Luke 9:1-6 A Profile of a Christian Messanger

[Anh Viet's Saturday Night Bible Study]

I have a brain teaser for you.  Well hold on.  First of all…heaven.  Heaven is perfect.  Heaven is glorious in every way.  Everything in heaven is a million times better than everything here.  You and I will be a million times better in heaven than we are here now.  But did you know that there is one thing you can’t do in heaven.  We are can in heaven a million times better than we can here.  But what is the one thing no person can do in heaven?  What is the one noble godly thing that can only be done on earth and never be done in heaven?  Well lets think this through.  Why are we still here?  Why are we Christians still hanging out here on earth instead of being in heaven?  Why doesn’t a person, at the moment he prays the sinner's prayer go immediately to the presence of God?  Because really isn’t it better in heaven?  Think about it.  Are we gonna sing better here or in heaven?  Is the music going to be played better now or in heaven?  Isn’t An going to be more musically talented in his glorified body?  Hopefully.  Aren't I going to preach better once I’m up there.  Of course.  And what else?  Everything.  I won’t sin.  I won’t be frustrated or stressed out over every little thing.  I’ll be better looking and in better shape than Vinny. I’ll walk better with God. So with all those benefits why aren’t we there now?

One thing.  We’re still hanging around here for one reason and only one reason.  To make Christ known.  I am not in heaven for one simple purpose…to tell others about Jesus.  That’s it.  God puts up with me, my imperfections and my goofups for only one thing.  Not to hear me sing badly.  Not to have me fall asleep when I’m praying in the morning.  Not to totally mess up in my Bible interpretations.  I’m here to preach the gospel.  That’s it.  Nothing else. Think about it.  Everything else, I can do and do better in heaven.  There’s only one thing I can’t do in heaven and that’s to tell sinners condemned to hell that there is a way to heaven.

It’s NBA playoffs.  Every team has one purpose and one singularly focused goal.  To win a championship.  We have one goal. One sole pursuit.  To proclaim the message of God’s kingdom.  That’s the Great Commission.  That’s what Jesus, before ascending, commanded us disciples to do.  Preach the gospel.

Now if that’s it.  If that’s our whole thing.  If that’s the reason for our earthly existence.  It would probably be a good idea to know how to do it don’t you think?  If that’s my job, I should know to do it well.  I should know how to most effectively, clearly and powerfully proclaim God’s gospel message.  Right? So how do we do it?  How should Christians preach the gospel?  How do believers best deliver the message of Jesus Christ?  Well I need to find people dedicated to sharing the gospel and follow them.  I need to look at people who preach the gospel and do it well in order to model after them.  That’s what we’re going to do tonight.  We’re going to profile a group of Christian messengers.  We’re going to take a look at how a few commissioned guys went about delivering the message of God’s kingdom and hopefully learn something.

So we’re in the Gospel of Luke.  Still continuing in the book.  Just changing the teaching format.  Up to chapter 9, Jesus has been ministering in the northern area of Galilee.  He hasn’t really been anywhere else.  He’s been teaching, healing, casting out demons, calming violent storms and forgiving sinners.  Because of all the amazing works, Jesus starts to gather a large following.  One day, out of the large following people, Jesus picks out 12.  These guys are put through an intense training and instructional course.  The goal is that hopefully one day, these 12 can take over Jesus’ ministry.  So for about 1 to 1.5 years, these guys are sitting and learning at Jesus’ feet listening to him and observing him minister.

Jesus now is almost done with his Galilean ministry.  He knows it’s about time for him to move on down to Jerusalem.  So with that in mind, Jesus needs to do some heavy duty outreach campaigns throughout that northern area.  The problem is he can’t hit every place.  He doesn’t have enough time to preach to every city and town in the Galilean area.  So he decides it’s time to send these 12 guys out.  It’s time to send them out and see what they can do.  So we have here the 12 apostle’s first assignment.  Their first missionary trip.  It was probably a short trip but still the first one.  Here is the first time the 12 are called and commissioned to deliver the message Jesus had been preaching.  So lets turn to Luke 9 and I’m going to read verses 1-6.  Luke 9:1-6.

Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.
"Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."
So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.



How do Christians preach the gospel?  We have only one job here on earth.  So how do we do it effectively?  How can Christians preach the gospel well?


I.  Christians preach the gospel well when they have divine power and authority.

First of all, Christians preach the gospel well when they do it with divine power and authority.  As messengers of God, we are given certain rights and abilities.  These help authenticate the message we’re trying to deliver.  When godly heavenly evidence accompanies me, telling people about Jesus will travel far deeper into a person’s heart.  When I have divine proof that what I am saying is the real deal, it no longer is a joke or fantasy to people, it becomes true.  And truth is powerful.

