WELCOME

 
 
May 22, 2016                                                           WELCOME
Luke 9:10-11: “And when the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. And taking them with Him, He withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida. But the multitudes were aware of this and followed; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.”
Most of us do not like our plans changed by someone else, right? How Jesus responded to the multitudes is amazing and is something we need to learn from His example. Even though Jesus was the Son of God, when He took on the form of man, He took on the physical makeup of man. Jesus knew what it meant to be hungry and physically tired, and there were times when He would withdraw to find rest. In the passages above, we find that Jesus “withdrew by Himself,” and then we read; “but the multitudes were aware and followed.” (I always wonder how the multitudes know everything!) Even though Jesus wanted to be alone, the multitudes followed, interrupting His plans. If we were in His position, we might reluctantly put up with the multitude, but Jesus welcomed the multitude, and that’s the amazing truth to glean from this passage. When you have had a busy day and you want to be alone, and the “multitude” knocks on your door, to welcome them is not the norm. Did Jesus welcome the multitude just because He was a friendly sort of person? Jesus always expressed love and compassion, even when His plans were interrupted, and He could do so because He was not living on His agenda-but on His Father’s agenda-that’s the difference. Even when Jesus was a young lad, He said: “Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business.” (Luke 2:49) In John 4:34 we read: “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.’” If there is a key, if there is a “secret” to living like Jesus; it is to live on our Father’s agenda and not on our agenda! When Jesus saw the multitude, He saw it as another opportunity to do what His Father sent Him to do-to express the heart of God. Jesus was not just by strength of His will doing what God said to do, but because Jesus and the Father were one, Jesus found pleasure in doing the will of the Father. We see this truth in Matthew 9:36: “When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”  We often see Jesus, or think of Jesus teaching or speaking to the multitude, but let us not miss seeing Him welcoming the multitude-a beautiful and refreshing picture. Because we have now been joined to the Father, we too can live according to our Father’s agenda just as Jesus did. This is perhaps the ultimate decision for every believer-will we live according to our agenda, or according to our Father’s agenda? The over-riding truth of the Christian life is that we die to ourselves, our agenda, and live in the newness and power of His agenda. Jesus came to do the Father’s will-and that is our mission as well. In fact, God has designed life in such a way, that we can discover what we long for, only by living by His agenda. When we realize this truth, we will find that dying to self, or living according to His agenda, is not a “sacrifice” we make, but is the doorway to life. So, the next time we find our agenda being derailed, instead of being frustrated, let us find a way to express our Father’s heart-that’s who you really are.
Blessing,
Buddy