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[0:00] Amen. Praise the Lord for that. If you have your Bibles, Luke chapter number 9. Luke chapter number 9. If you are able to stand for the reading of God's Word, I ask that you would. Children's Church, if you haven't been dismissed already, 1st through 5th grade is meeting already in the back.

[0:15] So Children's Church, 1st through 5th grade. I'm thankful for the music this morning. I'm thankful for just the reminder that Jesus never fails. And we could almost just go home after the song service.

[0:30] Because the idea with the music is that we're not just trying to waste time. We're trying to lift Jesus Christ high. But I think it does prepare our hearts for the preaching. I'm so thankful for our brother Jared and our musicians that put the time and the effort in to prepare our hearts for this.

[0:45] And I'm thankful we can open the Word of God. And we can come to a Sunday after a week like this and know that Jesus never fails. That He's still in control and we have a mission to be on.

[0:57] Our series in the Gospel of Luke is Jesus and His mission. But here we're kind of reaching the point in the Gospel where Jesus has been training and training and training. Now He's saying, alright, now it's your turn to go. Now it's your turn to go and be on mission.

[1:09] And I think there's some great truths that we can take with us this morning. So if you found your place there in Luke chapter 9, we're going to read the first 10 verses together. And the Bible says this. Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases.

[1:26] And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. And He said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves nor scrip, neither bread, neither money, neither have two coats apiece.

[1:39] And whatsoever house ye enter into, they're abide and fenced apart. And whosoever will not receive you when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.

[1:52] Notice verse number 6. And they departed and went through the towns preaching the Gospel and healing everywhere. Verse 7 says, Verse 10 says, This morning I want to preach a message entitled this.

[2:43] Sent with His power for His mission. Sent with His power for His mission. Because that's what Jesus is wanting His disciples to do. And the same thing He wants His disciples today to do.

[2:55] That He, we don't have to go out and live the Christian life in our own strength and our own power. We're sent with His power for His mission. Let's go to Him in prayer and then we're going to jump right in. Father, thank You for this wonderful day that You've given us.

[3:07] This beautiful service that we've already had. And Lord, I'm thankful for every person that's here this morning. Every life, every family that's represented. And Lord, I pray that You know the needs of all of us.

[3:20] You know exactly what some are walking through. There's things I do not know, Lord. But I'm thankful that You can meet the needs. Lord, I pray if someone doesn't know You as their Savior, Lord. They've been searching for answers.

[3:31] They've been trying to figure out what life is all about. That today would be the day of salvation. For those that have maybe just had a hard week and things going on in life. Lord, You would meet them.

[3:41] You would help them. Encourage them. Lord, for those of us that know the mission You've sent us on. Lord, I pray You would help us to look at our own life. And to see if we are living in that mission. If it's something we're taking with us to our workplace and to our homes and to our neighborhoods.

[3:56] Lord, I pray You'd be with me now. You'd empty me of self. You'd cleanse me of sin. You'd fill me with Your Spirit. That it might be a help to Your people here this morning. And we ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated.

[4:08] I look around the room this morning. All kinds of trades. All kinds of careers are represented. We've got teachers. And we've got coaches. We've got medical workers.

[4:19] Business owners. Mechanics. Contractors. Landscapers. Landlords. And the hardest working group of anybody in here. Moms. That was your chance, moms.

[4:32] Listen, guys. Have you ever tried to be mom for like an hour? You're like, hey, when are you coming back? I don't know what I'm doing here. How do you make macaroni? I'm not really sure how this works.

[4:44] I'll order pizza. Anybody like that? Every time my mom was out of town, I knew what we were having. Pizza. That was my dad's best meal that he cooked. And it was fantastic. But when we think about these careers, we think about the trades represented here.

[4:57] Many of them required training. Many of them required you to maybe get a degree or have on-the-job training. To be a teacher, you have to go to school. Then you have to, while you're at school, then you have a teacher's aide.

[5:09] You've got to kind of walk as a student teacher. And to be a doctor, you go to school for, I think, 40 years or something like that. And then you go and you just practice. And you're practicing your residency. To be a doctor, I mean, to be an electrician, to be a lineman, you probably need some training there.

[5:25] You know, if you're going to mess with some high-voltage stuff, you don't want to kind of be in a situation like that. And the idea is this, that training matters. That training is very, very important.

