Reaching Higher: A Series on My Journey of
Discipleship
Luke 4:14-21
(Use the link below to read the verses.)
[Preface: This series is autobiographical
to the extent that it is loosely based on my spiritual journey. In some ways,
you could compare it to the stock market with a gradual overall increase, but
many ups and downs; even a crash or two. Through it all though, the Lord has
loved me and been with me the whole time. I hope you find my journey
encouraging, but also, that the Lord might speak to you through it.]
Leading up to the
summer of 1971, I had a decision to make… where to spend my summer.
There were two
options before me. First was to spend the summer in California as an intern
with Campus Crusade for Christ. The second was to go to East Lansing, Michigan,
to participate in a local churches summer training program. I was torn; but
chose the latter. It was a great decision!
It was my second
summer in a row that was a mountain top spiritual experience. During the day we
worked a regular job, but at night we listened to speakers based on various
books that we were required to read. The authors included John Stott, Francis
Schaeffer, Paul Little and CS Lewis.
In Luke 4:14-15, Jesus
returned to Galilee where he was “teaching
in their synagogues”. On one such occasion, he returned to his home town of
Nazareth and read these verses from Isaiah.
18 “The
Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” NIV
because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” NIV
He then sat down,
and with all eyes upon him said, “Today
this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” He was announcing who he was,
and the beginning of his ministry.
But Jesus wasn’t
born in a vacuum; there was context to his life. He didn’t just get up one morning
and decide to walk throughout Galilee preaching the Good News and healing. So how
did his Heavenly Father prepare him?
We know that just
before starting his ministry, Jesus insisted that John baptize him. Following
this, the Spirit immediately led him into the wilderness for forty days to be
tempted. No doubt both of these events were a part of preparing him for what
was to come. But how did he learn so much scripture?
According to Ray VanderLaan,
an ordained minister, author and
founder of “That the World May Know Ministries”, he attributes it to this.
“The
people of Galilee were the most religious Jews in the world in the time of
Jesus. He was born, grew up, and spent his ministry among people who knew
Scripture by memory, who debated its application with enthusiasm, and who loved
God with all their hearts, all their souls and all their might.
God
prepared this environment carefully so that Jesus would have exactly the
context he needed to present his message of “The kingdom of heaven" and
his followers would understand and join his new movement. He fit his world
perfectly.”
In other words, in
the love and sovereignty of God, He prepared Jesus for his ministry; for the
Lord’s master plan of redemption. This was the culmination of millennia of
planning and preparation. But, the Lord didn’t just plan Jesus’ ministry; he
planned yours and mine too.
At the end of the
summer of ’71, even though I was going into my senior year at Michigan Tech where
I was studying to be a geological engineer, I made the decision to drop out of
school. The focus of my life had changed from the sciences to people.
Eventually, I went
into full time urban youth ministry for twenty-five years and men’s ministry at
my church for another six. And, almost fifty years later, I still keep in touch
with many of my friends from that summer of ’71.
What has the Lord
prepared for you to do in the year 2020?