Here is verse 1, before sending them out on their missions trip, Jesus empowers the 12 with power and authority over demons and diseases.  As you probably know, Jesus did a lot of healing and exorcising.  Probably because in that region and in that day, the occult culture made it easy for people to get demon possessed.  Also, the medical field and sanitation is not like it is today so people weren’t as healthy as they are today.  So they probably would be encountering a lot of sick people and a lot of demon possessed people. Now you can imagine, being their very first missions trip, how nervous the 12 apostles probably were.  I mean Jesus was powerful his message was piercing and now they are suppose to do exactly what he did.  You can imagine the weight the burden the fear the anxiety they were feeling.  And I’m sure they probably had doubts.  I’m sure Thomas did.  Because you know he’s doubting Thomas.  He’s probably thinking: oh man what if I enter a city and this big demon possessed guy starts running at me and I say in Jesus name come out of him and the demon doesn’t leave.  Or worse yet what if the demon leaps out of the man and comes upon me.  Oh man that would be horrible.  Imagine what Peter was thinking.  What if I see a lame man begging for money and I say silver and gold I do not have but what I have I give to you.  In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.  And I pick him with both hands and…he falls right back down again breaking his arm.  Now he’s got crippled legs and a broken arm.  And then I’m going to say believe in Jesus who has the power to raise you up from the dead.  And they are going to go get real this Jesus can’t even heal a lame man, how am I suppose to believe he can raise me from the dead?

So Jesus probably knowing the anxiety and fear they would have says I’m giving you guys power and authority over all demons and diseases.  You’re going to go and when you see a demon, you’ll be able to cast them out.  When you encounter the lame or sick, you’re going to be able to heal their diseases.  So go preach the kingdom and heal the sick.  And don’t be ashamed of message because you’ll be able to prove that the message has power and is real.  They’ll see that these words are true.  You see the miracles Jesus did, the healings, the raising from the dead authenticated Jesus’ message.  They were evidence that Jesus wasn’t crazy.  That his words didn’t come from man but God.  So these miracles, these signs and wonders he gave to the disciples so it would bolster the message they gave. Christians will preach the gospel well when they have divine power and authority.

Now let me say this.  Do we need God’s power and authority today?  Yes.  But that power and authority might be expressed differently today in America than it did back then.  Because I think the common everyday needs of people today are different than they were back then.  People have different problems here and now.  As I said before.  Back then because of bad sanitation and primitive medicine, people’s health was not as good.  So people die younger and sicknesses/diseases were more prevalent.  Also, because people in that culture more openly dabbled in the occult, there was probably more demon possession cases.  So if Jesus would preach the gospel to a crowd, there is a good chance that more than half of those people were either sick or demon possessed.  But today if you go to Harvest Crusade, and you look at these American 16-17-18-20 something year olds in the stands, how many of have as their list of top problems diseases and demon possession?  Probably not many.  Now if you go to a senior citizen you might have people with major health issues. 

If you go to a 3^rd world country you might have more encounters with demon possessions.  But, here not as much. But we have our own problems.  21^st century Americans have their own issues to sort out.  I think one of the big problems we have in this individualistic culture with broken families on the rise is the issue of loneliness.  How many people feel isolated or alone?  How many people are there who rarely experienced true sacrificial love?

Huong told me a story of a client of ours.  I can tell you because you don’t know who she is.  She is a 40 something year old women with an 8 year old son.  Five years ago, she divorced her husband because he was cheating on her.  He went to Vietnam, met a girl had an affair.  Someone told her about she refused to believe it.  She thought they were so much in love and he wasn’t the type of person who would do that.  But he completely changed.  Every once in a while the phone would ring and he would run upstairs into his office to pick up the call.  Still in denial, one time she went up to the office with her 3 year old son to tell her husband dinner was ready.  As she opened the door he freaked out and kicked the door shut smashing her face as well as her sons.  When she had enough she divorced.  During the divorce proceedings, he told the judge he would have custody of their son visit their son 3 days a week and wouldn’t leave it all for his wife.  Because of that, the judge reduced the amount of child support he had to pay.  For the last five years, never once did he ever take their son home to his place.  Rarely even visits him while paying a reduced child support payment.  This woman needs to hear the gospel message.  But this woman also needs to see that the message is real.  She needs to see a husband love his wife and family with a Godly love.  She needs to know that God can help get her life back in order. 

