“He told them to take nothing for their journey except a walking stick—no food, no traveler’s bag, no money.” (Mark 6:8, NLT)
The scripture above informs our meditation today. These were some of the instructions given by Jesus to the disciples as they were sent out to do their ministry. As part of their learning, Jesus wanted the disciples to taken nothing with them except a walking stick. He made sure they did not take any money. Why? You’d think Jesus would want the disciples to be fully supplied for their ministerial work? Instead, he sent them out ill-prepared, or so it seemed. Actually, Jesus was fully preparing His disciples for their work. By making sure they had “no food, no traveler’s bag, and no money”, Jesus made sure that the disciples leaned solely on God for their work. There were no other “crutches” to lean on. God would be the foundation of their work. God’s Spirit would suffice. God would feed them along the way through the generosity of others. The disciples would thus learn that money does not fulfill a ministry. Faith in God is required for any godly work.
You might think, “Of course, faith in God is required for ministerial work! Isn’t this obvious?” No, it is not. Well-meaning Christians, even pastors, often rely on their own talents, their money, their tact, their education, their degrees, their connections in ministry. Sadly, too few rely completely on God. Jesus wanted His disciples to learn that spreading the gospel required the Holy Spirit, NOT material possessions. God would provide the material possessions along the way. It was the Holy Spirit, the gospel message, God’s presence that were the main ingredients for holy work!
How often do you rely on a gift of money to help a situation, when another gift may have been better suited? Have you ever given money to God’s work so that you didn’t have to give of yourself? If you have used money as a crutch, you can't truly rely on God for your holy work. It’s not that your money is worthless to God. It’s not that money can’t help a ministry. You just need to learn that money may grease the wheels of godly work, but it won’t replace the gospel, or faith, or the love of God, or trust in God!!!!!
“Cyrus McCormick’s father dreamed of inventing a machine to harvest crops. He tinkered for years, but it was Cyrus who became famous for inventing the reaper. Cyrus went to Chicago at age 38 with $60 in his pocket to open his factory. By age 40 he was a millionaire. He met a young lady from New York, Nettie Fowler. Nettie was striking, tall, graceful, with shining brown eyes. The radiance on her face, Cyrus learned, came from her relationship with Christ. They fell in love and married on January 26, 1859. Nettie was 26 years younger than Cyrus, and the couple enjoyed 26 years together.
Cyrus’ death in 1884 left Nettie wealthy beyond belief. What did she do with her money? She established McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago for young Presbyterian ministers. She enabled John R. Mott of the Student Volunteer Movement to go to the ends of the earth to organize student missions. She helped form the World’s Student Christian Federation. She contributed to the evangelic campaigns of D. L. Moody. She supported Wilfred Grenfell, missionary to Labrador, and George Livingstone Robinson, archaeologist to Petra. She funded Tusculum College in Tennessee, and gave generously to educational efforts in Appalachia. She absorbed herself in Asian missions, and her house off Michigan Avenue in Chicago became a Christian halfway house between the Orient and the West, a center of international Christianity. It was always full of missionaries and overseas Christians. She improved the water supply in one country, provided a hospital in another, and a Christian college in another. She built a women’s clinic in Persia and a seminary in Korea. She sent agricultural machines to India.
She did it all in the name of Christ. But she never thought of herself as a great giver. Others, she felt, did more. She could give money, but “… the greatest gift of all comes from the self-sacrifice and devotion of missionaries,” she said.
You can tell where people’s hearts are by looking at their check stubs.” (Robert J. Morgan, On This Day)
Some people learn about faith best by relying on the generosity of God and others. Some people learn about faith by giving away their material possessions. Which kind of person are you?
Jesus could tell where His disciples hearts stood by withholding material support during their missionary work. Our Lord wanted to see if they were ready to fully trust in God’s providence!
It takes faith to trust fully in God’s grace. It takes true faith to start a holy work for God relying on God alone for success. There are times that God will want you to put away your material possessions for a while, to lean on His Spirit, to trust in His providence. When you face God on Judgment Day, your material possessions will bring no comfort or support. That faith in your soul will be measured. Will you be found wanting or fully stocked with complete trust in God?
You might think, “Of course, faith in God is required for ministerial work! Isn’t this obvious?” No, it is not. Well-meaning Christians, even pastors, often rely on their own talents, their money, their tact, their education, their degrees, their connections in ministry. Sadly, too few rely completely on God. Jesus wanted His disciples to learn that spreading the gospel required the Holy Spirit, NOT material possessions. God would provide the material possessions along the way. It was the Holy Spirit, the gospel message, God’s presence that were the main ingredients for holy work!
How often do you rely on a gift of money to help a situation, when another gift may have been better suited? Have you ever given money to God’s work so that you didn’t have to give of yourself? If you have used money as a crutch, you can't truly rely on God for your holy work. It’s not that your money is worthless to God. It’s not that money can’t help a ministry. You just need to learn that money may grease the wheels of godly work, but it won’t replace the gospel, or faith, or the love of God, or trust in God!!!!!
“Cyrus McCormick’s father dreamed of inventing a machine to harvest crops. He tinkered for years, but it was Cyrus who became famous for inventing the reaper. Cyrus went to Chicago at age 38 with $60 in his pocket to open his factory. By age 40 he was a millionaire. He met a young lady from New York, Nettie Fowler. Nettie was striking, tall, graceful, with shining brown eyes. The radiance on her face, Cyrus learned, came from her relationship with Christ. They fell in love and married on January 26, 1859. Nettie was 26 years younger than Cyrus, and the couple enjoyed 26 years together.
Cyrus’ death in 1884 left Nettie wealthy beyond belief. What did she do with her money? She established McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago for young Presbyterian ministers. She enabled John R. Mott of the Student Volunteer Movement to go to the ends of the earth to organize student missions. She helped form the World’s Student Christian Federation. She contributed to the evangelic campaigns of D. L. Moody. She supported Wilfred Grenfell, missionary to Labrador, and George Livingstone Robinson, archaeologist to Petra. She funded Tusculum College in Tennessee, and gave generously to educational efforts in Appalachia. She absorbed herself in Asian missions, and her house off Michigan Avenue in Chicago became a Christian halfway house between the Orient and the West, a center of international Christianity. It was always full of missionaries and overseas Christians. She improved the water supply in one country, provided a hospital in another, and a Christian college in another. She built a women’s clinic in Persia and a seminary in Korea. She sent agricultural machines to India.
She did it all in the name of Christ. But she never thought of herself as a great giver. Others, she felt, did more. She could give money, but “… the greatest gift of all comes from the self-sacrifice and devotion of missionaries,” she said.
You can tell where people’s hearts are by looking at their check stubs.” (Robert J. Morgan, On This Day)
Some people learn about faith best by relying on the generosity of God and others. Some people learn about faith by giving away their material possessions. Which kind of person are you?
Jesus could tell where His disciples hearts stood by withholding material support during their missionary work. Our Lord wanted to see if they were ready to fully trust in God’s providence!
It takes faith to trust fully in God’s grace. It takes true faith to start a holy work for God relying on God alone for success. There are times that God will want you to put away your material possessions for a while, to lean on His Spirit, to trust in His providence. When you face God on Judgment Day, your material possessions will bring no comfort or support. That faith in your soul will be measured. Will you be found wanting or fully stocked with complete trust in God?