Mk 6:8   These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff--no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.

      

I have a feeling that if we twenty-first century Christians were transported back to Jesus' day and put into his discipleship team, we might well find ourselves having a nervous breakdown! You are going out to reach the world and you are to have no resources except yourselves and my Spirit! But what about the Service plan? What about the overhead projector? What about the video projector? What about the musicians and the choir singing quietly in the background? What about the Notices? What about the Christian TV channel? What about all the training courses and books from the Christian bookshop? You won't need any of these. What!!!!!

 

But see what happened: “They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” (v.12,13). That is a fruitful discipleship team! Is this what we teach our discipleship teams? But of course, we say, Jesus isn't moving like that today. I wonder if that's because we have such low expectancy and such low faith levels. In the verses prior to this, we find Jesus in his own hometown (6:1) but, “he could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them and he was amazed at their lack of faith.” (6:5,6). Take nothing! Why? So you rely on God alone and not all your bits and pieces.