You know another problem we have…stress.  Stress.  Worry.  Anxiety.  We live in a complicated world and the more complex life gets there is greater potential for worry and fear. So I go to my friend and talk to him about he kingdom of God and how Jesus is the mediator.  He’ll say what about my burdens?  What about my worries and fears?  And I can say let me tell you about the peace that surpasses all understanding.  Let me show you my worry free and fear free life because I am trusting God with everything.  This message I am sharing is real.  That is power and authority.

If I am walking right with God, that power and authority will be shown in my life.  The power to sustain a good healthy loving marriage will be there.  The power to heal me from emotional trauma is there.  The power to bring peace.  That is the sign and wonder to meet the needs of those around me. 

Now why do I need authority and power.  Shouldn’t the Word of God prove itself.  Can’t I just say Jesus is the way to heaven and leave at that?  If that was the case, why would Jesus spend a good part of 3 years healing, exorcising, and raising the dead?  If that’s all he needed to do, Jesus would just stand on top of the temple.  Yell out I am the way the trust and the life no one comes to the Father but by me and then die on a cross and leave.

Why did he spend a good chunk of his 3 year ministry serving people?

God has chosen to communicate the message of the gospel through human lives. That includes my words and my deeds.  For my words to be effective, they must be expressed in non-verbal aspects of my life.

II.  Christians preach the gospel well when they have the ability to maintain simple lifestyles.

Christians preach the gospel well when they have divine power and authority to authenticate that message.  Secondly, Christians preach the gospel well when they have the ability to maintain simple lifestyles.  To be effective, the Christian must be able to live plainly while fulfilling his mission.  For us to do our single job of sharing the gospel well, we must learn to be content in whatever financial/material situation God puts us in.

Along with the commission to preach, Jesus gives instructions to the 12 about what to pack and where to live.  Let me read to you verse 3-4:

And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece. 
"Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.

So Jesus says go spend a few weeks traveling to cities and towns in northern Galilee and preach the kingdom.  You have authority and power to cast out demons and to heal the sick.  By the way, don’t pack anything.  Just wear the shirt on your back and one staff for walking or protection.  That’s it.  Don’t take anything else.  Don’t bring a bag, don’t bring food, don’t bring money.  Instead just go and depend on the people you minister to to take you in and support you.

Let me tell you what this does not mean.  It does not mean that to live properly as Christians, we must sell everything we have and live off of those we share the gospel with.  It doesn’t mean that a pastor or evangelist is supposed to do that.  We know that because at times and we will see it in a second, Paul lived fairly comfortably.  This does not mean that this is a blanket command for all of us to follow strictly.   Remember that these are partly training missions for the disciples.  Jesus is not only sending them out to minister he’s also training them to do it well when it comes time for him to leave.  So what Jesus is saying is that for this particular missions trip take nothing.  Learn to depend on God.  Learn to trust in God to provide for you.  Also, learn to have flexible lifestyles.  Again the second point is that to preach the gospel well, Christians must have the ability to maintain simple lifestyles.  It doesn’t you always must be poor.  It means that do your one job well, you must be able to live on very little if you have to.

We talked about this with one of the guys’ small groups but you know if I had $10 million dollars, what would I do with it?  I would give a tenth to the Lord.  Go down to these new 3000 square feet million dollar homes near the beach they are selling in Laguna Hills and buy one.  Then take the remaining 8 million dollars put it in some money market account that pays 7-8 percent interest.  That’s about $500,000 a year.  Quit my job close my office and do ministry full time.  I would get a new S class Mercedes to drive to and from church.  That would be my dream scenario.  On the other hand, if I had to move into an 850 square foot 1 bedroom apartment and drive 1999 Toyota Corolla, assuming Huong would be cool about it…I think I would be perfectly content.  Because being able to have the flexibility to be in God’s perfect will is the place I could ever be.  Paul mastered this type of attitude in Philippians 4:11-13.  Let me read it to you:

…for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

So is it wrong to be rich?  No.  Abraham was a very wealthy man.  Job was wealthy.  Joseph of Arimathea was wealthy.  It’s okay for me to be rich, I just can’t love to be rich.  Money is not the root of all evil, the love of money is the root of all evil.

Why do I need to live simply?  You can be rich to do share the gospel effectively.  High maintenance people limit their options. I want to be able go wherever God wants me to go. 

Conclusion
Christians preach the gospel well when they have divine power and authority authenticating the message while having the ability to maintain simple lifestyles.  The only thing we can’t do in heaven is to tell the lost about Jesus.  That is the only reason why we are still hanging around here on earth.  That is the only reason why we have to learn to put up with each other.  The world needs to know that there is a way to heaven.  And if I want to do my job well I must show proof that this message is real and I must be flexible enough to wherever God leads. Me.