So turn to Mark 6, page 1171 in your ESV Bibles.
So last week, Nathan began chapter 6 and wonderful exposition of the beginning of chapter 6.
! I encourage you if you weren't here to go back and listen to that.
It talks about how Jesus was rejected.
He was in his own hometown as a prophet, and he was turned away by many who actually knew him,
and he marveled at the people's unbelief.
So we're going to pick up after that, but just for context's sake, we'll begin reading in verse 1, chapter 6.
He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.
And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished.
Saying, Where did this man get these things?
What is the wisdom given to him?
How are such mighty works done by his hands?
Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, and Judas, and Simon?
And are not his sisters here with us?
And they took offense at him.
And Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown,
and among his relatives, and in his own household.
And he could not do, excuse me, no mighty works there,
except he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.
And he marveled because of their unbelief.
And so last week, Nathan taught that the only thing that holds us back from entering into Christ,
into the presence of God, is our own unbelief.
And at the judgment day, it won't be, you won't have any other excuse other than,
I did not come to Christ for salvation.
You'll be condemned for your own sin and your own crime.
And unbelief is, he gave several different marks of unbelief.
I encourage you to go back and look at those.
But Jesus marveled at their unbelief.
And what they didn't need was another miracle, another sign for him to prove who he was.
It really was just their wicked, unrepentant hearts that held them back,
not because they needed another sign.
And so picking up from there,
we're going to start at the second part of verse 6.
It says,
He went among the villages teaching,
and he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two,
and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
And he charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff,
no bread, no bag, no money in their belts,
but to wear their sandals and not to put on two tunics.
And he said to them,
Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there.
And if any place will not receive you,
and they will not listen to you when you leave,
shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.
So they went on out and proclaimed that the people should repent.
And they cast out many demons,
and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
So just pray with me for a minute.
Lord, we confess that we need you this morning.
I need you desperately.
Lord, this isn't a time just to talk about you
and to act as if we know a lot about you.
But Lord, you have brought us here this morning to hear your word.
And I pray that it would have its desired effect,
that hearts would be broken,
that people would be convicted,
and also that people would be greatly encouraged,
greatly emboldened to go out and declare the message of the gospel.
So we just ask that, humbly Lord, in Christ's name.
Amen.
So, that's where we're finding ourselves today.
And so this is just chapter 6,
and the disciples have walked with Jesus for not too long of a time at this point,
but they've been following Him and observing how He does things.
And like any good teacher, disciple-maker,
Jesus is not just teaching them with His words, but His actions.
And He is the embodiment of what He teaches.
He is the message that He preaches, that Ryan didn't expect it to.
So, He is the very embodiment of that message.
He doesn't just have so-called Bible studies with His disciples
and talks about Torah, talks about poetry, and talks about the prophets,
and, all right, great, and then they don't do anything else.
He says, guys, like, this is what the Scriptures mean.
How does this work in our hearts?
Now let's go and live this out.
And He was like any good teacher or disciple-maker.
He didn't just teach with His mouth, but He demonstrated.
He demonstrated with His life what He expected them to learn.
So, you know, with prayer, He was like, guys, this is what prayer is.
Now let's do it.
You know, it wasn't just a theory about prayer.
They observed Him practice praying, communing with the Father.
And thankfully, we actually get a glimpse into that in John 17,
and to see what that was like, to see Jesus commune with the Father.
But He talks about the Scriptures.
At least 66 times the Old Testament is referenced just in Jesus' conversation with His disciples.
So He constantly was teaching them, this is what this meant.
And I really try to endeavor with the men I've discipled over the years,
not always successfully, as most of them will tell you.
I think five of them are here right now.
Of course, they'd be like, yeah, He doesn't always do that.
But I try to demonstrate with my life like what I expect them to learn and show them with my actions.
And this is biblical.
And I'll just read you a couple of examples from Paul.
It was a vital part of discipleship.
He would say things like this,
Be imitators of me as I imitate Christ.
1 Corinthians 11.1
And in Philippians 4, he says,
Brothers, join in imitating me,
and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
And then later on, in chapter 3, he says,
What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me,
practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
So he was living this out.
Demonstrating what he expected them to learn.
And now up until this point in Mark,
he's been teaching, he's been healing,
he's been proclaiming the kingdom of God,
casting out demons.
They've seen him do this,
drive away evil spirits,
and help many people.
