Blessed To Be Sent

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0:00Good morning again. My name is Joel, and I serve here as pastor, happily and joyfully. We are in a sermon series on Luke. We've just gotten back into it. In this middle section of Luke, it's all about preparing the disciples for life in the kingdom of God. High schoolers, if you remember, I made an analogy last week to your parents preparing you for life after you leave the home. This is what's happening in, for about nine or ten chapters in the middle of Luke, all kinds of lessons for the disciples. Today, Jesus prepares his disciples for life after he goes back to the Father. He prepares them by sending them out on a mission. Now, this group was inexperienced, this group of disciples. A lot of them were probably young, from like late teens through like late twenties, perhaps, was the majority of them. They were still getting to know Jesus. They had been following him. Some of them had been following him for a couple years, some of them for a couple months, some for probably a couple weeks. They were still getting to know Jesus. They were still coming to understand what the kingdom of God was all about. They were kind of like interns, or new recruits, or apprentices. In our world, people with that kind of position, they don't really get to do anything all that significant. And sometimes you learn that the hard way. The summer after my senior year of high school, as the summer was approaching, I was at youth group at my church, and a man who was a volunteer leader was like, hey, Joel, what are your plans

1:43for the summer? Are you going to work? And I said, yeah, I've been working at YouCrops for a couple years. Anybody here work for YouCrops? Anybody? Nobody? It was a great place to work when it was still there. But I said, I'll probably just work at YouCrops again. I've been there for a couple years. And he said, you know, why don't you come work for me? And I said, all right. And he said, I work at Motorola. And I was like, wow, Motorola. Cool. All right. This is a step up. So he gave me some information. I remember going to a temp agency to kind of get signed up. And it was like, it was in an office. And I was there and filling out forms and, you know, taking tests and stuff. And I'm thinking like, wow, this is amazing, you know, as a high school student. And then I show up for work.

2:36And I'm like in this big office building down in Innsbruck. And I'm like, wow, this is great. I finally get to, you know, do some real work here. It's exciting. And then he tells me, okay, here's what I want you to do, Joel. We have a call center where people who have Motorola phones and Motorola plans and everything. They can call to find out, you know, give me the address for Kinkos. And so you dial a number, Kinkos, please. And they would look it up. So he said, I want you to call those people and time them on how fast they can give the response and then record the time and then hang up and then do it again. And that's all I did. I was, I called Motorola's call center. I was just looking in the phone book for a business. I would give them a business. I would hit go on my timer. They would look it up and then I would write down the time and I wouldn't write it down and put it in a little table on a computer. And it didn't take more than just probably one morning of doing this that all of my visions of like, wow, I'm working in an office building and this is amazing. Motorola. All of that vanished. And at that point, it was just like, can I actually make it through the summer without like going crazy? Because it was, it was, it was, I mean, the guy was being kind, right? But it was so boring. It was so boring. There was no joy. It was not, not fun at all. I had no authority. I had no, I was not doing work of any significance, right? I was just there every day making phone calls. And turns out

4:23that, um, facing the, the boringness of some work was actually pretty good preparation for me. Um, but, uh, and I'm sure that as I tell that story, you've all probably done some work that has been really boring. Doesn't feel all that significant. Feels like your level of impact is at its lowest, lowest that it's ever been, but you just have to keep doing it, right? Well, listen, when God sends his people out on a mission, it is completely different than that.

4:56It couldn't be further away from that reality. When God sends his people out on a mission, it is different than every other work that we can do in this world because he is in it because he sends us. And this passage is exciting because it tells, it shows us as he sends out 72, it shows us just how different it is to be at work in the kingdom of God, to be on the Lord's mission, which we are all on to be on that mission. It is completely different than me in some office, just counting down the minutes until I could go home, making phone call after phone call, doing nothing of significance, no joy. Couldn't be further away from that. So let's look at Luke chapter 10 and see what it is that God asks his people to do and how it's different than that mind-numbingly boring job at Molarola. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pay attention to it. Let's receive it. Let's rely on it because the Lord gave it to us and he is trustworthy and true.

6:04He never fails. After this, the Lord appointed 72 others and sent him on ahead of him two by two into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way. Behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no money bag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, peace be to this house. And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him.

6:48But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house eating and drinking what they provide for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, the kingdom of God has come near to you. But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless, know this, that the kingdom of God has come near. I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. Woe to you, Chorazin. Woe to you, Bethsaida. For if the mighty works done and you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. The one who hears you, hears me.

