Keeping it Simple
Robyn Black • December 2, 2020
Mark 6:7-13
Once a month I go to a meeting of ministers and Pastors in the area. Actually, I went twice this week – once for an hour prayer meeting – and both meetings started at 7.30am in the morning! But this week I heard of a young woman, 14 years old, who heard about Jesus and has decided to ask him into her heart. She began to read through the gospels and was so excited by her new found faith, that she wanted to get her 3 friends together and do a regular bible study. She is keen, keen, keen.
One of her friends is a Jehovah’s Witness and they have some very different ideas to other churches, and the others have no faith background. My Pastor friend was worried about the young woman. Would it be too much pressure for her being so new in her faith to host a group of friends who might undermine her faith? He wanted to protect her fledgling faith and yet saw that it was important to encourage her enthusiasm and sharing. I see his point, and yet I also think that this young woman will never be as enthusiastic as she is right now. And I think it’s great it she learns that sharing your journey with God is normal. I said to my Pastor friend that maybe he could reassure her that she didn’t have to know all the answers and that he and his wife could be a resource and support.
The disciples in this reading are being sent out by Jesus into the world. A world that had never heard of Jesus. I’m kind of intrigued that right from the start Jesus shares his power and authority, even whilst he’s alive. I think this is really unusual. Think about a high profile Christian like Billy Graham. He built his ministry around himself. It was Billy graham doing the speaking, the evangelising. Yes, he had a team doing the background stuff, but he wasn’t saying to his team. ‘Off you go to a city, go in my name, and preach there.’ I reckon Billy would have thought it too risky to allow just anyone to preach under the banner of ‘Billy Graham ministries’. And yet, here’s Jesus, sending disciples out in his name. They’re representing him. It’s a risky business…those disciples could do anything when they’re out there. It shows a lot of trust by Jesus in his disciples.
If you identify as a disciple of Jesus, then he has the same trust in you. We bear his name CHRIST – IANS, and we are here in our part of the world, interacting with people in his name, under his banner, as it were. That’s an awesome thing, and it should be a sobering thing for us too. If people know you go to church, if they know that you are a Christian, then you are representing Jesus. You know that old saying, you might be the only Bible that someone reads. A woman at the checkout that Bob has gotten to know said to him the other day, ‘do you go to church?’. He said ‘yes, why?’. She said ‘oh, I just thought you probably did’. Now I’m not sure what that means and neither did Bob. But you go out into the world with the power and authority of Jesus, under the banner of Jesus, and representing Jesus. And YOU are the only Bible some will ‘read’.
Jesus gave them some really helpful tips for mission before they left. Mark 6:7-9 says “…(Jesus) sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority and power to deal with the evil opposition. He sent them off with these instructions: “Don’t think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment. No special appeals for funds. Keep it simple.”
Honestly, I used to think I would need a theology degree to share my faith. I grew up in a household, where we went to church but we never spoke of God. We were encouraged to say a prayer before bedtime, but speaking about God was not an ordinary part of life. So when I became a teenager I kind of wanted to be able to share my faith with others but had no idea where to start. And so, I thought, maybe if I did a theology degree then I’d have all the answers and I’d feel more comfortable sharing with others. Of course, a theology degree has got almost nothing to do with it. The 14 year old I spoke of earlier hasn’t done a degree.
But what she has is a lived experience of God and enthusiasm. ‘Don’t think you need a lot of extra equipment’ says Jesus.
Lots of people in the Salvation Army used to think that they had to go to expensive overseas conferences to become equipped to share their faith with others. There was a time when people would take off to the USA every year for this course or that conference. And for the most part, it didn’t seem to change them at all. Jesus says in The Message version ‘No special appeal for funds. Keep it simple.’
‘You are the equipment’, says Jesus. I’m not against courses or conferences, but in terms of sharing your faith, the only thing that makes a difference is to have your own growing dynamic relationship with God. But that’s hard isn’t it? There’s so many distractions in life. So many pressing things to fit into a day. Or so many other things that may seem more enjoyable at the time, like a sleep in
But there’s no substitute for reading the bible regularly and praying. I know, it’s like going to a Dr and they say ‘diet and exercise’. You come to church and hear ‘bible reading and prayer’. I’m not great at any of this. But hand of heart, I know that when I read the Bible in an organised and regular way, I just mean, starting with the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and reading a few verses a day. Thinking about them, praying, thinking what is God saying here. When I do that, it’s like something in my spirit is topped up and there’s enough to flow over to others. You are the equipment. Jesus said that to the disciples back then and he would say it to his disciples in Tarrawanna today. You are the equipment. Don’t think you need to have gone to training college, or have done the 3 spiritual laws course or whatever.
