Well, please do have a seat.
And it is wonderful to see you this morning,
particularly if this is your first Sunday with us at Brunsfield.
It is just great to have you with us.
Can I encourage you at this point to make every effort to get Luke chapter 9
open in front of you?
It is crucial as we come to church at this point in our service
that we have God's Word open in front of us.
So make every effort to get the Scriptures open in front of you.
Luke chapter 9.
And let's pray together.
And ask for God's help as we come to his Word.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Lord, we still ourselves now,
and we remember who you are and who we are.
We remember that you are God in heaven,
and we are on earth.
And we remember that your ways are so much higher than our ways.
And we remember that in our world of change,
in our lives of change, Lord, that you never change.
And what a joy it is that we can call you,
because of Jesus, our Father.
And we can hear from you as your children.
So, Heavenly Father,
we ask that you would speak to us now through your Word.
Would you help us grasp something more of your amazing goodness,
like we were just singing,
and your greatness.
And may that go from being praised on our lips,
to knowledge in our head,
to truth in our hearts.
And may that just drive a love for you.
Help us to appreciate something more of who you are this morning,
we ask.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Well, we've been journeying through Luke's Gospel
over the past few months.
And I want to take you,
at the outset of this sermon this morning,
right back to Luke chapter 1.
If you remember right at the start of his Gospel,
you may want to turn there now,
to chapter 1 and verse 4.
However, we saw Luke declare at the outset of his Gospel
that he'd started out with a very clear purpose in mind.
And he had set out to compile,
and you'll see it there,
an orderly account of Jesus' life.
And what he's done is,
he's carefully researched the facts about Jesus Christ.
And he's gathered those facts together,
and he's put his account together in a way
with the express purpose of providing his readers there
with, and you'll see the word there,
certainty.
This is what he's all about, Luke.
He's trying to provide certainty to his readers.
Now, I find that a massive comfort.
Because I look out in a world,
and I see massive uncertainty.
I see political uncertainty.
I see economic uncertainty.
I look at my life, and I see uncertainty.
And isn't it incredible that Luke writes for certainty?
So here he is.
He's written for certainty.
And because he's done that,
I think it means that we should expect to see
a progressive logic to his Gospel.
And indeed, I think that's exactly what we see.
Here is the flow of Luke's Gospel so far.
If you remember, at the start,
he started by showing us Jesus' CV.
So he started showing us,
this is who Jesus is,
and these are the things that he was doing.
This is who Jesus is.
Then he progressed to tell us about Jesus' manifesto.
This is what Jesus came to do.
Then he proceeded to tell us about the mission of Jesus.
Right at the heart of what Jesus came to do,
we saw it last week, if you remember,
right at the heart of it,
Jesus came to bring salvation.
To save people from their sin,
to rescue them,
to give them life,
and to reconcile them to God.
And as we enter chapter 9 this morning,
what we need to see is that progression,
that flow has led us to a new theme in Luke's Gospel.
Chapter 9, we enter a new section.
And the big question now for Luke
is having shown us what Jesus came to do,
and who Jesus is,
he'll now go on to show us what it means to follow him.
So there's our big theme for this morning.
What it means to follow Jesus.
What does Jesus call his followers to a life of?
And can I suggest straight off the bat,
that is the most important question
that we can ever ask with our lives.
What does it mean to follow Jesus?
You know, one of my pet hates in life,
I don't have many,
but one of my pet hates in life
is when people try to hide the small print from you.
Don't know if you find that,
you get stuff through your inbox,
and it says super fast broadband,
$9.99 a month,
and you think, ka-ching, we're in.
Then you read the small print,
what does it say?
Line rental, £16 a month.
You know what it's like?
You get flyers through your post,
it says three free months at the gym.
Again, you're thinking,
great, I can get my Hasselhoff on.
Then what does it say?
But only when you sign up for 18 months.
We hate it.
I hate it when people try to hide the small print from me.
Here's the thing about Luke chapter 9.
There's no hiding of the small print.
Jesus is explicit in what it means to follow him.
Small print, Luke chapter 9,
not small, it's big.
And the disciples in our verses this morning,
they're going to learn two massive lessons
about what Jesus calls them to as they follow him.
This is what a life of following Jesus looks like.
Now, what I want to suggest this morning
is that although we are not the 12,
and although we live in a different time from them,
and although we won't go around doing exactly the things that they did,
nor do I think we should expect to,
actually, at the center of what Jesus calls them to do,
is so true for us today.