[5:37] And we open up to Luke chapter 9, we see that Jesus is kind of giving his disciples on-the-job training. That it's time to move forward. And really up to this point, they've been apprentices.

[5:50] They've kind of been watching Jesus. We kind of walk through the gospel of Luke and we've seen that Jesus has called them. And they've left their fishing nets. And they've left their tax booths. And they've left kind of the life that they were known for and things they were good at to follow him.

[6:05] And they've kind of been watching him do these things. And you ever been on-the-job training and you're thinking, they're like, you understanding this? And you're like, yeah. But inside you're like, I have no idea what I'm doing. You know, they tell you they're going to train you for weeks and you're going to do all these things.

[6:19] Like, the next day you show up, you're like, did you get all that yesterday? You're on your own. We're shorthanded today. Anybody ever been there? Thankfully, up to this point, Jesus has been training his disciples for a while.

[6:31] But now they've seen these things and they've seen how Jesus operates. They've heard the gospel, the message, the preaching of the kingdom. They've observed, as we've seen over the last couple weeks in Luke chapter 8, Jesus calmed the storm.

[6:45] He cast the demons out of the maniac of Gadara. He called Jairus' daughter back to life. He healed the woman with the issue of blood. And now Jesus gathers him around and says, hey, you're next.

[6:59] It's kind of like when my dad taught me how to ride a bicycle. It wasn't like this gentle parenting loving situation. He just came out and said, we're taking the training wheels off. I was like, I don't think I'm ready for that.

[7:09] He's like, yeah, you are. And he put me on this big hill and he held the back of it and then he lied to me like all parents do. I'm like, are you holding it? Yeah, I am. He was not holding it. And I got it really good.

[7:21] I mean, I got it first try. Did not explain to me what brakes were. So there's a giant tree at the end of our driveway. Guess where my first bike ride ended up? Right there.

[7:32] I mean, it was on the job training and it didn't go very well. But Jesus has been training his disciples much better than my dad did me riding a bicycle. And really, he didn't tell them to go out and figure out what to do.

[7:45] He said, here's the job that I called you to do. Here's the job that I called you to, Peter, when you were in your boat. Advance the kingdom of God. Preach the gospel.

[7:56] Change lives in that sense. And that's really where this message connects with us. Because the mission has not changed. It does not matter that it's 2025.

[8:08] The mission is the same. Go ye therefore into all the world and preach the gospel. We saw this week, and I know we keep bringing it up, but here's what we were reminded.

[8:19] This world needs Jesus. It needs the gospel. We felt kind of the darkness maybe more than we have in recent times. And even the remembrance of 9-11 and all those things.

[8:31] Listen, why is our world like that? Because it's lost and it's dying and it's on its way to hell. And Jesus says, you have what they need. You have the message. And that's what he brings his disciples.

[8:44] See, the same calling is the same calling for us today. And we know this as we study the New Testament especially. These men were faithful to the mission.

[8:58] Yeah, they had their ups and downs. Peter had a difficulty. He denied even knowing the Lord. And he struggled, but God had brought them through the ups and downs. And when you study church history, these men gave their life for the mission.

[9:11] They were faithful. So the big question as we kind of walk through this text this morning is this. How can we, how can you, remain faithful to the mission that Jesus has given us?

[9:26] I want to be faithful. Listen, I want to hear one day from my Lord, well done, thou good and faithful servant.

[9:38] God doesn't call us to be talented. He doesn't call us to use all these. Here's what he calls us to be, faithful. That's what makes a difference. That's what people see and they realize, hey, I want what you have.

[9:50] It's not what we have. It's Jesus in us. And so the question is, how do we remain faithful? And Luke's going to show us three essential things. Number one, we see this.

[10:02] To stay faithful to the mission, we must be dependent. We must be dependent. See, Jesus didn't just throw his disciples into the deep end without any preparation.

[10:15] Peter didn't say, I need to put my floaties on. No, Jesus, he just threw them in, but they were ready. They understood what was going on and he gave them exactly what they needed. Verse number one, then he called the 12 disciples together and gave them power and authority.

[10:33] He knew what they were going to need when they went out to the world and when they had to face these things and they went to these villages preaching. They had to be dependent, number one, on God's power. Listen, the power that we have, the ability that God has given us is not ours.

[10:51] It's him. That's why Jesus told them there in the Great Commission in Matthew 28, all power is given unto me in heaven and earth. And that same power that he gives to us, he wants us to be reminded we're not sent out into this world empty-handed.

