A Ministry Lesson from Jesus – Part 1
Luke 9:10-17 (10-11)
September 9, 2018
Well this morning we gaze upon Jesus’ most famous miracle.
It’s easy to call it that, because it (aside from the resurrection)
Is the only miracle that Jesus worked which is included in all 4 gospel accounts.
THIS WAS A BIG ONE.
And while each writer uses this miracle for a similar purpose, I always think it is important to understand where each writer is coming from.
There is a lot going on here in Luke’s gospel.
There are a lot of themes that he is juggling.
And I want you to see them so that you can gain an understanding of the point.
As I read through Luke’s gospel, it is easiest for me to see what he is doing in the concept of VARIOUS THEMES.
It’s fairly easy to recognize that LUKE OPENS with the theme of “JESUS, THE LONG AWAITED REDEEMER OF ISRAEL” (especially to the humble and broken)
That one jumps out pretty easily as we see how Jesus satisfies the Zacharia’s and the Elizabeth’s and the Mary’s and the Simeon’s and the Anna’s and the shepherds of Israel who were long looking for this Savior to come.
Luke gave us that for 3 chapters.
We saw a pretty clear jump into the next phase of Luke’s gospel as we might call it “THE MINISTRY OF JESUS”.
Starting with Jesus in Nazareth preaching the gospel,
Luke chronicled how Jesus went around preaching
And working miracles to validate who He was.
And that theme culminated really in
Luke 7:17 “This report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district.”
Jesus was at the height of ministry popularity.
He was saturating Galilee.
But in Luke 7:18 Luke began the 3rd theme of his gospel which might easily be titled the “WHO IS THIS MAN?” portion.
Now that Jesus popularity and power are evident,
It poses really the most important question of the book. Who is He?
Luke has given you several instances where this question has been asked,
And then emphatically answered by Jesus.
Luke 7:20 “When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, ‘Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?'”
And how did Jesus answer?
Luke 7:21-22 “At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind. And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.”
Then again after Jesus calmed the storm:
Luke 8:25 “And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”
And how was the answer given? Through the demoniac on the shore.
Luke 8:28 “Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.”
Then again:
Luke 9:7-9 “Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again. Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Him.”
And that one will be answered in:
Luke 9:18-20 “And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the people say that I am?” They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.” And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”
That is the current theme.
Who is this Man?
Answer: He’s the Messiah
That is what Luke is currently teaching you.
The next segment will begin in Luke 9:21 with what we might call:
“MESSIANIC MISCONCEPTIONS” as Jesus will address just how wrong the disciples are in who they expected the Messiah to be.
Now that’s an important theme to recognize
Because in some ways Jesus has already begun to address it.
We said several weeks ago that
• As Jesus warned Galilee that they were in danger of losing the truth we saw that as Jesus pulled back from them a little,
• He also began to really focus on the 12.
He has ramped up their training.
• We saw that field trip to the Gerasenes
• We saw Him take Peter, James, and John in to see the girl healed
• And we saw Him assign them an internship where He actually sent them out to preach and heal
However, part of the problem is that
The disciples don’t really understand the purpose of the Messiah, Which means they also don’t understand what true ministry is.
JESUS IS STARTING TO CORRECT THAT.
And this is a very important point for Luke.
• In fact, I can show you how important it is,
• Even how important this story is to Luke.
If you follow the story of the synoptic gospels
Then you will find that there is quite a lot that Jesus did
Which is recorded in Matthew and Mark that Luke omits.
For example:
• After this feeding of the 5,000 Matthew and Mark and John record that: Jesus will walk on water (Peter does too)
• John will include the sermon Jesus preached once He reached the other side of the lake about being the bread sent down from heaven.
Matthew and Mark then record that:
• He heals a great deal of people, many just by touching His cloak
• He will have a squabble with the Pharisees because His disciples don’t wash their hands before they eat, prompting Jesus to reveal the dangers of tradition and how all true defilement comes from the heart
• From there Jesus will travel to Tyre and Sidon and will heal the Canaanite woman’s daughter who is demon-possessed.
• He then works more healings along the coast of the sea of Galilee
• Following that Jesus will feed the 4,000
• They will then all cross the sea of Galilee again back to Bethsaida, where Mark records that Jesus will heal a blind man (the one who said people looked like trees walking around)
• And then Jesus will travel north with the disciples to Caesarea Philipi where He will ask, “Who do you say that I am?”
There is a lot of the ministry of Jesus
That Luke does not include.
IT’S OBVIOUS that
• He wants to jump from Herod’s question, “Who is this man?”
• Directly to the point in Caesarea Philipi when Jesus answers that question.
There is no doubt Luke is preserving that theme
So if you understand Luke’s commitment to answering that 1 question.
It’s easy to see why Luke omitted all those other stories.
LUKE IS MAKING A POINT.