A big lesson for this morning
is that the disciples,
these followers and learners of Jesus,
are called by him to a life of going
and a life of knowing.
A life of going
and a life of knowing.
So here it is.
If you've got verses 1 to 9 there,
let's look at what going looks like.
So we meet Jesus at verse 1.
What is he doing?
He's calling a team meeting.
That's what he's doing.
Interesting.
He calls the disciples to come to him
before they can go out.
Now, it's interesting,
because up until this point in Luke's gospel,
Jesus has been the only one
doing the preaching and the healing.
I mean, this really has been a one-man show
up until this point in Luke's gospel.
But now, do you see that Jesus
calls the disciples to him
and to join him in his kingdom work?
He calls them to himself,
he delegates authority to them,
and he sends them out.
This is what's going on.
This is the pattern.
I want us to notice a few things
about what he is commissioning them
to do here.
Now, firstly, notice what they are to do.
Verse 2.
They are to preach,
and they are to heal.
Jesus is calling them to go
and to tell people about the kingdom of God,
to go and make him known
in their surrounding countryside.
Go and make Jesus known.
Secondly, notice where they have to go.
Verse 4.
They have to go to people.
This is a people business
that Jesus is calling them to do.
People right at the heart of this.
They will enter homes.
Where did they go?
Verse 6.
They went from village to village.
How far did they go?
Notice the word at the end of verse 6.
They went everywhere.
This is a going-to-people mission
that Jesus is sending his people on.
Now, presumably, that's why
they are told not to take
the essentials for their journey,
if you think about it.
It does seem a bit odd
when we read it there, doesn't it?
But if you think about it,
it's going to sharpen in their minds
the sense of urgency
that they need to go,
but it's also going to sharpen
in their minds
that they need people.
They need to have people serve them.
They need to seek out people
that are going to help them.
People that are going to let them
stay with them.
People that are going to feed them.
Because if that doesn't happen,
they're not going to get very far.
Third thing to notice,
notice how this will go down.
I think this is where it gets
really applicable for us.
How will this go down?
What does Jesus envisage?
Do you see it there?
That some people will accept them.
Some will accept them
and their message about Jesus
and they'll warmly welcome them.
But, verse 5,
some will reject them
and their message.
I think we've got a great example
of that rejection.
Luke tells us about King Herod
at verse 7.
Seems likely that the mission
of the twelve,
what they are doing,
and clearly the success
of what they are doing,
it reaches the palace.
And Herod is perplexed
and he's confused
about Jesus' identity.
And what's the question
that's on Herod's lips
that Luke records for us there?
Who is this man?
Who is this Jesus?
It's been the big question
of Luke's gospel so far
as we've looked at
the identity of this man.
Who is this Jesus?
Now that might seem
an innocent question
at this point
on the lips of Herod.
But later on we learn
that it would appear
that he simply wants
to see Jesus perform a sign.
Or at worst,
to have him killed
and he's choosing
to respond negatively
to who Jesus is.
So let's bring a few
of those threads together.
What is Luke telling us?
He's telling us,
or Jesus is telling
his disciples,
that when they go,
when they tell people
about him,
they'll be met with hunger
and they'll be met
with hostility.
Some people will accept
their message
and some people
will reject their message.
And what I want
to suggest to us today
is that as modern day
disciples,
Jesus calls us
to the same pursuit.
You know,
Rico Tyson,
his great little book,
Honest Evangelism,
I suggest you read it.
It's a great little book,
probably the best book
I've read on this kind
of stuff.
He writes this,
God is the great evangelist,
the great seeker
and finder of people.
And he's called his followers
to the same pursuit
and to the same emotion.
So there we go.
There is the gospel task
of the disciples
to go to people
in their community,
to their everyday circles
and to make Jesus known.
And we think about it
in our lives.
We think about our circles.
We think about our communities.
Think about the people
who are in your circles.
Think about your colleagues
at work.
Think about your peers
at university.
Think about your classmates
at school.
Think about your brothers
and sisters.
Think about your mums
and dads.
Think about your uncles
and aunties.
Think about your family.
I mean,
these are our circles,
aren't they?
What is Jesus calling people to,
followers of him?
He's calling them
to embrace a lifestyle
of speaking for him.
I think at this point,
I would say that's why
I find it so massively encouraging
to hear people like Struan
really want to take
their circles,
speaking for Jesus
in their circles,
really seriously.
