SPEAKER_00: This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
SPEAKER_01: Good morning, welcome.
SPEAKER_01: Take your Bible with me, please, or your device if you have it, and make your way to the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 10.
SPEAKER_01: Matthew chapter 10.
SPEAKER_01: I need to take every opportunity I can to make fun of Anton.
SPEAKER_01: Last Sunday he had the audacity to jump ahead of me.
SPEAKER_01: No, we we felt like that was the appropriate move to make because last Sunday was the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, and the next section in Matthew deals with that, and so that was the appropriate thing to do.
SPEAKER_01: And this morning we're going to then move backwards to the beginning of chapter 10 and pick up that section we skipped over.
SPEAKER_01: So if you have your Bible again, it's Matthew chapter 10, beginning in verse 1, we'll make our way through verse 15 this morning.
SPEAKER_01: So if you have your Bible open, I'll read that if you'd like to follow along.
SPEAKER_01: It says, And he, that is Jesus, called to him his twelve disciples, and he gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal every disease and every affliction.
SPEAKER_01: The names of the twelve apostles are these.
SPEAKER_01: First, Simon, who was called Peter and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus and Thaddeus, then Simon the Canaanean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
SPEAKER_01: These twelve Jesus sent out, commanding them, go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go, rather, to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and proclaim as you go, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
SPEAKER_01: Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.
SPEAKER_01: You received without paying, give without pay.
SPEAKER_01: Acquire no gold, nor silver, nor copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.
SPEAKER_01: And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay there until you depart.
SPEAKER_01: As you enter the house, greet it.
SPEAKER_01: And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
SPEAKER_01: And if any one will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.
SPEAKER_01: Truly I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Well, what we have here is leadership development.
SPEAKER_01: This is Jesus training his disciples for the work of ministry.
SPEAKER_01: So we get to see then how the greatest leader, the greatest teacher who has ever walked this earth, trains, prepares his own followers to go out and to do his work.
SPEAKER_01: That's what I'd like to walk through with you this morning as we begin to look at this passage beginning in verse 1.
SPEAKER_01: We have this situation where Jesus takes these 12 men who at this point in time are unknown.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is popular.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is well known.
SPEAKER_01: His disciples at this point in time, not so much well known.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, 130 years ago, a man by the name of Alexander Bruce wrote a book entitled The Training of the Twelve.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what he wrote.
SPEAKER_01: He said, Here is exhibited to our view the infant church in its cradle, the tiny sources of the river of life, the earliest blossoms of the Christian faith, the humble origin of the mighty empire of the Lord Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Then he says, all beginnings are more or less obscure, but none were ever more obscure than those of Christianity.
SPEAKER_01: That's an important point for us to remember as we dive into this.
SPEAKER_01: We are used to thinking about Christianity.
SPEAKER_01: We are used to thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: We are used to thinking about how all of this began.
SPEAKER_01: But at this point in time, this is a very small group of people in a very small part of the world, relatively unknown, obscure.
SPEAKER_01: And from this small beginning, the world has changed.
SPEAKER_01: It begins in chapter 10 and verse 1 with Jesus sending out his disciples.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Why does he send them out?
SPEAKER_01: Well, the answer is in our context.
SPEAKER_01: We go back to the end of chapter 9.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus had seen the crowds harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: And so he said to his disciples, Pray.
SPEAKER_01: Pray that the Lord over the harvest would send out laborers into his harvest.
SPEAKER_01: And so apparently the disciples prayed.
SPEAKER_01: So Jesus sent them.
SPEAKER_01: This is an answer to prayer.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus used the prayer of his disciples to send out laborers to send them.
SPEAKER_01: So be careful what you pray for.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: Jesus might just answer it.
SPEAKER_01: This is an answer to prayer.
SPEAKER_01: But if we think larger than that, Jesus is sending out shepherds because there are not enough godly shepherds.
SPEAKER_01: He's sending out laborers because there are too few laborers.
SPEAKER_01: You see, the mission is large.
SPEAKER_01: And in his humanity, Jesus does not accomplish all of the humanity or all of the mission.
SPEAKER_01: He uses other people to do that.
SPEAKER_01: The mission is large.
SPEAKER_01: He needs more workers.
SPEAKER_01: The mission is short.
SPEAKER_01: We don't know exactly when this is in the ministry of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: It's probably between his first and second year of ministry, which means he's probably within about 18 months of dying on the cross.
