Focal Passage: 9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you. Luke 10:9(NIV) taken from www.biblegateway.com
As our journey to Jersulem moves forward into Luke chapter 10 Jesus exapands the harvest workers beyond the 12 apostles. He appoints around 70 people to go out into the villages to proclaim the good news. I discovered a Jewel yesterday when I downloaded what I thought was a typical John Ortberg Book for my next listening excursion on my commute. It turns out that I downloaded a whole conference that featured Dr. Dallas Willard. The conference, given 3 months before Willard's death has been turned into a book study entitled:
Living in Christ's Presence
Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God
More information can be found at www.dwillard.org. I think I have discovered a jewel in Dallas Willard though my 1 hour exposure to his writings is hardly enough to fully endorse. However, his teaching thus far in this book speaks into our scripture for today.
We are all called to be workers in the harvest. There is a lot we could unpack in these 24 verses but I want to focus on verse 9. Dallas Willard, in this book, poses the question: "What is Jesus's Gospel?" He points out that evangelism today tends to focus on winning converts through a message of "what are the minimum requirements for going to heaven when you die." Think about it? Isn't that true? While he points out that God is gracious enough to use this as a jumping off point for people, it was not Jesus's Gospel. Jesus' gospel was "The kingdom of God has come near to you." Matthew records the great Commission: "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20, NIV from www.biblegateway.com) He did not say go and tell people how to get into heaven. He said go and make disciples. What is a disciple? Webster's dictionary states that it is someone who "accepts and spreads the teachings of a famous person." The call is not just accept Jesus as your saviour. The call is to accept Jesus as your teacher and teach others his teachings. Embody those teachings. When you look at what the gospel of Jesus is, it doesn't take long to realize that the gospel message Jesus brings is the "good news of the Kingdom of God." The kingdom of God is open to us right now. By following the teachings of Jesus we experience the Kingdom of God "On earth as it is in Heaven." Wilard goes on to point out that disciples are not for the church, disciples are made by the church for the world. Are we doing enough in our churches to make disciples or are we preaching and teaching a message of "these are the minimum requirements to get into heaven when you die?" My challenge for you today is to become a disciple of Jesus Christ by learning his teachings and living them out for by doing so you don't have to wait until you die to experience the Kingdom of God for the Kingdom of God is available to you right now. So, get in the yoke with Jesus and let him lead you and guide you!
Thanks be to God.
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