However, Luke does keep 1 story in between the 2.
• He does include 1 miracle (even at the risk of distracting from the theme of answering Herod’s question).
Of all the miracles and stories that Luke omits,
He determines to keep this one.
Jesus feeding the 5,000.
I think the question is obvious; “WHY?”
Of all the stories that Luke omitted, why did he determine to keep this one?
It would have been a seamless transition to go directly from Herod’s question in verse 9 to Peter’s confession beginning in verse 18.
But Luke chose to risk the interruption by giving us this story.
We can certainly agree that Luke saw this story as too important to skip.
I think the reason is because
This story perfectly fits the concept
That Luke has also been highlighting which is:
“JESUS TRAINING OF THE 12.”
As Luke works through his gospel account
To systematically reveal to us who Jesus is,
He is also at work to reveal what it means to follow Him.
And this story taught such a great example about following Jesus
That Luke chose to include it,
Even though it risked distracting from his theme.
I FIND THAT FASCINATING.
It makes me want to look deeper into this story and find out what happened here and see what I can learn.
I’m just calling this text, “A Ministry Lesson from Jesus”
That’s really what it is, and I might go ahead and tell you that
This isn’t the only time Luke includes a story to teach this lesson.
You’re going to get this lesson again in a story that only Luke records
And that is the story of The Good Samaritan.
This is an important theme to Luke.
So let’s work our way through it this morning.
We are going to break this story down into 5 points and I’m going to present it to you as 5 realities you must know about ministry.
We are here as ministers of the gospel.
• Some are certainly vocational ministers, but we all are ministers.
• We are left here as lights in the midst of darkness.
• We are left here as ambassadors for Christ
• We are left here as those who publish the gospel to the world
If you are a follower of Christ, then you are a minister of the gospel
And as such, here’s 5 realities about the ministry you need to know.
#1 ACCOUNTABILITY
Luke 9:10a
We simply read, “When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done.”
Let that sink in for a moment.
Ministry comes with a divine standard and a divine expectation.
We don’t just do what suits us in the way we think best.
• We are under the authority of our Lord
• And when our ministries are complete, we will give an account to Him as to how we did it.
Certainly this is true of pastors and overseers and elders
Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”
1 Peter 5:1-4 “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”
But it is ALSO TRUE FOR ALL BELIEVERS
In the manner in which they serve the Lord.
There seems at times to be some confusion from believers regarding the concepts and realities of judgment.
You know, “Will we or won’t we be judged?”
Is there or isn’t there a judgment for those who believe?
And here’s the clarification.
For believers there is no condemnation.
Romans 8:1 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Believers will never be condemned before God.
That is to say our sins will never be counted against us
And therefore causing us to be condemned to hell.
Christ Jesus, satisfied that debt for all believers on the cross,
And now in Him there is no condemnation.
But there is still a certain judgment even for believers.
2 Corinthians 5:9-10 “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
This judgment is further explained by Paul in:
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 “According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
That is judgment and the penalty is loss or reward.
• Some will be saved with great reward, and some will be saved with no reward at all.
• Some will be saved with great treasure in heaven, some will be saved with no treasure in heaven.
• Some will be saved with many crowns, some will be saved with none.
There is an account to be given
Of how each believer lived their Christian life.
And it is the reminder to us all,
That ministry is not by our design, or by our delight.
We do what Christ commanded,
And we do it in a manner that pleases Him.
Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”
And then we will give an account of that to Him.
That’s why Paul, in his encouragement letter to Timothy, penned that encouragement like this:
2 Timothy 4:1-2 “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”
The “living” are believers. The “dead” are non-believers.
Christ will judge them both.
That is something that the disciples are here learning.
• Jesus just sent them out for the first time,
• And when they returned He made sure they knew that they had to answer to Him regarding what they did.
He would want to know,
• “Did you do what I commanded?”
• “Did you go?”
• “Did you preach?”
• “Did you heal?”
• “Did you give it freely?”
And even later in Luke’s gospel Jesus will address more specifics
About those servants who do not do what they are told.
Luke 12:42-48 “And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. “But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”
It’s serious isn’t it?
You don’t lightly enter into service for the King.
There we don’t just have a faithful slave who didn’t do a good job.
There Jesus actually spoke of a slave
Who proved he wasn’t a true save by adamantly disobeying.
And that is a reality too.
• There will certainly be some genuine believers who will suffer loss at the
judgment for a failure to obey as they should have.
• But there will also be some who thought they were believers who will find
that they were not, and that their failure to obey was merely the proof of that.
Those are like those people in Matthew 7 who cry, “Lord, Lord, did we not..?”
It is a dangerous reality.
But above all, simply understand, what you do (or don’t do)
Is being watched, it is being evaluated by the Lord
And you will answer for it.
The disciples gave an account.
So will we.
But Jesus has more to teach them than just that they will give an account.