I want to,
this is what effectively
he was saying,
wasn't it, I think,
that I want to
speak for Jesus
in my sports team.
I want others
to help me speak
for Jesus
in my sports team.
And I want to gather
others together
because I realise
that I can't do it
on my own
and I'm so much more
effective by others
supporting me.
I think that's great.
It's absolutely brilliant.
And it's so encouraging
here to see,
isn't it,
that as people go
and as God moves
by his Holy Spirit
and as the message
is proclaimed,
God moves
and people are saved.
I don't know
if you were aware
at all
that this week,
we've got many students
in this church,
by the way.
I love that we have
such a diverse
church family.
It's brilliant.
But the many students
in this church,
many students
in this church
involved with the
Christian Union
at their university.
And I don't know
if you knew,
but this week
was the Edinburgh
Christian Unions
coming together
and having a
missions week
on campus.
So what they were
trying to do,
they were trying
to come together,
pull resources,
help each other
and go out
and tell their classmates,
their peers,
about Jesus.
Now they called it
something more.
Is there something
more to life?
That was a big idea.
I've been following
it this week
and something really
cool,
they set up a website
and on the website
was just testimonies
of Christian students
about how they came
to know Jesus
as the Lord,
King and Saviour.
It's brilliant.
Let me read to you
two stories
that I found
on this website.
This is Megan.
Megan's a fourth year
student at Napier University
and this is her story
about how she came
to faith.
She said,
I wanted to get
to know Jesus more
so my friend Alice
took me to church
and there I found
all the answers
to my questions.
It brought me
so much joy
to know that Jesus
had wiped my slate clean,
that he had sacrificed
himself and taken
the punishment
for my sin.
This was to me
the most incredible
amount of love
I'd ever heard of.
I hadn't realized
how much God loved me
and I remember
praying to Jesus
one night
and asking him
to save me
because I knew
I simply had
had too much.
It was right at that
second I knew
God had forgiven me
and that God
was truly real.
That's cool,
isn't it?
Hunger
for the gospel
as the gospel goes.
Hunger.
Here's David,
a third year
at Napier University
talking about
what life was like
for him
after he became
a Christian.
It was really hard
and I ended up
sticking out
like a sore thumb
at school.
My friends
constantly teased me
and picked on me.
It was humiliating
and I kept asking myself
have I made a mistake?
I tried to hold on
to Jesus
and to trust in him
knowing deep down
that he was real
and I was encouraged
by friends at church
and I was shown
a verse from the gospel
where Jesus says
to his disciples
you will be hated
by everyone
because of me
but the one
who stands firm
to the end
will be saved
and I knew
I had to keep going.
Hostility.
What will happen
when the gospel
goes to our world
to our friends
to our circles
we will be met
with hunger
and we will be met
with hostility.
You see
it's not our job
to make people
Christians
it's not our job
to make people
respond to the gospel
message
that's the work
of the Holy Spirit
as he works
in the lives
of people
but it is our job
to be obedient
to Jesus
and out of a love
for him
speak of him
and introduce
people to him.
Now just think about it
if you want an illustration
just think of a witness
in a courtroom.
Why are they called
into the court?
Well they're simply called
to present the truth.
Not their fault
if the jury
don't believe them
they are simply called
to speak
the truth.
Same with evangelism.
We haven't failed
in our task
if people don't believe us
but we think
we have failed
in our task
if we simply
don't try.
To follow Jesus
point number one
what does he call
his followers to?
To a life of going.
Now I don't know
about you
but I hear that
and I'm massively
daunted by it
and I'm scared
by it
and I think to myself
that is a big task
and I think to myself
somebody else
nodded me right?
Massive task.
I think about my circles.
I think about my football team.
I think about my family.
I think about my friends.
And I think on a bigger level
I think of our neighbourhood
of Brunsfields.
I look out over here
and I see all those flats
five, six storeys high
filled with people.
Thousands of people
living in this neighbourhood.
And I look out here
and I see maybe
150 of us or so
and I think we haven't
even scratched the surface
of this area.
And I think of our nation
of Scotland
and I think of the statistics
that would tell me
that two or three percent
of people in this country
would claim the name of Jesus.
That would know him
as their Lord, King and Saviour.
And I think of the size
of the task
and I feel crushed
under the weight.
And I consider the scale
of the task
and I feel sometimes
massively disheartened
especially when I
encounter that hostility.