SPEAKER_01: There's 18 months left to do everything that he needs to do.
SPEAKER_01: The mission is short, and the mission is dire.
SPEAKER_01: If you look at verse 15, we begin to see that this pertains to life and death.
SPEAKER_01: This is about judgment.
SPEAKER_01: This is about life and judgment after life.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is sending out laborers, he's sending out shepherds because the mission is large, it is short, and it is dire.
SPEAKER_01: And so he sends this group of twelve obscure, unknown men.
SPEAKER_01: This is the first time in the Gospel of Matthew, and so the New Testament, that all twelve of these men are grouped together.
SPEAKER_01: We've seen some of them here and there at points in the Gospel of Matthew, but this is the first time they are mentioned together.
SPEAKER_01: And if you look closely, you will notice that they're put together in pairs, groups of two.
SPEAKER_01: It's probably because the other Gospels identify Jesus sending them out in pairs.
SPEAKER_01: Matthew doesn't tell us that point.
SPEAKER_01: Instead, he just links them together in groups of two.
SPEAKER_01: And they represent the tribes of Israel, the twelve tribes of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: They're common men.
SPEAKER_01: They're normal people.
SPEAKER_01: They come from the poor.
SPEAKER_01: They come from the middle class.
SPEAKER_01: They come from the rich.
SPEAKER_01: There are business owners.
SPEAKER_01: There are common laborers.
SPEAKER_01: There are government workers, and maybe even one mercenary.
SPEAKER_01: Origen is a church father writing in the second century.
SPEAKER_01: He wrote about the explosion of Christianity.
SPEAKER_01: He said, even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill, nor were they numerous.
SPEAKER_01: And yet these words are preached throughout the whole world so that Greeks and barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is changing the world with these 12 men, and we're seeing the very beginning of it.
SPEAKER_01: But if you think about it from a human point of view, this is pretty risky what Jesus is doing.
SPEAKER_01: He's taking a risk.
SPEAKER_01: If we were to begin an entirely new movement today with the intention of changing the world, turning the world upside down as it's recorded in the book of Acts.
SPEAKER_01: We wouldn't choose these guys.
SPEAKER_01: We would go choose the MBAs from Harvard.
SPEAKER_01: We would choose the guys that are starting up their businesses in Silicon Valley.
SPEAKER_01: We would choose the movers and the shakers of the world.
SPEAKER_01: These are not movers and shakers unless you're talking about gathering up nets on a boat.
SPEAKER_01: Not unless you're talking about raiding homes and beating people to pay their taxes.
SPEAKER_01: See, Jesus is choosing common people, everyday people from all classes of society.
SPEAKER_01: He's taking a risk here.
SPEAKER_01: He's taking a risk that these 12 men are going to pan out.
SPEAKER_01: Now he knows one isn't.
SPEAKER_01: But it's also risky because these would become the base, the foundation of the church.
SPEAKER_01: And they're just getting started.
SPEAKER_01: They've been following Jesus for maybe 12 months, maybe 18 if we give them a little bit more time.
SPEAKER_01: And yet God is taking them and he's empowering them and he's enabling them to do the work that Jesus has been doing.
SPEAKER_01: Look at it in verse 1.
SPEAKER_01: He gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out, to heal every disease and every affliction.
SPEAKER_01: That word authority is important in the Gospel of Matthew.
SPEAKER_01: It goes all the way back to the end of the Sermon on the Mount in chapter 7.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus came down from the mountaintop after teaching the people.
SPEAKER_01: And it says the crowds were amazed at his authority.
SPEAKER_01: The same authority that healed the lepers, the same authority that gave sight to the blind man, the same authority that raised a girl from the dead, the same authority that amazed crowds with his teaching is now given to these 12 men to go out and dispense God's message to the world.
SPEAKER_01: They are commissioned to carry on the same ministry.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, they're commanded.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 5, Jesus sent out the 12, instructing or literally commanding them.
SPEAKER_01: You're going.
SPEAKER_01: You've had enough of an internship walking with me and watching me and learning from me.
SPEAKER_01: Now you go out and do it yourself.
SPEAKER_01: That's actually a, I think, a fulfillment of prophecy.
SPEAKER_01: If you look back at chapter 4, when Jesus called Peter and Andrew, chapter 4, verse 18, says, While walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon, who's called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
SPEAKER_01: And he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
SPEAKER_01: Emphasis on make.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus has been spending time with these 12 individuals, making them into the men that he wants them to be.