Luke could have included that fact
Without including the story of the feeding of the 5,000.
Jesus has more to teach them and so here we find that
He is about to take them on a STAFF RETREAT.
(10b) “Taking them with Him, He withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida.”
If you picture the Sea of Galilee in your mind,
It looks sort of like a footprint of your left foot print without any toes. (slender at the heel and wide at the top)
The most populated part of Galilee (Chorazin, Capernaum, even Cana)
Are all on the west side of the sea (what would be down the left side of your foot).
That is where all the ministry has been happening.
But Jesus just retreated with the 12 to “Bethsaida”.
For a geographical understanding,
Bethsaida would be directly under your left big toe.
Jesus here pulled the 12 away from all the crowds.
In verse 12 the disciples call it “a desolate place”
AND THERE WAS A REASON FOR THIS TRIP.
One reason is given in Matthew’s gospel.
It is the story of how Herod beheaded John the Baptist:
Matthew 14:9-13 “Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests. He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. His disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus. Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.”
Jesus just received word of John’s execution.
• This was the forerunner
• This was His cousin
• This must have also been a stinging reminder of what was coming for Jesus
Jesus was human, certainly grief is involved, and He wants to get away.
Coupled with that, the 12 have just returned from a mission trip.
Mark 6:30-31 “The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)”
The disciples were likely spent.
Ministry is indeed exhilarating, but it can also be exhausting.
The people of Galilee were relentless.
• Jesus was grieving.
• The disciples were tired.
And Jesus offers a small retreat/vacation
To the remote side of the lake to just get away from it all.
Not only that,
But for several of the disciples it afforded an opportunity for them to go home.
John 1:44 “Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.”
There is good reason to assume Nathaniel, James, and John
Were from there as well
So, after a long mission trip, after months of ministry,
The disciples are tired, Jesus is grieving, the crowds are relentless,
Let’s get away and rest.
Sound like a good idea to anyone else?
I’m betting Peter had the boat ready before Jesus finished the sentence.
But you’d think after the trip to the Gerasenes
That these disciples would have figured out by now
That JESUS IS ALWAYS TEACHING SOMETHING.
And this trip would be no different.
This will not be a trip for rest.
Jesus instead takes this opportunity as a perfect time
To teach the disciples the truth about ministry.
So here we are.
They have already learned about accountability in their ministry, now let’s look at the second thing they are about to learn.
#2 PRIORITY
Luke 9:11
Jesus and the 12 retreat to go get alone in a desolate place,
And they think it is just to recharge their batteries.
• Maybe do a little reading…
• Maybe do a little fishing…
• Maybe play a little golf…
And then that infamous 3-letter word: “But”
“But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him;”
Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!
Mark 6:33 “The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them.”
• I don’t know if they were sailing near enough the shore line that they could see what was happening as they sailed,
• But I’m certain as they drew near the shore to land that they could most certainly see what was waiting for them.
It would just ruin your day wouldn’t it?
• Somebody leaked your itinerary,
• Somebody shared your email address,
• Somebody gave out your cell phone number,
And once again a vacation that’s not a vacation!
It doesn’t say how the disciples initially responded to this,
But I don’t think it has to. We already know that in a minute
They’re going to tell Jesus to “send them away”.
But I can imagine those two sons of thunder (James and John) were ready to jump on that shore and give that crowd a piece of their mind.
But before James has a chance to tell those crowds they circled the lake for nothing we read: (11b) “and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.”
Even if you’d never read this story before,
YOU KNEW IT WAS COMING DIDN’T YOU?
Never bet against the compassion of God or His Son.
It reminds me of Jonah complaining to God about preaching to the Ninevites
Jonah 3:10-4:3 “When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it. But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. He prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.”
I knew it, You just couldn’t help Yourself could you God?
I knew it, You just had to heal them didn’t You Jesus?
Of course He did. Why did He come?
• To seek and to save what was lost
• To preach the gospel to everyone
What did He just send out the 12 to do?
To preach the kingdom and heal the sick
So when people who need to hear about the kingdom are willing to walk all the way around the Sea of Galilee to get to Him, what did you expect Him to do?
John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”
Jesus decision to postpone the vacation to minister to the crowd
Poses a real important question.
DOES THE MINISTRY EVER END?
And what would be the answer from Jesus here? NO
We are always ministers of the gospel
The gospel ministry is meant to take priority
Over every other thing in our lives.
Consider what Paul taught:
1 Corinthians 7:29-35 “But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away. But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.”
And by the way, this is the same Paul who taught husbands to love their wives and to sanctify them and sacrifice themselves for their wives.
Paul is not against marriage.
• And he is not saying that even if you’re married just go live like you aren’t.
• That’s not true either, married men have responsibilities that God commands them to fulfill.
But listen very closely.
