Discipleship Essentials*
Saturday, October 23, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, As I come to the close of a week of study on making disciples, I pray that it will not have been merely an academic exercise. I pray that You will fill and empower me by Your Holy Spirit today and everyday that I may share Your Good News of Salvation through Jesus in word and action to every person in my circle of influence. I pray that You will use me today as You see fit and that every conversation, every activity opens a door for sharing Your love and salvation with others. This I pray in Jesus’ name, and for the sake of His ever-expanding Kingdom. Amen.
God’s Word Today
Luke 6:12-16; 9:1-6, 10
12One day soon afterward Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. 13At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names:
14Simon (he also called him Peter), Andrew (Peter’s brother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), 16Judas (son of James), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).
1One day Jesus called together his twelve apostles and gave them power and authority to cast out demons and to heal all diseases. 2Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the coming of the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3“Don’t even take along a walking stick,” he instructed them, “nor a traveler’s bag, nor food, nor money. Not even an extra coat. 4When you enter each village, be a guest in only one home. 5If the people of the village won’t receive your message when you enter it, shake off its dust from your feet as you leave. It is a sign that you have abandoned that village to its fate.” 6So they began their circuit of the villages, preaching the Good News and healing the sick….10When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he slipped quietly away with them toward the town of Bethsaida
Background on the Text – Who Wrote It? Why Was It Written? Who Was the Audience?
Isn’t interesting to see the kinds of details that Luke was led to include in his gospel? We would certainly expect that he would have included the names of all the disciples (apostles) called by Jesus. We would expect that he would tell us about Jesus sending them out to spread the Good News in word and action to the people in the villages of Israel. But would we have expected him to record that when they returned Jesus “slipped them quietly away” toward the town of Bethsaida? Sometimes the details surprise us. Here Jesus offers the disciples rest and renewal after a major victory. That’s not really a surprise if we pause to consider it. More on that in the Thoughts section!
Observation – What Does the Text Say?
Interpretation – What Does the Text Mean?
Application – How Can I Respond to the Text’s Insights and Teachings?
Each Week’s Check List.
After reading and studying this text, reflect on the following discipleship growth points:
Growth Point |
How |
Encouraged and strengthened me by |
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Fallen short areas |
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What will I do with these insights? |
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What did God say to me today? |
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Share insights and growth points |
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Changed/transformed how? |
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Thoughts...He Slipped Quietly Away with Them...
The disciples had just won a major victory. They had been sent out by Jesus to preach, heal and cast out demons, and they had done it. They came back and told Jesus everything that happened. Jesus listened to every word, THEN he slipped them quietly away toward Bethsaida. Why does Luke record this seemingly minor detail? Because it isn’t minor, that’s why! Many times in our lives as followers of Jesus, we are most off guard to the enemy’s attacks immediately following a major victory. We find that even Jesus was tempted by Satan after major victories, such as His baptism, and the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus wants us to remember that we must always be on the guard for Satan’s tricks—not only when we’re down, but even more so when we’re up! After all, pride is the basic problem of humanity, and sometimes we forget that it was Jesus who gave us the power to accomplish anything worthwhile in our lives—we take the credit. Jesus wanted the disciples to remember that making disciples through miraculous ministry is wonderful—BECAUSE it requires the power of God. Their part was significant, but without God nothing would have happened. Let’s remember that as we go about our days, too. Victory is great, so long as it’s in the Lord, and so long as we let him slip us away quietly for renewal afterward, so we’ll give the credit to Him!