20.06.10 - Go Bless

On Thursday morning, Nichi asked me for the sermon theme. I then finished an email. Normally I sign off “God bless” but I made a mistake and typed “Go bless”. It occurred to me that that was perhaps the perfect theme for today. In fact, I think the typing error was a God thing.

Go bless. I am not sure if it has been obvious to you or not, but this year I have focused on only one thing. We started the year, at a January combined service, talking about being salt. Then we talked about changing the world and watched the DVD of Jessica Jackley and the Kiva organisation. We spent some time looking at Bruce Wilkinson’s book You Were Born For This which was about partnering with God to deliver everyday miracles. Since then the theme has been “influence”.

Can you see any pattern in what we are doing? I really just want to re-cap. It has all been about ministry – about how we might have a Christian influence in the lives of others. It is about “Go bless”; go and bring the blessing of God into someone else’s life. If you want to know what my agenda is, that is it: Go bless.

You might remember that You Were Born For This was about partnering with God to deliver every day miracles into the lives of people whom God loves. He wants people to know that they are loved and that God Himself cares enough to do something for them. It was about us wanting and praying to be used; about being willing to go to whomever God chooses despite our preferences; about being open to the Holy Spirit if we are to see the miraculous power of God; about being willing to be obedient even when that means risks and about looking for the signals – the nudges, cues, bumps, prompts and alerts – that indicate to us what God is doing and what He wants us to do.

After Easter we started talking about influence; about being salt and light and yeast and God’s expectation that we will make a difference for other people. We talked about the cost of influence.

We asked why we want to be influential. What is our motivation? Is it for our benefit or is it for the other person’s benefit? And, if we are reticent, why do we not want to “go bless”?

Then we discussed the need for a close relationship with Jesus, the need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit, the need for our influence to be born out of love and, last week, the power of our example.

My agenda through all of this has been to talk about ministry – about us serving others in the name of Jesus; about not just living private, self-contained lives but living lives dedicated to helping others; about being used by God to make a positive difference in other people’s lives. So, go bless.

Here is another story from the book, You Were Born For This. Look for the willingness to be used, the partnering with the Holy Spirit, the risk-taking and the nudges and prompts. One morning Toni asked God to send her to do His work that day. That is where it starts – asking to be used.

Later, in a meeting, a woman she didn’t know made a comment about sons being a challenge. Toni pricked her ears up. Possibly no one else had noticed it but Toni did. She asked God to show her how she could help and she felt a clear nudge saying, “Write her a note.”

Toni took out a pad and pen and started writing. Dear Sonya, your son is in a ... She didn’t know what to say next. Then God prompted her. A picture came to mind so she continued writing: Your son is in a wrestling match with God. He’s fighting hard but it won’t be long till he goes limp. God is going to hold him tight till he gives up completely. It will be the love of God that wins.

Toni passed the note along the row. Sonya read it and began to quietly weep. Toni wasn’t sure if she has done the wrong thing. When the meeting ended Sonya came up to Toni and asked, “How did you know?”

“How did I know what?”

“My son is a wrestler. He loves to wrestle. You’re right. Lately he’s been wrestling with God. In fact, in just one hour he will stand before a judge on an assault charge. My husband and I can’t be there to help him, so we’ve been praying that God will be his advocate in that courtroom.”

The two women went out for lunch. While they were eating Sonya’s son called. The charges had been dismissed and he said that he knew God had been watching out for him. He said, “I get a chance to start again – and I am going to.”

We can easily spend a day, doing what we want to do and not be intentional about using that day to bless others. But the word “Go” means that we have been sent. Is it fair to use that word? Have we been sent?

On the outside of our front doors we have the words, “Jesus says Come” It has sometimes been suggested that, on the inside, we should have “Jesus says go.” Sometimes churches have had above the door, as people leave, “You are now entering the mission field”. We come to church to worship God and to receive from Him but as we leave church, we enter the mission field to which we have been sent.

We are well aware that at the end of His life, Jesus sent the disciples out. He commissioned then with the words, “Go and make disciples of all nations” or “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” or “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” There is a very clear sending.

But those weren’t the only times Jesus said, “Go”. As part of their training, the disciples had been sent out on short-term missions. They had little missions in preparation for the Great Commission.

