Scripture: Luke 12:35-48
Congratulations to St. Mark for the blessings of God as we celebrate our 89th Church Anniversary!
In the text presented, Pastor Brian K. Brown of St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church explained that Jesus was talking to His disciples and to the church as the extension of the command made in the text. Believers are the church to whom Jesus speaks.
The question asked of the text was ‘Are we the church God can trust? So much is going on in the world we live in. God is looking at His church to say to us that He has the answers to the issues of the world, but He cannot do it without the hands of the believer. Can God trust us to rise in these moments and situations to pray, love, teach and say what needs to be said to those it needs to be said to?
Pastor Brown gave us three main traits with of trustworthiness. The first – A church that is always willing (verses 35 and 40). Under this trait there is willingness to serve and move things that hinder our service; and willingness to see. Believers should be shining a light so that others can see the Savior as the light of the world. No matter what problems are encountered our Savior is bigger than the problems. In addition, we should be willing to surrender (v36). If God is knocking on the door we should be willing to surrender our will, our way and our feelings because when God knocks it’s not our to ignore Him but it’s ours to accept Him, open the door and let Him in.
The second trait – A church always watching and anticipating the Lord’s return each waking day. Because we’re anticipating the Lord’s return, we want to be found faithful in doing the things the Lord would want us to be doing. There are benefits to expecting the Lord’s presence. If we do right by God now, when Christ comes back, He will do right by us. If we’re always expecting, when He comes, He will give rest from labor, rest in mind and rest for our hearts.
The third trait – A church always working (v39). The work of the church is that of guarding. We should be watching for each other and be protective of each other. We shouldn’t be of the mindset that if something isn’t mine, it’s not my business. We should be guarding our communities and know that an affront to one is an affront to all. The church still has the mandate to be protective and vigilant in guarding what is valuable to God (things of eternal value). Another work of the church is always guiding (vs 42). The text says God has put someone in charge to guide everyone in the house to do their job. It also suggests that the church should be working through giving (the servant was giving them their portion). The church’s hand should be extended more out to give than to receive. The real church of Jesus Christ is givers, and we should be willing to give to help, hope and heal those who are left out.
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