32 Luke 9.1-11
Luke 9:1-11
v Our faith revolves around Jesus Christ
Ø Without Christ, there is nothing
§ Christianity does not exist without Jesus Christ
v Take Buddha out of Buddhism and you still have Buddhism
v Take Muhammad out of Islam and you still have Islam
v Take Ellen White out of Seventh Day Adventism, and you still have SDA
v Take Joseph Smith out of Mormonism and you still have Mormonism
v Take Charles Russell out of Jehovah’s Witnesses and you still have Jehovah’s Witnesses
Ø None of these religions are dependant on the men that began them
v But take Jesus Christ out of Christianity, and you have nothing
Ø This passage shows us just how central Jesus is
READ Luke 9:1-11
v Jesus is the Sender of the Mission
v Look @ V. 2
Ø Here Jesus sends his 12 disciples to the lost sheep of Israel (Matt 10:5)
§ This is the precursor to the great commission
· Where Jesus sends you and I into the world
v Notice:
Ø Sends them out with minimal planning
§ Yes there was preparation…
· But there are no detailed plans…
¨ He sends them out
§ Jesus seems to be saying…
· There is a sense of urgency that precludes planning
MacArthur once asked his chief engineer how soon he could get a bridge across a certain river. “About three days," was the reply. The engineer was told to go ahead and draw the plans.
Three days later MacArthur asked for those plans. The engineer seemed surprised. "Oh, the bridge is ready. You can cross it now. If you want plans, you'll have to wait a little longer. We haven't finished those yet."
Ø Sometimes we devote so much time to planning that the job doesn't get done.
§ We say…
· I need evangelism training
¨ Evangelism Explosion
Ø Taught the opening question :
§ “If you were to die today, are you certain as to where you will go”
§ We say…
· I need a church outreach program
¨ ALPHA
Ø Non-threatening environment
Ø Meal
Ø Video
§ We say…
· I need motivation
¨ Congress, EQUIP conference
Ø Get pumped up to share Christ
§ We say…
· I need more knowledge
¨ Sunday School, Bible Study, preaching, seminars
Ø We become “fat” on the word
Ø That works just like body fat
§ If not using all the spiritual calories you are taking in, you slowly become slower and more lazy
v But many times we never quite get around to fulfilling why we are sent, do we?
Ø Telling people about the Kingdom of God (v.2)
§ We just keep planning!
Ø There is a Saying…
§ “Life is what happens while you are planning the next thing”
· Jesus is giving us a sense of urgency about being about our fathers business
¨ He emphasizes this to his disciples in Jn 4:35
Ø Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest
Ø In fact…
§ It is so urgent that the disciples get out there that they are not to take anything for their journey (v.3)
v But this shows another aspect of the sending…
Ø He sends them out with nothing but the clothes on their backs
§ Look at v. 3-4
· No staff, bag, bread, money or tunic
§ No support whatsoever
· So that they would have to depend solely on Jesus
· So that they would have to have faith in Christ to provide
In 1865 at the age of thirty-three Hudson Taylor came to the great crisis of his life. He had known for years that the Lord was calling him to China to be a missionary, yet he could not raised the monetary support needed for life abroad. One day while in Brighton beach on the south coast of England, on a quiet Sunday morning he took a step of faith in response to a simple spiritual principle he had just discovered. He was surprised that this truth had so long eluded him.
“If we are obeying the Lord, the responsibility rests with Him, not with us!” Months of struggle were over, and the way ahead was clear. To obey the Scriptures and trust God to be faithful to his pledged Word was not rash.
Being obedient to Gods call, Hudson Taylor formed the China Inland Mission Faith Mission, the first mission organization based totally on voluntary faith pledges.
v If we obey the Lord, the responsibility rests with Him, not with us!
Ø The Lord told the disciples not to take anything with them
Ø To go about preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God
§ Trust the Lord
· And look what happened
¨ V. 10
Ø Mk 6:12-13
§ They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them
v If we obey the Lord, the responsibility rests with Him, not with us!
Ø We have been sent out as well
§ We have to learn what the disciples did…
· To trust Jesus at his word
· That the responsibility to fulfill the great commission rests with Christ
¨ We need but obey and share with those we know
Ø Don’t worry about…
§ How much you know or What to say
· Jesus told his disciples in Matt 10:19-20
¨ But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you
Ø Have faith that the one who has sent you will be faithful to you
§ If we obey the Lord, the responsibility rests with Him, not with us!
v This passage shows us that Jesus is the Sender
Ø Secondly…
§ That Jesus is the Source
v Jesus is the Source of Power and Authority
Ø Look @ V. 1
§ Power = ability to get a task accomplished
§ Authority = the right to do it
Ø He gave them Power to heal
§ Miracles were evidence that the Lord had sent the Apostles
· Miracles point to the source
¨ Mark 16:20 ~ End of great commission
Ø Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
· Miracles always point to the source
¨ Jesus gave them power to perform miracles to point to Himself
Ø Jesus is the source of Power
Ø Mississippi river drains most of the area between the Rocky and Appalachian mountains
§ 41% of America
§ 31 states and 2 Canadian Provinces
· The Mississippi carries an average of 436,000 tons of sediment each day.
