God's Team Part Two – Teachable Moments

Michael continues in Mark 10:17-22, the rich young ruler came to Jesus and said, "What must I do to enter into the kingdom of God?"  Jesus told the rich young ruler about God’s Commandments 5-10. After the young man said that he had kept the commandments, Jesus said, "you also have to sell all your possessions and give the proceeds to feed the poor and then come and follow me."  The young man left Jesus disappointed. The message to the twelve was, you need to keep your priorities in order. You cannot serve both God and riches. "How difficult it is for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. However, all things are possible with God. The rich young ruler had not kept the first commandment after all:  "You shall have no other Gods between your face and my face." He had let his riches come between himself and God. 

After Jesus told them about His coming death and resurrection, Peter asked, "What's in it for us." James and John asked Jesus if they could sit on his right and left hand "when you enter into the kingdom of heaven."  Jesus said, are you willing to drink of the cup of suffering, ridicule, humiliation, shame and death that I will suffer? After hearing Jesus' teachings, the twelve still did not understand the lesson. They argued among themselves about who among them was greatest. In verses 28-30 and again in verses 35-45 Jesus used this as a “teachable moment” to reveal what it really means to be a leader. Priorities mean putting first things first. The first priority is humility. I must humble my heart under the mighty hand of God in order to serve Him. The last shall be fist and the first shall be last. The servant shall be the chief and the chief shall be the servant ... the greatest among you must be servant of all.  

In verses 46-52, Blind Bartimaeus' confrontation of Jesus introduced another teachable moment for the twelve.  Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus, "Son of David, have mercy upon me." This illustrated his shameless audacity to be politically incorrect and to identify himself with Jesus.  Jesus said "What do you want." This was Jesus' requirement that he confess his need. Bartimaeus said, "to receive my sight." He acknowledged that he believed that Jesus had the power to heal him. Jesus said, "Go, thy faith has made thee whole."  This record illustrated to the twelve, Jesus' mission according to Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

What has God recruited you to do for His team? We have been called to God's team as individual "fittings", fit for the Master's work individually and collectively within the church, the body of Christ.  According to Ephesians 4:14, "from whom the whole body, fitly joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love."  Our commission is the same commission that He gave to the twelve before His ascension: “When the Holy Spirit is come upon you, you shall receive power from on high." The power is the authority to pray for you in Christ’s stead, “be ye reconciled to God”.

It starts with "Be thou my vision, O Lord of My heart."  Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. Get to know Him and the power of the resurrection. And when the crisis’ of life come, He will show you how to respond. As we delight ourselves in Him, He will give us the desires of our heart, when our desire is His desire.  

May God richly bless you!

Your brother in Christ,

Michael