Devotional
Church Value #3: Giving People a Go
By Mitch Davis
As we continue our journey through our core values, we come to the idea that as Christians at Hervey Bay Baptist church, we believe in ‘giving people a go’. I find this core value absolutely fascinating. At first glance, it seems like a nice thing to say - that we give people a go - but maybe not necessarily biblical. But let’s dive into this. I think we’ll find that this idea is deeply rooted in the example of Jesus.
Think about this Bible trivia question for a minute - who was the first recorded cross cultural missionary? The first person to proclaim Jesus to people outside of Israel? The earliest I can find is the demon-possessed man in Mark 5. You can read the whole story if you have time, but this man was tormented by many demons. From the Gerasenes (a gentile region), he was living among the tombs, because he had been cut off from society. He’d been chained up in an attempt to restrain him, but broke out. He was known to cry out and cut himself with stones. This man was tormented daily, and utterly wretched.
But - look at what happens when he meets Jesus. We might expect Jesus to heal this man, as indeed he does. Jesus casts the demons into a heard of pigs, which promptly run off a cliff into a lake. But what we might not expect is how prepared Jesus is to use and empower this outcast man.
Read Mark 5:18-20:
As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
This man wants to follow Jesus, who has saved him - but Jesus has something more important for him to do. Go and tell everyone about God’s mercy! Go and tell gentiles about God! Jesus doesn’t make this guy learn the whole Bible, or do an alpha course, or go to Bible college. He just wants him to get stuck in to serving God! This once demon-possessed outcast becomes Christ’s first gospel worker outside of Israel.
Reading this, I wonder if we sometimes try to put limits on what people could do to serve God. Your past could not be more broken than this man’s was, but Jesus chose to use him. No training, Jesus says just get stuck in and have a go. Are we willing to accept this? We talk about training people, and growing people, doing courses. All of that is great, and learning more about God’s revelation in the Bible is such an important part of any Christian journey. I would never downplay that. But as a church, and as individuals, we need to have a focus on getting busy serving God, and helping others do the same. Sometimes we don’t feel equipped. Sometimes we don’t feel ready, but the only prerequisite I can see is an understanding of the love that Jesus has shown us, and a desire to help others know that same love. Let’s make our first priority finding somewhere to serve God, and make his love known. This is a great place to start, and we can work things out from there.
God bless this week, as we all seek to serve Him together.
Think about this Bible trivia question for a minute - who was the first recorded cross cultural missionary? The first person to proclaim Jesus to people outside of Israel? The earliest I can find is the demon-possessed man in Mark 5. You can read the whole story if you have time, but this man was tormented by many demons. From the Gerasenes (a gentile region), he was living among the tombs, because he had been cut off from society. He’d been chained up in an attempt to restrain him, but broke out. He was known to cry out and cut himself with stones. This man was tormented daily, and utterly wretched.
But - look at what happens when he meets Jesus. We might expect Jesus to heal this man, as indeed he does. Jesus casts the demons into a heard of pigs, which promptly run off a cliff into a lake. But what we might not expect is how prepared Jesus is to use and empower this outcast man.
Read Mark 5:18-20:
As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
This man wants to follow Jesus, who has saved him - but Jesus has something more important for him to do. Go and tell everyone about God’s mercy! Go and tell gentiles about God! Jesus doesn’t make this guy learn the whole Bible, or do an alpha course, or go to Bible college. He just wants him to get stuck in to serving God! This once demon-possessed outcast becomes Christ’s first gospel worker outside of Israel.
Reading this, I wonder if we sometimes try to put limits on what people could do to serve God. Your past could not be more broken than this man’s was, but Jesus chose to use him. No training, Jesus says just get stuck in and have a go. Are we willing to accept this? We talk about training people, and growing people, doing courses. All of that is great, and learning more about God’s revelation in the Bible is such an important part of any Christian journey. I would never downplay that. But as a church, and as individuals, we need to have a focus on getting busy serving God, and helping others do the same. Sometimes we don’t feel equipped. Sometimes we don’t feel ready, but the only prerequisite I can see is an understanding of the love that Jesus has shown us, and a desire to help others know that same love. Let’s make our first priority finding somewhere to serve God, and make his love known. This is a great place to start, and we can work things out from there.
God bless this week, as we all seek to serve Him together.
Posted in Devotional