Luke 10: 1-11, 16-20

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Disciples have the power to make a difference.

A sermon preached by <= o:p>

Dr. William O. (Bud) R= eeves

First United Methodist Church

Hot= Springs, Arkansas

November 16, 2008=

I like stories of success. As people of faith, = we can honor success, as long as it is success in the right things. One of our favorite greetings arou= nd the church, thanks to Miss Helen Wilson, comes from Psalm 118: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it= .” But do you know the verse that= comes right after that? “Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!”[1]

One of the most succes= sful mountain climbers in the world is a young man named Erik Weihenmayer. Eric = lost his eyesight due to a degenerative disease at the age of 13, yet he has conquered most of the major mountain peaks in the world. With his own courage and persevera= nce and a dedicated team of helpers, he has been very successful.

In 2001, Erik Weihenma= yer attempted to climb Mt. Everest, the tallest peak in the world. Ninety percent of the climbers who attempt to scale Mt. Everest never make it to the top; 165 have died trying since 1953, the year= Sir Edmund Hilary got to the top for the first time. But Erik succeeded where so many h= ad failed, in large measure because he listened well.

He listened for the so= und of a little bell he attached to the climber in front of him, so he would know = what direction to go. He listened = for the warnings of his companions—“Death fall two feet to your right!”—and he would steer clear of danger. He listened to the sound of his pi= ck in the ice, to know whether or not it was hard enough to put his weight on. Can you imagine? Throughout this incredibly perilous journey, Erik Weihenmayer listened, and he found success on the top of the world.= [2]

Seventy followers of J= esus were undertaking a perilous journey, too, as they went out to tell others t= he story of Jesus. But they list= ened to his instructions, and they came back celebrating their success. They were all heroes of faith. Let’s listen in on their conversation and learn something about successful discipleship.<= /span>

Jesus had just begun h= is last journey to Jerusalem. He was sending out pairs of follow= ers to the towns ahead to prepare the way, presumably to make arrangements for him, but also to spread the word that he was coming and to do ministry prior to = his arrival. Before any big event= like the coming of the Messiah, you need advance publicity, right? The training Jesus gave his messen= gers is great instruction for our witness today as well.

The first thing Jesus = says lays out the opportunity. There is hope for their mission. “The harvest is plentiful,” he says. There are lots of souls to be save= d, lots of hurts to be healed, lots of hearts to be won. There is no shortage of ministry t= o be done. “But,” Jesus = says, “the laborers are few; therefor= e ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”= = [3] Here is a great opportunity; = pray that God will give us the resources to make use of it.

Does this sound familiar? Is Jesus talking ab= out 1^st century Palestine or 21^st centu= ry Garland County? Both, I think. As we look at our surrounding comm= unity, how can we not be excited by the opportunity God has given us? Hot Springs has grown and projections are that it will continue to grow. But in addi= tion, the demographic studies say that a priority for the residents in our commun= ity is spiritual development. Our community has an incredibly high “faith receptivity,” as they c= all it. What that means is that n= ot only are people continuing to move here, but they are coming with a desire = to know God and to find a church home.[4] As Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful.” We are blessed to be here in t= his place at this time and called to do God’s work.

Ministry does not come without challenge. Jesus tells his advance guard, = 220;Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lam= bs into the midst of wolves.”[5] There are certain risks in witnessing—rejection, ridicule, hostility, even violence in some places. It’s a jungle o= ut there, and the wolves lie in wait when you dare speak a word for Christ. Ministry done in Jesus’ name= is a declaration of war on the evil powers of this world. The Enemy will use every wolf he c= an find—from outside the church and from inside the church—to fight the gospel. He will not preva= il, but he can take casualties. S= o be careful; listen for the sound of Jesus’ voice; follow the shepherd; a= nd watch where you step. Whatever challenges we have to face, we know that God has given us the resources in = this community of faith to overcome and be successful.

Above all, live your l= ife and make your witness and do your ministry with integrity, and you will find success. I think that is the message of Jes= us in the text today. He tells his messengers, don’t worry about a lot of baggage. Don’t go from house to house looking for the best deal. Ju= st heal the sick and proclaim the nearness of the Kingdom of God. And if they reject you, so be it; = wipe the dust off your feet and go on.

All ministry is based = on trust, and the first thing that needs to happen is for the ones receiving ministry to believe that the ones giving ministry are trustworthy. They have to open up their hearts = and build relationships before the word of Good News can be shared or heard. In your daily interactions with pe= ople, live with integrity, and you’ll open up a door of curiosity, because integrity is rare in people nowadays. The sincere, authentic way you handle yourself will be apparent, and= it will open up opportunities for you to tell why you are like you are—t= he reason being Jesus.

The seventy followers = of Jesus took these instructions, and they went on the road. After a while they came back bubbl= ing over with joy. They had been = successful! They told Jesus, “Lord, you wouldn’t believe it! Ev= en the demons submit to us in your name! That was fun! That was awesome! Can we go again?”

Jesus saw their joy, a= nd I can just imagine him throwing back his head and laughing. “I tell you, you guys are so powerful, I saw Satan fall out of the sky like a flash of lightning! You can walk on snakes and scorpio= ns; the enemy will not hurt you. = You are awesome!” They rejoiced together, because th= ere is no joy like the joy of successful ministry—a ministry that seizes the opportunity, that conquers the challenges, that operates with integrity and does the work of the Kingdom.