SPEAKER_01: Training them, developing them so that they will go out and make a difference.
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's instructive for us, whether we're talking about our lives as parents, whether we're talking about being leaders in business, or whether it's in the church or in any kind of organization.
SPEAKER_01: We want to be developing people, moving them along, growing them so that they can take responsibility, take ownership, so that they can take the lead.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is giving these 12 men a chance to serve.
SPEAKER_01: He's giving them a chance to lead.
SPEAKER_01: He's giving them a chance to go.
SPEAKER_01: First, he called them to come and follow him.
SPEAKER_01: He taught them, he gave them instruction.
SPEAKER_01: They observed what he did.
SPEAKER_01: They assisted him in all of his ministry.
SPEAKER_01: And then comes the go and do likewise.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is taking these twelve unknown, obscure men, and he's raising them up to become changers of the world.
SPEAKER_01: Do you want to be trained?
SPEAKER_01: Do you want to be prepared?
SPEAKER_01: Because we want to be a church that does that.
SPEAKER_01: Do you want to be to be raised up to be used by the Lord in whatever way he wants to use you?
SPEAKER_01: We want to help with that.
SPEAKER_01: Let's instruct.
SPEAKER_01: Let's give opportunities for observation.
SPEAKER_01: Let's encourage people to serve.
SPEAKER_01: Let's empower and enable them to grow in service and leadership and ultimately in going.
SPEAKER_01: Wherever that going might be, it might be across the street, it might be across the world.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is taking the time, he's spending the energy to invest in 12 obscure men, and then he sends them.
SPEAKER_01: But he doesn't send them without instruction.
SPEAKER_01: He, in fact, gives them some parameters, some boundaries.
SPEAKER_01: He limits the instruction.
SPEAKER_01: He does so first by limiting the scope.
SPEAKER_01: He says, go to the house of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Don't go to the Gentiles, don't go to the Samaritans, stay here in the house of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: That is in Judea.
SPEAKER_01: The ministry areas that Jesus has already gone and stay here.
SPEAKER_01: He's limiting the scope.
SPEAKER_01: But that's just part of God's plan.
SPEAKER_01: Don't be surprised by that.
SPEAKER_01: You might remember Romans chapter 1, verse 16, that well-known passage where the apostle Paul says about the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: He says, I'm not ashamed of it.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not ashamed of the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: Why is he not ashamed?
SPEAKER_01: He says it's the power of God for salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
SPEAKER_01: That was God's plan to go first to Israel.
SPEAKER_01: That's why Jesus said, and in John chapter 1, the word became flesh and he came to his own.
SPEAKER_01: The Jewish people.
SPEAKER_01: And his own did not receive him.
SPEAKER_01: We find the reason for that in Romans 15, verses 8 and 9, where God said, He did that in order to confirm the promises given to Israel in the Old Testament.
SPEAKER_01: That's why he did it.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, in the New Testament, in Acts 13, verse 46, we find that coming to fruition.
SPEAKER_01: The Apostle Paul and Barnabas were speaking to a group of Jewish people in a synagogue and they were getting heckled for it.
SPEAKER_01: The Apostle Paul said, It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first, but since you thrust it aside, we're going to go to those who want to have it.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Go, go to Israel.
SPEAKER_01: But specifically, go to the lost sheep.
SPEAKER_01: That ought to take us back to the end of chapter 9.
SPEAKER_01: The sheep without a shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: The disciples had been with Jesus when the crowds gathered.
SPEAKER_01: They ought to have been able to understand what Jesus meant when he said, The sheep, he says, I see them, and they're like sheep without a shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: They're beaten down.
SPEAKER_01: They're like they're harassed by an enemy.
SPEAKER_01: They're not led, they're not guided, they're not shepherded.
SPEAKER_01: Go to them, be a shepherd to them.
SPEAKER_01: So Jesus is fulfilling, he's answering the prayer.
SPEAKER_01: Send out laborers to bring in the harvest, send out godly shepherds.
SPEAKER_01: So he's telling his disciples, go, do this.
SPEAKER_01: And their going comes with a warning to Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 15.
SPEAKER_01: Listen.
SPEAKER_01: Because yes, Israel's gonna have the attention first, but if they reject it, they're gonna be treated like Gentiles.
SPEAKER_01: So don't get too focused on that.