Raise a young girl from the dead even.
And they were engaged.
They were seeing this.
They saw him share with the masses.
And they watched him.
A book that I recommend,
that I read at least once a year,
that a man introduced me to a long time ago,
it's called The Master's Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman.
And I really try, again,
I try to follow this example of what discipleship was.
But he has a chapter called Demonstration,
and it's basically how any good disciple maker will demonstrate what he expects his disciples to learn.
And this is just a quote out of that on the Demonstration chapter.
He said,
What all the disciples had to teach them was a teacher who practiced with them what he expected them to learn.
Evangelism was lived out before them in spirit and in technique.
Watching him, they learned what it was all about.
He led them to recognize the inerrant need in all classes of people,
and the best methods of approaching them.
They observed how he drew people to himself,
and how he won their confidence and inspired their faith.
How he opened to them the way of salvation,
and called them to decision.
In all types of situations,
and among all kinds of people,
rich, poor, healthy, and sick,
friend and foe alike,
the disciples watched.
The master soul winner at work.
It wasn't outlined on a blackboard.
This is when blackboards were still around.
It wasn't outlined on a blackboard of a stuffy classroom,
nor written in a do-it-yourself manual.
His method was so real and practical that it just came naturally.
Okay, so,
I've had several conversations with some people this last semester,
and one of them asked me,
you know, like,
why do you think that,
like, it's one of the reasons, at least,
it's so hard for people to share their faith.
Why is it?
Why is it just, like, so weird?
And I'll use the term of our generation awkward today.
Like, why is it,
why is it like that?
And I think the only answer is,
is because we've divorced evangelism from our actual lives.
It's not a part of who we are anymore.
It's something that we, like,
we do,
we live this way,
and then now we, like,
oh,
now I've got to evangelize.
It's like a,
it's an event that we take place in,
but it's not coming out of who we are on a daily basis around the people that we're around.
So we've divorced it from our actual lives,
and that's why it's weird for a lot of us.
So,
if you look at verse 7
in our text here,
it says,
He called the twelve,
and began to send them out,
two by two,
this is just introduction,
two by two,
and gave them authority
over the unclean spirits.
So,
also,
in this book I refer to you,
he has a chapter called Delegation.
So,
demonstration,
delegation.
And,
and this is another part of real discipleship that our,
our Lord uses,
delegation.
So from day one,
Jesus was preparing his disciples
to take over his mission one day.
He saw, like,
that's where I need to take them.
And he began, like,
slowly taking them there.
That would have been quite a work,
knowing what we know about the disciples.
And he gradually assigned work,
duties,
responsibilities,
and they were faithful to that.
It's kind of like,
okay, boys,
you've watched me do it.
You see,
you've observed me.
Now it's,
now it's your turn.
Go out and do this.
And that's real discipleship.
And in this context,
in Mark today,
we see him delegating for the first time,
preaching,
and evangelism,
and soul winning,
accompanied by acts of compassion.
So it says,
like,
he began to send them out.
He commissioned each pair to go out
as his representatives.
And we see that he gave them authority.
So,
that's important.
He didn't like just sending them out
to fend for themselves,
and their own wit,
because really they weren't that way,
or their own knowledge and skill,
which they lacked greatly.
He gave them his authority to go out,
or his power to go out.
And that term here,
it could be used as authority or power.
It means like inerrant power,
an idea of someone possessing the right to do something,
and actually having,
like,
the capacity to do it.
And that's the kind of power that he gave them to go out.
And so,
they didn't just go out on their own.
And he gave them his power to go out
and do as he had been doing.
So,
which is interesting.
In a parallel text in Matthew,
it says that after he sent them out,
he himself went out and continued teaching and doing this.
It wasn't like,
I'm going to sit back at the house and drink some lemonade
while y'all go out.
You know,
he was doing this himself
as the example for them.
And so,
in another sense,
he granted them authority.
He was saying,
in a literal sense almost,
that he was an extension.
They were an extension of him
as they ministered to others.
And up until now,
Jesus had been the one teaching,
preaching,
healing,
casting out demons.
But he sent his power to go out.
And then we see
that he sent them out two by two.
So,
why twos?
I was able to kind of think of like,
six different reasons,
but really quickly,
how important was it fulfilled the requirements of the law
to,
for every testimony to have,
to be established by two or more witnesses.
That's out of Deuteronomy 17,
six.
