Gtcotr/ss101407
Key Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. (NKJV)
No one can ever imagine they could match the wisdom and skill employed by Jesus in teaching His listeners the next step for their life. People through the ages, from the Apostle Paul to the 21st century scholars study the Gospels to glean God’s strategy and learn to package and present their sermons the way Jesus did.
Each week congregations sit in hopes to hear a relevant word which will help them grow in God’s grace and cope with life’s challenges. People come to our churches looking for answers, encouragement, comfort and strength. Too often the messages are not designed with them and their moment of need in mind. Preachers may be preaching truth but it’s not always what the people need to hear and many times makes no sense, makes no difference or is just so far from where they are in the realities of their life.
I travel all over the nation and around the world and all too often I hear messages poorly packaged for the people who are present. This is a tragedy. It offers little help and can serve to make people feel that the Word of God and Church itself has lost contact with the common man and is no longer relevant for today with the complex challenges of life we all face.
However, a true study the Gospels reveal the pattern of ministry used by Jesus. In this we can clearly see that His ways and words are eternally relevant and His methods of ministry are timeless and still valid for today. Allow me to encapsulate what I have learned from studying this ultimate Preacher, our Lord and Messiah, Jesus.
Jesus understood His audience and He continually ministered to three distinctive and broad groups of people:
* The Righteous – Those who need no physician
* The Unrighteous – The lost whom He came to seek and save
* The Wicked – Those scribes, Pharisees, Hypocrites who were determinately committed to their own way and, even knowing Who He was, wanted none of Him. These people simply did not want to hear what Jesus had to say and ultimately crucified Him. Many of these people were super religious. How can a person be super religious and be wicked? Religion does not guarantee relationship.
The majority of Jesus’ ministry, and in fact the majority of the whole Bible, is focused on the unrighteous. These are the majority of people on earth who, if given the chance, will gladly receive Messiah and convert to what is just and right in God’s eyes. They have no real agenda, no hidden motives, they only want to love and be loved and enjoy peace and happiness for themselves and their families now and hopefully forevermore. They just need to know what to do.
When Jesus ministered to the unrighteous; those who are lost but are willing to be found; wrong but willing to be right; unsure but willing to learn, He spoke to them according to where they were in life and challenged them to take their next step in a relationship with God.
You know, First grade teachers aren’t stupid! It’s not that they do not know calculus, it’s just that they have the good sense not to try to teach calculus to first graders.
We always see Jesus sharing truth with people. With some people He appears gentle and with others He seems harsh. With some He overlooks evident transgressions and with others He points out even their seemingly minor infractions of philosophy or practice.
Jesus is not schizophrenic, He is neither moody nor bi-polar. His fits of rage are calculated and well orchestrated to produce the maximum affect to those who are His target of intention. He is masterful in His communication techniques, always on cue and always in control.
From my more than a quarter century of study on this subject I have learned that Jesus ministered to several identifiable groups of people who followed Him. His approach to each group and each individual was different as was His choices of subject and presentation.
The main groups who faithfully followed Jesus’ ministry can be broken down into:
* The 5000
* The 70
* The 12
* The 3
* The 1
With each group Jesus chose to meet them where they were in life and help them with their needs while challenging them to make a deeper commitment to God’s Word, God’s Will and God’s Way.
This morning I want to look at how Jesus tactfully and caringly ministered to the group known as the 5000. Remember, these represent the masses of humanity, sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus taught this group, also know as the multitudes, a simple message about the good life God wants to give every person who follows Him. His messages to this group of people usually centered around one of three basic points of the Gospel.
For this group, Jesus made God’s Plan all about them. His 3 points:
#1 Bless Me
#2 Feed Me
#3 Heal Me
Bless Me
Matthew 5 – Blessed are the … poor, meek, merciful, hungry …
Feed Me
John 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.
Heal Me
Luke 6:19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.
When Jesus talked with the 5000 He was for the most part gentle and encouraging. He often overlooked their failures and pointed them to a brighter future. His teaching method was:
Keep it Simple
2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear that somehow you will be led away from your pure and simple devotion to Christ, just as Eve was deceived by the serpent. (NLT)
Say it Often
Deuteronomy 6:7 "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. (NKJV)
Make it Burn
* If it does not burn in you it will never burn in others
Luke 24:32 And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us? (NKVJ)
* Passion for the Word will make it burn.
Truly, God wants to bless you
God wants to feed you
God wants to heal you
What was Jesus really saying to the multitudes of mankind? What was His message to the majority of people on planet earth? What is still His message to us today?
God wants to bless you
On Earth
In Heaven
The blessings I am talking about are spoken of over and over in the scriptures. One cannot read the Bible without seeing that:
* God wants to bless us financially
Deuteronomy 8:18 "And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
* God wants to bless us with peace in our homes and joy in our hearts.
Galatians 5:22ff But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
* God wants to bless us with a long and happy life
Psalms 91:16 With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation."
* But most importantly: God wants to bless us with eternal security.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
God wants to feed you
Your daily bread for your physical needs
The Bread of Life for your daily spiritual needs
Like manna from heaven each morning, God is preparing something special just for you.
God wants to heal you
Your Bodily Afflictions
You Tortured Soul
Your Wounded Spirit
Your Backsliding Ways
God wants to bless you, God wants to feed you, God wants to heal you …
Will you let Him?
Answer His call … and Simply Follow Christ!