[11:07] That's not how Jesus operates. He gave them his power and his authority. Why? Because they were about to face some serious opposition. Because I wonder, a fly-on-the-wall situation, we kind of read this, we're excited, like, hey, man, they get to go out.

[11:22] I bet they're thinking, oh, no. You ever been there? Maybe that's where they were. Sometimes we kind of put them on this pedestal. Listen, they were probably just like me and you. I'm thinking, Jesus, I can't do that.

[11:33] I mean, what if we meet a guy like the maniac of God? What if this happens? What if this happens, Lord? Because they had seen things. I mean, they had been there in Luke chapter 4 when Jesus is preaching in the synagogue and this demon-possessed man gets up and starts causing this huge issue.

[11:49] Peter's thinking, what happens if that happens, Lord? He reminds them he gave them their power. They also remember that the enemy is out seeking to snatch away the seed of the gospel, Luke chapter 8.

[12:03] They're thinking, how can I be effective? His power and his authority. Because it's one of those things, like, to know about something, but to actually do it is two different things, isn't it?

[12:15] You ever watch YouTube videos on how to do something? And you're watching, and you're like, I can do this. And then you get out there and you're like, I cannot do this. I have no idea what I'm doing.

[12:27] And then I call maybe one of y'all, hey, y'all ever done this? Yeah, why don't you come over to my house and show me how to do it? You know, some of you have been there. See, Jesus, as he's preparing to send them out, he knew they were going to experience his opposition, but he wanted them to know, hey, as long as you're dependent on me, you're going to be okay.

[12:44] Jesus told his disciples in John 15, without me, ye can do nothing. Listen, we need to be reminded of that. We are built into our human nature, and as Americans, and most of us Texans, except a few South Dakotas here, we think, you know what, I can handle this.

[13:04] I can figure this out. I can do what I need to do. And we need to be reminded that if we try to help people find and follow Jesus in our own strength, we are going to burn out real quick.

[13:16] That's why some people get excited about church and come to church, and they, I'm going to do all this, and they just fizzle out. You think, what happened? They weren't living in the strength of Christ. That you can't live this life in your own strength.

[13:28] You're going to get frustrated and mad and tired and just say, hey, that's too hard. Jesus has come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden. And I will give you rest. See, when we depend on the power of Christ, His Spirit equips us for the task.

[13:44] You know, sometimes I've been trying to, every once in a while, my wife does find something on Pinterest or Etsy that I'm supposed to build. I found this out, though. You're supposed to plug your power tools in.

[13:56] You ever been there? You're like, what is wrong with this thing? And then you look back, and it's not plugged in. You think, well, that's a silly illustration. But sometimes we come to church. We're trying to, okay, we're going to do all this.

[14:07] We walk out the door, and we're not even connected to the source. The tools aren't going to work if you're not connected to the source. He didn't say, go out and figure it out. Go out and use your talent and your skill of persuasion and all this.

[14:18] No, no, we have to rest in Christ. We're going to run on His power, not our own. And this meets us where we are this morning. Because you know what you're going to do this week?

[14:29] You're going to step into school. You're going to step into work. You're going to maybe step into a conversation with a friend or a co-worker. And here's what we need to stop and say before any of that happens.

[14:40] Lord, I need you. Lord, I can't do this. Lord, I'm tired. I don't even know how to do it. I don't know how to bring up this conversation. Lord, they need you, but I don't know what to do.

[14:53] Jesus wants to be there. He wants to help us. And He's reminding us, listen, you have to be dependent on me. So the disciples were to be dependent on God's power, but they're also to be dependent on God's provision.

[15:06] Verse number three, the Bible says this, and He said unto them, take nothing for your journey. See, what He's doing here in verse three and four is He's telling them to travel light.

[15:16] Why? Because He wanted them in this posture of dependence. That they weren't going to take everything they thought they needed, that they could fix this person and change this person's life.

[15:28] No, He wanted them to trust completely on Him and that He would meet their needs. And to be honest, some of you would have failed discipleship right here because you've never packed light in your life.

[15:39] You know who you are. I mean, it's just like, wait, I thought this was a day trip. Well, yeah, but I need this in case this happens and this happens and this happens.

[15:50] I mean, I remember as a youth pastor, we're going to a youth camp and I'm thinking, you brought three suitcases for one week of youth camp? I'm like, what kind of person are you? And I will admit it.

