Go!
The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.
- Luke 8:38-39
When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
- Luke 9:1-2
After 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…. When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”
- Luke 10:1-3 & 8-9
Go! - Condensed Video Version
Jesus heals, cleanses, and empowers, and then He sends transformed people out into the world as His salt and light. He is always sending people away from Him to others. Scripture provides many examples of this. As one example He sent the twelve disciples out into the world to preach, teach, heal and cleanse. He taught them, He demonstrated God’s power to them, and when they were ready they received His transformative presence and went out into the world as His agents. Scripture says Jesus “gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” After that, He sent a larger group of transformed followers, 72 messengers, out into the world to heal the sick and to tell others about the kingdom of God.
Scripture records Jesus regularly sending people away from Him to demonstrate God’s love through loving action and miraculous signs, and to tell the world the good news of God’s holy kingdom. He tells people to “Go!” He urges us to become engaged in God’s mission in the world. He offers His holy transformation, He fills us with His love, His life, His light, and, according to His will, He empowers disciples to heal, cleanse and reveal His power and love and grace here on earth.
As I ponder this message I am reminded of how difficult it is for most of us to reveal our inner selves to the world. We tend to keep our hearts wrapped up and hidden. Jesus Christ lives in our hearts, but we choose to keep Him to ourselves and reveal Him only to others within the safe confines of our church building. This thought causes me to ponder the safety we feel within that sacred space.
As we gather together to worship each Sunday, at times we look around, count heads and judge the effectiveness of the service by the attendance. We meet in our beautiful church building, invite others to come worship with us, and I pray we are hospitable to them when they come, and while inviting others to join us in worship and enjoying crowded, vibrant services are good things, if we consider Jesus’s instruction, we might focus more on going out into the world sharing the good news of the kingdom God than on convincing people to come to us.
I recently had the opportunity to study under Dr. Winston Worrell. He suggested that we consider church as a train station or crossroads rather than a destination. As he spoke, I began to envision church as a rural gas station. In some rural areas, the local gas station is the place where people stop briefly in the morning for a cup of coffee, a bite to eat, a moment of connection with others, and some fuel before they continue along their way out into the world where they live their lives. The gas station is the place people connect and refuel on their way towards their destination. If Jesus sends us out into the world as His light, should we consider our church building as a gas station rather than the destination?
Jesus promises to empower us when He sends us out. He gives power and authority to people that He sends out into the world. If we believe this, if we really believe this, how could we possibly be intimidated or fearful of following His call?
After crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus met a man possessed by a legion of demons. Jesus ordered demons out of the man and sent them into a herd of pigs causing the pigs to run off a cliff, fall into the sea and drown. After this miraculous experience, the newly freed man wanted to follow Jesus. He begged Jesus to allow him to follow Him and to join His group traveling with Him, but Jesus sent the man away. Jesus sent the man out into the world to tell everyone “how much God as done for (him).” The man was walking, talking, living, breathing testimony of God’s holy, cleansing, healing grace. His changed appearance and behavior were miraculous signs of God’s power, authority and love – the man’s words merely confirmed what people could readily see before he spoke. And Jesus sent him into the world to tell others about his experience with God using a simple formula: “tell how much God has done for you.”
Years ago I was in Mongolia and, as the visiting foreigner, I was asked to stand in front of a congregation and give my testimony. I was terrified. The pastor saw my deer-in-the-headlights response and he tried to encourage me saying, “its no big deal, just explain what your life was like before meeting Jesus and what it is like now.” In the moment of terror, I found much more comfort thinking that no one in the room spoke English anyway. But as we consider going out into the world as Christ’s disciples, the formula is quite simple: simply explain what God has done for you.
Jesus urges His disciples to “Go!” As you go out into the world today, please remember that the formula is simple, Jesus’s provision of power and authority is real, and He really does call us to serve as His light while we are out in the world. May you believe in His strength, power and courage that dwells within you, may you seize the opportunities placed in your path to share the good news, may you grow as His disciple today.