8:02The one who rejects you, rejects me. And the one who rejects me, rejects him who sent me. The 72 returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. And he said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. And that same hour, he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

8:57All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Then turning to the disciples, he said privately, blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it. Pray with me. Lord, we are your people by your grace, and we are overjoyed to be your people. But Lord, I ask you to increase our joy today, increase our joy at seeing the gracious gift we have, to have you, to belong to you, and to be on this mission, this wonderful, glorious, fruitful mission that you have sent us on.

10:00Help us to be excited about the work of redemption that is happening in us and all around us that we get to participate in. Jesus, we pray this in your name. Amen. We are blessed to be sent. Blessed to be sent. Jesus sends the church on a mission that is powerful, fruitful, and joyful. Three things that that job at Motorola was not. Powerful, fruitful, and joyful. Keep that slide up there, Avery. Let's start here. Rather than get the application at the end, let's start here. How does this even apply to us? Otherwise, you'll hear the sermon, and you'll think it's talking about somebody else. The mission of these 72 disciples was a one-time assignment. They went out, they came back, like a short-term missions trip. You might think that it applies to people who are in overseas missions, people who have left behind their hometown, their jobs, and gone overseas to be missionaries. It does apply there. You might also think, oh, okay, this is about individual evangelism.

11:16That's what this passage is all about. This is about sharing the hope of the gospel with other people. And yes, it does apply to that too. But the sending of the 72 in this passage, it foreshadows the mission of the church, capital C church. It foreshadows the mission of the church, the mission that began after Jesus's resurrection and ascension. We read about this earlier from the book of Acts. That mission continues to this day. It is still going on. Most Christians, maybe everyone in this room, haven't left behind workplaces and hometowns, to travel from place to place on this mission. And yet, if you belong to him, you belong to his body, you belong to the church, we are still on a mission together.

12:13This passage helps us to see how we, a group of individuals, called together to be a body of Christ, how we can envision and step into the mission that God has given his people and his church. Especially, a new church here in Chester. It helps us keep focused and envision what it is that we're supposed to be doing. Who it is that's behind it. The promises that he's made. I want to tell you, whatever role you play here, however you participate, whether it's being an usher, a Bible study leader, whether it's playing music or playing with kids in the nursery, whether you are setting up chairs, or coming to a Bible study at someone's house, you are part of this interconnected body of Christ as we together step into the mission that God has given us. So this passage illuminates everything that you do as you are participating in this church. Doesn't matter the scope of it, doesn't matter the level of responsibility, as you are stepping into that and you're coming behind the mission of this church to bring the gospel to bear in people's lives here in Chester, in our own lives, then this passage can teach you something, can show you something, can encourage and direct you. And of course, there are times when we're all by ourselves trying to bring the light of Christ to someone near us. Maybe it's someone who hasn't put their faith in Jesus yet, or maybe it's someone who is struggling and trying to walk in that faith they already have, and you're there with them trying to help them follow Jesus. Hopefully you're not ever

14:07alone. Hopefully there are other people that know and are encouraging you as you're trying to bring the light of Christ to other people individually. But this passage also illuminates and helps you see how you can step into those individual one-on-one moments of bringing the kingdom, bringing the light of Christ to bear in a situation. So I want you to think collectively, think about being a part of the church and think individually, about your individual work, the individual moments that you have to encourage and direct someone towards Christ, to help them grow in Christ. All of those things are applied here for this passage. So having said that, let's look at three adjectives that describe this mission that Jesus sends us on. First, it's powerful. If you imagine a person who has power, what comes to mind? Someone sitting behind a huge desk? Someone that has an army? Or a huge staff?

15:15Someone who can make a single decision that has dramatic consequences for an area, or for a company, or for a nation? Is that what power looks like? Do you ever daydream, you know, if only I was in charge, I'd do things different, it'd be like this. It's a little daydream about power. We all have those from time to time. Now, these 72 were sent out on a powerful mission, but it looks way different than the world's power looks. Completely different. First of all, they don't go alone. Jesus sent them ahead of him. Two by two. It's a together mission. We think that power is most likely found in an individual.