[16:01] Sometimes I do overpack a little bit. You know, it's weird, like I'm 40 years old, but sometimes I pack like, what if I have an accident? Don't act like you've never thought that. I mean, let's just, let's be real.

[16:13] We're all, we're all things that are, and you come back home, you're like, well, I guess I didn't need 47 pairs of those. I don't know if we can laugh about little things like that.

[16:25] But sometimes when Jesus calls us to do something, we say, okay, Lord, I'll do it, but let me get all the things that I think I'm going to need. Because I'm going to need this and I'm going to need this and I'm going to need that. What if this happens, what if this comes up? And in all that time, God's called us and he's saying, just go.

[16:38] We're thinking, no, no, I got to get the things I need. No, he says, I'll take care of you. I know what you need. Hey, I take care of the ravens. I take care of the lilies of the field and the grass that's just going to be burnt up and just going to wither away.

[16:53] I take care of that. How much more would I take care of you? And we were reminded of that truth over and over. And sometimes, here's what God has to do to us. He has to place us in a place of need so we'll depend more deeply on him.

[17:07] Maybe you're walking through a dry spell in your life and you're thinking, God, if you would just provide this bill, if you would provide this answer, if you would provide this and this, then I could serve you. But maybe this morning, here's what God is saying.

[17:20] I have that in your life so you'll look to me. Not call and try to pick up more hours at work. There's different, don't misunderstand what I'm saying. But here's the thing.

[17:30] Are we trusting more in our ability or God's provision? Because that's what he's telling his disciples. That I'm the one sending you out. I'm the one placing you on this mission and it's my job to take care of you.

[17:44] He can take care of us, by the way. He's more than able to do that and he's reminding them of this truth. See, that need of provision that you have and you feel like it's just not being met, that deepest need can actually be a gift if it drives you to Jesus Christ.

[18:02] Maybe that's why you're here this morning. Maybe that's why you came to church whenever you came a long, long time ago. It was born out of this need and saying, Lord, I don't know what to do. Well, you're in the right place because Jesus does.

[18:13] And he loves you. And he knows where you are. See, the disciples were to be dependent on God's power and on God's provision. But I love this. They were to be dependent on one another.

[18:27] Mark's account, Mark's parallel account, it reminds us that Jesus sent them out two by two. Why? Because the mission God has called us to is not a solo sport.

[18:39] It's not for you to do alone. Anybody ever watch the show alone? Anybody have a TV? Not me, I'm a Baptist. Okay, here's the premise of the show alone.

[18:54] They take these people out into the wilderness, like Alaska or something like that, and they just drop them off. They give them a few tools. They give them some things that they're going to need, tools and a camera and a chance to win a whole lot of money.

[19:08] I tell you right now, once they drop me off, I'd be like, I need my one phone call. Come pick me up. My camping includes hotels with Texas-shaped waffles.

[19:19] That's kind of where I have a role. But when you really watch the show, it's very interesting to me. And almost every time, the reason they tap out is not hunger, is not cold, is not lack of supplies.

[19:33] Here's what it is. They're alone. They're lonely. They miss their family because they're out there for months and months at a time. And being alone, it breaks them.

[19:44] And that's the same when it comes to sharing our faith. And sometimes we have this fear of rejection. We have this fear of saying the wrong thing. We have this fear of looking foolish. And it all presses heavier when you think you're alone.

[19:58] But here's what I want to do something this morning. This is going to scare some of y'all. Just look around. Like literally turn around and look around. Yeah. Some of y'all didn't know there's this many people here.

[20:09] You're like. You're not alone. You're not. Now, you may not work at the same place.

[20:21] And you may not be there side by side. But you're going to go to work and you're going to think, I'm the only one that's even trying to do this. No. You just looked at a whole bunch of people that God is calling to do the very same thing. And you may not be able to walk side by side or eat lunch at the same table.

[20:35] But you can shoot a text. Hey, I'm praying for you. Hey, that person you mentioned on the Wednesday night prayer list. I'm praying that you just have an opportunity to share the gospel or to love on them like Jesus would. And you have to realize you're not alone.

[20:46] Yes, we need to be dependent on God and his power and his provision. But God has given us a wonderful church family to remind us that we are not alone when it comes to sharing the gospel.

