Howdy Well glad to have you all joining us today,
and how did everybody joining us online as well?
Whenever I was younger I spent about eight months
working at a Christian bookstore it was over
off of 34th Street not too far from Ella over
near Waltrip High School and Yep, I'm a Houston
boy and You know when I was there. I was a general
assistant And most of my job, it involved helping
customers, stocking shelves, cleaning up, and
just making sure things ran smoothly. I was such
a newbie. But there were so many days when there
wouldn't be a big project to do. There was no
shipment coming in. There was nothing obvious
that needed to get done, no major tasks. But
you see, I grew up being told you don't wait
for someone to tell you something needs to get
done if you can see it for yourself. You just
do it. So, I would just start looking around,
and I would notice that there were books that
are out of order, or they need to be put back
where they belonged, or I'd start straightening
displays that someone had bumped into. There
might be a book that was tucked in that I'm seeing.
This is actually a really popular book. How's
anyone going to find it if it's tucked in down
there? And so I'd make everything more visible.
But you see, what would happen is I'd be leaning
over to do all these different things. And this
one guy thought that as I leaned over, I looked
like a water buffalo. And I'm like, am I a VeggieTales
cartoon or something? I have no idea. But he'd
say I was water buffaloing all around. So he
turned it into a verb before millennials got
a hold of it. So what we end up seeing, though,
is sometimes they would pause and be like, what's
Jason up to? And they'd say, why are you messing
around with all those things? And my answer was
always simple, because it needs to get done.
It helps the store, and the store will be better
if somebody takes care of it. Now, I was not
the manager. I wasn't in charge of merchandising,
and nobody had assigned it to me, but I realized
something important. Just because something wasn't
my primary responsibility, It didn't mean that
it was not important or that I couldn't somehow
be helpful. And years later, I was working for
Office Depot for a bit and I jumped into the
copy and print center. I loved Photoshop and
I wanted to make little business cards. But there
would be times where someone needed something
that had nothing to do with my department. So
I would need to learn all the other parts of
the store. And so as we're talking, as I'm getting
the order and chit -chatting a little bit, I'd
find out maybe they needed some office furniture,
or they needed some toner, or they needed some
more Post -It notes. We all need Post -It notes.
And I could have said, I'm sorry, that's not
my department. And then, yes, of course, I could
have called somebody over. But how much better
when I already knew what to share and where to
lead them? Because even though I worked in one
part, I wanted the whole store to succeed. And
the same thing is so true in our churches. How
often is it that we're saying just because it
may not be my task right now, isn't there a way
I can still be... You know, there was this one
guy that came around here and he was in our sanctuary
and he starts looking around at all the stuff,
all the audio video stuff that we've been putting
up the last few years and everything. He was
like, why don't you do this with the cameras?
And why don't you try that with the audio system?
And are you using the captions more effectively
and zooming in at the right frame for the pastor?
And so instead of saying, well, I'm just a pastor.
I don't know all these things. being like well
we haven't really been doing all of that I'm
not sure if we could I looked at him I said why
don't you give it a shot and so now he's helping
to run our AV ministry so that's how you get
suckered into stuff is when you complain then
that's when you know but It's also though one
of the best parts is because then you find someone
who actually is excited and interested And it's
a chance to use their passions and strengths
because you don't want to push people into stuff
They're not as passionate about right? but you
see he saw something that could be improved and
he was willing to make it happen and Life works
best of course when people care more about their
own corner of it But especially when they see
how they can be blessing all of those around
them from where they're at. See, families work
that way, where oftentimes we may say, well,
that's not my job, blah, blah, blah. Well, OK,
yes. But as a part of this family, aren't you
able to support and help one another? Hospitals,
how often it is that someone may be going around
and seeing a person in need, well, I'm not assigned
to them. But at this moment, can I truly help?