And then it also followed the ancient wisdom of Solomon
and the Old Testament,
two are better than one.
It's the idea that if you fall,
you have someone to pick you up.
So that's another one,
is provided the men with the companionship,
encouragement,
and someone to pray for them.
I've been so thankful for that over the years,
to have those kind of situations.
It was the method used by John the Baptist
and his followers.
He sent them out by twos.
And then you also see
it was the method of the early church.
A lot in the book of Acts,
you'll read that.
Paul often has somebody else with him,
Barnabas or Silas,
and they would,
they would go.
Or he would say,
I'm going to send to you Timothy
and another guy.
Like it was always by twos.
And it really still is the best method today.
I remember earlier on,
in my walk with the Lord,
I was 18,
19,
and I was just
really burdened
to like share the gospel
with all my crazy lost friends
that I went to high school with.
And the Lord paired me up
with another buddy of mine
who was probably the craziest,
craziest dude in our grade,
seriously,
before the Lord saved him.
And we just started hunting people down.
You know,
we would call somebody up and say,
hey,
what are you doing this day?
Let's hang out.
And we would genuinely just hang out with him.
And then we'd be like,
so,
you know,
have some good conversations.
We,
we didn't really know what we were doing,
to be honest.
We were just trying to love people
and pointing to Jesus,
kind of a bull in a china closet
kind of stuff.
I remember we actually ran out of friends.
Like we were like,
who are we?
And we actually pulled the yearbook out
and started like going down
through the yearbook.
I remember one time we were praying,
like Lord,
we're running out of people to talk to.
And like two minutes later,
he dug up something out of his closet
and it was like this,
he started laughing.
It was like a list of all the people
he used to call to party on the weekends.
Like,
we're going after them.
So it was like,
it was,
it was that.
So,
and today,
I try to take the men I disciple
on the Appalachian Trail
and to share with guys
who were coming by.
The last time I took Kittrell,
Matt Kittrell with me,
I made him carry the cooler.
It was great.
But we just took little bottles of water,
some Powerade,
and yes,
I'll explain this later.
I took a few beers too.
Number one,
I went in vodka.
And number one,
we didn't give them more than one.
So,
but,
I've had people say,
do you have any,
do you have any beer?
And I was like,
no,
I just got water,
man.
Well,
that's okay.
And just keep walking.
And so,
we actually had
a couple people that stopped
and had a beer
and we talked about Jesus
and that was kind of a conundrum for them.
So,
Daniel Swanson,
he's done this too.
He's taken people down to the mall
and in pairs
and shared with people down there.
Definitely,
like,
I was convicted
a few years ago
in my discipleship
that I was,
I was telling the guys
that I am sharing my faith
and they knew I was sharing my faith.
But,
really,
just a personal part of it,
I needed to be able to show them
how to do it.
They need to see me,
like,
have terrible conversations with people.
They need to see me,
like,
get burned
and rejected
and as well as just
have good conversations
so that,
at the end of the day,
they'll know
that this is
not about how much you know
or how clever you are.
It's about,
like,
God's power in you.
That's all it is.
It doesn't matter.
So,
yeah,
the by twos thing,
a great way to do it.
So,
three things
from our text today,
if you'll look at
the beginning of verse 11.
Excuse me.
Number one is,
faithful messengers
proclaim salvation.
Faithful messengers
proclaim salvation.
You look at verse 11 and 12.
And if any place
will not receive you
and they will not listen to you
when you leave,
shake off the dust
that is on your feet
as a testimony
against them
so that when they
went out
and proclaimed
that people
should repent.
So,
this is the first one.
If you would,
there's just a couple
of places for you
to turn today
outside of Mark 6.
Hold your place
in Mark 6,
but just go back
to chapter 1
of Mark.
So,
what was the message
that they were
proclaiming?
And,
more than likely,
it was the same message
that Jesus
was proclaiming here
at the beginning of Mark.
If you look at verse 14,
it says this,
Jesus came into Galilee
proclaiming the gospel
of God
and saying,
the time is fulfilled
and the kingdom of God
is at hand.
Repent
and believe the gospel.
So,
the message
that he was proclaiming
was the good news
that the kingdom
of God
is here,
that God was establishing
his rule
over the hearts
of Adam's
fallen race.
It was being established.
and in response
to this,
people should repent
and believe the gospel.
So,
let's just break this down.