[20:58] That's a beautiful thing. That we can come together. And that's why Jesus sends his people out in community. That's why the Great Commission was given to the church. Church. Not just individuals.

[21:10] We are individuals and we are to go with the gospel. But it was given to the church. And the church is the vehicle that the gospel moves through. So maybe find somebody here this morning.

[21:23] Maybe you have somebody that you need that's just kind of a gospel partner for you. That is there and encourages you. And you can talk back and forth and say, listen, I'm really witnessing to this person.

[21:34] Would you pray that I could just have an opportunity to share the love of Christ with him? And it reminds you that you're not alone. So Jesus shows us that faithfulness begins with dependence.

[21:46] Dependence on these things. But dependence isn't the only thing that we need. There's another essential ingredient. Persistence. Persistence. To stay faithful to the mission, you must be persistent.

[21:59] I love this fact that Jesus prepared his disciples not just for success but for rejection. Sometimes we want everything just to be roses and just great and, hey, we have no problems.

[22:16] But here's the reality. When you try to stay faithful to the mission, you're going to be rejected for it. You're not going to always have success. It's not going to always be just everybody's excited to hear that.

[22:28] But Jesus reminds his disciples and he's reminding us, don't quit when you're rejected. Look what the Bible says in verse 6. Verse 5. Whosoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.

[22:44] He said, listen, guys. You're going to go preach this message. You're going to preach repent and believe. You're going to preach that Jesus is the way. And here's what some people are going to say. I don't want any part of that.

[22:55] And they're going to reject you and they're going to walk away. He's reminding them, don't be discouraged when people say no. We just got to shake it off. We got to move on. We have to understand that in our life.

[23:08] Listen, sometimes we see great athletes. They make a mistake. But they don't say, well, I made a mistake. I'm just not going to shoot again. I'm not going to throw the ball again. You know what they do? They shake off that moment and they keep pressing forward.

[23:20] They keep moving. And the same is true in our Christian life. I mean, Jesus modeled this himself. I know we're kind of pulling back and it's been a long time since we were in Luke 4.

[23:32] But Jesus went to his hometown. I mean, in your hometown you should have a little bit of a home field advantage. And he goes there to Nazareth. And he begins to preach.

[23:42] And he preaches the same message that he's calling them to preach. And here's what they tried to do. Push him off a cliff. Literally. Not figuratively. They brought him to the precipice of the city.

[23:53] And they were going to push him off. You know what Jesus did? He said, okay. And he just went on. He was modeling that for his disciples. He went to the next town. And here's what the Bible says he did in Luke 4.

[24:04] Preach the good news of the gospel. He didn't say, well, I can't believe my hometown didn't hear it. And my hometown didn't hear it. Nobody's going to hear it. That's not what was in his mindset. I know we give a lot of sports illustrations because it's biblical.

[24:20] I don't know. I mean, you think of a baseball player. Nobody bats 1,000. In fact, the most successful players, you bat 300, they're going to put you in the Hall of Fame. If you're successful three out of ten times, you're an all-time great player.

[24:35] You know what makes them great? Persistence. Because you'll watch them get up there and, you know, us sitting in our couch, we're thinking, I can't believe that guy can't hit a baseball. He went 0 for 5.

[24:45] This dude's terrible. Send him somewhere else. And the next game, he hits four home runs like this guy is the greatest. You know why he hit home runs? Because he got back up to the plate and swung the bat.

[24:58] Just because you strike out doesn't mean that you don't have to get back to the plate. And I know it's kind of a crude illustration, but it just reminds us that that's how life is. You say, preacher, I just struggle with persistence.

[25:10] Listen, if you're a man and you're married, you don't struggle with persistence because she married you. Because it wasn't like the first time you saw her, like, I'm going to marry you. And she's like, oh, gross. I mean, you kept calling.

[25:21] She's thinking, man, I'll just marry this guy so it'll leave me alone. You're welcome. Is that not life sometimes? Because I promise you, it wasn't the first time I'm like, wow, this is the man of my dreams. You're thinking, this is who you sent, Lord?

[25:33] This is what I've been praying for? Listen, we're persistent in what we want to be persistent in. I mean, that's just the simple truth.

[25:45] You put the time and the effort and the persistence in whatever you deem is valuable to you. I love to golf. And I will putt all day long.

[25:57] You know why? Because I got tired of missing putts. Don't say anything, Kevin. And I just kept putting, and I kept putting, and I kept putting. You know what? I wanted to be better at that. How persistent are we with the gospel?