15:59Sharing power is inherently giving away some power. That's the way we think. True power is one person being able to do something. One person calling the shots. But Ecclesiastes 4 says two are better than one. And a cord of three strands is not easily broken. Jesus unites us for this mission so that we can give each other fellowship, wisdom, protection, encouragement. We need each other. And then the first thing that Jesus tells them to do is not something that looks very powerful at all. He says, pray. Pray earnestly. It feels weak to ask for help. Especially when you're now a laborer in the harvest and God says, you know what? There's too few. You think, oh, thanks a lot, God. I thought I was real strong here. Nope. You need more. Pray for more. Ask for more. It feels weak to ask for help. But listen, prayer is not a prelude. It's part of the mission. It's not something that happens before you go out on mission. It happens during the mission. And God provides. Listen, this is a new church. We're coming up on our one-year anniversary. I want you to think about this. Think about what Jesus says. Pray earnestly for the Lord to provide more labors for the harvest. Each one of you is an answer to someone's prayer. Because you are sitting here today in a new church. God heard someone pray. He listened and he answered the prayer. God, send out more laborers in the Chester area. Send out more laborers because that harvest is plentiful. That's why you're sitting here today, because God has answered a prayer. You are an answer to prayer. The church exists because people prayed and

18:02God answered. And we ought to keep praying. New creation, join me in prayer. Often, eagerly, that God would send out more laborers into his harvest here in Chester. Send out more, God.

18:20Now, he says the mission will encounter hostility. I'm sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. This also doesn't look very powerful. Jesus had already had his life threatened. Some people will be indifferent to Jesus and to his followers, but others will be downright antagonistic, will be hostile. The good news for sheep, like us, is that we have a great shepherd. But then the good shepherd tells the 72, to carry no money bag, no knapsack, no sandals. Wait, Jesus, there's danger, and you want us to be less prepared? But here's the thing. Self-reliance gets you nowhere in the kingdom of God. Self-reliance does not help you on the mission that Jesus is sending you and me and us out on. When we see our weakness, we rely on his strength. That's how it works. Usually, that's the only way that we rely on his strength, is when we see and we come face-to-face with our weakness. It's good to feel dependent on God. It's a good thing. That's how you are meant to live. And I know we're feeling that right now. We're a new church. We're a small church.

19:37I am praying, as I'm sure you are, that God would continue to build us up. But, Lord, don't ever let us be self-reliant. Help us always to be dependent on him. Now, they go out looking weak, but I'm getting to the part where it's powerful. What makes this mission so powerful is that they're coming on behalf of someone else. They went into every town and place where he himself was about to go. It's not about them. You are not special. Their job is to prepare people for the one who is special, to prepare people for Jesus. Jesus is coming. They're like setting the table for the meal. The meal is about to be served.

20:26Come to the table. Let me set it up for you. When they get there, when they get to a town, as they minister, something they say is, the kingdom of God has come near to you. Now, think about that for a second. They're not all that special. They don't look all that well-equipped. And yet, they say the kingdom of, because I'm here, because Jesus sent me, the kingdom of God has come near to you.

20:58They're representing the king. They're embodying the kingdom. They're bringing it near. The power in this mission doesn't come from them. It comes from him. And he has sent them. But Jesus knows that some won't receive them. And he prepares them for that. This has already happened to Jesus several times. We read about this last week when a Samaritan town said, keep moving, Jesus. We don't want you here. He mentions here some of the towns of Galilee that had seen him work. He had worked closely there.

21:35He had done amazing, mighty things, things that he said, look, Gentile towns of long ago would have seen these things and repented. But that didn't happen here. The Galilean towns rejected him. And he says the consequences will be high. Persistent rejection of Jesus will be punished on the day of judgment. I'm just quoting Jesus here. Jesus is from Galilee. That's his hometown. That's his area, his stomping grounds. But Jesus says, you don't get it passed just because you grew up with me. You don't saved by just being near Jesus. You're saved because you rely on him and because you put your faith in him.

22:22Proximity does not count. You must accept him in faith. But listen, he gives the 72 a note of reassurance here. When people reject them, he says, look, they're really rejecting me. They're to give nothing more than a warning. They're not to call down fire like James and John suggested happen last time. No, Jesus says, just give a warning. They need to know what's really happened here. Wiping the dust off their feet, that's a cultural thing. That would be weird for us to do, but it's a cultural thing. It's a warning. It's saying, look, I brought to you peace in the name of Jesus, and you did not want it. So I'm distancing myself now. But they're still to be clear. Nevertheless, nevertheless, the kingdom of God has come near. These 72 are like ambassadors. They're like diplomats.