SPEAKER_01: Instead, focus on who receives the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, look over at chapter 11, verse 21.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done because they did not repent.
SPEAKER_01: Woe to you, Korazan, woe to you, Bethseida, for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
SPEAKER_01: But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.
SPEAKER_01: There will be degrees of judgments, friends.
SPEAKER_01: At least in part, based on whether or not you and I or anybody else hears the gospel news and responds to it.
SPEAKER_01: Notice the more bearable parts.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says, listen, you're gonna go out and you're gonna proclaim the good news of the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: If they don't receive it, they're gonna be judged in that way.
SPEAKER_01: Let's bring that a little bit closer to home.
SPEAKER_01: The gospel has been proclaimed here in Grand Forks for decades and decades and decades.
SPEAKER_01: By church after church after church.
SPEAKER_01: Think of all the people who have heard the good news in our community and have not responded.
SPEAKER_01: It'll be more bearable on the day of judgment in the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for those who do not respond in faith.
SPEAKER_01: What is our response?
SPEAKER_01: How do we respond to the word of God?
SPEAKER_01: Do we do we open ourselves up to it, to be convicted by it, to be challenged by it, to be changed by it?
SPEAKER_01: There's no excuse.
SPEAKER_01: And the more of the word of God that we have, the more responsible we become for responding to it.
SPEAKER_01: Now remember, this sending out of the disciples is still early in Jesus' ministry.
SPEAKER_01: Probably in the first year to year and a half of his ministry.
SPEAKER_01: So his focus is still on his own, right?
SPEAKER_01: It's on the Jewish people.
SPEAKER_01: So being sent out to the nations comes later at the end of the Gospel of Matthew.
SPEAKER_01: But I wonder if there's not a practical element here for leadership development, for growing people.
SPEAKER_01: And that is that being sent to Israel, to the lost sheep of Israel, was preparation for being sent to the nations.
SPEAKER_01: That they were sent out first in familiar, more comfortable contexts before being sent out into what was unfamiliar.
SPEAKER_01: And that's just the kindness of God at work.
SPEAKER_01: I think too often as churches, we have failed in that when we send people out.
SPEAKER_01: As we send people out without giving them experience in familiar, more comfortable contexts, without training them and raising them up here before they go out into what is unknown to them.
SPEAKER_01: I have personal experience with this.
SPEAKER_01: So I had no escape from it.
SPEAKER_01: It was what I grew up in.
SPEAKER_01: So you might think, okay, I knew what to do going into a local church, but I didn't know what I was doing.
SPEAKER_01: But the Lord was so gracious to me, and that the first church that I pastored when I was 23 years old was a small country church with about 30 to 40 people.
SPEAKER_01: That was a wonderful place to fail.
SPEAKER_01: They loved us, they encouraged us.
SPEAKER_01: It was a great place to learn and to understand what God expects in ministry.
SPEAKER_01: And I can't help but think that that's what Jesus is doing in part here as he trains these disciples.
SPEAKER_01: He's sending them out to a place where they understand, a place where they're comfortable, a place where they can interact and receive encouragement and grace and support along the way before being sent out to the world.
SPEAKER_01: But that's not all that Jesus did.
SPEAKER_01: He also limited the purpose of their mission.
SPEAKER_01: He limited the purpose of their mission to one thing.
SPEAKER_01: To one thing.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 7.
SPEAKER_01: And proclaim as you go.
SPEAKER_01: He said, You're gonna go.
SPEAKER_01: You're going from city to city, you're going from village to village, and as you go, proclaim, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
SPEAKER_01: This is exactly what Jesus has done.
SPEAKER_01: He's asking them to do nothing more than what he has already done.
SPEAKER_01: Look back at chapter 4 again.
SPEAKER_01: We've seen this several times.
SPEAKER_01: Chapter 4, verse 17.
SPEAKER_01: From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
SPEAKER_01: Verse 23.
SPEAKER_01: He went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
SPEAKER_01: That continues on all the way to the end of chapter 9, verse 35.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus went throughout all the cities.
SPEAKER_01: In villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel, and healing every disease and every affliction.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is saying, You've watched me, you've walked with me, now go and do the same thing.
SPEAKER_01: I'm giving you the authority, I'm empowering you to do this.
SPEAKER_01: Now go and do everything that you've seen me do.
SPEAKER_01: It's mirroring Christ.
SPEAKER_01: That is what disciples do, is they mirror Christ.