Stories whenever there was a gentleman who was
a janitor and he would be mopping up around the
hospital floor and someone went to him and said,
what do you do for a living? And he said, I save
lives. And they paused and they looked around,
but realizing every time he mopped the floor,
he realized he was getting rid of the germs that
might cause an infection. Every time he straightened.
a picture frame. He might realize that someone
woke up and needed to feel that they were at
home, so they'd recover. Or every time somebody
needed a shoulder to cry on, he might be the
only person who could be there for them in their
times of depression. And to be honest, communities
need that. People who see their work beyond just
their one spot. And churches, too. You see, we
need a church. of all sorts of types of people,
with each one having strengths to build up the
kingdom of God, because the harvest is plentiful,
but the workers are few. We don't need all those
workers to be exactly the same. You see, in our
gospel reading, Jesus looks out at the crowds,
and Matthew tells us that he sees people that
are harassed and helpless, like sheep without
a shepherd. They need someone. But what does
Jesus do? Does Jesus say, Yeah, the world's pretty
terrible. Well, hopefully heaven will come back
soon. Does he just look and say, you know, just
believe in me and then go back to life and someday
I'll come in and fix it all? No. He teaches.
He proclaims the kingdom. He heals diseases.
He has compassion and heals the afflictions of
people right in front of him. He sees the suffering.
He sees the pain. Does He stop and say, I'm the
Messiah. I'm here to save everybody and their
sins. I don't have time for you and your issues.
No! And more than that, He finds the disciples
to go and to do the same. And when we hear Matthew
10, we get so caught up sometimes in things being
miracles. Oh, wasn't that amazing what they did
back then? Oh, those apostles, they could heal
the sick, they could cleanse the lepers, they
could raise the dead and cast out the demons.
And yes, yes, the miracles matter. They were
showing the coming of the kingdom of God and
that God was saying, this is my son, follow him,
of course. But notice the larger picture. Every
one of those actions is aimed at restoring what
was broken in the world. See, not every day is
one of obvious miracles. You're not always going
to see something, and frankly, you're not going
to see any magic tricks from me today. But you
see, the miraculous things of God happen in the
every day. Teaching that restores the truth.
Proclaiming the kingdom to restore hope. Healing
that restores bodies. Cleansing lepers was about
restoring community. How many of us can restore
people who were rejected back into a world that
needs Jesus? Casting out demons was about restoring
freedom to those who did not know Christ. And
raising the dead, we do that every time we proclaim
Christ's name to those dead in their sins. The
actions may feel different, but the mission of
restoration is the same. Jesus restoring people,
communities, creation itself through His people,
His disciples, His church. And then He invites
the disciples as they're participating in that
work, not to say you can do everything, not to
say you're going to be able to meet everyone,
but to say wherever you are, that is where you
can restore the kingdom. Do we really think that
all those disciples were all the same? That they
all were able to do things in exactly the same
way? Do we really think that a tax collector
and a zealot were the same? Do we really think
that a person sitting under a fig tree is the
same as a guy out on his boat yelling at people?
But you see, I think that one of the traps that
we fall into is that we oftentimes divide our
life into two categories. What are the things
I have to do? And what are the things I want
to do? See, we oftentimes think of things like,
what is my work? And what are my hobbies? Okay?
What are my obligations? The things I have to
get done. I have my checklist. And then the things
where, oh, I'm going to hang out with my buddies
and we're going to go do something fun and life
is good. But you see, the Christian life introduces
a third question. What do I get to do because
Christ is restoring the world? How can God use
me right here and now? How is it that I am a
blessing? How is it that God's restoration is
showing up through me? Not because I am the same
as that person doing what God desires, but because
I am brought to this place. You see, the disciples,
they didn't go into every town having a list
of all the people they needed to go to help.
They didn't go over there walk through the gate
and say all right who's first all right? Okay,
we have Richard the leper. Let's go take care
of him all right We got that okay got that one
okay after that okay. We've got Bob Demon possessed
over here. Okay. We got okay. Let's go take care
of that. Okay. There's a grieving family Let's
make sure we take three hours set that aside.
I know but there will be cookies. It'll be good
Okay, so let's get through all this Of course
they had no idea who they were going to see,
what they were going to come across. They arrived.
They listened. They observed. They cared. And
when they asked, what is broken here? Then they
asked, how can Christ's restoration be present
here as well? See, and that's still the question
for Christians today. There are so many people
doing all sorts of different great things. We
see professors teaching the next generation,
and doctors healing diseases, surgeons with injuries,
and therapists with recovery. We see teachers
shaping minds, and engineers solving problems,
hopefully not creating extra ones, but you know.
We see people who are in the military protecting
those in the world around them. We see parents
raising children, chaplains caring for souls.
But also in the midst of it, volunteers helping
their neighbors for no other reason than just
because they can. Not one single person can do
everything. You might be thinking, oh, I wish
I were as great as that physician. Oh, I wish
I were cool like that engineer. Oh, man, if only
I were as strong as someone in our military.
