On the Mark: 2. Ministry
The Church of the Wayfarer
Dr. Norm Mowery, Pastor
January 22, 2012
Mark 1:14-20
This is the second in a series of five messages based on the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark. I decided to give this series of messages because for my personal devotions I have been reading this Gospel and have felt once more its exciting action based message. It has touched my spiritual life.
The Gospel of Mark is the place to begin if you want to capture the essence of Jesus and I challenge you to read and reread this first chapter over and over.
Last Sunday we saw the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist and the affirmation from heaven, “You are my son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.”
Guess what happened next.
The Bible says that Satan appeared. Isn’t that so true to life? We are on the mountain top one day and then suddenly we crash.
Sounds like the life of politicians today doesn’t it?
After 40 days in the wilderness Jesus gets the news that John the Baptist is arrested. You know the rest of that story.
But, neither Satan or Nero could not stop Jesus now.
With a passion Jesus goes to Galilee proclaiming the good news saying,
“The time is fulfilled
The kingdom of God is near
Repent,
And believe the Good News.
Notice how this is different from John the Baptist’s message. There is more to do than repentance. There is believing the good news.
By this time Jesus is on a mission. He is driven.
He goes to the Sea of Galilee and finds brothers Simon and Andrew and says, ‘follow me.’ Immediately they left and followed.
Then he finds brothers James and John fixing their nets and says, ‘follow me.’ Immediately they left and followed.
I have read this story many times and noted that they left their father Zebedee but I never noticed that they also left behind their hired men. I always thought that they were poor fishermen. But, no, they had hired hands! They were business men.
This make me wonder, “As an entrepreneur what kind of people did Jesus want to work with him?”
Entrepreneurs know that starting a business requires some help from their friends. So what kind of friends is Jesus looking for?
In today’s world there are four types of persons entrepreneurs want to have on their team to help start a new business.
• The Cheerleader:
Cheerleaders are those who will rally behind an idea and provide encouragement. Clearly, you need to have positive-thinking people around you.
• The Role Model:
This is the “follow me and do as I do” person. A role model could be a teacher or mentor.
• The Expert:
It’s always good to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you about certain areas. Experts fill in the gaps by asking questions that begin with, “Have you given any thought to …” • The Techie:
These are folks who are wizards with things like computers and communication systems. They have the ability to provide efficient technical support. The point is that it takes a team to really be successful. Jesus needed help from his friends. Jesus is beginning an entrepreneurial venture and surrounds himself with a team. The practical side of Jesus’ mission required the help and participation of others. He doesn’t wait for them to come to him.
Jesus goes to the lakeshore reeking with the stink of fish, and begins by inviting some fishermen to be on his team.
We have to remember that any entrepreneurial venture worth its salt begins with a solid mission statement. Here it is:
“The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God has come near;
repent,
and believe in the good news”.
In other words the time is now,
God is here,
change your ways and believe the good news. The announcement of the kingdom would have sounded both exciting and dangerous to those hearing Jesus by the Galilean lake.
It was exciting because it meant that God was going to act decisively on Israel’s behalf,
but dangerous because that meant a challenge to the prevailing Roman authority.
The message was that outsiders would be insiders.
That was the “good news” that required a response. A response is what Jesus was looking for as he came to the lakeshore.
Remember that these four fishermen were likely quite prosperous. Chances are that these men may have had some education. These weren’t desperate drifters with nothing to lose, but well-established businessmen.
Following Jesus, then, was no small disruption of their lives but a complete change of course. Throwing in with Jesus meant throwing out their security, their reputations and their livelihoods. Jesus wanted people with just one primary qualification for discipleship:
a willingness to follow.
Regardless of his role each disciple shared a common trait: They said “Yes” to Jesus’ invitation.
Even as Jesus disrupted their lives he will disrupt our lives. Later, these same disciples would be accused of “turning the world upside down”. Being a disciple means being willing to drop our own agendas for life and get on board with the kingdom agenda of Jesus.
Whatever job we’re working at, Jesus challenges us to see our primary vocation as being kingdom people, spiritual entrepreneurs who are fully invested — body, mind,
spirit, wallet,
time — in that venture!
Jesus' call to discipleship is an invitation to get off the flight deck and into the cockpit!
