Last Sunday we looked at the mission journey the 72 were called to: travelling together; travelling where Jesus wanted to go; travelling light and travelling to bless. One of the ways Jesus blessed and calls his followers to bless is through Supernatural power, the active work of the Holy Spirit. In today's reading Jesus gave the twelve authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. (v. 1) And told them to Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. (v. 7) For the 72 it was “heal the sick and tell theme 'the Kingdom has come near to you.'”
Many Gifts - one mission
Jesus says “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons” (v. 8) listing a variety of different activities. In his own ministry, he healed in different ways, and besides healing, used different gifts of the Spirit including on at least two occasions prophetic insight. Remember Zacchaeus, hiding up a tree; Jesus not only knew he was there, but knew his name (Luke 19). Remember the woman from Samaria; Jesus knew that she had been through five husbands and was now living a man she wasn't married to. (John 4). In the early Church, as well as lots of healing and deliverance, prophetic and other gifts cultivated a sense of God's presence among his people which drew people to Jesus.
- Tongues in acts 2, Pentecost was a missionary work of the Spirit. The disciples were in an upstairs flat, praying, when the Holy Spirit came upon them. Seconds later, they are overwhelmed by God, and the gift the spirit gave enabled them to speak in the languages of all the people who were bustling about in the streets.
- supernatural guidance (Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8);
- visions and dreams (the conversion of Saul in Acts 9; the conversion of Cornelius in Acts 10).
- Paul speaks about using gifts like tongues, interpretation and prophecy in such a way that not-yet-christians become aware of the power of God present among his people. (1 Cor 14. 23-24)
When the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus., he immediately spent forty days and nights out in the wastelands, alone with his Father and with the Devil. And the first thing the Devil said to him as “Hungry, eh? But you're the Son of God, you've got power, right? See these stones? Turn one into bread. You've got the power; use it for yourself”. Next the enemy said “throw yourself down from the high point in the temple”. You’re the son of God; you've got the power. You can float down. Then everyone will follow you....” What the enemy attacked was the mission of Jesus.: to get Jesus to use his power for himself, so he could feel good and look good, would have been a triumph for the enemy. And whenever the enemy can get us to be distracted from mission, he's winning a battle.
We often spend our time arguing about the gifts of the Spirit., or playing with the gifts of the Spirit. But if you read the book of Acts, you will find that everything the Spirit does is about mission. When he is not touching the lives of people who don't yet know Jesus, he is prodding those who do know Jesus, to get them to look outwards.
Jesus-shaped misison.
...so says Michael Green, a leading evangelist in the Church of England, The supernatural in mission is part of Jesus-shaped mission; but there three ways in which gifts for mission need to be shaped by Jesus.
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| When he saw the crowds... |
Character. Jesus expects his servants to move among people with a transformed attitude to material things. We thought last week about the importance of travelling light. He expects us to be trusting God rather than our bank accounts and possessions. He expects us to be generous rather than demanding. Travelling preachers could expect to be looked after when they came to a village. He expects us to be courageous in our attitude to rejection and even persecution.
So often, healing ministries are brought into disrepute by people who will pray for you and encourage you to claim your healing – but also to send in a cheque. People like that are not safe hands to be entrusted with the power of the Spirit; you may say, “that's not me”... but if you can't or won't address these two issues of Character and Compassion (I'm not saying you have to be perfect; just addressing the issues) then as far as I am concerned, forget about demonstrating the Father's love through gifts.
Connection Entering a house, the disciples are to greet it: the Greek word means “ to enfold in the arms.” It's exactly the thing that the 72 wee not to do on the road – remember it took up valuable time! But in the village, entering a home, they were to give time and effort to getting to know people, putting them at ease, and building relationships. That is never, never done in a few moments. The gifts come into their own in the context of a relationship based approach to mission. where we show the father’s love by being Godly and generous.
Kingdom Proclaim as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' (v 7) Jesus gives the same instruction to the 72 (Luke 10:9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.') and Jesus says over and again to the people he heals, “The Kingdom of God has come near...” ((9. 35: proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease...)
When Jesus heals a disabled person, when a demon leaves or a dumb person talks, it is a foretaste of the Kingdom of god. Occasionally, in the supermarket, there is a wee stall with someone offering you a free sample to try. Now you are never going to survive on the give-away samples you get in the supermarket. They are not meant to be a meal: they are a sample that is supposed to make you think, “on Saturday evening, when I'm relaxing and watching a movie, I could have some of these.” realigns and other supernatural things are a sample of heaven; they are pointers to say that the messed up state of the world is not God's plan. When God's rule is established, and God's rules are kept, then we have a perfect world.
As we learn to show the father's love, in godly character, generous compassion and supernatural gifts, it's a foretaste of God's Kingdom; and as we show the father's love, we will have the opportunities, too,to tell the Good news that “Our God reigns; God has become King” Jesus has conquered death and evil, and is today seated at the Father's right hand. From there, at the right moment he will return and there will be a new heaven and a new earth! And everyone who puts their trust in him can be part of that, now and for eternity!
It's for us
The instructions Jesus save to the twelve are an interesting mix. Some of them were very specific for that time and place. He sends them "only to Israel" (v. 5). But others didn't actually apply to that point in time. Jesus tells them what to do "When they drag you into court" (v. 18) and talks about speaking to kings and governors and to the Gentiles (v. 19). He's obviously thinking about the mission of the whole Church.
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| Bruce & Joyce: part fo our Church family. We all have a call to mission |
- the ministry of Jesus himself, (Matt 9. 35: “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction”;
- the twelve, (verse 7 “proclaim the Gospel, heal the sick”);
- the 72 (Luke 10. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’);
- the Church in Acts, “In the name of Jesus, walk” (Acts 3. 6) .
- and the teaching of Paul. “My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” (1 Cor 2. 4)
This is something we are all called to: to engage in the supernatural; to use the gifts of the spirit in mission. So, whatever gifts you have – or don't have – learn to expect God to use them, to demonstrate his loving presence not only here in the safety of the Christian community but more importantly in the world.
© Gilmour Lilly October 2012
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