But you see, a healthy hospital is not built
by everybody being a surgeon. A healthy community
is not everybody joining the HOA or everyone
somehow being a mayor. Church is not built just
on a pastor. This is so true for all these things
in our lives. But that's the thing is that God
uses all sorts of things to strengthen our faith.
It may be a retreat that we went on one weekend,
a mission trip we joined one week, a youth event
that we didn't have coming, a service project.
Maybe we went over there and put together a wheelchair
ramp, or maybe we got together and decided someone's
going to sit down with people in trauma. and
be their Stephen minister. The things that may
have changed your life may not be the same thing
that changed someone else's. And that's okay
because Christ is working through all these gifts.
And many people have many opportunities. And
even so in our churches. Because one of the most
heartbreaking parts is whenever I see even churches
that are supposed to be brothers and sisters
together, looking and saying, I don't like the
way you do that. I can't believe what type of
music you had. I can't believe that you used
that type of sermon instead of this one. And
heaven forbid, we have a band instead of an organ.
But you see, this is also where things start
to get uncomfortable. Because sometimes, sometimes
we're just being honest about our limitations.
I have only so much ability to do so many things
and I'm just acknowledging that this is just
me and these are my strengths and these are my
flaws. But sometimes we're using our limitations
as excuses. Those are not the same thing. Reality
may be saying I cannot do everything, but an
excuse says therefore I don't need to care. Reality
says I cannot help every person but an excuse
says I don't see their needs as my concern. Reality
may say I cannot solve this problem but an excuse
is saying therefore nobody should be trying.
Jesus tells the disciples not to go to the Gentiles
during this particular mission and it is so easy
to misunderstand what He means. As if somehow
the Gentiles weren't supposed to be having the
message. As if somehow the Gentiles had some
other type of salvation coming along. This was
not a permanent boundary on their hearts. Remember,
the mission of Jesus was just a few years. We're
talking about something that happened for a few
weeks. For a few weeks, there was supposed to
be a specific focus. This was not intended to
shut down ministry to the rest of the world.
This was a time when Jesus needed the Jewish
community to know that He was here as the Messiah.
He needed them to be the focus. He needed them
to be a foundation for all of the rest of the
world to know what was fulfilled. See, that specific
restriction was temporary, but the vision was
global. That assignment may have been limited,
but the mission was not. The Gospel was always
headed to the nations. Start here, but don't
stay here. And sometimes we have a habit of doing
the opposite. We look at temporary limitations,
and we turn them into permanent excuses. We say,
that's not my ministry. That's not my project.
That's not my interest. And maybe those aren't
my people. But before long, we're no longer saying,
I can't do that at this time. Instead, we're
saying that shouldn't be done at all. Or maybe
somebody else could do it. I don't want it affecting
me, though. I don't want space for that. I don't
want resources for that. I don't want my plans
interrupted. But you see, Christ's Kingdom is
bigger than just our preferences, bigger than
our projects, bigger than our comfort zones.
or anything we may understand. Isn't it possible,
though, that at moments like that, this is not
about somehow saying something is wrong. This
is not necessarily about saying that ministry
is the wrong ministry, or even stopping to say,
I am therefore not meant to be part of it. Isn't
it possible that those are the moments when we
feel stretched? The times when we struggle? Not
because we question God's work, but because those
are the moments when God is changing us. Romans
speaks to this because Paul is not primarily
just trying to say a bunch of stuff that we need
to do. He'd been talking about God doing things
in our lives that even though it was difficult,
it's not about questioning what God's work is
in our lives. See, suffering that you may be
going through? That produces endurance. Endurance
that you receive, it produces character. And
character produces hope. And no, this is not
just a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon. God is not
finished. The Christian life is not just Jesus
saved me good, let's move on with life. The Christian
life is, Jesus saved me and now let's see how
He transforms me each and every day. The struggle,
it's not comfortable, but it's also good. The
struggles, sometimes it's not something that
we know how to solve. And sometimes, there's
some level of correction that we're supposed
to have. Maybe we thought someone else was supposed
to be corrected and it was actually us. Maybe
we're discovering though that we were wrong.