Matthew 10:5-8 5These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

At this early stage Jesus limited the disciples’ mission to Israel. He specifically said not to go to the Gentiles. But when it came to the Great Commission, it was “Go to all nations. Go into all the world.” The “go” has become global. We are sent into all the world.

There is also not the same emphasis on healing the sick, cleansing lepers and casting out demons in the Great Commission. It is about salvation – preaching the gospel. Only Mark’s version mentions those sorts of things: “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

The Great Commission focuses on proclaiming the gospel and making disciples but if we assume that Jesus provides our example and that the life of the early church is also an example then healing and deliverance and the raising of the dead are part of the proclamation of the gospel.

Healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing lepers and driving out demons sound daunting for a training exercise. “We’ll start with the easy stuff, like raising the dead!” Yet, if we look back a few verses, v.1 says that Jesus gave them the authority to do these things. God empowered them to do the impossible.

If these were the ways in which people were in need, then the disciples were to meet that need. If the people were oppressed by sickness, death, leprosy and demons then the relief they needed was healing of sickness, raising the dead, cleansing of leprosy and deliverance from those demons. So the disciples – even these trainee disciples – were sent out to bring relief to suffering people.

But the disciples were also to preach the message of the Kingdom. In fact, preaching the gospel is stated first. “The Kingdom of God is near” is great news for those who will repent and be reconciled to God. It means God is close at hand. It means that the kingdom where there is no sickness or death or leprosy or demonic possession, is close – can be experienced now in part and will be revealed in its fullness.

Equally, it is bad news for those who refuse to repent. If you are out of sorts with God and God is close at hand, that is bad news. But the offer was there for everyone: repent now and enjoy God’s Kingdom.

And so, the mission was a combination of preaching the gospel and bringing relief for the suffering. Wilkinson says the last step in delivering miracle is to transfer the credit; help the person see that it was God who acted. Ultimately the purpose of the miracle is for people to know they can trust God.

Jesus said, “Freely you have received, freely give.” We who have received freely are to give freely, so yes, we are sent. All of us are sent. Sent out to give; to minister; to bless. We have not been called to be God’s children so as to sit around doing nothing. We have been recruited to be sent out.

Mark 3:14-15 14He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15and to have authority to drive out demons.

They were called to Him so that He might send them out; to preach and cast out demons.

John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last...

We have been chosen to bear fruit. We haven’t been called to be God’s children so that we can simply wait for heaven. We have been called so that we might be sent out. The “come” is followed by “go”.

Galatians 3:14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

God redeemed the Jews so that the Gentiles might be blessed. The Jews were called to faith in Jesus so that they might take the gospel to the Gentiles. It was so that the blessing might be spread – not kept for themselves – but shared with the Gentiles. The “Come” was followed by “Go.”

What picture are we getting of the reason for going? Go to people who need to hear the gospel – need to hear the good news of God’s love and forgiveness and of eternal salvation. Go to people who are oppressed and needy, and bring relief. We who have so freely received God’s grace are to freely give.

The disciples were sent out to bring blessing into people’s lives – both relief from sickness or grief or demon possession and the blessing of the gospel of being reconciled to God.

When we looked at the book You Were Born For This that is what it was about: being sent into different situations to be used by God to bring some blessing. Often meeting a need resulted in a realisation of the love of God. It wasn’t ‘meet a need’ or ‘preach the gospel’. It was both: meet a need and make sure that people know that that need was met because God loves them.

We are expected to have an influence – to be the salt and the light – but clearly God’s purpose is that we are a good influence – that we bring blessing. Go bless. That is our mission. Go bless.

Every day we should remember what our mission is. Our mission is to go to the people God sends us to and bless them. It is easy doing what we want to do each day. It is so much better if we see that day as an opportunity to bless some other people. Let’s remember at the start of each day that God is saying to us, ‘Go bless” and let’s plan our day so as to do just that. Every day is an opportunity to bless.

Toni started her day with the attitude “Go bless”. She was obedient to the nudge and God demonstrated Himself to Sonya and to her son. Do you hear God saying to you, “Go bless. Go and make a positive difference in someone’s life. As you leave the church today, go bless.”?