In today’s study, Selwyn talks about the importance of a church being able to react appropriately when differences occur among its leaders. He goes onto say, later in the study: “The church at Antioch displayed a commendable attitude when there was a strong disagreement between Paul and Barnabas. It did not allow the dispute to cause a rift … “.  Essentially, the church at Antioch allowed itself to be guided by God’s Spirit, in all matters – including those where there was a difference of opinion between two leaders. Likewise, the church of today – cannot look at modern dispute resolution techniques to settle differences of opinion – it must also take these issues to God in prayer, and wait for His direction and guidance – it’s the only way.

One of the key points, mentioned by Selwyn – is quite stack in its message  – I’m referring to the verses selected for reading and meditation.

The key verse is Matthew 12:30, Jesus talking to the Pharisees: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” It’s important to understand that there is no third option – a person is either for Jesus or against Him; and those who don’t give a thought to who Jesus is – are against Him. A person is either following Jesus or following someone or something else; and, in the later case they are against Jesus – there is no neutral territory.

In Matthew 12:36-37, we hear Jesus say: “I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Those people, who ignore the words of our living God and ridicule those who follow His way – will, on their last day, give an account to Jesus – their very words will condemn them to death.  At the moment, we are still waiting for the last day but it’s coming and there is an urgency in telling our family, friends and those we love that they must choose  to be with Jesus or to be eternally separated from all that is good – the love of God.

What are you waiting for?

It’s a good point which Selwyn raises today, when he refers to Luke 10:1-24 and highlights the fact that not only were the apostles sent out to tell people the good news; other ordinary disciples were also sent out with the same commission.

The verses Luke 10:1-27 (NIV) follow (I’ve marked those areas which I liked.):  “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go!

I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.

“Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” … “

There are three aspects which I would like to draw out of these verses: one, the 72 ordinary disciples – people like you and me, were sent out by Jesus to preach the good news about Jesus. The power of God’s Spirit was with them and even the demons submitted to them in Jesus’ name. It’s the same today, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few – yet we can, with the little we have, go - and tell our family, neighbours, friends and work colleagues the good news of Jesus. We too – with faith in Jesus can pray for God’s Spirit to be with us in the harvest field – and if we encounter a demon they will submit – in Jesus’ name.

The second aspect is that I believe Israel is not a holy place, in the sense that some people call the area – ‘the holy lands’. Clearly, Jesus is saying in the above verses that towns like Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum were going to be judged harshly because of their hard hearts.  The fact that Jesus spent some time in these towns does not make them ‘holy’; the only thing Jesus was interested in was a person’s response to His Word.

In John 4:21-24 (Jesus talking to the woman at the well), we hear Jesus say: “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. … Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” In summary, the place is not important – it’s a person’s heart – their response to Jesus determines their holiness. [I've been to Israel a couple of times, and the benefit is to see the places and to get an idea of the features of the country - it helps to give some perspective on some aspects of Jewish life, for example, the sort of journey it would have been for people to travel from Galilee to Jerusalem at the time of the various festivals. Yet, there's nothing 'holy' (regarding lands) to be found there - far from it!]

The third aspects is the fact that if you reject Jesus – you are rejecting God: “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.” There is no other way to God except through the Word of Jesus – this fact has serious consequences for many people who think that being a good person will be enough to make them ‘right’ with God. Do you agree?

Selwyn talks about the issue that each person has a gift – a duty to undertake – a service to perform, as a member of God’s Church. Many people have not taken the time to seek from God – what that service should be.

He writes: “Millions of Christians are engaged in tasks for which they are not fitted by nature or by spiritual gifting. Thus they go through life with minimum effectiveness but experiencing maximum weariness. Discover just what God has fitted you for in His Church (the tasks that bring out your full potential) and you will experience maximum effectiveness with minimum weariness.”

The publishers of Every Day with Jesus offer a free download from their web-site, Discovering Your Basic Gift, I haven’t looked at it, but I’m sure it will be helpful. However, the first step is to ask Jesus in prayer, for His help; He loves you so much that He will not fail to answer your prayer and He will make it clear to you what your service to His Kingdom – should be.  All you need is a little faith to bring you to the point – where you ask, and expect to hear an answer.

What do you think?

Selwyn introduces today’s study by saying: “If Jesus Christ had come to this world in this day and age rather than the first century and conducted His ministry in the way He did. He would have been regarded as a layman – an ordinary person. He had no connection with any school of learning and was not under the control of any religious body.”

