Mission: Possible
Read This Week: Mark 6
Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. – Mark 6:7-13 NIV
Have you ever entertained the thought of what you could or would do in life if there were no limitations? What you could accomplish if there were no restrictions that you had to face on your journey? What if there were no financial, personal, relational, or circumstantial barriers to living a life of success and purpose? As we see in Mark 6, a life of faith in the limitless power and authority of God can overcome any earthly limitation or hindrance. Ours is a mission possible with Him.
Mark 6 is a pivotal chapter in this Gospel as Jesus sent out His disciples to do the work of the ministry. He commissions them to go and do that which only He had done to this point. Right before this, they watched Him address unbelief and a lack of faith in the people from his hometown. Verse 6 says that He was appalled at their unbelief and amazed at their lack of faith.
Jesus did not want this type of unbelief to be present in the disciples. He knew that a lack of faith or unbelief could digress into skepticism. Skepticism held over time can lead to rejection. And a longstanding refusal of truth eventually morphs into full-blown apathy and results in dismissal like Jesus’ countrymen. The Lord wanted His followers, and He wants us to avoid these outcomes in our relationship with God.
Jesus was urgent and pointed in his message to the disciples that his authority and their faith were more than enough to accomplish the mission. A group of ordinary men could go out in His power and demonstrate His authority by performing miracles. It was the ultimate testimony to the truth that what God commands, He always empowers to accomplish. We see this evidence in verses 7 and 12-13:
He began to send them out and gave them authority over impure spirits… They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
This same power and authority that Jesus bestowed upon the twelve that day is available to us. There are no limits on God’s power, and therefore there are no limits on our lives with Him. The Bible says in Romans 8:11, And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
That type of eternal capacity and power in our hearts and lives cannot be stopped by finite limitations and make our purpose and mission for God’s glory not only possible but real.
In Mark 6, this was what God was saying to me, “My son Jesus, chose to be a carpenter. I am a builder, and I know how to build in your life, and I know how to finish the job. Jesus accepted rejection as a faithful prophet from His own country which hurt Him very much coming from family and friends. His work was limited due to their unbelief. I may work with no belief, but not with unbelief. Jesus marvels at your faith. Jesus did not let rejection stop Him.
He continued with teaching and His ministry. When the disciples went on their journey, they did not take many possessions to show dependence on God. You don’t have to have worldly possessions or credentials to walk out in faith and share the gospel with others. It can be a simple message. As you step out in faith, to share your faith; you just have to depend on Me and trust Me to provide what you need on your journey of ministry.
Show others how to trust Me; because if you can’t do that, how can you tell others to do it? The disciples went out and did it. You can hear my words that guide you and direct you, but something is missing until you do it. Some of the best and most effective preaching is when you as a Christian share your story with others, and what Jesus has done for you and in you. When the apostles went out to preach to men, they did not create a message; they delivered a message.”
What this said to me is not to let the fear of rejection, or actual rejection, keep me from sharing the gospel with others. I have to step out in faith and dependence on God and He will open doors for me to share my faith and what He has done in my life.
These are such good thoughts and insightful commentary from this chapter, Kathy. I love how you tied in the themes of faith and rejection both among loved ones and friends and the world. We certainly deal with and encounter both in our lives especially when it comes to sharing the Gospel and our faith in Jesus with others. I loved this part:
Show others how to trust Me; because if you can’t do that, how can you tell others to do it? The disciples went out and did it. You can hear my words that guide you and direct you, but something is missing until you do it.
This is so clear and practical and honestly right where the rubber meets the road when it comes to witnessing and being on mission with God. We are empowered by the Almighty to be a part of amazing and unexplainable things for His glory in the world, but as you said, something is missing until we actually go out in faith and do it.
Thank you so much Jason! I love your comments and encouragement! Hope God sends you so many blessings in this new year! He definitely uses you with everyone you come in contact with.
Same to you, Kathy! You always encourage and inspire me with your words and comments. I know you do the same for everyone else privileged to be in your path.
Mark 6:4-6 says, Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor (respect) except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” And He could not do a miracle there at all [because of their unbelief] except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. He wondered at their unbelief.
I remember after I gave my life to Jesus and went home so excited to share Jesus with all my friends and loved ones. It was difficult, my life had changed so it was interesting how people loved to talk about my past, the old person I used to be. God used it for good because I could say I’m a new person now, The old is gone now. I’m living a new life because of Jesus, of course, there is more to tell, a lot of miracles happened because I continued to share the good news, but there is still some who haven’t.
So why was it hard back then and still is hard for some of our loved ones to believe in Jesus? I believe it’s all kinds of emotions that get in the way, anger, hatred, unbelief, get offended, bitterness the list goes on. If you don’t turn to Jesus for help, all these emotions can keep anyone from being able to hear and listen to Father God’s messages and Jesus’ teachings, responding to His love.
John had a message of truth and stood up for what Jesus taught Him. Herod’s emotions were all about approval from others. So like Jesus, He did what He could do with those who responded to Him, and He continued to go where His Father led Him to! That’s what we can do too! Pray for them that one day they would respond to Jesus too. But in the meantime remember God has a special calling, a ministry, a job to do everywhere you go. A plan for you and Him to do every day.
It’s a New Year coming up in a couple of days. Get out a book and write out some goals, ask Father God for some good ones, and stay committed to them. Happy New Year!
This is such a hopeful message out of Mark 6, Heidi, and one every believer needs, especially at the beginning of a new year. I appreciated you sharing your personal story of life change. It is hard for those who knew us before to embrace and accept the regenerated person we become. I love how you exhorted us to keep believing in God’s grace and power in the legitimacy of our conversion.
As you said, it is hard for our loved ones to know Jesus but the greatest witness and apologetic that we can give to them is our genuine changed life. Over time, it can draw them to the truth and power of God’s salvation.
It’s a new year! Father God has plans for your life and this is a great verse to write down and remember:
Jeremiah 29:11-13 says For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you. Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Yes, Heidi! This is my favorite verse. Thank you for sharing it and Happy New Year! I can’t wait to make new memories with you.
You’re welcome! I’m excited to make new memories with you too! Thank you for your faithfulness. I am thankful to God for our Kathy!
I love this passage too, Heidi. I can’t think of a better truth and promise from God’s word to claim for our lives in the New Year. Praying this over you and Ken and the Reach family!
Hi Jason. I just wanted to make sure you saw my blog at the beginning of this chapter? I always love your feedback! Thanks, Kathy.
Hey, Kathy. I did. It’s been a little bit of a challenging week. I am going to finish reading and responding today to everyone. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
This week in Mark 6, God gave me a song called, “Believers”
We believe, we believe, we believe in our Lord
He is our protector, our healer, and our counselor.
Don’t be afraid, don’t be troubled
Our Lord will help us through.
We believe, we believe, we believe in our Savior
He will give us His grace, mercy, and understanding
Filling our hearts with his love to share with all believers and nonbelievers.
We believe, we believe, oh Lord, we believe in you. Amen.
Thank you, God, for always believing in me. I really feel blessed to know I’m never alone. You never forsake us.
I love this, Alma. What a great way to start a new year by writing and sharing an anthem for believers to place their trust and hope in God. This was my favorite part and one I want to hold on to all year long and in the years to come:
We believe, we believe, we believe in our Lord
He is our protector, our healer, and our counselor.
Don’t be afraid, don’t be troubled
Our Lord will help us through.
Thank you for these words and encouragement to believe in our Lord.