This week I heard about a young guy in high school in the Illawarra, and he decided to start a Bible study. It’s on at the same time as some others are playing sport. So he said to his year, if anyone’s interested I’m going to have a bible study at this time. 16 guys have been turning up. His dad said to me, ‘oh, I think they’re all already Christians going to other churches’. He sounded a bit disappointed. I said to him, ‘no, it’s really important. They’re coming to an age when there will be intense pressure from other points of view and to be part of a group of his peers and friends that are Christians is great. And I thought it was good that it wasn’t just their mum and dad’s church, and they’ll be forming a faith that is strong and robust. That young man kept it simple, just asked some friends if they wanted to be part of a group.
In the last verses in our reading today, Jesus says “No luxury inns”, “Get a modest place and be content there until you leave. If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.” Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different; right and left they sent the demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits.” (Mark 6:10-13)
And that’s the focus of our message, that life can be radically different. We carry a message that God’s plan has always been to reconcile people to himself, to bring us close, but our sin and pain had kept us far away. In Jesus, God made a way for us to be part of his family, to experience hope and forgiveness, transformation and eternal life. Actually, if you’re interested we have small pamphlets about this and also a small book by Robert Street.
You know I travel around a bit, and in some of my areas, there are Salvos right now anointing bodies and healing spirits. We’ve bought an idea that God couldn’t possibly work that way now, but perhaps it just takes us stepping out in faith to see God’s amazing power at work. Let’s keep it simple. Bless you.
Sermons For The Moment
Do not be afraid - Matthew 1:18-21
Luke 2: 4- 15
Luke 1: 26-33
This is a subtitle for your new post
Ruth Chapter 4
Ruth 3
Ruth 2
Commitment from Love, Ruth 1: 1-18
This is an interesting Psalm – another psalm of ascent. We spoke about these Psalms of Ascent a few weeks ago. They were songs the Jewish people sang as they made their way to Jerusalem to go to the temple, through the forest, along the tracks, camping by the roads. And I believe songs like this kept them focussed and kept their spirits up. I can imagine days of walking together, tiring, boring, hot and dusty. And singing some of these Psalms keep them focussed on the faithfulness of God. Much better then eye spy for the kids. Journeys are not all their cracked up to be even if the destination is worth it. As you know, when I was growing up we always holidayed at Bawley Point past Ulladulla, and in those days it was about a 4 hour drive from Sydney. We always left later than we meant to…and the last 20 mins was on a dirt road. One year when I was probably about 4 years old it was dark by the time we got to the dirt road, and half way along the dirt road, was a dodgy wooden bridge over a river. I think part of the bridge had been damaged and we had to wait a bit in the pitch black darkness before we could proceed. Dad was out with a torch ensuring the bridge was safe to drive on and mum and us 4 kids were sitting in the darkness – no street lights, no moonlight. Of course, you might be able to guess what I said to mum in that car, with fearful crying…you’ve probably heard it from kids before. I said ‘I want to go home’. Mum said to me, ‘we can’t go home Robyn, we’re almost there’. In truth, after the bridge we had the last 10 minutes of a 4 hours journey left. We safely crossed the bridge and we were OK. But I remember it. I remember the feeling of being scarred in the darkness. I remember not liking this journey at all. Even though I always loved the destination. Well this psalm celebrates the end of the journey and the arrival at the destination. Psalm 126:1-3, “When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem, it was like a dream! We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.” Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!” Before we can understand the laughter and joy of the Israelites, we have to understand their journey. This Psalm looks back to when they arrived back in Jerusalem after 70 long years in Babylon. The captives had experienced great sorrow and mourning in exile. We read these heartbreaking words in Psalm 137: “Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. We put away our harps, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees. For our captors demanded a song from us. Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn: “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!” But how can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a pagan land?” (Psalm 137:1-4). Their tormentors demanded they sing joyfully, but they were like – that’s impossible, it doesn’t come from our heart. So they just sat by the waters of Babylon and wept. But now by an amazing work of God they were suddenly back in Jerusalem. And so their joy came from their heart. The wait was over, the journey was complete. “We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy.” The journey is the hard bit though isn’t it? I was reminded of this, this week. An Officer couple I was speaking to, said that their teenager said some very hurtful things to them. Stuff like, ‘you make my life worse’. As they spoke to me, I