In our second session of the morning Andy Young took us to Luke 4 and spoke of Christ's ministry. He said five things about it. It was marked by
1. Use of ordinary means
We must believe in the ordinary means
2. Spirit filled might
To be Messiah was to be a man anointed by the Spirit. If he needed the Spirit then certainly we do. We need the Spirit but realise that the Spirit is available.
3. Christ centred message
Notice the unashamed emphasis on me himself. Puritan Joh Arrowsmith wrote that true ministers "set up Christ in their ministry; they are content themselves to stand in the crowd, and to lift up Christ upon their shoulders; content, not to be seen themselves, so Christ be exalted".
4. Eschatological magnitude
5. Gracious mission
Applications
Behold your God
Emulate Christ
Be encouraged - Christ is still ministering
Final illustration
He closed with what is probably an apocryphal storyA little boy was taken to a Paderewski concert by his mother. He slipped away from her, made his way to the platform, sat down at the concert piano and began to play Twinkle Twinle. The crowd reacted with anger and said to take the boy away. Paderewski, when he realised what was going on, went to the piano and began playing along with the boy, whispering to him, “Keep going. Don’t quit, son. Keep playing. Don’t stop. Don’t quit.”
As Andy put it very moved at the end "Pastor your socks off!"
4. Eschatological magnitude
5. Gracious mission
Applications
Behold your God
Emulate Christ
Be encouraged - Christ is still ministering
Final illustration
He closed with what is probably an apocryphal storyA little boy was taken to a Paderewski concert by his mother. He slipped away from her, made his way to the platform, sat down at the concert piano and began to play Twinkle Twinle. The crowd reacted with anger and said to take the boy away. Paderewski, when he realised what was going on, went to the piano and began playing along with the boy, whispering to him, “Keep going. Don’t quit, son. Keep playing. Don’t stop. Don’t quit.”
As Andy put it very moved at the end "Pastor your socks off!"
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