The kingdom of God,
without getting
to all the craziness
of the kingdom of God,
it can really be
simply understood
in three ways.
The first
is the spiritual kingdom
or the invisible kingdom
that exists
in the hearts
of those who believe.
It's like the church
invisible,
like,
it's the
rule of Christ
that is established
in the hearts
of those
who have put
their faith in him.
And then also,
you could be referring
to the future
millennial kingdom
and the new heaven,
the new earth,
Revelation 20,
fulfilling the
Old Testament promises
about the Messiah,
which will come
shortly before the end,
and then,
and then the eternal kingdom
that follows that
in the new heaven.
So God's kingdom,
if you look at this text,
it's interesting.
If you look at the text,
it says that God's kingdom
is here,
and that it is coming.
There's places,
you know,
where Jesus is teaching
his disciples,
pray,
your kingdom come,
right?
And,
but here he says,
the kingdom of God
is here.
So,
like,
how is that to be understood?
And many of you
have heard me say this,
but it's only the best
analogy I can come up with.
Actually,
I don't think I came up
with it either.
But it's,
it's a picture of,
like,
there being darkness
and no light,
but suddenly,
like,
the sun begins to come up.
I'm an outdoorsman,
and I like to fish,
and I like to hunt,
and usually you're out there
at dark,
and then,
like,
the sun comes up,
and you get to watch that a lot.
It's that idea of,
like,
the sun coming up,
piercing the darkness,
but it's not fully
daylight yet.
And that's a picture of,
kind of,
where we live right now.
So the kingdom is here,
and it is coming.
He said,
the time is fulfilled,
Jesus says.
And that's the Greek word,
keros,
not kromos,
which is like a clock time.
It has more to do,
like,
an epochal time,
the error,
a fixed point in history
for an event to happen.
And like in Galatians 4,
it says,
in the fullness of time,
is that idea.
And so the most significant error
in human history
was the arrival of Christ
on the scene
and Him beginning
to bring in the kingdom of God,
paying the penalty for sin
and resurrecting from the dead.
So,
so that's the kingdom.
So,
how do you actually get
into the kingdom?
Right?
So,
if you look back,
just in Mark 1,
it says,
repent
and believe the gospel.
And this is the message
that they were proclaiming,
saying that they should go out
and teach
and declare
that men should repent
of their sin.
So,
a great,
I'm trying to,
so much to learn
about repentance.
And then those
who actually mentor
and disciple me here
always tell me,
you have a lot to learn
about repentance.
And I'm like,
man,
I do.
Because I,
I don't,
I don't handle it
so well sometimes.
But really,
literally,
repenting,
it means to change
one's mind
for the better.
heartily to
a man with
abhorrence
one's past sins.
It's a changing
of the mind
that leads
to change of action.
It's a turning
away of sin,
hating it,
and resolving
only by God's power
to overcome it,
even as you turn
in faith to Him.
So,
a little helpful thing,
being repentant
is not just
feeling guilty
and feeling bad
for things you've done.
unbelievers do that.
So,
what's the difference?
And the difference
is that
genuine repentance
arises from a heart
of sorrow
for the crimes
it has committed
against God.
It's called
a godly sorrow
that leads to repentance.
2 Corinthians 7,
10.
A godly sorrow
that produces
a desire
to change
one's ways
and change
the way
a repentant sinner
lives.
As David said
when he committed
adultery,
murder,
and scandal,
he told God
in Psalm 51,
you alone
have I sinned against
and done what is evil
in your sight.
So,
he could have said
I sinned against
a lot of people,
but he knew that
all sin,
all of it,
is first and foremost
against God.
And that's why he said
that you and you alone
have I sinned against.
It's a grief
that's produced.
So,
all the sin,
you know,
calls us
to reckon with God
and to turn away
from our sin.
And by the way,
another thing,
like,
when we say repent,
when the scripture
says repent,
when Jesus said it
right here,
it's not an invitation.
It's not,
he's not simply
inviting people
to come
and follow him.
It's used as a command
like repent
and believe.
It's not a
imitation.
And,
as if,
like,
you see your child
doing something crazy
that could harm them
and you command them
like,
turn now,
come back.
Because,
because really,
Jesus knows
that he is the only hope
they have.
So,
he's not saying like,
please,
like,
he's not a,
it's not that,
it's just repent
and believe.
