THE STORY OF JESUS: Luke 9:1-9
“He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” (Luke 9:2)
How could Jesus send out the disciples so soon, they were not ready!
The disciples would have failed a test on the kingdom of God (Acts 1:6).
They did not understand Jesus’ death, or know about His resurrection.
But they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13), and Jesus was behind them.
The disciples’ readiness was not in their knowledge, but in their dependance.
Jesus knew they were weak, that they would make mistakes.
But He also knew the Spirit would use them, despite their flaws.
In the church we do a poor job of equipping people for ministry.
We make it sound like you need to be educated before you can speak.
And woe to the person who makes mistakes, we crucify them.
Is our problem that we do not trust the Spirit of Jesus?
We should give believers opportunities to speak to see the Spirit at work!
We should grace them when they fail, and encourage them to keep trying!
As leaders, we need to learn from Jesus how to equip disciples to serve Him!
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, we have missed the mark of equipping leadership. Help us to learn from You that our job as leaders is not to DO the ministry for the people, but to equip the people to DO the ministry for You!