Chapter 23 - The Work
Mat 10:9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,
Mat 10:10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
Bonhoeffer- 'To be a messenger of Jesus Christ confers no personal privilege, no title to power or renown. This is true, even where the free messengers of Jesus have turned into a regular ministry in the Church.'
'Any honors that come our way are only stolen from him to whom alone they really belong, the Lord who sent us.
'The poverty of Christ's messengers is the proof of their freedom. '
'… Jesus enjoins strict poverty upon them. Note that this is an explicit command, and that the possessions the disciples are allowed to take with them are specified down to the last detail. They are not to go about like beggars and call attention to themselves, nor are they to burden other people like parasites. They are to go forth in the battledress of poverty, taking as little with them as a traveler who knows he will get board and lodging with friends at the end of the day. This shall be an expression of their faith, not in men, but in their heavenly Father who sent them and will care for them. It is this that will make their gospel credible , for they proclaim the coming Kingdom of God.'
'And if this battle with the powers of Satan for the souls of men, this renunciation of all personal dignity, and of the goods and joy of the world for the sake of the poor and miserable and ill-used, is not work, what is? God had himself endured toil and labor on the cross for our salvation even unto death (Isa. 53:11) The disciples are given a share in this work, in the proclamation, in the defeat of Satan, and in intercessory prayer. If men cannot see this, they have as yet failed to discern the true nature of the service of the messengers of Jesus. These messengers are not ashamed to receive the daily reward for their labor, and to remain as poor as ever for the sake of their ministry.'
Isa 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
My thoughts-
There are so incredibly many people who claim to work for the Lord as they increase their own material riches. They call it their due, their right. They say that the Lord wants them to be prosperous and have nice things. They tell themselves it's important for them to look nice so others realize you can look nice and still follow the Lord. They WANT people to believe they can have the love of money and earthly possession and still follow the Lord, this is the DEVIL'S DECEPTION! And this deception is running rampant everywhere! Fill your lives with THINGS! Heap to you as many possessions you possibly can, and make sure they're the best your money can afford. Work harder, work longer, not just to provide for your needs, but to give yourselves many presents, many gifts, many unnecessary possessions that please you, that make you feel good, that help you pass the time in this awful, sinful world. Tell yourself you need the diversions, you need the things that help you cope. Depend on ANYTHING and EVERYTHING, but not on the SAVIOR, not really, not wholly on Him. Consider yourself FIRST! You must come first, because how can you be any good for others if you neglect yourself? Trust in your things, and in your ability to get more things so you don't have to worry about living a life of emptiness and despair. The Devil tells us all the time that we have nothing without all His toys in our lives. He makes the toys seem harmless, but they are far from being so. Work for Christ, but only to a certain point, right? Live for Christ, but only insofar as it doesn't trouble your equilibrium, it is so fragile a thing, keeping a grip on reality in this life, holding emotions in check, being able to keep functioning, to breathe, to live.
Is it any wonder that there are so few workers for Christ? So few Disciples?
We are given all we need by the Holy Spirit, our blinders are ripped off and we are able to see but we fall to our knees and scramble to find the blinders, we want them back on, we don't want to see the truth, not really.
Hide us from the truth, from the reality because that reality means true LOVE, and that true love means sacrifice of self.
This is what we pray behind the outward prayer asking for truth, for light, for knowledge, for Christ, for love.
We need to fall to our knees and beg for a clean heart, a clean desire, a clean hope, because Satan wants us to despair of ever being truly Christ's.
Please LORD CLEAN US!
Please LORD SAVE US!
We cry out to you of our horrible failings to be truly yours and we cry out because we do NOT want to be kept from YOU and YOUR way by anything at all! We get confused, we get lost in the idea of living in this modern world immersed deep in all its worldly ways and we get so close to the edge of despair we fear of falling into the pit of its deep, blackness. We cling to YOU LORD! We hope in YOU LORD! We have NO hope in ourselves, NONE!
Bless us Lord, we would be workers for YOU, we would be YOUR disciples! Please LORD!
By YOUR GRACE, MERCY, LOVE!
All praise, honor, all glory and thanksgiving unto YOU, our SAVIOR, our LORD, our KING, JESUS CHRIST!