[26:09] With the message? We're going to tell one person one time at school, and they say, well, I don't want that, so we're not going to tell anybody else at school any other time. We're going to be rejected at work, and they say, you really believe all that stuff?

[26:22] Hey, this is the workplace. Stop talking about that. Listen, Jesus Christ changed your life. You shouldn't be able to just be shot down in one thing. We must have persistence in our life. And I just want to encourage you, when you invite that neighbor and they say, no, just keep inviting people.

[26:36] When you share that good news with a coworker, when you serve in a ministry at church and it feels like, is this even worth anything? Keep serving. Keep going. Keep telling. We need that persistence. God calls us to be faithful, not count results.

[26:50] That's not our job to save. It's not our job to change lives. Our job is to be faithful to the mission. Dependence keeps us connected to the source.

[27:01] Persistence keeps us steady through rejection. But there's one more piece that we see as we close it out this morning. To stay faithful to the mission, you must be obedient. Must be obedient.

[27:13] See, Jesus laid out the risk. He laid out, didn't say, you're probably going to have rejection. He said, no, you're going to face it. He let them know how it was going to go. He told them, he told them not to care anything.

[27:24] And I love verse 6. And they departed. You know what that is? Obedience. Yeah, there's going to be some success. But it's going to be hard.

[27:36] You're going to have to go trusting that God's going to provide. You're going to have to go trusting that you know you're going to be rejected. And it simply says they went out and they did exactly what Jesus told them. Verse number 10 reminds us that they come back and they're excited.

[27:51] The parallel accounts remind us too. They come and they say, Jesus, you wouldn't believe what happened. Actually, he would. Because he knows how the mission works. He's the one that designed it. And they came back with joy and told him all of these things.

[28:04] And, you know, sometimes it seems like, is it worth it? Let's just be real. Is it worth really being obedient to it? Because sometimes the Christian life kind of seems like a medicine commercial.

[28:17] You ever seen those? These people are so happy. And they're riding their bicycles. I'm like, where is this place? This place looks so nice. They're riding their bicycles. And they're just riding. They're going fishing.

[28:27] I'm like, do these people have jobs? I mean, they're just, they're so happy. That's just what I'm thinking. And the reason they're so happy is because they're taking this new medicine. Yeah.

[28:39] And if I started singing some of them, y'all would just, the whole church in unison would sing the little tune with it. Lower your A1C. You know, all one of those things. But at the end of the commercial, they list like 50 side effects of it.

[28:54] Like some people experience da-da-da-da and death. And you're thinking, is that bicycle really, that bicycle ride really worth that? And sometimes living on Jesus' mission feels like that.

[29:11] He tells us the cost up front. And he tells us there's going to be success. But there is going to be problems sometimes. He promised in this world we'll experience tribulation.

[29:23] But then he says, hey, I've got even a better side effect. But I have overcome the world. Yes, it's going to be difficult. Following Christ is not for the faint of heart. We must count the cost.

[29:34] But he also reminds us and he shows us the joy that we can experience. It is much greater. That's the idea of the medicine. Yeah, you might have some issues. But it's going to make your life so much better.

[29:46] And if we live on mission, we're going to see lives changed. Families transformed. Eternity impacted. And that's what it's all about. That's the mission.

[29:56] That's the job that he has called us to. Listen, one person coming to Christ is worth every risk. Every awkward moment. Every no that you've ever heard. The Bible says there's rejoicing in heaven over one sinner that repents.

[30:11] Listen, I'm thankful somebody was persistent with me. And kept loving on me. And kept sharing the gospel with me. And was just there when I needed them. So we don't just need to talk about evangelism.

[30:22] We don't need to just pray about it. No, at some point, here's what Jesus is saying. You've got to go and do it. You've got to live it out loud. It's got to be something real in your life. And Luke does something kind of fascinating right here.

[30:37] In the middle of the story, he kind of shifts the camera. And like looks over at Herod real quick. Herod's not a great guy. He's the king that beheaded John the Baptist.

[30:48] But Herod asked this question in verse number 9. That still hangs in the air today. And Herod said, John I have beheaded. But who is this?

[31:01] See, right in the middle of this missions trip. We're kind of pulled out of the scene. And pulled into the palace. And I just want to remind us right here.

