Ron DeBoer
4/10/2013
“But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.” (John 16:5-11, NLT).
When Jesus spoke these words to his disciples, they were confused. Jesus’ time had come, and he was speaking about his death more and more. The disciples began to worry. What would they do without their Teacher? How would the Truth be spread without the figurehead walking the earth and preaching? He explains to them that for the Holy Spirit to come to the earth and spread everywhere, Jesus must leave.
You can imagine the disciples’ dismay and worry at these words. Jesus was still young. His popularity was at its peak, despite the feathers he was ruffling with the religious leaders. How could they possibly continue this ministry without him?
I read a book recently titled Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, by Liz Wiseman, a former corporate executive who now coaches executives about leadership. Her premise in the book is that great leadership happens when the leader creates many leaders in the organization, so that one day, when the leader leaves, the organization hums along at full strength because of the other leaders who have developed. The organization doesn’t thrive because of one leader, then fail when that leader leaves. Wiseman outlines strategies for leaders to “put others on the stage” and to move from “diminisher” to “multiplier.”
Christianity is built on the “multiplier” idea, and it started with Jesus’ earthly mission. God came to earth in the form of a human, began his earthly ministry of preaching and healing, and amassed followers wherever he went. But aside from his disciples, most people only followed. For the church to spread, Jesus needed to equip his people to be leaders, then step aside and send the Holy Spirit to guide them.
After Jesus’ ascension, the disciples knew that, for the church to grow, they would have to lead. As you read through the New Testament, you can see the Holy Spirit’s “multiplier” effect as more and more people turn from their non-Christian beliefs and become multipliers themselves. Christians endure persecution and are scattered far and wide as they escape their enemies. This scattering of Christians further expanded the church!
You and I also are asked to be multipliers. It’s not enough for us to keep the Good News of Jesus Christ to ourselves and our families. For the church to continue growing, we must work within our spheres of influence and grow Christians.
A former pastor of mine often used the analogy of cancer to illustrate the urgency of telling the Good News of Jesus. He said that if you had a cure for cancer—a secret cure-all medicine—would you keep it to yourself or share it only with your family? Of course not. You would share it with the world, shout your secret from the rooftops to save people’s lives. The pastor went on to explain that the Good News of Jesus Christ is life saving—eternally life saving. We know this to be true beyond a shadow of doubt. We should be sharing this secret with anyone who doesn’t know about Jesus.
Another pastor once said that we are all homeless and hungry and that telling others about Jesus is akin to showing our fellow homeless neighbors where the bread is. If you know where to find the bread that will keep someone alive, wouldn’t you share the knowledge? Of course you would.
Let’s end our time with an old hymn: Bread of Heaven, by Welsh singer Kathleen Jenkins.
Ron DeBoer is a writer living near Toronto.
You can imagine the disciples’ dismay and worry at these words. Jesus was still young. His popularity was at its peak, despite the feathers he was ruffling with the religious leaders. How could they possibly continue this ministry without him?
I read a book recently titled Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, by Liz Wiseman, a former corporate executive who now coaches executives about leadership. Her premise in the book is that great leadership happens when the leader creates many leaders in the organization, so that one day, when the leader leaves, the organization hums along at full strength because of the other leaders who have developed. The organization doesn’t thrive because of one leader, then fail when that leader leaves. Wiseman outlines strategies for leaders to “put others on the stage” and to move from “diminisher” to “multiplier.”
Christianity is built on the “multiplier” idea, and it started with Jesus’ earthly mission. God came to earth in the form of a human, began his earthly ministry of preaching and healing, and amassed followers wherever he went. But aside from his disciples, most people only followed. For the church to spread, Jesus needed to equip his people to be leaders, then step aside and send the Holy Spirit to guide them.
After Jesus’ ascension, the disciples knew that, for the church to grow, they would have to lead. As you read through the New Testament, you can see the Holy Spirit’s “multiplier” effect as more and more people turn from their non-Christian beliefs and become multipliers themselves. Christians endure persecution and are scattered far and wide as they escape their enemies. This scattering of Christians further expanded the church!
You and I also are asked to be multipliers. It’s not enough for us to keep the Good News of Jesus Christ to ourselves and our families. For the church to continue growing, we must work within our spheres of influence and grow Christians.
A former pastor of mine often used the analogy of cancer to illustrate the urgency of telling the Good News of Jesus. He said that if you had a cure for cancer—a secret cure-all medicine—would you keep it to yourself or share it only with your family? Of course not. You would share it with the world, shout your secret from the rooftops to save people’s lives. The pastor went on to explain that the Good News of Jesus Christ is life saving—eternally life saving. We know this to be true beyond a shadow of doubt. We should be sharing this secret with anyone who doesn’t know about Jesus.
Another pastor once said that we are all homeless and hungry and that telling others about Jesus is akin to showing our fellow homeless neighbors where the bread is. If you know where to find the bread that will keep someone alive, wouldn’t you share the knowledge? Of course you would.
Let’s end our time with an old hymn: Bread of Heaven, by Welsh singer Kathleen Jenkins.
Ron DeBoer is a writer living near Toronto.
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