did very little but listen and pray with them. They do have other supports in their life as well, already seeing a psychologist. But what I was thinking in my head as they were speaking was ‘oh the teenage years, I’d forgotten them’. Though we have 2 wonderful young adults in P and K, they were times when it was more than tense. K wears her heart on her sleeve, and to this day apologises for some of the things she said to me. And P, you wouldn’t know what he was thinking, and then all of a sudden all his thoughts and feelings for the last 3 years would come out like molten lava everywhere. A few days later I checked in to see how the couple and their teenager were going. I mentioned in passing about teenage years and very briefly about our experiences. I didn’t want to make it all about me. But I said teenage years can be painful and those years can really hurt everyone in the family. Teenager included. They know that we have a good relationship with P and K and they said to me, you know, this is helpful. It gives us hope. I was like, yep, this too shall pass. Because when you’re in the midst of the journey of pain and sorrow, you sometimes wonder if there’s light at the end of the tunnel. If you’ll laugh again or experience joy again. You begin to wonder, “Is this all that God has for me? Will I ever be happy again?” And here’s the promise in Psalm 126:4-6, “Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.” When you are going through a time of deep sorrow, Psalm 126 is strong medicine for your soul. It carries a powerful message of hope. It tells you that times of trouble and sorrow do not last. It tells you that God will turn your sorrow to joy and your tears to laughter. If you are going through a challenging time right now, I pray that this psalm will speak to your heart this morning. Let me tell you right up front, whatever you’re going through, it will get better. God will change your tears to joy. This week I found something I wrote about 10 years ago. I had written it on a piece of paper and there was a whole reflection about my life. At the time we had my mum living with us, she had dementia, and mostly I remember the good times and the fun times with her. I was also the Corps Officer at Glebe and Bob was the manager at William Booth House. After a page of writing I had written something like this “I’m often anxious, I’m usually stressed, I have eczema on my eyelids and ulcers in my mouth. I always feel pressed.” I went out to Bob in the lounge room and I’m like, ‘oh my goodness, eczema on my eyelids and ulcers in my mouth’, often anxious, usually stressed. The thing is, my life feels a long way from that now, and I’d forgotten what that part of my journey felt like. I’m sure when I was there I couldn’t look ahead and see a time of joy…but the truth is that “Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.” This too shall pass. ‘Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us!’ says verse 3. God is faithful – he does the healing, the restoring, he brings the streams in the desert that renews and brings fruitfulness. I don’t need to tell you – it takes time. Today, I’m praying for a work of healing in your life, a gradual restoration of joy, of laughter. Like me as a kid, sometimes we don’t like parts of this journey at all. Even though we know our destination is good. And ultimately, we have a destination like no other and that’s the promise of God. A home in heaven made possible through Jesus. May God bless you this week as you look to Him, listen to Him, find your hope in Him and find courage and healing in your journey.
Jesus speaking to the disciples says, ‘Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me. The Thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of John is a high velocity chapter, in my opinion. Headline after headline, The Last Supper is the feature article we know best, but then, there is Jesus washing the feet of the disciples to very mixed emotions. Then comes Jesus teaching regarding sacramental service and how he anticipates the disciples proper treatment of others. Iscariot’s predicted betrayal was mentioned, then Jesus speaks of The New Commandment followed closely on the same evening by Jesus warning and prediction of Peter’s denial of Jesus. A big night around the dinner table for everyone there, and a momentous series of events to unfold within the following few days. A lifetime of indelible memories for the disciples as the plans and purposes of God are revealed in the next few days. For the crowds who were present to witness this occasion many people must have found it mind blowing simply too hard to grasp…..all the events were miraculous, certainly, other worldly, certainly, and still today a full comprehension still eludes us without the exercise of a simple faith. I may not completely understand the ways of God…but I do trust God to be God. I’m okay with that and so is God! Earlier this week the media was full of conversation and speculation about how people were going to celebrate ‘freedom day’ (Monday 11th) the stroke of midnight was overwhelmed by pictures of mobs going to licensed premises to make pigs of themselves at the bar, the pokies and other gaming tables and screens. I’m afraid for me seeing the behaviors of people within the first twenty-four hours of so called freedom day was just a concentration of many days in the past 5 to 18 months. We saw many distorted ways for people to tell others how bad off they are and how tough their life has been at the hands of an uncaring and