· At the mouth of the river, it dumps 4.5MM gallons of water per second
¨ Enough water to fill 225 Olympic swimming pools each second!
Ø That is power!!
Ø But if you follow the river in reverse
§ You find that the mighty ‘Misissip’ is composed of other rivers draining into it
· And those rivers are composed of thousands of streams flowing into them
· And those streams are composed of thousands of brooks flowing into them
· And those brooks are composed of thousands of creeks, rivulets and gulleys
¨ In places that no one has heard of
Ø I have often thought that Christ’s power is the mighty Mississip in reverse
§ Christ is that 4.5 MM gal. / sec. power which flows back to the very humble beginnings…
· To people that no one has heard of
· In places that no one has heard of
¨ To US!
Ø You and me
§ We have a great source of power…
· Jesus Christ
Ø And I don’t believe that this power and authority is absent today
§ Miracles still happen
§ Demons are still being cast out
· People are still given power today…
¨ The only difference is…
Ø That is no longer the proof of source
Ø Today we test a person’s ministry not by miracles…
§ But by the Word
· For Jesus has told us that Satan can duplicate those
¨ Matt 24:24
Ø For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible
· But he cannot duplicate truth
· We authenticate a person ministry by the Word
¨ 1 Jn 2:21
Ø I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.
v This passage shows us that Jesus is the Sender and the source
Ø And Lastly that…
Jesus is the Subject of our Message
v Look at V. 6-9
Ø Because of what the disciples were doing and saying…
§ Preaching the Gospel and healing
Ø Herod’s curiosity was piqued
§ He wanted to know more about Jesus
· He even tired to see Jesus (v. 9)
Ø That is what our life should be about…
§ Arousing people’s curiosity about the main subject…Jesus
Ø Our lives should be lived in such a way that people say…
§ What is it about you that is so different?
§ Why are you so different?
§ Why are you so:
· Happy, forgiving, patient, kind, generous
¨ And when they do ask, that is the perfect opportunity to point them toward the main subject…Jesus Christ
Ø You see…
§ None of the cults point people to the men or women that started them
· They do not say “believe in…”
¨ Buddha, Muhammad, Ellen White, Joseph Smith, Charles Russell
§ They point people to their teachings
· And many times we get mixed up and do the same thing!
¨ We say…
Ø We have to live a certain way
Ø Not say certain things
Ø Abstain from going certain places
§ Works-based righteousness
· That is not the subject we should be spending time on!
Ø I have a very wise mentor that told me:
§ “Keep the main thing the main thing”
v We are to point people back to the main thing, the main subject…Jesus Christ
Ø Point people to the person we just confessed publicly…
§ Jesus is the redeemer
§ Jesus reveals salvation to us
§ Jesus sacrificed himself up for us
§ Jesus rules us and defends us
Ø We must always circle back in our discussions with people and say…
§ Yes, there is suffering in the world…
· But what do you think of Jesus Christ
§ Yes, that is a good question about hell…
· But what do you think of Jesus Christ
§ Yes, that is a good point about Christians being hypocrites…
· But what do you think about Jesus Christ
§ Yes, great evil has been done in the name of the church
· But what do you think of Jesus Christ
¨ Yes, but what do you think of Jesus Christ…
¨ Yes, but what do you think of Jesus Christ…
§ That is how Christianity grew from 12 terrified men to what it is today
v Keep the spotlight on Jesus
Ø Keep him in the limelight
§ Don’t get distracted or sidetracked
· Stay on point
¨ And keep the main thing the main thing
v Notes:
Ø Hudson Taylor left for China trusting that the Lord would supply his needs
§ And for 40 years he did
· 1905 he died
¨ 125,000 Chinese Christians
¨ 849 missionaries in China
¨ He is called the “Father of Faith-based missions”
Ø But I disagree…
§ Jesus is!
§ Matt 6:28-33 ~ do not worry, seek first the kingdom of God
Ø Not to be without because that is more noble
§ Luke 22:35-36 ~ Tells them to take a purse
· Faith in Jesus
¨ If you are going out to preach the Kingdom of God…
¨ If you are obedient and sharing your faith
Ø You need to depend on Jesus
v He is the Symbol
Ø He is the image we are to become
Ø We are to emulate
Ø We are to become…
§ More forgiving
· “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”
§ More bold in the faith
· .
§ More Loving
· .
§ More devoted to the Father in heaven
· I did not come to do my will, but the will of the Father
§ The Mississippi River is known by many slang names
· The Father of Waters
· The Big Muddy
· Old Man River
· The Great River
· The Muddy Mississippi
· The Mighty Mississippi
Ø Jesus is the source of both and can give it to whomever he pleases
§ He gave the 12 the authority to cast out demons
· Acts 19:11-16 ~ 7 sons of Sceva the high priest
¨ Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding
¨ Example of not being given power and authority
§ We are given Authority
· Matt 28:18