Because he knows
that he is the only thing
that can save them.
So,
it's not an invitation.
So,
we have to
come back
to this idea
of repentance.
It's left out
a lot.
Y'all won't believe me,
but it's left out
even on the college campus.
It's left out.
Several years ago,
I had a conversation
with a
so-called atheist
and
he told me,
like,
I used to be
a Christian
and so I asked him
to like explain
what he meant
and he said,
well,
about a year ago,
I was going through
a really rough time
and some Christians
came to me
and they just said,
man,
I'm sorry,
you're having a hard time.
What you really need
is Jesus in your life
and he'll make you joyful,
he'll bring you peace
and so I was like,
man,
I want that.
So,
he came
and he,
you know,
came to the church
and,
you know,
did the whole deal
and then,
and then in that conversation
he said,
and it was cool
for a while
but then,
this happened.
I broke up
with my girlfriend.
I lost my job
and,
and I just had to tell him,
like,
man,
like,
I'm very sorry
that like,
all that's happened to you
but I'm even more sorry
that these Christians
that probably meant well,
they didn't tell you
what the gospel really was.
Like,
the truth is,
yes,
Christ does give you joy,
he does give you satisfaction,
he does give you peace
but that comes
by way of repenting
of your sin
and following Christ
and they forgot that.
They forgot to tell him
to turn away
from his sin
and believe the gospel.
So,
don't,
it's a,
it's an overflow,
it's an outcome
of knowing Christ
that it is not the gospel
and you keep that in mind
and how we actually
teach to people.
So,
he says,
repent and believe.
So,
this isn't just
a mere acknowledgement,
it's to believe
means to be persuaded,
to be strongly convicted
by something,
to throw yourself
completely in trust,
right?
So,
it's a belief
that produces action,
it's not just
a mental ascent.
You believe it so much
that it changes
how you live.
And then the gospel
is just,
we talk about it
all the time,
it's the glad tithings,
the good news
that Christ came here
to save sinners,
all right?
Turn to Acts 3
really quick.
Acts 3.
So,
after Jesus
had ascended back,
after he had ascended
back to heaven,
the apostles,
the apostles continued
this message
of repentance.
It wasn't
just come to Jesus
and get happy.
Acts 3,
verse 17,
it said,
And now,
brothers,
I know that you
acted in ignorance,
as did also your rulers,
but what God foretold
by the mouth
of all the prophets,
that his Christ
would suffer,
he thus fulfilled.
Repent,
therefore,
and turn again,
that your sins
may be blotted out,
that times of refreshing
may come
from the presence
of the Lord,
and that he may
send the Christ
appointed for you,
Jesus,
whom heaven must receive
until the time
for restoring
all things
about which God
spoke by the mouth
of all his holy prophets
so long ago.
That resembles
what's said in Isaiah
about God saying,
Turn back to me,
repent,
that a time
of healing
and refreshing
will come,
that your sins
will be blotted away.
Christ was the fulfillment
of that,
and we never forgot that.
Repent
and turn again
to the Lord,
that your sins
will be blotted out.
And it says
that genuine repentance
does bring refreshing.
Those of you
who have believed
the gospel
know that.
It's a refreshing,
cooling presence
to your seared conscience
that sin has brought.
So,
back in,
if you look back
in Mark 6,
you see that he says,
if you're rejected,
shake off the dust
from your sandals.
Alright?
Shake off the dust
from your sandals.
So,
if the message
rejected,
this is what Jews did
when they returned
from a foreign land
or from a pagan land
when they returned
from a journey.
So,
before they actually
crossed back into Israel,
they would shake the dust,
shake the dust
off their sandals,
off their clothes,
and it was just
symbolic.
It represented
like total
disassociation.
from the pagans
in their polluted land.
Luke 10,
8 is an example
of that.
In this case,
Jesus was telling
his men
to do this
as a sign
of those
who rejected
the gospel
and rejected him
and that they would
face God's judgment
one day.
And so,
it also,
it made,
it was symbolic
of the messengers
freeing themselves
of the responsibility
of sharing.
Now,
some of you
may not like
to hear this,
but,
like,
if you,
if you just
write this down,
like Ezekiel 33
is the,
the picture
of the,
or the vision
of the watchman
that God gives
Ezekiel.
And he says,
I've appointed you
a watchman
to the house
of Israel.
And so,
a watchman
would be up
on a high place
in the city,
a guard tower
or whatever.
