead, more harvesters was His prayerful plea. How can we find the right balance between ministering to the needs of those in the church and at the same time not neglecting outreach?
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 07:23:20 +0000
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