12th Sep 26 | 04:00
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04
📖 Luke 24:17-19
04 – 25Mar2022 – Two preliminary steps in sharing the Goodnews - Luke 24:13-35 - JESUS IS KNOWN IN THE SCRIPTURES - Bible reading: Genesis 40:6-7
“Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your great love for us. We worship You and give You all the glory. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.”
We are journeying with the two disciples from Jerusalem to Emmaus. We see them conversing and they were sad. Jesus joins along with them in their conversation.
Luke 24:17-19 And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?" (18) Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?" (19) And He said to them, "What things?" So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
As the Lord joins with the two disciples in this journey and in their conversation, the Lord is demonstrating for us how we must connect with people. We are messengers of God’s Shalom to our hurting world. It is in connecting with people that we bring people into the Shalom of God.
The Lord is teaching us, two important steps that need to be in place in this task of being Shalom creators.
The first step, is the step of bridge-building.
The Lord, tells the two disciples that He had noticed that they were sad. The Lord was building a bridge with these disciples.
Unfortunately, often, in our enthusiasm to share the Goodnews, we disregard this step of building bridges with people. We assume that we have all the answers and we pound people with the Gospel message.
Yes, there are occasions when we must not waste a moment in sharing the Gospel. We must be led by the Holy Spirit at all times, to discern the mind of God in all situations.
Here is a beautiful example of bridge-building.
Genesis 40:6-7 And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were sad. (7) So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in the custody of his lord's house, saying, "Why do you look so sad today?"
Joseph was undergoing his own crisis. Joseph was falsely implicated and cast into the dungeon. Joseph had no hope of being released. He had no friends in Egypt, who would speak for him. Joseph could have wallowed in self-pity and not been bothered about the condition of those around him, in the dungeon.
Sadly, this is how many of us are in our daily lives. We are so full of our hurts and problems. We have no time or energy to consider the needs of people around us.
Joseph from the midst of his crisis notices that Pharaoh’s officers were sad. He built a natural bridge with them by asking them why they were sad. The result of this question was what led these men to share with Joseph their dreams, which Joseph interpreted.
The whole life of Joseph, of how he became the Prime Minister of Egypt began with Joseph taking time to build the bridge with these two officers of Pharoah. Bridge-building with people has a long term blessing.
Bridge-building is the natural way for us to share the Goodnews with people around us. Bridge-building opportunities will happen in our lives every day and maybe even several times in a day. Are we conscious that we must be bridge builders with people and situations around us if we are to be Shalom creators?
If we are immersed in our own struggles of life, opportunities for bridge-building will pass us by and we will not be those who have brought the Shalom of God into our situations.
When the Lord built the bridge with them, the disciples began to open up and talk of all that had happened in the past week. They were surprised that there should be a person who was unaware of the recent and current events. Jesus asked them, "What things?"
This question that Jesus asked, leads us to the second step for us to be Shalom creators by bringing change in the perceptions of people. The second step is to help people confront their own perceptions of life.
Jesus was wanting the disciples to explain their own perception of what had happened. They needed to first see their own current perception, which was far removed from the plans and purposes of God, though they were His disciples.
Unless and until people confront their own current perception of life, only then will they be ready to move to Scriptural perceptions, that will make them know Jesus.
We are quick to tell people about Jesus, without getting people to confront their own current worldview to life. People must see the bankruptcy of the current perceptions.
When Jesus asked the disciples, “What things?”, the disciples began to lay bare their perceptions. This was where their shallowness of understanding was brought out to the open. Jesus was then able to present the Christ of the Scriptures.
This was how the Lord dealt with the Samaritan woman. She had to be confronted with her own faulty perceptions of life. It was from there that transformation and healing were possible.
Let us keep in mind these two steps in sharing the Goodnews with people. 1. Build bridges with people 2. Help people to face up to their own perceptions of life. These two steps are needed before we can share with them the perception of God from His Scriptures, which reveal Christ.
Thought to ponder
When you look back, were there bridge-building opportunities that have slipped by because you were too immersed with your own cares?
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