Be A Trekkie
“Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20
I wasn’t a big fan of the hit television show or the Star Trek movies but I know many people who are. I did however enjoy listening to Captain Kirk open up every television show with the famous line, “and boldly go where no man has gone before.” The entire opening went like this, “Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before!
If I were modifying the intro to describe world evangelism today I might put it this way, “Earth, the final frontier. These are the journey’s of Christ followers. A lifetime mission: to reach every continent on the planet, seeking to share with every nation, tribe and tongue the Good News of Jesus Christ; to boldly go where no man has gone before.”
There is no doubt God’s heart is that every person is a candidate to hear the Good News of the gospel and yet I also find in scripture the types of people we can never go wrong looking to share Jesus love with as we go. Jesus Himself calls them, “the least of these” not because they are the least to Him but often times they are "the least of these" to society. In Matthew 25:37-40 we read, “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’”
Who are the least of these in our city I asked my staff this week? As we go about our day today look at it like you are on mission and about to go where “no man or woman has gone before.” Look for “the least of these”, the types of people Jesus said would be hungry and thirsty, as those are who we should be looking for. More than physical hunger or thirst Jesus was speaking of people with a spiritual hunger, a hunger for truth and a thirst for righteousness. Jesus said, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.” Jesus promised that one day they would be satisfied because Jesus Himself is the one who satisfies that hunger and thirst. In essence its understanding that there is a God shaped void in every heart that only God Himself can fill. More than physical needs we are called to address the spiritual need. Anyone can offer a sandwich and a water but only Christians can offer the world Jesus!
Jesus went on to say when we show hospitality to a stranger we are showing hospitality to Him. First of all Jesus was referring to someone who was not like us, someone we don’t even know personally. When we come in contact with someone we don’t know and we show them hospitality we are preferring them, as that is the best definition of hospitality, “to seek to make them feel at home”. Showing hospitality to a stranger doesn’t require bringing a stranger home with you per se. Showing hospitality is a gift God gives us so we can make a connection with a complete stranger and just like Jesus did, we make them feel so comfortable around us they feel right at home. It’s not our comfort we seek, it’s theirs! I love when someone says, "I feel like I have known you all my life."
Jesus concluded His point saying when we go visit those who are sick and imprisoned we are doing it as if it was Jesus Himself we were visiting. Think about that for a second. How would you approach Jesus if you knew He was sick and in the hospital or if you were going to visit Him in prison? What would you feel in your heart and what would your goal be when you got there? Would you feel sympathy and or empathy? Would you be in a hurry to leave and get out of there because you were uncomfortable or maybe even you felt unsafe? In any of the scenarios Jesus speaks of when we do it right our focus would be completely on Him and His needs because we knew it was Him. That’s the point Jesus is making. Putting others first as if we were doing it all for Jesus is the very attitude He wants us to have each day wherever we go and with whomever we come in contact. How different might our day be?
Before Jesus told His disciples to “Go” He first told them to stay and wait for the promise of the Father in Acts 1:8 so that when they did go, they could be a real, “Trekkie” you might say and “boldly go”. Remember, it’s the Holy Spirit who gives us boldness so we can go where no man has gone before and as well to go where no man may even want to go now. The good news for me and you today is we don’t have to end up like Scotty, who in a Saturday Night Live sketch about Star Trek where Captain Kirk says, “I need more power Scotty and Scotty replies in his “Scottish” accent, “I’ve given her all she’s got Captain and she can’t give any more.” With Jesus there is always more! Everything we need to be effective Jesus promises to provide. How exciting for you and me, to be able to go where no man has gone before!
Until all the world hears!
“And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”
Matthew 24:14
I LOVE YOU!
Matthew 28:18-20
I wasn’t a big fan of the hit television show or the Star Trek movies but I know many people who are. I did however enjoy listening to Captain Kirk open up every television show with the famous line, “and boldly go where no man has gone before.” The entire opening went like this, “Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before!
If I were modifying the intro to describe world evangelism today I might put it this way, “Earth, the final frontier. These are the journey’s of Christ followers. A lifetime mission: to reach every continent on the planet, seeking to share with every nation, tribe and tongue the Good News of Jesus Christ; to boldly go where no man has gone before.”
There is no doubt God’s heart is that every person is a candidate to hear the Good News of the gospel and yet I also find in scripture the types of people we can never go wrong looking to share Jesus love with as we go. Jesus Himself calls them, “the least of these” not because they are the least to Him but often times they are "the least of these" to society. In Matthew 25:37-40 we read, “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’”
Who are the least of these in our city I asked my staff this week? As we go about our day today look at it like you are on mission and about to go where “no man or woman has gone before.” Look for “the least of these”, the types of people Jesus said would be hungry and thirsty, as those are who we should be looking for. More than physical hunger or thirst Jesus was speaking of people with a spiritual hunger, a hunger for truth and a thirst for righteousness. Jesus said, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.” Jesus promised that one day they would be satisfied because Jesus Himself is the one who satisfies that hunger and thirst. In essence its understanding that there is a God shaped void in every heart that only God Himself can fill. More than physical needs we are called to address the spiritual need. Anyone can offer a sandwich and a water but only Christians can offer the world Jesus!
Jesus went on to say when we show hospitality to a stranger we are showing hospitality to Him. First of all Jesus was referring to someone who was not like us, someone we don’t even know personally. When we come in contact with someone we don’t know and we show them hospitality we are preferring them, as that is the best definition of hospitality, “to seek to make them feel at home”. Showing hospitality to a stranger doesn’t require bringing a stranger home with you per se. Showing hospitality is a gift God gives us so we can make a connection with a complete stranger and just like Jesus did, we make them feel so comfortable around us they feel right at home. It’s not our comfort we seek, it’s theirs! I love when someone says, "I feel like I have known you all my life."
Jesus concluded His point saying when we go visit those who are sick and imprisoned we are doing it as if it was Jesus Himself we were visiting. Think about that for a second. How would you approach Jesus if you knew He was sick and in the hospital or if you were going to visit Him in prison? What would you feel in your heart and what would your goal be when you got there? Would you feel sympathy and or empathy? Would you be in a hurry to leave and get out of there because you were uncomfortable or maybe even you felt unsafe? In any of the scenarios Jesus speaks of when we do it right our focus would be completely on Him and His needs because we knew it was Him. That’s the point Jesus is making. Putting others first as if we were doing it all for Jesus is the very attitude He wants us to have each day wherever we go and with whomever we come in contact. How different might our day be?
Before Jesus told His disciples to “Go” He first told them to stay and wait for the promise of the Father in Acts 1:8 so that when they did go, they could be a real, “Trekkie” you might say and “boldly go”. Remember, it’s the Holy Spirit who gives us boldness so we can go where no man has gone before and as well to go where no man may even want to go now. The good news for me and you today is we don’t have to end up like Scotty, who in a Saturday Night Live sketch about Star Trek where Captain Kirk says, “I need more power Scotty and Scotty replies in his “Scottish” accent, “I’ve given her all she’s got Captain and she can’t give any more.” With Jesus there is always more! Everything we need to be effective Jesus promises to provide. How exciting for you and me, to be able to go where no man has gone before!
Until all the world hears!
“And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.”
Matthew 24:14
I LOVE YOU!
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