As I reflected on this message I remembered the movie "Top Gun"? All I remembered was that it was a 1986 movie about planes taking off and landing on aircraft carriers?
That is the metaphor I want to capture for today’s message. Jesus is sending us off the security of the flight deck, into the cockpit and off to the world.
In researching Top Gun I found some information that I thought was perfect only to find out from one of our own that it is wrong information. First I will give you what I found and in a few minutes you will hear how it is wrong!
What I found was that those trained to pilot the most powerful and sophisticated aircraft in the world must rely upon and wait for a series of "go-ahead" signals from their "airboss or air officer." Each step must be carried out in proper sequence before the big jets can set off on their appointed missions. 1. The first duty of the airboss is to signal the removal of the "chocks," the small clamps that lock in place the aircraft's wheels and keep them from rolling. The chocks have the same function on an aircraft carrier as do the blocks that you see placed under the wheels of commercial aircraft. By jamming the wheels, the chocks make it impossible for the big jets to roll forward. Without the airboss signaling to remove these chocks, the flight cannot get under way.
When Jesus utters his first proclamation of the Good News, that "the kingdom of God has come near", he follows it with the command to "repent." Before anything else can happen Jesus preaches repentance. Before we can hope to begin our own journey into discipleship, these "stumbling blocks" must be removed. 2. The second duty of the airboss is to listen carefully to the noises on all sides, judge the vibrations of the plane, and signal the pilot when the engines sound ready.
This signal means that the engines, screaming to life, sound strong and safe, ready to propel the plane down the runway when the time is right.
For us today vibration comes before vision. We must hear the call before we can see the calling.
Like the pilots of those aircraft, we sit perched on a seat of tremendous power--but we, too, must wait for the next signal before getting fully underway. 3. After the engine is revved up and ready, the airboss next looks into the cockpit of the plane and asks if the pilot is ready. The question is vision.
Can the pilot see his way forward?
Is the pilot prepared? Before Jesus calls his very first disciples, he is already calling people to faith. We have no way of knowing if the course ahead of us carries smooth air or turbulence and storms. We have no special foreknowledge if the skies will be friendly or filled with hostility and danger. What we do have is faith.
4. The fourth signal given by the airboss goes beyond the mechanical. In order to remind the pilot of the significance of the assigned mission the airboss offers the pilot a formal salute. By saluting, the airboss reminds the pilot of the seriousness of the venture.
Jesus called his first disciples not only to learn at his feet but to join them in offering the world a vital message. This is truly a mission of life or death. The gospel has the power to save but only if those called to discipleship understand the nature of their mission and choose to accept it. 5. The final gesture the airboss makes sends the waiting plane and pilot off into the sky. The airboss points the pilot off the flight deck, into the direction of the carrier's mission.
Can we let go and let God take us into the wild blue yonder?
Jesus calls us. We join Simon and Andrew and James and John on a mission. Jesus sends us forth to share the good news.
As we go and share our faith here are some tips:
*Be with people on their turf.*Be real, be vulnerable, be honest.*Be creative: Do old things in news ways.*Be spiritual, not churchy.*Be patient.*Be ready for surprises.*Be willing to step out of your comfort zone.*Be on the lookout for where God is at work.*Be praying.
Or as John Wesley said:
“Do all the good you can,
by all the means you can,
in all the ways you can,
in all the places you can,
at all the times you can, to all the people you can,
as long as ever you can.”
This morning I have shared with you the version of the duties of an air officer that I came up with but here this morning is one who has ‘been there and done that’.
Bill Shewchuk come forward and ‘tell it like it really is’.
…………
Thanks Bill.
Send us off like you did many times!
Prayer
God of grace,
we want to save the world and yet sometimes we cannot even begin to save ourselves.
And so we gather our thoughts during this time of prayer and pray for ourselves.
………..
Teach us how to rearrange our lives so that what you would have us do is our first priority.
Grant us the courage to release what we desire and firmly grasp what you would have us do.
Help us to step outside of our comfort zone in your name.
Grant us a willing heart to serve you no matter where we are or what we do.
Alert us to the needs of those around us,
and encourage us to meet that need in love,
thereby being the church of Jesus Christ our Lord,
in whose name we pray and the one who taught us to
pray the prayer for all ages saying………..