23:24They've been sent out by the king. The way a foreign diplomat acts in a country that is not their own is understood as being a statement about the country that they're in. They have to represent their home country very well and very carefully. And it goes the other way, too. The way a foreign diplomat is treated by the country that they're in is understood as being a statement about the country that they're from. There's a big brouhaha right now between Canada and India. India has said to Canada, get your diplomats out of here. That's a pretty dramatic thing when a country says, get your diplomats out of here. That's basically saying to a whole country, we are not on speaking terms right now. Everyone in the world of diplomacy knows it means something. It's not just 40 some odd people having to relocate. This is India saying, Canada, you and I are estranged right now.

24:25That's what's happening when God sends out us as diplomats. We are diplomats. We are representing the king. It is an awesome, huge responsibility to represent Jesus in this world. I went to the grocery store the other day, and I was walking around getting some stuff, and it occurred to me as I was walking up to the counter that I was wearing my new creation shirt. I really like that shirt. It's comfortable. But I had not even occurred to me that everything I was doing, everything I was doing as I was walking around, people could look at and immediately associate with Jesus and with this church. Now, fortunately, I kind of rewound, and it's not like I picked up a can and dented it so I would get a discount or something. But it was a reminder, oh, I forgot. I forgot who I'm representing right now. It's happening right now, and it's clear because I'm wearing this shirt.

25:26Church, even if you're not wearing the shirt, you're still representing Jesus. It's all the time. Represent him well. Come with peace. Come in the name of Jesus. If you're not received, it's on them. But be sure that you are representing your king well and the kingdom that you're from well. If we come peacefully in the name of Jesus, we shouldn't take it personally when we're rejected. We've been faithful. That's still faithful mission work. We should be patient. We should pray for God to change hearts because he does. He does change hearts. There is still time for turning to happen.

26:11Now, even though there's going to be rejection, this mission is not only powerful, but it is also fruitful. Look at this. It is fruitful. How many times have you worked hard on something? I mean really hard, and nothing came of it. Nothing happened. A project at work. Something in your house. Something in your yard. You've worked hard on. You've written, students, you've written a paper, and then suddenly the computer freezes, and you lose everything that you've worked on. Oh, that's the worst. I don't, I'm not trying to be a downer, but this is the way things are.

26:52This is the way things have ever been ever since sin entered the world. Our work has an element of futility to it, of frustration to it. It doesn't go the way we want it to, and that's why we should take notice, and we should rejoice when we see Jesus say these four words, the harvest is plentiful. Plentiful. Just those four words should get us excited, because we never know if our work is going to amount to anything, or even if it does, how long it's going to last. But on this mission, you can be sure. You can be sure. God's word will go out with power. The gospel will bear fruit. People will turn to God in repentance and faith. They will abide in Christ and experience new life. God's kingdom will come. Many times we don't see it, but we can walk by faith, trusting, because Jesus said it would happen. The harvest is plentiful, and with that promise, the 72 are told how to conduct themselves.

28:09They go out, and they say, peace. Peace be with you. Peace be upon this house. The grace of God has come to visit. It's an olive branch. It's a gesture of reconciliation. They're not to go from house to house, but to remain where they've been received. It's a fruitful mission, but it's also a patient mission. It's not about numbers. These are not salespeople making cold calls. Jesus saying, I want you to make at least 50 cold calls every day. This is not a contest about how many front door conversations they can have. They stay. They break bread. They get into conversations.

28:51They build relationships. They take time to get to know people. I've got a friend who does this kind of mealtime thing very, very well. He loves, he's a great cook, and he loves hosting people for dinner. And I've been to dinner with him where it's been some people that I know and some people I don't know, maybe about eight people. And you just know when you're having dinner with my friend, you just get ready because you're going to be there all evening. He's going to serve like three courses. I'm talking about like five hours of sitting at a dinner table. When you know that that's what you're in for and you just, you square yourself to that and you're like, okay, this is five hours. We're going to be, we're going to be talking for a while. I tell you, by the end of that five-hour meal, there have been some significant conversations that have happened. If the people come in desiring to fellowship around the food and not just look at their phones. That's what's happening right now. He says, go, stay in the house. Eat what they serve you. Build relationships. Look for opportunities to speak peace to them.

30:02Okay. Loneliness is an epidemic right now. Have you, have you heard about this? The loneliness epidemic? People are craving real relationship. People are craving to be listened to, to be heard, to spend time. People are craving a five-hour meal, even if they don't know it. They might get a little itchy around hour two, pick up their phone. But deep down, we want to be known. We were sent to be the people to get to know people, to build relationships, that take time. And while they stay, they're to heal the sick. They find opportunities to do good. This is a helping mission. Notice it doesn't say whether or not the people have come to faith in Jesus. Heal the sick. Doing good and being a tangible blessing to our neighbors is crucial. We're going to talk much more about this next week. Jesus tells a very famous parable, but we're going to get into this more. So I'll just leave it at that. Now when the 72 return, they have experienced how fruitful this mission is. Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.