I bet you the disciples
felt like that at times.
The question for us
as we look at this
as we think about our own lives
as modern day disciples
is how do we keep going?
How do we keep going?
What is it that the disciples
need to know here?
Now Luke has deliberately
put this together
in a certain way.
We've had the mission
of Jesus
and very next
we get the identity
of Jesus.
No coincidence.
What follows next
is a big reminder
for the disciples.
They need to grasp
the identity
of who Jesus really is.
They need to grasp
his incomparable power
and his sufficient
and abundant provision
for them.
And this takes us
to the second thing
that Jesus is calling
his disciples to embrace.
And that's to embrace
a lifestyle
verses 10 to 17.
Embrace a lifestyle
of knowing.
So look at it there
if you've got it there
come back with me
if you've lost me.
Okay.
Verse 10.
The disciples
what are we told there?
They return from their mission.
And they tell Jesus
everything that they
had seen and done.
Everything they've seen
and done.
And you can understand
that they are
absolutely shattered
given everything
that they've done.
They have poured
themselves out.
They have walked around.
They have spoken of him.
They are shattered.
So what does Jesus do?
He takes them away
for a bit of R&R.
You can see it there.
He tries to take them away
but it seems that news
spreads quickly
of Jesus' whereabouts.
And as we've seen
constantly throughout
this gospel
the crowds
find out
and they are really
keen to follow him.
Do you see that?
They go towards him
the crowds.
And notice in passing
and I found this
beautiful this week.
Notice in passing
how Jesus responds
to them.
Now our little girl
Chloe
one of her favourite books
is called
Five Minutes Peace.
Put your hands up
if you've heard of this book
called Five Minutes Peace.
Yep.
What it is
mummy elephant
she's got three little
children elephants
I think that's the term
three little children elephants
and he just won't
give her a minute's peace.
And this book is called
Five Minutes Peace.
I just want five minutes
when you're not
all up in my grill.
Just give me
five minutes peace.
And she never gets
the five minutes peace.
Now if I were Jesus
at this point
I would be playing
the five minutes peace card.
Just crowds
just give me
a bit of time
with my disciples.
Can we have a bit of time
just to us?
But what does he do?
How does Jesus
respond?
Look at it
second half of verse 11
it's great.
Jesus welcomed them
and he spoke to them
and he healed them.
Now one of the
big themes isn't it
as we've been going
through this Gospel of Luke
one of the big things
that we've seen
is the beauty
of Jesus Christ.
His compassion
his love for people
his grace
that he bestows on people
his patience
his kindness
his tenderness
we see them all here
don't we?
Patient
kind
concerned
caring
gracious
this is the Jesus
that we meet
in the Gospels.
but what happens
the day progresses
and it suddenly dawns
on the disciples
that there could be
a crisis just around
the corner
do you see that?
They're heading
for a crisis
the day is
drawing near
and do you see
that they identify
two potential reasons
for this crisis?
Two massive reasons
firstly because of
where they are
check it out
verse 12
where are they?
They're in a desolate
place
they're out
in the sticks
now what does that mean?
That means that there is
no Tesco Express
at the end of the road
and that means
there is no Starbucks
on the corner
that you could go to
to get your caffeine
hit to take you
through the night
they are
in a desolate
place
that's where they are
first problem
second problem
notice
what they have
they don't have a lot
verse 13
no more than
five loaves
and two fish
how many people
are in front of them?