It is his job
to watch for danger
that might be coming.
And his job
also was to blow
a trumpet
if he did see danger.
And,
and then the people
would either listen
to him
or they would
ignore it.
But,
God says,
it is your
responsibility,
I hold you
personally accountable
to blow the trumpet.
All right?
To warn the people
of impending danger.
And,
if they ignore it,
the blood is on
their own heads.
And you are free
of your responsibility.
But,
but if you don't
blow it,
he says,
I will hold you
accountable.
All right?
And that's true.
It's true.
Acts 18,
verse 6,
Paul had just
been rejected
and this is
what he says.
And when they
opposed
and reviled
Paul,
he shook off
his garments.
There it is.
See,
he shook off
his garments.
And he said
to them,
your blood
be on your
own heads.
I am
innocent.
All right?
Yes,
this was the
man who wrote
Romans 9.
He knew
about the
sovereignty of
God.
He knew
that God
was the
one who
ultimately
worked in
the hearts
of men,
but he
never took
that as
an excuse
to just lay
back.
He knew
that preaching
the gospel
was the
means God
uses to
save sinners.
And he
said,
I'm innocent.
I'm free
of my
responsibility.
I've told you
the message,
and I'm
walking away.
So it
was symbolic
of moving
on.
So that's
number one.
Faithful
messengers
proclaim
salvation.
Number two,
in our text
back in
Mark,
faithful
messengers
manifest
compassion.
Faithful
messengers
manifest
compassion.
So nothing
is more
distasteful
to a lost
world than
Bible
thumpers
hurling
stuff at
them and
then not
caring for
them at
all.
Alright?
Good deeds,
good works,
as one of
the old
confessions
says,
good deeds,
good works
adorn the
gospel.
They make
the gospel
look beautiful.
And the
compassion of
Christ is
seen all
over the
place.
But if you
look back in
our text,
it's to
follow here,
faithful
messengers
!
Manifest
compassion.
Verse 7,
He called
the twelve
and began
to send
them out
two by
two,
and He
gave them
authority
over
unclean
spirits.
In
verse 13,
And they
cast out
many demons
and anointed
with oil
many who
were sick
and healed
them.
Alright?
So our
Lord,
He was
the embodiment
of compassion.
He was
the greatest
incarnation
of the
compassion
of God
ever.
He never
did things
selfishly
or begrudgingly.
He didn't
have a secret
agenda.
I mean,
He didn't
like,
I pity
these
sinners.
That wasn't
His attitude
at all.
Jesus
served people
from a
deep and
sincere
compassion.
And the
word that's
kind of used
for compassion
in many
places in
the New
Testament
means like
from the
bowels.
It means
like the
place of
tender
affections
for another.
a
aching
heart
which
mercy
resides
for those
who
are
lowly
and
weak.
Alright?
So it was
more like
that,
not like,
oh,
I need to
go help
these
people.
Like,
he felt
it.
It was
deep
inside
of him.
And
God's
compassion
was spoken
of so
many times
in the
Old
Testament.
It
reveals
like this
astounding,
tender-hearted
God toward
those who
are weak
and lowly.
Psalm 79
verse 8
says this,
Do not
remember
against us
our former
iniquities.
Let your
compassion
come speedily
to meet us
for we are
brought low.
There's that
idea.
Help us,
O God,
of our
salvation
for the
glory of
your name.
Deliver us
and atone
our sins
for your
name's sake.
So now,
Jesus is
here.
The gospel
is here.
And so all
the teaching,
all the
miracles
were acts
of compassion
to those
who dwelt
in darkness
and in the
bondage of
sin.
Okay?
He was the
incarnation of
the Father's
compassion.
What we just
read was
fulfilled in
Christ,
atoned for
our sins.
And a
little later
on in
Mark,
this same
chapter,
if you just
look at
Mark 6
34,
it says,
He went
ashore and
he saw a
great crowd
and he had
compassion
on them
because they
were like
sheep without
a shepherd
and he
began to
teach them
many things.
So,
now the
disciples are
going out
as an
extension of
Christ to
the world
to deliver
and to
heal,
to preach
the kingdom,
to cast
out demons
and to
heal the
sick.
Alright?
Now,
as we've
said,
God uses
miracles to
confirm or
to validate
his claims.
Okay?
Like,
there was
miracles done
in the Old
Testament.
