Mike's teaching on The Ministry of Jesus Christ, Part 5

Tue, Apr 28, 2009
Course Specific Materials

Dear Prospective Mentor,

This is the fifth and final lesson in our short series on the ministry of Jesus Christ. At Setting Captives Free our request to God is to make us "fruitful in ministry".

We are examining this passage of Scripture:

¹³ And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴ so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ¹⁵ "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-- ¹⁶ the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned." ¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 4:13-17

We have looked at Jesus' call to ministry, His rejection by man, His perseverance and fruitfulness, His commitment to the Scriptures, His mission to those in darkness, and today we will examine His message.

We desire to have a fruitful year of ministry in the months ahead of us. There are many things that bring about spiritual fruit in the lives of those who minister: repentance from sin (as believers we need to be "repenting repenters") abiding in the Vine, remaining in the Word, being constant in prayer, keeping in step with the Holy Spirit, seeking God earnestly to "give the increase", etc. But when it comes to practically ministering to students here at Setting Captives Free, we must have a message in our hearts and on our lips (and on our keyboards).

This is important, for there are many messages going out to those in bondage to sins of the flesh these days. There is the message that pacifies people in their sin, saying, "It's ok that you fell again, God is a loving and gracious God and doesn't expect perfection from His weak children." There is the message that seeks to explain the why of sin, saying, "Let's discover the reason why you are in this destructive behavior. Let's see if your father was loving and attentive enough, for if he wasn't it is no wonder you are dysfunctional. Let's look at the pain you experienced growing up, let's examine your past and seek to find out why you are the way you are." There is the message that encourages us to work our way out of sin, saying, "keep working your program, keeping taking all the steps and you will recover."

But these were not the message of Jesus Christ, nor should they be our message. Jesus' message was much simpler, and much more powerful. Jesus' message contained within it the ability to free one from bondage, to bring one from death to life, to free one from darkness. His message was "repent..."

No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Luke 13:3

The early church had the same message:

Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. Acts 8:22

You see, if we are sinning we don't need pacification, we need redemption. If we are sinning we don't need explanation and rationalization, we need salvation and sanctification. And if we are sinning we don't need steps and programs of man, we need the grace and truth that is in Jesus Christ.

Repent! What an instructive word. What a humbling word. What a powerful word.What a freeing word! The word "repent" contains the thought that I am a sinner who needs to have a change of mind, a change of heart, and a change of life. The word "repent" contains the thought that it is possible, no inevitable, that I will be free from the sin in which I have been involved.

The change is turning away from lying, stealing, cheating, immorality, cursing, drunkenness, and other glaring sins of the flesh. But the change is also turning away from the silent and secret sins of the spirit such as self-centeredness, selfishness, envy, bitterness, pride, covetousness, anger, evil thoughts, hopelessness, laziness, jealousy, lust, etc.

The word "repent" includes a full 180 degree turn away from sin and turn to Christ. When I mentor a student I am not content to hear "I was free from overeating today" or "I was free from drunkenness and smoking today" or "I was free from impurity today." I also help my students to understand that I need to hear from them, "I truly enjoyed Christ today in fellowshipping in His Word and prayer," or "I am one happy captive to Christ, His love, His forgiveness, His grace, His truth today." Repentance must include not only turning from bondage to sin, but also becoming enslaved to God. Let's not allow our students to think they are free from sin until we see evidence that they are captive to Christ.

²⁰ When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ²¹ But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. ²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. Romans 6:20-22

Four challenging lessons are seen in this point about repentance:

1) Believers should become obsessed with the mission and message of Christ! We should be gripped and enslaved by the obsession of Christ! Here is why. Man no longer has to seek light. The Light of the world has come, but so many are still in darkness. They have not heard. Believers, in their lethargy and lack of urgency, have hoarded the message and failed to go forth as God’s messengers of light (2 Corinthians 5:19-20; John 20:21; Luke 19:10).
2) The ministry of believers is the same as Christ’s: to preach. All other work and ministries are important, but the primary ministry of all believers is to preach, to proclaim the gospel to a world crying for help. As mentors of Setting Captives Free we have the opportunity to do this every day. I pray we rejoice in this opportunity and that we don't take it for granted.
3) The message of believers is the same as Christ’s: (1) repent; (2) the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. All other subjects are important, but the primary message must be these two points.
4) Believers are given the highest honor in the world: they are sent into the world on the same mission as God’s own Son. Imagine having the same mission and the same message as Jesus Christ!

Dear mentors, may I encourage us to first of all repent daily ourselves, for we still have flesh and the flesh wars against the Spirit "so that we do not do what we want to do." Christians are those who ongoingly repent, for though we have been freed from bondage to sin, that is from habitual sin, yet we still fall and stumble and fail and sin. Secondly may I encourage us to call our students to repentance, just as Jesus Christ did? Let us help them to understand that true repentance includes both godly sorrow, real humility, and genuine turning from sin and becoming captive to Christ.

I pray you have a fruitful ministry.

grace and truth,
Mike Cleveland
team member settingcaptivesfree.com