A man may indeed have responsibilities to his wife and children and to any number of other things,
BUT THAT MAN STILL HAS 1 PRIORITY.
And that is what Paul was saying.
“secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.”
1 Peter 3:15 “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;”
Peter says that you should “always” be ready.
• Peter had a wife, Paul even alludes to the Corinthians that Peter took her
along with him.
• Church tradition teaches that right before Peter was crucified upside down he
first stood at the cross of his wife encouraging her not to deny the Lord.
Francis Chan was asked last year about a message he would have for the church today.
“I’m pretty excited when I see the faith of some of the young people today that are just saying “God I’ll go anywhere, I’ll do anything.” There wasn’t a lot of that when I grew up. But what happened with those who did have that spark and that excitement. I saw how the church almost squashed that. And I’m praying for this next generation; for the young people who are just saying. “I’ll go anywhere, I’ll do anything.” And they’re doing it. They’re going overseas, or they’re right where they’re at in the inner cities and in the suburb just going “I’m going to be radically obedient; I’m going to follow Jesus completely”…
My challenge to the church is…would you set the example for the young people? What happened in my generation, when we were younger, there were those who were radical…but once they got married everything changed. Once they had kids everything changed. And I’m just praying “O God could I be an example for someone who’s married and has kids and is still thinking kingdom first?” Like 1 Corinthians 7, those who are married should live as though they’re not. There’s a sense in which this mission is bigger and can we still live and take risks and surrender our lives and say “You know what it’s me, my wife and my family…
Not only that, but I want to be an example to the young people and say, “You know what, you’re mission with the Lord doesn’t end when you get married and say, ‘Oh you’re dating so focus on each other, O it’s your first year of marriage, just focus on each other. O you just had a kid, then you know what, just take time for that little kid until he goes to school and then you’ll be free. And then once he goes to school it’ll be like O they’re a teenager now and just collect that family together and worry about yourselves”. But then you’re teaching this mentality again that is not about going out into the harvest and being a worker. It’s about let’s protect our family now. Now let’s keep us safe. Let’s find some gated community and you know, and keep them all in our house away from all the bad people. That’s…there’s no excuse for that…you can’t find that in this book.”
https://vimeo.com/216327211
What Francis Chan is talking about is
How American Christians today have idolized their families
And lost the sense that the gospel ministry takes priority over everything.
• Can you believe Jim Elliot would leave his wife and infant child to go to a primitive group of South American Indians where he would end up getting speared to death?
• Can you further believe that after his death, his wife Elizabeth went to those same people and took her infant with her because she supposed that the infant would make her less of a threat?
We are talking about priority.
Nothing was more important to the Lord.
• When was He too tired?
• When was He too hungry?
• When was He too grieved?
Think about all the inconvenient ministry times of Jesus.
• I think we can all agree that there was nothing convenient about the incarnation. There was nothing convenient about surrendering your glory and becoming an infant.
And then even in His ministry.
• How about the 4 friends cutting a hole in the roof and dropping their friend down in the middle of a sermon?
• How about a demoniac crying out in the middle of a sermon in the synagogue?
• How about a hemorrhaging woman grabbing you while you’re on the way to heal a sick girl?
• How about a mob showing up when you are on vacation?
• How about a thief dying next to you on a cross wanting forgiveness?
It was never convenient.
But it was always a priority.
And He is teaching this to the 12.
This isn’t even the first time.
Remember when Jesus stopped in Samaria to take a drink from that woman at the well?
Jesus had sent the disciples into town to buy food.
John 4:27-38 “At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?” So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” They went out of the city, and were coming to Him. Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. “Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. “For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ “I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”
Can you picture that scene?
• Those disciples just left the very town that the Samaritan woman just ran back in to.
• They got their food, but that was all.
In the meantime
• This woman gets saved,
• Runs back into the town and tells everyone about the Lord
• And here comes the whole town out to meet Jesus.
And the Lord says, “Look at them. I sent you into that town to reap, all you did was get food. I sent you to go reap what you didn’t even labor for, but all you were worried about was food.”
Does that convict you?
IT CERTAINLY DOES ME.
• I would have been right there with those disciples, buying food with no thought of the salvation of the Samaritans.
• I would have rebuked those friends for tearing a hole in the ceiling…
• I would have been like Peter telling Jesus, “We’ll never figure out who touched You, come on let’s go.”
• I would have been angry at this crowd waiting by the water’s edge about to ruin my vacation.
Because I am selfish,
And far too often my main priority is me, not the kingdom.
This is an object lesson from the Lord for the 12 to learn
That ministry not only comes with accountability,
But it also demands priority.
Whenever the opportunity arises, seize it.
Whenever the ministry presents itself, take it.
More than any other thing in this life, that is why you are here.
And you will give an account to the Lord for how well you did it.
Now obviously, we didn’t make it very far into this story this morning,
So we’ll come back to it next time.