SPEAKER_01: They go and do the same thing.
SPEAKER_01: He says, go and declare that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
SPEAKER_01: This is a particular statement because the tense of the verb here indicates that the action has occurred, that the kingdom of heaven has happened, it's here, it's come, but it has continuing effects, it has following ramifications.
SPEAKER_01: That means that everybody who hears has a responsibility to respond.
SPEAKER_01: Because something has happened, and it's not just that, oh, it's all contained right here.
SPEAKER_01: No, it's like an atomic explosion that has radiation effects that continue on.
SPEAKER_01: This is just in a good way.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says, go and proclaim the primary ministry, is the ministry of the Word of God.
SPEAKER_01: He didn't say go out and make friends.
SPEAKER_01: He didn't go out and say, He didn't say to them, go and as you go, make sure that you take the time to develop relationships.
SPEAKER_01: He didn't say, go out and make sure that you understand the culture and learn the culture so that you can identify with the culture.
SPEAKER_01: He said, no, go out and proclaim.
SPEAKER_01: The kingdom has come, and the king is here.
SPEAKER_01: The ministry is all about the ministry of proclaiming that good news.
SPEAKER_01: Now you might argue with me and say, well, preacher, look at verse 8.
SPEAKER_01: That's not all he says.
SPEAKER_01: He also gives other commands: heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.
SPEAKER_01: What about that?
SPEAKER_01: The miracles are intended to confirm the message that's proclaimed.
SPEAKER_01: Those aren't different ministries.
SPEAKER_01: Those are there to confirm the primary ministry.
SPEAKER_01: Let me show you what I mean in Mark chapter 16 and verse 20.
SPEAKER_01: It says, and they went out and they proclaimed everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message.
SPEAKER_01: How?
SPEAKER_01: By accompanying signs.
SPEAKER_01: And he confirmed that word.
SPEAKER_01: He confirmed that he was authorizing it.
SPEAKER_01: He confirmed that he empowered it by the signs.
SPEAKER_01: You can also look at Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 4, where it says, God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles.
SPEAKER_01: God himself became a testifier in the miracles, to confirm the authority and the basis of the message.
SPEAKER_01: See, these miracles of healing and of cleansing lepers and of raising the dead, they're more than just acts of kindness.
SPEAKER_01: They're more than just acts of mercy.
SPEAKER_01: They're there to prove the message authentic.
SPEAKER_01: So then the next objection might be: well, why aren't we healing?
SPEAKER_01: Why aren't we raising the dead?
SPEAKER_01: Why aren't we cleansing lepers?
SPEAKER_01: Well, the answer is that we have enough confirmation already.
SPEAKER_01: You doubt that, you can look at 2 Peter chapter 1.
SPEAKER_01: Peter was describing here a miraculous experience that he had along with two other disciples, where he and two other disciples were up on top of a mountaintop and they saw Jesus transfigured before them.
SPEAKER_01: He was changed.
SPEAKER_01: He was changed as though every human aspect of him was gone, and all that was left was the divine being of Jesus, the eternal Christ.
SPEAKER_01: As if they were seeing Jesus as Isaiah saw him in Isaiah 6, high and lifted up.
SPEAKER_01: That gives support to a message.
SPEAKER_01: But listen to what Peter says.
SPEAKER_01: We have something more sure than that.
SPEAKER_01: The prophetic word to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place.
SPEAKER_01: He says, listen, this word that we now have in our hands is confirmed already.
SPEAKER_01: Look to it.
SPEAKER_01: God has spoken through his son.
SPEAKER_01: He's confirmed it.
SPEAKER_01: He's recorded it.
SPEAKER_01: The same kind of confirmation isn't needed today.
SPEAKER_01: Instead, he says, go out and proclaim.
SPEAKER_01: Proclaim the good news of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: This is hugely important today, folks.
SPEAKER_01: We have all kinds of mercy ministry organizations.
SPEAKER_01: We have all kinds of mission organizations.
SPEAKER_01: We have missionaries buying into trends that minimize the proclamation of the Word of God.
SPEAKER_01: They are squashing it and replacing it with things that the culture is trying to sell us, like a social gospel, elevating social justice over biblical justice, elevating other elements of society to push Scripture out.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says, go.
SPEAKER_01: As you're going, speak.
SPEAKER_01: Speak.
SPEAKER_01: And as Anton laid out for us so clearly last time, speaking gets you in trouble.