Jesus was
not the
first one
to work
miracles or
to raise
somebody from
the dead.
I mean,
even Elijah
did that.
So,
I do
believe,
because I've
seen,
I've heard
and I've
experienced,
I do
believe that
God still
does use
miracles as
something to
show his
power, to
show his
compassion to
people.
But I
also will
say that I
know it's
not the
norm.
Okay?
Years ago,
when I was in
the hospital,
people were
praying that
I would
like be
healed from
my cystic
fibrosis,
that I
wouldn't need
a transplant.
I had more
oil dumped
on me than
McDonald's
french fries.
But I
had a lot
of prayer
on that.
And,
but really,
the greatest
miracle that
is performed
today is
like the
transformation,
the regeneration
of the dead
human soul.
By his
wombs,
they will be
healed.
That was
speaking of
a spiritual
healing.
And Christ
brought that
when he
came.
You can't
be fickled
by miracles.
Did y'all
know that in
the last
days, like
false teachers
will be able
to do
miracles?
So what
are you
going to
do?
Are you
going to
believe it?
Or say,
like, where
is that
coming from?
It's not,
it can't be
it.
It's got to
be something
more than
that.
So for
Christ to
take a
lost,
hell-bound
sinner,
a rebel,
and transform
them into,
like a lover
of the king,
is the greatest
miracle,
really.
And that
comes by
the gospel.
It comes by
us sharing
the word of
God with
people.
So that's
number three,
or number
two.
Faithful
messengers
manifest
compassion.
Number
three,
faithful
messengers
live dependent
on God.
Okay?
Verse
eight,
he charged
them to
take nothing
for their
journey,
except the
staff,
no bread,
no bag,
no money,
in their
belts,
but to
wear their
sandals,
and to
not put
on two
tunics.
And he
said to
them,
whenever you
enter a
house,
stay there
until you
depart from
there.
So like,
what's all
that about?
Well,
you know,
the traveling
bag,
which he
doesn't ask
them to
take,
it was
used to
carry money
or to
carry food.
For a
long time,
like you
can just
use Exodus
12 as an
example of
this,
things that
were listed
here in
these two
verses,
they were
signs to
the Jewish
people of
their helplessness,
their need to
trust in God,
and also
urgency.
Like,
when you're in
a hurry,
you don't have
time to
pack three
or four bags
of all your
junk.
Like,
go.
That's kind
of like the
picture here.
Guys,
you don't have
time to
let up the
hair dryer
and the
makeup.
You just
go.
Like,
that's,
it's not,
it's kind
of like that.
But bread
and bags
and money
and their
belts and
two tunics
were symbolic
of like all
the things
that make
life secure.
Like,
what makes
your life
feel secure
right now?
Probably your
money,
probably the
roof over
your head,
the clothes
on your
back.
And so,
Jesus was
somewhat asking
them to mimic
the prophets
of old,
like Elijah
and Elisha,
who were fed
and sheltered
by those they
ministered to,
and to accept
the hospitality
of the local
people that
accepted their
message.
Right?
It's like,
don't,
don't seek
out better
accommodations,
more comfortable
places.
Don't stay
at super
crazy nice
hotels,
you know?
Just be
content.
Take what
you're given
and be
content.
And so,
Jesus didn't
want his,
or the people
that encountered
his disciples
to think
that they had
some kind
of secret
agenda
to get
money,
to grow,
to grow
wealthy.
And so,
they just
went that
way.
Preachers
in England
during the
18th and
19th
centuries
were renowned
for considering
their own
personal pleasures
and comforts
above the
needs of the
people in
their church.
They could
talk to you
more about
their hunting
dogs and
their wine
sellers than
they could
about the
gospel and
the word
of God.
It's the
same thing
today,
really,
just prosperity
preaching,
tell evangelists,
send me
money.
It's the
same kind
of stuff.
And like,
we've had
enough of
that in
our generation.
We need
to be able
to preach
the true
gospel.
So,
he says,
he desires
them to
just travel
light,
to take
only what's
needed,
to leave
everything else
behind.
And the
staff that he
did tell them
to take
was used
for walking,
also for
protection,
and the
sandals were
just the
ordinary
footwear.
And he
says,
take one
tunic,
which are
just the
standard
dress,
because in
this culture,
two tunics
can symbolize
wealth.
And like,
look at me,
I've got two
tunics.