31:31Lives were changed. People were healed. Captives were liberated. And it happened in the name of Jesus. That's why the mission is fruitful. Not because we're strong. Not because we're well-equipped. The harvest is plentiful because God's redeeming power is at work. He has purposed it. He has planned it. And it will happen. It is incredibly fun to see a need and to say, you know what? I know a guy. He can take care of it. The 72 didn't have much, but they had a powerful friend.

32:09So these demons didn't stand a chance. In the name of Jesus, they were gone. Jesus affirms their testimony. And then he amplifies it. He says, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. This is his victory. And he shares it with them. I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall hurt you. This is not like getting the superstar in Super Mario Brothers. Okay? Listen, this is not a green light to live recklessly. It's an encouragement to follow Jesus fearlessly. Do you see the difference? It is not a green light to live recklessly.

32:54It is encouragement to follow Jesus fearlessly. The life that he gives is eternal and nothing can take it away. He says, I've seen the enemy's great defeat and you're with me. You're with me. This promise of a fruitful mission and the testimony of the 72, it should encourage us today in times when we can't see it, we can rely on Jesus and trust him. The harvest is plentiful. It is plentiful here in Chester. It's plentiful in the people in this room. We have every reason to go out with hope and with purpose in his name. So the mission is powerful and it's fruitful and we're going to end it here. Briefly, we're going to see that the mission is joyful.

33:48The 72 recount their experiences and they're overjoyed. It's amazing to see God at work. It's even more amazing to be part of it. But then Jesus redirects them. Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. The strongest, the most durable, lasting joy comes from knowing who we belong to, not what he has done through us. Imagine a paintbrush. In the case of Leonardo da Vinci, the paintbrush doesn't care that it can't see the entire painting. The paintbrush doesn't care whether it gets to paint the main figure of the painting or just a few blades of grass. The paintbrush is just overjoyed because it belongs to the master. And every so often the master picks it up and uses it for his masterpiece. You are that paintbrush in the hands of the master. Don't focus on the part that you play, how big it is, how small you think it is, how much fruit you see. Focus on the fact that you're in the hands of the master, that you belong to him. Don't base your joy in the power God's given you because sometimes you'll feel weak. Don't base your joy in the fruit that God bears through you because sometimes you just won't see it. Instead, base your joy in the identity that God gives you as his beloved and adopted child because that will never change. When Jesus says this to his disciples, he gets overjoyed. He rejoices in the Spirit, the text says here. I'm sure there were plenty of times where Jesus rejoiced, but this is the only time in all four Gospels that we are told that Jesus rejoices. And he rejoices

36:05because he is seeing the grace of God at work in people's lives. It's not the wise or the smart or the resourceful that has discovered God. He didn't set up a puzzle to see who could figure it out. He didn't set up some kind of obstacle course to see who could compete and do best and win it. No, in fact, he says it was hidden from people who try to earn it. It was revealed to the humble, to children, to babies, to babies, if we were to translate that literally. It was revealed to babies. God is sovereign over salvation and he gets all the glory. Now listen, if your involvement in the mission of God has not been all that joyful recently, then take time to reflect on the graciousness of God to bring you to him. If your faith is in Jesus, then God knows your name. He's written it down, not in pencil, but in ink. Remember what Jesus says, blessed are the eyes that see what you see. You know how God accomplished redemption. You know how he made a way for reconciliation between sinners and a holy God.

37:29God, you know the name of Jesus. Now you see his kingdom coming. You see his will being done on earth as it is in heaven. We know our future because we have seen the risen Christ and we have seen him at work. What a blessing. Prophets and kings looked forward to what we get to experience every day. Church, we are blessed to be sent by him. Pray with me. Father, what a blessing to know you, to be reconciled to you, to be given a holy purpose in this wonderful redemptive mission.

38:22Lord, give us eyes to see how different this mission is from every other kind of work that we do. Remind us of the power. Remind us of the fruitful promise and remind us of who we belong to. Restore us every day. Refresh our joy. It is a delight to be a paintbrush in your hands. We have done nothing to deserve it. And yet, there we are in your hands, used by you to create a masterpiece. Jesus, we love you. Increase our love. Help us to follow you eagerly today with joy, with purpose.

39:15Jesus, we pray this in your name. Amen.