SPEAKER_01: If you open your mouth about the gospel, if you open your mouth about the word of God, it is going to be so antithetical to our world system.
SPEAKER_01: It's going to be anti-culture, it's going to be anti-society, it's going to be anti-country, that you're going to get yourself in hot water.
SPEAKER_01: Encourage you to listen to last week's recording if you missed that.
SPEAKER_01: Beloved, churches are no different.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, churches have become so self-focused that they have forgotten the word of God.
SPEAKER_01: And it's being pushed aside and replaced with something that's more comfortable.
SPEAKER_01: So as we prepare men and women, we must prepare them for the work of God, for the ministry of God with the Word of God.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus also gave limitations to their mission.
SPEAKER_01: He gave limits to their mission.
SPEAKER_01: You can see this in the next section where he tells them, you know, don't worry about packing a bag.
SPEAKER_01: Don't pack a suitcase.
SPEAKER_01: There we go.
SPEAKER_01: Limited the provisions for the mission.
SPEAKER_01: So don't pack a bag.
SPEAKER_01: Don't go to the bank and make sure that you got enough money for the trip.
SPEAKER_01: Just go.
SPEAKER_01: Remember, this is in a day and age where there weren't ATMs at every corner.
SPEAKER_01: It says, go and trust me that I'm going to provide for you through the people that you meet.
SPEAKER_01: Trust that Christ is going to meet your needs.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe there's some practical implications.
SPEAKER_01: We don't know.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe he's thinking about the speed with which they can travel.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's about safety.
SPEAKER_01: We don't know those things.
SPEAKER_01: What we do know is that Jesus most likely wanted them to be different than everybody else that went.
SPEAKER_01: Because at this time in history, there were false teachers, there were false prophets, there were swindlers of all kinds going through communities, making themselves seem important, seem significant, and all they were doing was robbing from the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: They were abusing the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: We have some very clear proof of that from the very first Christian catechism, you might say, written about 40 to 50 years after the book of Matthew.
SPEAKER_01: It's called the Didic, the instruction.
SPEAKER_01: And it in this section that describes when teachers come to different locations and different churches, here's what it says.
SPEAKER_01: Therefore, whoever comes and teaches you all these things that have been said before, receive him.
SPEAKER_01: But if the teacher himself turns and teaches another doctrine to the destruction of this, do not listen to him.
SPEAKER_01: If he teaches to increase righteousness and knowledge of the Lord, receive him as the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: But then it says this let every apostle that comes to you be received as the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: But he shall not remain except one day.
SPEAKER_01: If there's need, he can stay a second day.
SPEAKER_01: But if he stays a third day, he's a false prophet.
SPEAKER_01: He's a false prophet.
SPEAKER_01: It goes further than that.
SPEAKER_01: When the apostle goes away, let him take nothing with him but bread for his journey.
SPEAKER_01: But if he asks for money, he's a false prophet.
SPEAKER_01: Now that's 40 to 50 years after this, so it's already going on.
SPEAKER_01: Matthew's writing to his churches to say, listen, you understand this, you know this.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus told us, trust in him, depend in him.
SPEAKER_01: Now, that was specific for this mission.
SPEAKER_01: Later, the apostle Paul would affirm earning pastors, teachers, apostles earning their money through the proclamation of the gospel.
SPEAKER_01: That's 1 Corinthians 9.
SPEAKER_01: You can look at that.
SPEAKER_01: But at this point in time, this is instructive.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus wants his followers, he wants his disciples to know that God pays for what he orders.
SPEAKER_01: If he's going to send you out, if he's going to call you to do something for him, he's going to give you everything you need to get that accomplished.
SPEAKER_01: It may not be everything that you think you need, but it's going to be everything that you need.
SPEAKER_01: Now we're not as bold in our cultures today of walking up to somebody's home and knocking on the door and saying, hey, can I stay here for three days?
SPEAKER_01: And will you feed me?
SPEAKER_01: But that was very common in that day and age.
SPEAKER_01: In fact, the the guests were guests of literal honor.
SPEAKER_01: We have to wrap this up.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus also defined the results.
SPEAKER_01: He said, as you go, there's going to be blessing and there's going to be cursing.
SPEAKER_01: See, Jesus knows what he's sending them into.
SPEAKER_01: He knows because he's received the same reactions himself.
SPEAKER_01: Their mission was singular, to proclaim the good news of the kingdom.
