Today I
want to look at something that caught my eye as I was reading to my son. Again
it is from the Message version.
Mat 13:10-16 MSG
The disciples came up and asked, "Why do you tell stories?"
(11) He replied, "You've been given
insight into God's kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift,
this insight; it hasn't been given to them. (12)
Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings
flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears.
(13) That's why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people
toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday
and not see it, listen till they're blue in the face and not get it. (14) I don't want Isaiah's forecast repeated
all over again: Your ears are open but you don't hear a thing. Your eyes are
awake but you don't see a thing. (15)
The people are blockheads! They stick their fingers in their ears so they won't
have to listen; They screw their eyes shut so they won't have to look, so they
won't have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them. (16) "But you have God-blessed eyes--eyes
that see! And God-blessed ears--ears that hear!
This peaked my interest because
yet again our Master, Jesus has shown us how to minister and witness to those
around us. Many times I have found myself in a place that I am not sure how I
should witness to a person. Take work for example. There are many guys who have
"heard" or have been exposed to the "church" but yet they
don’t believe. I always think to myself how I am going to share with them the
great news of Christ. Several times I have just dove off and laid it on them.
Though I am sure that if you have done that, you have seen similar result... a
total flop... Well praise the Lord, Jesus has also given us yet another way to
share the good news! It is right here in these passages (Mat 13:10-16). Jesus
said He spoke to the multitudes in stories because they were not yet ready to
receive the good news. So He spoke to them in stories so that He could
"create readiness" in them. That in these stories He could nudge them
ever so gently towards insight. WOW!!! To tell stories of the kingdom of God to
prepare a person’s heart for the message of Jesus, that is simply amazing!
Now this even goes beyond
witnessing to people who yet do not believe. This concept also goes into
ministering to those within the Body. Take David, and Nathan (the prophet) for
example. In the story of when David slept with Bathsheba (another man's wife),
then had her husband killed by sending him to the front lines of battle, God got
his attention through a "story." In 2 Sam 12:1-7 we see where God
sends Nathan the prophet to speak to David. where Nathan begins to tell him a
"story" that at the end of the story David says "As the LORD lives, the man who has done
this shall surely die! " Through the story David's eyes were opened
and he was given insight and understanding. One that would have a grave
consequence. He was ready to execute judgment. That is when the Lord (through
Nathan) said "(David) You are the man!" WOW! God through a
story brought about the knowledge of sin in David. Through this, it lead to
David's repentance and kept him in the graces of God.
I pray that God will create in
me a "story-teller”. So that I may be an effect minister in His service.
There are many ways to witness to people, and I have tried most of them. I am
simply blessed that the Lord opened my eyes up through a "story" and
added to my tool box of ministry. And in that He has sharpened my sword for the
times that I must minister to a fellow believer.
I pray that we all will walk as
"story-tellers!"
If you have any examples of you
being a “story-teller” please feel free to share.
Your Brother in Christ
Grace and Peace be with you
Nate Cook, Setting Captives
Free Team Member
And Jesus said to me:
Eze 3:10b-11a "...Receive into your heart
all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears, and go, get
to the captives..."
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