June 23, 2024 "We Represent Jesus, Regardless"

ReNew Ames Messages

Jesus is sending out the disciples to do what they've seen him doing for some time now. But there's a danger here in taking his words too casually. When we put them within the context of the whole of chapter 10, they begin to carry a bit more weight. So if we read these words a little more deeply - and NOT a simply casual reading - here are some things I think we'll notice: 1) Jesus people are meant to do their Jesus thing from the margins. Now, I'm certain that this would come as a surprise to a lot of Jesus people today. We're used to being in the center. But this wasn't the case for the earliest disciples. They were sent out as vulnerable outsiders - people on the margins. What does this mean for us? Well, maybe we need to reexamine our yearning to cozy up to people in power. Maybe we need to rethink how we operate and instead operate out of a posture of extreme humility. 2) The small things become big things in the kingdom of God. Notice, it's the small things that get rewarded. Jesus doesn't care about our hierarchies - like, at all. We don't tend to glamorize the small little behind the scenes work. But that seems to be the work that God cherishes. Small things become big things. It's why Jesus talked about seeds and yeast, etc. 3) We represent Jesus whether we like it or not. This is staggering. What Jesus is offering his disciples and us is his reputation - his character - his standing in the world. Whoa. What if we took this literally? How would this change the way we act, speak, think? This idea could and SHOULD change everything. The church in our world has a lot of rethinking to do - maybe it starts in a little place like this and others like it. Speaker: Aaron Vis Scripture: Matthew 10:40-42 http://bible.com/events/49278279