SPEAKER_01: And compromise wasn't allowed.
SPEAKER_01: If they spoke, they would receive consequences, positive or negative.
SPEAKER_01: He says, go out and speak.
SPEAKER_01: This is not about building relationships, it's about proclaiming.
SPEAKER_01: And the response to the proclamation determines eternity.
SPEAKER_01: Building relationships with people isn't necessarily the catalyst to faith.
SPEAKER_01: The catalyst to faith is the word of God proclaimed.
SPEAKER_01: Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
SPEAKER_01: Success in the ministry is not defined by the number of connections that they made.
SPEAKER_01: It's not by building your leadership connections.
SPEAKER_01: It's not by building relationships.
SPEAKER_01: It's defined by the proclamation of the word that brings faith by hearing.
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus says, blessing and cursing is going to come as a result of it.
SPEAKER_01: Some people are going to welcome you, some people are going to listen to you gladly, and there's going to be blessing that comes as a result of that.
SPEAKER_01: There's going to be those that don't receive you.
SPEAKER_01: There's going to be some that don't listen.
SPEAKER_01: They're going to receive judgment.
SPEAKER_01: Now I can imagine putting myself in the shoes of these apostles.
SPEAKER_01: It starts out really exciting.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is sending me.
SPEAKER_01: And he's giving me power to cast out demons.
SPEAKER_01: He's giving me authority to raise the dead.
SPEAKER_01: How exciting is that.
SPEAKER_01: And then you hear the reality check.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, by the way, you might be beaten and dragged before governors in court.
SPEAKER_01: You might be killed for speaking up.
SPEAKER_01: See, there's a reality check for the disciples.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus doesn't send them out without without instruction there.
SPEAKER_01: But he tells them don't become self-defeated because people don't listen to you.
SPEAKER_01: Don't become self-defeated because you're rejected and people don't want to hear you speak about Christ anymore.
SPEAKER_01: He's telling them there are lost sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Go out.
SPEAKER_01: You might not know who they are.
SPEAKER_01: The sheep need to hear the voice of the shepherd, and when you declare the word of God, they're going to hear the word of the shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: Give them his voice.
SPEAKER_01: The reality of discipleship is that some are going to receive the blessing of receiving Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Some are going to be judged because they reject the word of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: So where does that leave us?
SPEAKER_01: I think there's at least three items, but I would add a fourth.
SPEAKER_01: Pray.
SPEAKER_01: Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out godly shepherds and laborers into his field.
SPEAKER_01: But as you pray, remember.
SPEAKER_01: He might call you.
SPEAKER_01: Proclaim.
SPEAKER_01: Proclaim the Word of God.
SPEAKER_01: Let's prepare people.
SPEAKER_01: Let's raise them up.
SPEAKER_01: Let's give them opportunities to grow and to be challenged and to exercise opportunities.
SPEAKER_01: And let's send them.
SPEAKER_01: That might be across the street.
SPEAKER_01: It might be across the world.
SPEAKER_01: But let's be in that work together because He's called all of us to go and make disciples as we're going.
SPEAKER_01: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_01: Lord Jesus, help us with this.
SPEAKER_01: Guide us as we seek to apply your word to our own contexts.
SPEAKER_01: Above all, give us a fire to speak of you, to speak boldly.
SPEAKER_01: And we ask that as we speak, your spirit would work and move and give new life, eternal life, through the hearing of your word.
SPEAKER_01: Give us the ability to grow disciples, to lead them to maturity so that they might be effective in your service.
SPEAKER_01: We ask this, Lord Jesus, for your praise and your glory.
SPEAKER_01: Because you are the one who died for us.
SPEAKER_01: You're the one who is not willing that any should miss out on repentance that leads to life.
SPEAKER_01: You're the one who shed your own blood and had your body broken so that we might receive the forgiveness of sins.
SPEAKER_01: So we come before you this morning to gather as your people to remember that sacrifice.
SPEAKER_01: You did that for us.
SPEAKER_01: And now you want us to go and be proclaimers of that message.
SPEAKER_01: So as we would gather to remember your broken body and your shed blood, enable us to remember that you did that to purchase our redemption, but so that we might go as well.
SPEAKER_01: In your name we pray.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: That concludes this sermon from Faith Evangelical Free Church.
SPEAKER_00: Our mission is to declare the Word of God and disciple believers into mature, devoted followers of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You can learn more by visiting our website at faithfree.com.