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Sermon Script
The key to a fulfilling life is knowing that you are making a positive difference in this world. That you are making some impact to make this world a better place.
The important question, then, is: how will you make a difference in this world?
Jesus saw the enormous need all around him.
He says in today’s passage:
The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. (Luke 10:2)
The need is so great that he knew he couldn’t do everything by himself.
So he sent out his disciples.
But the way he sent out his disciples is very interesting.
This is what he says:
Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. (Luke 10:4)
Carry no purse, no bag, and no sandals – that’s the title of this sermon.
What does Jesus mean by that?
What are bags and purses? They are accessories.
An accessory is something you add to another thing that makes it more useful, valuable or attractive.
Accessories are great to have. People like them because it makes them feel more attractive and valuable.
I never knew the world of bags and purses while I was growing up. They were just things to carry your stuff in. Only later did I realize that names like Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Chanel had a lot of value and meaning.
Accessories are great. But here’s the thing: accessories are complementary and supplemental. They’re not essential.
Jesus doesn’t send your accessories. He sends YOU.
He doesn’t want accessories that make you more attractive. He wants YOU.
How will you make a difference in this world?
By offering YOU to the world. Not the other things.
The main issue is that we don’t think we have much to offer without our accessories. Who am I to offer anything?
So we rely on the accessories. Our money. Our skills. Our abilities.
Unless we feel confident in these other things, we don’t think we can offer much. We want to offer those other things, not ME.
Offering your skills, abilities, and money is great. God has given them to you to bless you. They can get you a job. They might make you more appealing as a potential partner or employee.
But those things will not bring you fulfillment.
Here’s the secret to life: the only thing that will make you fulfilled is when you can give all of YOU to something.
So many people are unfulfilled because while their skills are marketable and make them money, they are not able to offer who they are.
We live in a competitive world. You need the right skills to make it and make money.
Living in this competitive world can easily make you think the accessories are more important than YOU.
It takes hard work to develop the skills that employers want. Many people are stressed out because the skills they’ve put in so much effort to cultivate might become obsolete by AI.
My friends, take note of this secret: you need food to eat, but if you cannot give all of YOU to the world, then you will never be fulfilled.
That sounds nice, but here’s the thing: the more of YOU you try to offer, the more you see your flaws and shortcomings.
That’s been the greatest revelation for me being in ministry.
In my previous career, it didn’t really matter how nice of a guy I was or what kind of person I was. Could I get the job done? Could I get results for my clients? That was really all that mattered.
Also: to get the clients, did I come across as someone who could get the job done? So wearing nice suits and walking with a swagger helped. (Lineup of Hugo Boss suits, white shirts like Obama) (Getting clients: in suit or jeans)
I didn’t need to focus as much on who I was.
But in ministry, the only product I really have to offer is ME.
The deeper I get involved with people, the more people see ME. My strengths and gifts, sure.
But also my flaws. My tendencies. My shortcomings. I have to reckon with that.
The most difficult thing is to see your flaws nakedly. Nothing humbles you more or makes you lose confidence more.
If all you see is your flaws and shortcomings, that takes you deeper into darkness.
Many young people in Sioux Valley lose the desire to live because they only see the flaws that others have told them they have.
The reality is that the real you IS very flawed. That’s who we are. That’s what it means to be a sinner.
That can be a devastating truth we don’t want to face.
It’s easier to hide yourself behind your accessories. To let them represent who you are and offer that to the world.
But you know what? God still calls YOU. It is YOU that God wants. Not the accessories you’ve covered yourself with.
You are a child of God!
Jesus doesn’t send you out into the world with your purse or bag. Jesus sends YOU.
But here’s the good news: Jesus doesn’t send out the YOU that you are right now.
The present YOU is driven by your flaws. Do you know what the greatest downside to the present YOU is?
The greatest downside or pitfall to the present YOU is not seeing your flaws and the effect they’re having. To not even be aware of how your flaws are affecting yourself and others.
You don’t see it because you’ve hidden the real YOU. You’ve masked it behind your accessories.
When you don’t clearly see the real YOU, it creates more problems. Problems with relationships, problems with your thinking, problems with your attitude and outlook.
Your flaws can lead you into darkness.
Jesus entered into the darkness. He went head on into it. What did he bring into the darkness? He brought grace.
Your flaws and sins bring you into darkness, but in that darkness, Jesus brings grace. Grace enters through your sins and darkness. It becomes the power that changes you and makes you a new creation.
That’s why it’s called Amazing Grace.
God wants YOU.
But not the YOU that remains hidden in darkness. God wants the YOU that is touched and transformed by his grace.
Jesus met a woman at the well.
She would only come to the well at noon, when it was so hot (like today) and nobody was around because she wanted to avoid others. She was hiding herself.
But through meeting Jesus, she was transformed. She was touched by his grace.
She went back into the town she had avoided to tell them all about Jesus. She offered her SELF to her community. She brought transformation to her community because she offered the SELF that was transformed by grace.
Grace unlocks the power of the Holy Spirit into your life. You live with a new power – the power of God.
Grace transforms you into a new YOU. The YOU that is a gift to this world.
We began our summer camp this past week. It was really half a week but felt like a full week.
Our Leadership Team debriefed after the first week. They were exhausted.
One leader mentioned that she was physically very tired, but her heart was full. Full because they were able to give all of themselves and see the effect that had on the kids.
Isn’t that what life is about? Is there anything more beautiful than that? To give of yourself fully for the sake of others?
There is someone who did that. Our Lord Jesus Christ. That is who he is.
The world is a better place because he gave all of HIM for us.
We follow him. The world will be a better place because you give YOU to this world and others.
The Church is the place we let our new selves be born as we are transformed by God’s grace. The only thing that matters here is the real YOU, not your accessories.
Let God’s grace be fully present in your life. Let that grace change you and release you into the world for others.
That grace will be your power. It will bring joy, peace and fulfillment to your life.
No purse, no bags, no sandals. Only YOU.
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