indifferent Government be it State or Commonwealth. The elusive quality many should be turning their attention to is their lack of ‘insight’. I find it sad even tragic when so many fail to recognise within themselves widespread disregard, disrespect and even indifference for human life, who are being driven by fear and selfishness. The restrictions introduced Internationally we call ‘lock down’ or stay at home directions, work from home, home schooling, click and collect, shopping on line for anything and everything on a shelf or in a shop. GP’s consultations on line, pharmacy requirement, prescriptions on line and chemists delivering. Most of what we needed and wanted was accessible one way or another with one important exception in my case….haircuts! Robyn offered…several times….and so did my daughter Keren. Freedom week got me a seat at the hairdresser on Thursday following several visits and several hours in a queue. The last haircut was just before the hairdresser went on maternity leave, she was back at work this week, her child is learning to drive now….its been a while. All four of my grandparents had died by the time I was in my twenties with only one of them really known by us and she was amazingly patient, durable, gracious, kind, and very warm and loving. A grandfather had served in both world wars and with some of his family migrated from a poor place to Australia during the Great Depression for a better life, and got it. There’s nothing unique about my family and nothing peculiar to Australia, this story of overcoming hardship, grinding poverty, widespread sickness and misery was known to millions upon millions over the world. You and I do not hail from the hordes of angels, we hail from the ordinary everyday variety of people who have populated the earth, not from those who live a charmed life. We however have a nature and a soul bestowed upon us by God the Creator of All, capable of kindness, compassionate and loving service. If you haven’t seen the real unspoiled nature of humanity at work, seek out the stories of your family, if you have grandparents, great grandparents, uncles and aunties who were born before the 1950’s talk and research and discover the strength and fiber of your inherited humanity. This does come with a warning however, be prepared for a surprise. The old expression, ‘I am today, what all my yesterdays have made me’, carries a great truth, but at best it can only convey part of your story. We are human with all the accompanying peculiarities……BUT we are more, much more. We are reading from the Gospel of John today, and I must admit, this is the Gospel I always turn to first. John 8:12 ‘when Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ Please take some time to ponder these words and how they are directed to you, this is personal. If you don’t think Jesus words are directed to you today…..then who is He speaking to? We have a guide to lead us so we can find our way. Our wisdom is to look to Him, and absorb His Spirit and apply that to all our circumstance of life. **We do have a guide for life and life for us each would be not only more **harmonious but we would be more fulfilled, we would truly know from **personal experience what Jesus means by applying the bowl of water and **towel in the Sacrament of Service. With such a sure guide in the world in does seem odd to me why many, many more people don’t follow the light of God. Humanity might have made greater progress faster than we have. Let’s get back to John 13: 21 before someone pulls the Zoom plug out of the wall. Before going in to hospital, I decided to help myself a bit by sorting and packing our books (700). However, there is one shelf still crammed full. No prize for guessing, they are cook books also I watch cooking shows on TV, UTube etc. Cooks often ask the guests on the show about their favorite meal, even what would they ask for if they knew this was to be the last meal. Two surprises, Ice Cream is a biggy, a multitude of flavors and trimmings. The second surprise has been simple meals like mum or grandma used to cook. This is when you discover food is a lot more than for just eating. I’ve never heard of anyone asking for Brussel sprouts or Kale. During these conversations about favorite foods we often hear about the significant people in their life, who were their great influences, those that bough much joy and kindness, those who were able to console, challenge and encourage even those who inspired love and gently directed people on to life in its fullness. Rarely do we hear about those who instilled fear or humiliation, distrust or dislike. Generally, we don’t gather people to the table who broke our hearts or spirit, crushed our dreams or betrayed our trust. Just before Jesus went to a garden to plead with His Father for another way out of His looming death, He invited 12 of His closest friends to join Him for Dinner, one last time. As the wine was being passed around the table Jesus dropped a bomb by announcing to them all, He knew one sitting at the table would betray Him and another would deny Him. What a stir, what a turmoil within each one as they declared their innocence, they all said it wasn’t them. Jesus knew in a few short hours He would be handed over to be crucified. A final meal together and Jesus could have chosen others but He chose the group closest to Him, including the ones He knew would soon betray and hurt Him. My last meal. Your last meal. Who would be on the invitation list? Why Jesus? What does this mean? This is what love does.