It’s an interesting thought – don’t you agree  – how would today’s world, accept Jesus – if He had come in this day and age?

Selwyn goes onto state: ” … the only credentials Jesus had were the changed lives of men and women who received His Word and became His disciples. When John theBaptist asked the question: Are you the one … ? Jesus sent this answer back to John. ‘The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.’

John the Baptist would have recognised that these actions of Jesus were fulfilling Scripture, in regard to what the promised Messiah would do – when He came. As Jesus credentials were evident in His miracles, His teaching and His ‘purpose’; so too – as Selwyn tells us today – our credentials are evident in the ‘fruit’ we produce.

The conclusion of today’s study, should leave us in no doubt that the ordinary person can be just as effective as the ordianed clergy, in producing spiritual fruit.

This conclusion carries with it – a consquence; and that is – the ordinary person should be just as active as a minister/pastor/priest in telling the world about the good news – to be found in Jesus. Our Lord is kind and compassionate; ask Him in prayer to help you to share your faith – with someone you know, during the next week. It can be in the form of a very simple statement, such as: “It has been a tough time but Jesus loves me and has carried me through the worst of it – He loves you in exactly the same way’.  There may be no immediate response but it might sow a seed that grows through the power of God’s Spirit into something which bears fruit.

A follower of Jesus is not a person who goes to church each Sunday and listens to a sermon, then goes home to continue their normal life – but does nothing for God. There are many roles a person can undertake for their church community – one, of the most important roles is to pray – to seek God’s guidance and assistance for their community. If, a person has health issues which prevents them from undertaking physical roles – such as; take up collections, hand out notices, arrange seating, or pack up after the service. They can still be involved in a variety of spiritual activities; prayer being the most important but also by providing encouragement and support to those involved in other ministries.

One of the duties of paid ministry is to motivate, encourage and train the ordinary person – to first off; identify what tasks they are call to undertake and to ensure they are given the support and training to undertake the good things, which God has prepared for them to do.

As Selwyn says in today’s study: “The chief business of those involved in what we call ‘full time ministry’ is to be motivators and stimulators ‘ to prepare God’s people (the entire congregation) for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up’ (Ephesians 4:12).Plus, the key verse (1 Corinthians 12:27), taken from the verses set for reading and meditation, is brief and to the point: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.‘

As a Christian – you are part of God’s body – and you have a job to do – and, just sitting on a seat listening to a sermon, singing a few songs and repeating a number of worn out prayers is not the job you are called to do. Before it’s too late – earnestly seek God’s guidance and confirmation on what He would like you to do – so that the body of Christ might be built up! It would be great for you to hear Jesus say, on the last day: ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.’ Don’t you agree?

Selwyn writes: “We continue dwelling on the thought that the church in Antioch was founded by laymen (the ordinary person). This is not meant to imply that the Church has no need for the specialised ministry of apostles, pastors, prophets and so on. However, we must recognize that ordinary men and women, inspired by the Spirit of God, make a strong contribution to the formation and development of the Church.”

In the past, the separation of duties, between priests/ministers/pastors and the ordinary person often blurred the spiritual position that we are all equal. The roles were different, but any assignment of a special status to groups like ordained ministers was more a hindrance than a blessing – to the Church throughout the ages. One of the main features of the new covenant is that God writes on each person’s heart – His commandments. The Holy Spirit reveals the truth about Jesus. God enables each person to understand His Word, in accordance with their spiritual needs.

A minister usually has some formal training in theology but this learning can sometimes be at an intellectual level – it can be meaningless if the person does not have a personal relationship with Jesus. Even  an atheist can obtain degrees in Theology at a university – such a degree does not mean that they automatically ’know’ God!

The following statement, made by Selwyn, made me smile: “We who are pastors, evangelists, prophets or teachers will never reach the world on our own. We are too few in number to do so, and not balanced enough.”

Those churches who over-state the position of their minister – have to address two issues: one issue is the danger of pride taking over their minster; and the second issue is that the common person doesn’t think they have a role in the church – and, don’t do anything except turn up each Sunday and dutifully listen to a sermon. Each one of us has been given good tasks to do, by God Himself – the bulk of the work undertaken in the harvest field –  is done by the ordinary person. Do you agree?