And that's not such a bad word. Maybe we meet
people we don't understand. Ministries we don't
appreciate or discover a kingdom that's bigger
than anything we even thought about. You see,
moments like that, that is not an interruption
to what God is doing in our life. That is the
discipleship. The struggles, the frustrations,
the times when we realized something was wrong,
that is the discipleship. It was never outside
of it. See, the opposite of faith is not always
unbelief. Sometimes it's when we assume we already
knew everything that God had in mind. And perhaps,
this is most especially seen between the generations.
Because sometimes the older Christians are looking
at the younger Christians and wondering why they
care so much about you things that like video
likes and card games and and and dance moves
that somehow are a little less You know coordinated
Yeah, I can't do it any faster than that. Don't
even give me a try But the younger Christians
they look at the older ones and wonder Why do
you care so much about building things and helping
your church and learning about? God in ways that
maybe I don't get yet because sometimes both
sides can be frustrated Both sides can be convinced
that they know exactly what is obvious But the
kingdom of God has always been bigger than just
any one generation I Attended the the LCMS youth
gathering back in in 2010 I think some of the
kids went maybe a few years ago, too. Yeah, and
The thing is, I had never been to one before
because I didn't grow up Lutheran. Don't kick
me out. I know. But you see, I heard people talking
about these youth gatherings and I didn't understand
what such a big deal was. But even so, I went
anyway. And I was surrounded by thousands of
young Christians gathered to worship and to learn,
to pray, to laugh, to play games, to serve, to
grow. Was every part of that experience for me?
No. I was a chaperone. But the point was seeing
what God was doing in their lives. To see young
people strengthened in their faith, discovering
that they're not alone in this world, to see
their lives changed. And you realize something
important. Just because something was not primarily
for me, it didn't mean that it wasn't important.
And even so, even just leaving some room for
it, I realized it was actually a blessing for
me as well. The same is true for so many things
that we hear that the church might do that maybe
we don't quite understand. Times whenever there
are retreats that we weren't expecting, mission
trips we weren't planning on, service projects
that we didn't know about, or Bible studies that
we hadn't joined. So many ministries that maybe
someone may be saying why would anyone want to
do that? But a better question might be what
is God doing there? Because restoring a broken
world requires more than one gift more than one
type of person Not everyone has the same gifting
and not everyone is the same part of the body
The body of Christ is not a bunch of feet the
body of Christ is not a bunch of eyes The body
of Christ is not a bunch of gall bladders, which
would be a problem. But you see, every part is
still important, and every part needs to be encouraged.
Because if the mouth did not eat the food needed
by every organ, where would it be? If the eyes
did not see where the feet were going, how would
they know where to lead? And this brings us back
to what Christ is showing us through Paul. When
we were still sinners, when we were still weak,
when we were still enemies, what did God do?
Christ died for us. See, Christ didn't wait for
us to have our act together or to know how to
do every single thing or to understand all of
ministry. Christ came first. Christ loved first.
Christ died first. See, if God could love us
though when we were His enemies, then perhaps
we might realize He is still loving us and others
as His children. Maybe we could be a little bit
slower to dismiss the opportunities that we don't
yet understand. Maybe we could be slower to assume
that we know how God needs to be working in each
and every person's lives. Maybe we might allow
Him to show us the possibilities. Because if
God is willing to die for us as sinners, then
maybe He's also leading us even in directions
we never understood. Because God has not finished
teaching us. He's not finished correcting us.
He's not finished stretching us. You are not
done having to say the phrase, I was wrong. I
know I'm not. Because there are times whenever
God has to ask us to care for the people that
we overlooked Or the times when we're supposed
to encourage the ministries we never understood
Or the times whenever we may say yes my limitations
are real But I don't use that as an excuse Because
Christ is still doing his restoration of the
world Not just at the times when we feel we have
it together But even though we are still weak,
and we are still sinful, and we still catch ourselves
getting in the way of what God is trying to do.
But if Christ has not given up on us, then it
means He is also still using us to do His work.
Because the mission is bigger than just one ministry
or one type of people. And that's how we find
more workers for the harvest. by being open to
seeing what God may be doing through those around
us. So maybe we pause and say, I don't quite
know what that ministry or that idea is about,
but maybe I take the time to get to know them
and see how I can be a blessing. And maybe you
go up to the pastor and you say, I'm wondering
how we can bless this ministry. And yes, I will
probably say, good. Are you ready to jump in?
But wouldn't that be a wonderful thing to realize
what we get to do for the kingdom of God. In
his name, amen.