Weekly message3

‘It’s all about Jesus, Stupid!’

The other week, I attended the ministers’ retreat at Ashburnham, and those words sum up what I brought home with me – and, just to reassure you, dear reader, I’m the one being addressed as ‘Stupid’, not you. Over the years, I have often been asked what it is that I do, as a Baptist Minister, and I have rarely been happy with the way I have replied to that question – which is a bit criminal, really, since you think it would be a golden opportunity to talk about my faith. Instead, I have often lapsed into attempting to give an account of the different ways in which I spend my time - and while I love my work as a minister it is hard to make sermon preparation and pastoral visiting sound interesting, let alone worthwhile. But listening to Alex Harris speak at Ashburnham about Jesus’ words to his disciples at the end of Matthew 28, it struck me that I should not be talking about what I do – instead, I should be talking about why I do what I do, which is to enable other people to have life-changing encounters with Jesus.
 
Alex made the helpful point that Jesus’ words apply to how we live our lives every day; they do not just apply to those who are called to missionary work overseas. Most translations use a double imperative at the beginning of Matthew 28:19: ‘Go and make disciples…’ Alex pointed out, however, that the word used for ‘Go’ is actually a participle, which could (and maybe even should) be translated, ‘As you go, make disciples…’ That means that anyone who crosses our path while we are on our way from A to B, has the opportunity to have an encounter with Jesus when they meet us. That’s not to say that we should always be artificially inserting Jesus’ name into the conversation. Sometimes it is simply a matter of being aware of what Jesus would have us say, so that we speak and respond to people in his name and our conversation can make a positive difference. But for me personally, when I am asked what I do as a minister, I have been convicted about making sure that Jesus forms part of my answer. I think that this may also make it feel more natural to offer to pray with people, since it becomes easier to see prayer as a way of inviting Jesus to come into whatever situation we have been talking about, and provides an opportunity for the person being prayed for to experience Jesus at work.
 
Anyone reading this who has the gift of evangelism may well be frustrated that I am sharing such basic principles as if they are something new – but I am not a natural evangelist. However, I believe and hope and pray that Jesus will speak through me in any situation, and because he is alive (Hallelujah!) he is present by his Spirit and is actively looking for ways to work in me and through me. And that is true for us all.
Having been entrusted with the task of inviting other people to follow Jesus and his teaching, the disciples make their way down the mountain where they had gathered to worship Jesus. Worshipping him comes first though, (Matthew 28:17), and it didn’t matter that some of those worshipping were troubled by doubts and unanswered questions. And as far as we are concerned, the reality of Jesus’ resurrection is not diminished by any problems we may experience in getting our heads round it or understanding it. If Jesus is working through us to make a difference in someone’s life, then it is his work and not ours, his authority and not ours. However hesitatingly we may represent him, and however inadequate we may feel, when we venture to speak in his name, we open a door and create an opportunity for him to work. Our words can be a catalyst for that person to have a life-changing encounter with Jesus.
 
And, actually, isn’t that why we do church? When we gather together, that is an opportunity for us to worship and be recommissioned to speak and act in Jesus’ name wherever we go. And aren’t all our meetings, actually, opportunities for anyone who attends to have a life-changing encounter with Jesus? That doesn’t mean that all our meetings have to have some form of religious content: that can actually get in the way of people meeting Jesus. But it does mean that whenever we gather, we can and should be inviting and expecting Jesus, as risen Lord, to be a present and active participant in everything we do. It has to be all about Jesus, doesn’t it? Otherwise, what is the point?
Tim Carter


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