{"id":11469,"date":"2020-09-14T20:00:19","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T03:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/luke_8_40-56-copy\/"},"modified":"2020-09-13T16:28:01","modified_gmt":"2020-09-13T23:28:01","slug":"luke_9_1-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/luke_9_1-17\/","title":{"rendered":"Rely on God\u2019s Power (Also, When God Interrupts Your Plans)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Luke 9:1-17\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u00a0\"\"<\/div>\n
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Hi GAMErs,<\/div>\n
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Today\u2019s passage is Luke 9:1-17.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Luke 9:1-4 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He told them: “Take nothing for the journey–no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-4:\u00a0 Here Jesus sends out his twelve disciples with his power and authority to go from town to town preaching the kingdom of God, driving out all demons and curing diseases (v1-2).\u00a0 But notice also that Jesus told them to take nothing else for the journey (\u201cno staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic\u201d \u2013 v3).\u00a0 What was Jesus doing?\u00a0 Jesus was teaching his disciples to have faith in God\u2019s power to use them and to provide for their needs, rather than relying on their own smarts, strength and resources.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Being on mission with Jesus is about relying on His power, authority and provision in our lives.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Luke 9:5-6 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them.”
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.
\n<\/em>
\nOn verses 5-6:\u00a0 Notice what Jesus tells the disciples to do regarding towns that reject them: he tells his disciples to shake the dust off their feet when they leave as a testimony against them.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When you try to share Jesus with others, you will inevitably face rejection from time to time.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be too hung up on the rejection or the people who reject you.\u00a0 Shake the dust off and move on.\u00a0 God Himself will hold those people accountable.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Luke 9:7-9 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead,
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 7-9:\u00a0 Jesus and his disciples were doing things and preaching things that reminded people of John the Baptist and even earlier Old Testament prophets like Elijah.\u00a0 It caused even King Herod, the one who beheaded John the Baptist, to wonder what was going on.<\/p>\n

Luke 9:10-11 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida,
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 10-11:\u00a0 Jesus had planned to take his disciples to Bethsaida to get some rest after their short missionary trip, but crowds end up following Jesus.\u00a0 I admire Jesus\u2019 response to the crowds who interrupted Jesus\u2019 plans: \u201che welcomed them\u201d (v11), taught them more and healed those in need.\u00a0 Instead of complaining and getting frustrated that his plans were interrupted, Jesus took it as an opportunity to be a blessing to others.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When God interrupts your plans, instead of complaining and getting frustrated, look for the opportunities embedded within the interruption to be a blessing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Luke 9:12-17 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish–unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.”
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0(About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The disciples did so, and everybody sat down.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
\n<\/em>
\nOn verses 12-17:\u00a0 Here we see both the compassion of Jesus and the power of Jesus.\u00a0 Even after teaching this crowd of over 5,000 men, women and children and healing their sick, Jesus still had a heart to feed the people.\u00a0 He uses the disciples in the process, taking what little food they had in their possession and miraculously multiplying it to feed thousands, and even having plenty left over.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

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  1. Don\u2019t look down on what you have.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Instead give it to God to use and watch Him do with it what you yourself could not do.\u00a0 God can take the little that we think we have and multiply it to help others.\u00a0 We just need to be willing to offer him what we have.<\/li>\n
  2. The greatest acts of service the world has ever seen all began as a dream in the heart of someone who had love and compassion for others.\u00a0 Without the dream, there\u2019s no great service or miracle.\u00a0 So\u00a0don\u2019t discount the dreams God places in your heart to serve others<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    1. When I consider that Jesus instructs the disciples to organize the people into groups of 50, and also I consider that they had 12 baskets full of leftovers, these facts signal to me that Jesus was not only a powerful preacher but also a great organizer.\u00a0\u00a0It takes not just a great heart to serve people well, but also great organization and administration.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Jesus, thank You that when I offer to You what I have, no matter how little it may seem to me, You can use it to feed a multitude.\u00a0 So may I not rely merely on my own smarts and strength, but may I rely on Your strength and Your promise to provide all I need as I live for You.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Hi GAMErs,
      \n\u00a0
      \nToday\u2019s passage is Luke 9:1-17.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!
      \n\u00a0
      \nLuke 9:1-4 (NIV)\u00a0
      \n1\u00a0\u00a0When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,\u00a0
      \n2\u00a0\u00a0and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.\u00a0
      \n3\u00a0\u00a0He told them: “Take nothing for the journey–no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic.\u00a0
      \n4\u00a0\u00a0Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town.\u00a0<\/p>\n

      On verses 1-4:\u00a0 Here Jesus sends out his twelve disciples with his power and authority to go from town to town preaching the kingdom of God, driving out all demons and curing diseases (v1-2).\u00a0 But notice also that Jesus told them to take nothing else for the journey (\u201cno staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic\u201d \u2013 v3).\u00a0 What was Jesus doing?\u00a0 Jesus was teaching his disciples to have faith in God\u2019s power to use them and to provide for their needs, rather than relying on their own smarts, strength and resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11471,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11469"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11470,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11469\/revisions\/11470"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}