[31:12] That this is the most important question. That anyone can ask. I'd imagine even after this week. In our country, in our world. People are saying, who is Jesus? Maybe you heard some of the.

[31:26] I think you may not agree with everything Charlie Kirk said. But he did this. He articulated the gospel extremely well. And a lot of people are saying. I wonder if he. He seems to really have believed that.

[31:38] Who is this? Jesus Christ. You see, there was all kinds of opinions out there. Some thought it was John the Baptist. Come back from the dead. Herod said, no, I'm pretty sure it's not. I cut his head off.

[31:49] I mean, that's what he said. He's just kind of being real about it. He said, I don't think it's him. I don't know who he is. But I know this. I want to meet this man. You know why that was? Because the mission was going forth.

[32:02] And everybody was kind of hearing it. And Herod said, well, maybe that's what I need. Maybe I do need to meet this man. And I just asked you the question this morning.

[32:13] Who is Jesus to you? Jesus didn't send them out and say, hey, tell them I'm a good teacher. Tell them I can heal people. Tell them I'm a really good religious leader. He said, tell them this.

[32:25] Tell them who I am. I am the son of God. I have come to seek and to save that which was lost. And as important as this question is to ask, the answer is everything.

[32:38] Because everything eternal hinges on who you believe Jesus is and what you do with him. That's where it all boils down to.

[32:50] And that really brings us to our conclusion. See, because this passage doesn't just inform us about the disciples' mission. It confronts us with our own. They completed their course.

[33:05] They were faithful to the mission. Yes, in this small sense, in this preaching journey. But you studied their lives and all 11 of them except Judas were faithful. Taking the mission to the uttermost.

[33:18] So how do we remain faithful? By being dependent on God. By being dependent on one another. By being persistent in the face of rejection.

[33:29] By being obedient to Jesus' commands. And if you're a believer, I just want to talk to you for a second. You know he's the Christ. You've experienced the life-changing power that he gives.

[33:44] So here's how we should live. Like sent people. God didn't call you, save you, to sit in a chair. He called you to go. He called you to let your light so shine before men.

[33:58] That they may see your good works. And glorify your Father, which is in heaven. That's what God has called us to do. That you're going to step into a mission field this week.

[34:08] You say, I'm not a missionary. Yes, you are. You can go to school tomorrow. You can go to work tomorrow. Some of you are going to go to a family that doesn't know Christ as their Savior. You know what they need to see? Somebody that's dependent on Christ.

[34:20] That's persistent and loves them. And obeys his call. The question is, who will you invite? Who will you share with? Who will you serve in the name of Jesus this week? Decide that before you walk out these doors.

[34:34] Maybe you're here and you're not a believer. Maybe you're searching for answers. Maybe you're just trying to figure it all out. Well, here's where it starts. Who is Jesus to you?

[34:47] He's not some shadowy figure in the Middle East some 2,000 years ago. When you study the Word of God, you're going to find this out. That he is the Son of God. That he is God in the flesh. And he came to this earth.

[34:58] And he lived a perfect, sinless life. Something that we cannot do. The Bible made it very clear that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But God showed his love toward us. He commended his love toward us.

[35:09] In that while we were yet sinners, he died for us. See, John 3, 16 is for you. For God so loved the world. It's for me. See, he's more than a prophet.

[35:21] He's more than a moral example. He's more than a teacher. He is the Savior who died for you and rose again. So you might have life eternally. But you might have life worth living here on this side.

[35:35] I just encourage you. Repent. Believe. Receive. Receive him today. The great preacher Charles Spurgeon said this.

[35:46] Brethren, do something. Do something. Do something. Do something. While committees waste time over resolutions, do something.

[35:56] Our aim is to save sinners. And we are not merely to talk about it. But to obey in the power of God. Listen, church.

[36:07] Let's not just talk about the mission. We saw real poignantly this week. The world needs people to live the mission out. They're searching and seeking for answers.

[36:21] And it's right here. We have it. It changed your life. You know what God has given you? A testimony. You say, well, I don't know how that could change.

[36:32] You can say, listen, my life was a wreck. And I was going down this road. And Jesus showed up. Our marriage was on the rocks. And I didn't know what was going to happen. And Jesus showed up. I didn't know if I even could make it another day.

[36:44] But Jesus showed up. And you're only here today by the grace of God. And I'm only here today by the grace of God. God, tell somebody about it. Found people, find people.

[36:58]  And love them just like Jesus loved you.