This Scripture text is all about who we are as disciples of Jesus. One= of the concepts that I believe is a key to a successful church is “lay ministry empowerment.” = The ministry here belongs to all of us. Staff can’t do it all; it would be wrong if we tried. Successful ministry is lay-led and volunteer-driven. We want to = create a culture in which every member is in ministry. Everyone can be a hero of faith. We want to send out disciples of J= esus to tell and to demonstrate the Good News.&nbs= p; In many ways we have done that—Disciple classes, Stephen minis= try, all our small groups, mission projects—and we will continue to empower lay people to be in ministry. Because that’s what Jesus taught his disciples. Because that’s where we find= joy and fulfillment. Because that’s how we grow toward spiritual maturity. This is the meaning of true succes= s.

Maybe you don’t feel all that successful today. Maybe your walk with C= hrist has not produced much fruit for the Kingdom. Maybe there are limitations in your life—age, health, family situation, or other things that keep you from serving the way you would like. If the Church is the Body of Christ, you feel like a pimple in an unmentionable place. Let me tell you today:= God doesn’t make useless body parts!&nbs= p; God has a place and a ministry for every one of his children. Even the smallest ministry can contribute to the Kingdom. God makes the little large if we respond with whatever we have, to do whatever = God calls us to do.

Years ago in the Bet= hlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, they were looking for a Sun= day School teacher for the junior high boys.&n= bsp; The class wasn’t bad, just energetic in an adolescent kind of way. But nobody wanted that class. Finally a Swedish immi= grant masseur named Ewald Chalberg agreed to take the class. His accent was pretty heavy, and h= e had very little formal education, but he believed God was asking him to teach t= hose boys. Bets were on all over t= he church that Ewald wouldn’t make it three weeks. But he did—three weeks, three months, three years. Eventual= ly Ewald Chalberg had to give up the class, but only after teaching it for yea= rs.

Ten years after Ewald Chalberg died, the churc= h held a special service to remember his teaching ministry. That in itself is incredible—= ;to organize a remembrance of a lay person dead ten years. In the service, someone recounted = that at least forty of Ewald's students had gone on to full-time Christian service. That day, twenty-sev= en lay people stood and offered themselves to follow in Chalberg’s footsteps= and teach Sunday School. He knew = he had limitations, but he trusted in God, and God gave him success.= = [6]

Disci= ples have power to make a difference. Whether your gift is little or large, whether your ministry is publi= c or private, give God what you have, and God will grant you joy and fulfillment= and success in it. On any given d= ay, you may feel like the armies of Satan are attacking you, and you’re n= ot doing any good at all. Every ministry has struggles. But long-term, big picture, if you offer God whatever resources you have for ministry, you will make a difference. You will serve the Lord. You will enjoy success.

Charles Allen, Methodism’s greatest prea= cher of a generation ago, told one time about having a conversation with his fri= end Billy Graham. Dr. Graham has = had a fairly successful ministry. E= arly in his career, Billy Graham told Charles Allen, “I never dreamed God would give me the ministry he has given me today. I just said, ‘God, I’m= going to give you all I have now. A= nd you lead the way.”[7] Billy Graham gave, and God led, an= d out of that little commitment grew a great ministry. No one Christian has made more of a difference in the last 60 years than Billy Graham.

You can make a difference, too, if you give yo= urself to God. It might be with a ch= ild in a Sunday School class. It might be with a teenager on a retreat. It might be with an elderly person= , or someone hungry or homeless. Y= ou can make a difference with the prayers you pray, with the money you give, with = the love you share. Because of yo= u, some child of God will be better and happier, and so will you. That’s success.

Succe= ssful ministry starts in the heart. It’s all about our relationship with Jesus Christ. When we love him, we want to serve= him and tell others about him. Wh= en we serve him and tell others about him, it strengthens our love. Jesus told his seventy messengers, “Nevertheless do not rejoice = at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are writt= en in heaven.”[8] What really matters is th= at we have a relationship with Jesus Christ, and when our ministry here is done, = he will welcome us into his eternal home.&nbs= p; He might even say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.”[9] Won’t that be the day!

The main body part for ministry is the heart, = and when our ministry reflects our relationship with Christ, then we will experience success.

I want to close today with a scene from the mo= vie Pearl Harbor.= After the devastation of December 7, 1941, there was a question whet= her America= could even fight back against the Japanese threat. A decisive blow needed to be struc= k. That blow was a bombing raid on Tokyo by the famo= us Doolittle’s Raiders, led by Col. James Doolittle. This successful mission was a psychological turning point and led to the military turnaround that brought victory in World War II. In t= he movie, the pilots are getting ready to go on this extremely dangerous missi= on, loading the bombs that have been personalized with messages and dogtags from dead friends. One pilot asks another, “Hey, Red, did they pick us just because we’re young a= nd dumb?”

Red responds, “Come on, Goose, we’= re the tip of the sword.”

The camera swings up to the bridge, where Col. Doolittle is watching the preparations for the mission. He speaks to an aide standing by a= nd says, “We may lose this battle, but we’re going to win this war. You want to know how I know?” He looks out acr= oss the deck. “Them. Because they’re rare. But at times like these you see th= em stepping forward.” Then= Col. James Doolittle says a line that strikes the very core of Christian ministry: “There’= s nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer.”[10]

You, church, are the tip of the sword. We may lose a battle or two, but w= e are going to win the war for the Kingdom. Why? Because you have = the heart of a volunteer. Because= you have power to make a difference. Because you are a hero of faith. I see Satan tumbling out of the sky! I see the Prince of Darkness crashing and burning! I see Jesus laughing for joy at the success of our ministry! Amen= .