Mat 10:9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,
Mat 10:10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
Bonhoeffer- 'To be a messenger of Jesus Christ confers no personal privilege, no title to power or renown. This is true, even where the free messengers of Jesus have turned into a regular ministry in the Church.'
'Any honors that come our way are only stolen from him to whom alone they really belong, the Lord who sent us.
'The poverty of Christ's messengers is the proof of their freedom. '
'… Jesus enjoins strict poverty upon them. Note that this is an explicit command, and that the possessions the disciples are allowed to take with them are specified down to the last detail. They are not to go about like beggars and call attention to themselves, nor are they to burden other people like parasites. They are to go forth in the battledress of poverty, taking as little with them as a traveler who knows he will get board and lodging with friends at the end of the day. This shall be an expression of their faith, not in men, but in their heavenly Father who sent them and will care for them. It is this that will make their gospel credible , for they proclaim the coming Kingdom of God.'
'And if this battle with the powers of Satan for the souls of men, this renunciation of all personal dignity, and of the goods and joy of the world for the sake of the poor and miserable and ill-used, is not work, what is? God had himself endured toil and labor on the cross for our salvation even unto death (Isa. 53:11) The disciples are given a share in this work, in the proclamation, in the defeat of Satan, and in intercessory prayer. If men cannot see this, they have as yet failed to discern the true nature of the service of the messengers of Jesus. These messengers are not ashamed to receive the daily reward for their labor, and to remain as poor as ever for the sake of their ministry.'
Isa 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
My thoughts-
There are so incredibly many people who claim to work for the Lord as they increase their own material riches. They call it their due, their right. They say that the Lord wants them to be prosperous and have nice things. They tell themselves it's important for them to look nice so others realize you can look nice and still follow the Lord. They WANT people to believe they can have the love of money and earthly possession and still follow the Lord, this is the DEVIL'S DECEPTION! And this deception is running rampant everywhere! Fill your lives with THINGS! Heap to you as many possessions you possibly can, and make sure they're the best your money can afford. Work harder, work longer, not just to provide for your needs, but to give yourselves many presents, many gifts, many unnecessary possessions that please you, that make you feel good, that help you pass the time in this awful, sinful world. Tell yourself you need the diversions, you need the things that help you cope. Depend on ANYTHING and EVERYTHING, but not on the SAVIOR, not really, not wholly on Him. Consider yourself FIRST! You must come first, because how can you be any good for others if you neglect yourself? Trust in your things, and in your ability to get more things so you don't have to worry about living a life of emptiness and despair. The Devil tells us all the time that we have nothing without all His toys in our lives. He makes the toys seem harmless, but they are far from being so. Work for Christ, but only to a certain point, right? Live for Christ, but only insofar as it doesn't trouble your equilibrium, it is so fragile a thing, keeping a grip on reality in this life, holding emotions in check, being able to keep functioning, to breathe, to live.
Is it any wonder that there are so few workers for Christ? So few Disciples?
We are given all we need by the Holy Spirit, our blinders are ripped off and we are able to see but we fall to our knees and scramble to find the blinders, we want them back on, we don't want to see the truth, not really.
Hide us from the truth, from the reality because that reality means true LOVE, and that true love means sacrifice of self.
This is what we pray behind the outward prayer asking for truth, for light, for knowledge, for Christ, for love.
We need to fall to our knees and beg for a clean heart, a clean desire, a clean hope, because Satan wants us to despair of ever being truly Christ's.
Please LORD CLEAN US!
Please LORD SAVE US!
We cry out to you of our horrible failings to be truly yours and we cry out because we do NOT want to be kept from YOU and YOUR way by anything at all! We get confused, we get lost in the idea of living in this modern world immersed deep in all its worldly ways and we get so close to the edge of despair we fear of falling into the pit of its deep, blackness. We cling to YOU LORD! We hope in YOU LORD! We have NO hope in ourselves, NONE!
Bless us Lord, we would be workers for YOU, we would be YOUR disciples! Please LORD!
By YOUR GRACE, MERCY, LOVE!
All praise, honor, all glory and thanksgiving unto YOU, our SAVIOR, our LORD, our KING, JESUS CHRIST!