July 5, 2009

The Bare Necessities

Shaking off the Excess to become free to do ministry

"Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebilious house) they shall know there has been a prophet among them."

God was clear to Ezekiel as he was in the day when Jesus faced his harshiest critics in his home town - the Word stands clear and proclamation rests on the ears of all people. The ability to truly hear the Word was dependent on whether or not those listening could shake off that which confined them from truly hearing the good news.

A long memory of who Jesus was - a boy in a carpenter's shop, someone they had watched grow up among them - it was too much for some to get past. Could they hear the proclamation or where their minds fixiated on whom this boy was? What prevents us from hearing the Word and embracing it? Is it the fear of the lables that come from hearing the conviction of the law?

Claude Swanson, late governor of Virginia, made a particularly long and rambling speech at a banquet one evening. An old lady came up to him afterward to shake his hand. "How did you like the speech?" asked Swanson. "I liked it fine," she replied, "but it seems to me you missed several excellent opportunities." Swanson looked puzzled. "Several opportunities for what?" he asked. "To quit." she snapped.

What are the things that inhibit our ability to hear the good news? Can we truly hear Jesus today?

Key Verse: "He called the 12 and began to send them out two by two and gave them the authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for the journey except a staff, no bread, no bag, no money in their belts: but the wear sandals and not to put on 2 tunics."

Applying the Word to Daily Living

1. God will speak to us - are we ready to listen?

Good listening is like tuning in a radio station. For good results, you can listen to only one station at a time. Trying to listen to my wife while looking over an office report is like trying to receive two radio stations at the same time. I end up with distortion and frustration.

Listening requires a choice of where I place my attention. To tune into my partner, I must first choose to put away all that will divide my attention. That might mean laying down the newspaper, moving away from the dishes in the sink, putting down the book I’m reading, setting aside my projects.

As Paul stated, "a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being to elated." What thorns in our flesh keep us from truly focusing on what God is speaking to us? Can we tune into the Word and hear it for what it declares?

2. Be ready to move!

"He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard where astounded. They said, 'Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him?"

"He called the 12 and sent them out"

What happens to us once we have heard the Word, been stirred in our spirits, and feel something prodding us to move out with the Gospel? We feel compelled to do something - then the everday comes and we quickly surcome to the pressures of living.

"For whenever I am weak, then I am strong." Not of my own strength - from the song Jesus loves me, yes we are strong.

3. Be ready to face rejection - Jesus did.

"And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said "Prophets are not without honor except in their hometwon, and among their own kin, and in their own house. And he could not do no deed of power there, except he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them."

"I will not boast except in my weakness."