So he's
like,
just take
one.
Associate
with the
commoners,
the lowly,
and think
about this.
Don't come
across as
high and
mighty and
holier than
thou,
but associate
with these
people.
So,
are we
supposed to
do that
today?
Maybe,
but I
don't think
necessarily.
The idea
here is
that he
wants them
to learn
to trust
him,
that go
without making
special
preparations
for your
travels,
undertake
this
assignment,
trusting
in me,
to provide
for all
your needs.
Can you
do that?
He was
teaching
them
reliance
and
dependence,
that no
matter what,
no matter
what context,
ultimately,
all provision
comes from
God.
That's even
true for
us.
He was
just
specifically
showing
them,
just so
you'll
know,
a little
lesson for
you guys
and your
little
internship
here,
that
everything
comes
from me.
I'm
going to
go show
you,
so go
out,
don't
take all
this
stuff
with
you.
And
so,
to walk
in complete
dependence
on God
and his
power to
supply their
needs.
I've seen
the Lord
do it many
times in
my own
life.
so that's
the third
point,
to be
dependent
on God,
to not
want anything
other than to
minister the
gospel to
people,
and then
trust in the
Lord for
your provision.
So in
conclusion,
if you
know Christ,
and you
just need to
know that you
don't need a
bunch of
brains or a
theology degree
to talk about
Jesus with
people,
the disciples
were ordinary
guys,
super ordinary
guys,
like extra
ordinary
guys.
They were
fishermen,
tax collectors,
often actually
like kids and
fought with
each other.
I mean,
it would
have been
just to
see Jesus
and go,
man,
just so
many times
of these
guys.
They
weren't
anything
special.
But if
you look at
Acts 4
real quick,
I just
want to
show you
one thing.
Acts 4
verse 13.
This is
Peter and
John as
they were
preaching.
Acts 4
verse 13.
It says,
Now,
when they
saw the
boldness of
Peter and
John,
they perceived
that they
were uneducated,
common men,
they were
astonished,
and they
recognized that
they had
been with
Jesus.
That's the
key.
It's not
about how
many books
you've read.
I don't
care if you
can quote
the greatest
theologians in
history,
like to
know Jesus,
to encounter
Jesus,
and to be
taught and
fed by
Jesus is
all you need.
And if
you're
around him,
you become
like him.
If you
love him,
you talk
more about
him.
We've got to
get rid of
this idea
that evangelism
is some
awkward event
that we
take part in
every now and
then.
It's to be
embodied in
who we are,
and how we
talk, how we
live, and
whoever we
encounter.
And if you're
holding back a
fear of failure,
let go of those
fears today.
Be done with it.
There's a lot of
work that needs to
be done.
There's a lot
of dead,
lost souls out
there that
need the
gospel.
Fear God
more than
you fear
men.
All right?
So, come
before the
Lord.
Some of you
need to
pray that
God makes
you like
this.
I'm a
hero that
I've always
had, but
the last two
months I
began reading
more of his
stuff, and
it brought
me to tears
on several
occasions.
This is Jim
Elliott.
And in his
college years,
this is
something that
he wrote.
He said,
Father, make
me a
crisis man.
Bring those
I come in
contact to
decision.
Let me not
be a mile
post on a
single road.
Make me a
fork that
men must
turn one
way or
another on
facing Christ
in me.
Like, let
those who
encounter Christ
in me go
one way or
another.
Like, don't
let them turn
away or let
them come to
Christ.
that was
on July
7th in
1948.
So, we
need to
pray that.
We need to
pray that.
I need to
pray that.
We need to
be people who,
when others
meet us, they
encounter Christ.
And if you
don't know
Christ today,
you've heard
the message
that was
spoken.
Repent.
Turn away
from your
sin and
throw yourself
at the cross
on the mercy
of Jesus.
He is alive
today.
Like, we're
about to
come up on
Easter.
Like, what
are you going
to do with
that?
Like, he's
alive.
He's got this
dead dude from
the past.
He's somebody
that's here
right now that
you have to
reckon with.
And he's more
than willing to
receive you with
compassion and
open arms.
So, face him
now as your
friend or
resist him as
his enemy.
Turn in faith.
You can come
and talk to me
or Nathan or
Wes or one of
the elders here.
But don't pass
that up.
So, let's
just close in
prayer together
as we continue
our worship
today.
Amen.