5,000 men
5,000 people
now
picture that
100 people
in this room
that is
50 times
this amount
of people
that is a lot
of people
that's a lot
of people
and even
that number
of 5,000
do you notice
that there
may well not
have accounted
for women
and children
as well
big number
of people
given that
number of people
what they have
wouldn't have
even made a dent
in the hunger
of the people
there
so what do they
do
and I love
this little
discourse here
notice it there
what does
the disciples
do
they put the ball
in Jesus'
court
what do they say
what are we
going to do
send them away
Jesus
that's their answer
to the problem
send them away
to get something
to eat
what does
Jesus do
the ball's
in his court
now
he puts it
well and truly
back in theirs
do you notice
that
what does
they say
you
give them
something
to eat
you
in the
Greek
there
it's
emphatic
you
give them
something
to eat
verse 13
I love
how they
suggest
they think
they can
go and
buy food
for all
these
people
can you
imagine
that
they go
to the
local
store
and they
ask
the
guy
behind
the
tail
says
what
are you
after
or after
some
eggs
how many
eggs
are you
after
5,000
it's a lot
of people
they just
don't know
what to do
we get that
sense
don't we
they just
don't know
what
they are
going to
do
they
they are
well and
truly
out of
ideas
and they
are well
and truly
out of
resources
there's
not a
chance
they can
do
this
and here's
where I
find this
really
interesting
if you
think about
it
presumably
Jesus
could have
just done
this
he could
have just
done this
miracle
couldn't he
he didn't
really need
to have
this
conversation
with the
disciples
he could
have just
done it
and everyone
would have
been satisfied
and fed
but you
see how
Jesus
helps them
feel
their utter
helplessness
that he
allows them
to be in
that place
of
cluelessness
now why
is he
doing that
well
surely
reflecting
on it
this
week
is it
not to
show
them
one of
the
most
fundamentally
simple
yet profoundly
beautiful
truths about
the Christian
life
that we
need
Jesus
we need
Jesus
what do
the disciples
need to
learn at
this point
surely that
it's not
all about
them
that they
need
Jesus
and so what
does he do
he gets
them to get
the crowds
to sit in
the 50s
these groups
and Jesus
performs the
miracle
it's written
there isn't
it
of course
he could
have
performed
that
miracle
food
for
everyone
and more
than that
do you
notice that
what does
Luke tell
us that
all the
people
ate
and they
were
what
satisfied
in fact
so satisfied
were they
do you
notice that
there are
12 baskets
left over
this is
a big
feed
reading the
Jesus
storybook
bible
with my
little girl
the other
night
commenting on
this section
I love
this
it was the
most natural
thing in the
world
it's what
God had been
doing ever
since the
beginning of
course
taking nothing
and making
it everything
taking emptiness
and filling
it up
here is
the glory
of Jesus
Christ
and he's
calling his
disciples to
behold it
lesson for the
disciples
they need
Jesus
and the
wonderful truth
for the
disciples to
know
that they
need Jesus
but he
is willing
and he
is able
to provide
for all
their needs
all their
needs
so there
it is
the second
truth for
the disciples
to grasp
that to
follow Jesus
is to sign
up for a
life of
going
and it's
to sign
up for a
life of
knowing
and if you
look carefully
there the
information that
Luke gives
us you see
that there's
actually something
else going on
behind the
scenes as
well and
you begin
to see the
massive
exodus imagery
that Luke
employs here
and indeed
it's not just
in these verses
actually it's a
mega theme that
runs throughout
chapter 9
the exodus story
God's people in
the wilderness
God's people at
the end of
themselves in the
need of food
God miraculously
feeds them
provides food for
them in the
wilderness
lesson for
that generation
you need
God
and your
God is
one who
can provide
all your
needs
and he will
lead you
and he will
provide for
you
you need
God
lesson for
this generation
surely it's
the same
disciples
you need
God
your God
is willing
and he's
able to
provide all
of your
needs
so keep
trusting
and following
him
and trust
him when
things happen
that he knows
where he's
leading you
he can provide
for you
here are people
in a desolate
place
here are people
with no idea
where they will
find food
and here is
God miraculously
once again
providing for
his people
isn't that just
a wonderful
truth for us
to meditate on
this morning
as God's
people
that our
God he will
never run out
of resources
that our
God will
never run
us dry
that our
God will
provide for
every single
need of his
people
it's a big
incentive is it
not for the
disciples to
keep going
if they know
who this God
is whose name
they go on
behalf of
what do they
need to know
what do we
need to know
we need to know
that when the
task seems
big
our God
is bigger
when the
task seems
giant
our God
is
gianter
our God
is a big
God
that is the
truth here
our God
is one who
provides for
all of our
needs
and I was
thinking on it
this week
how often
is my view
of God
my God
is too
small
he is too
small
just need to
think about
his greatness
and I need
to stop
trying to
rate my
ability to
navigate my
way through
life
the lesson
here is to
look to him
as the all
sufficient one
look to him
as the one
who is able
to provide
everything
stop projecting
your human
limitations on
God
stop pretending
like he is one
who has
limited energy
stop
looking on him
who is one
who has got
limited resources
like we do
I think
J.I.
Parker
he nails
this one
in the head
he says
we think
of God
as being
too much
like what
we are
let's put
that mistake
right
and let's
learn to
acknowledge
the full
majesty
of our
incomparable
God and
saviour
we need to
have a big
view of
Jesus
that's what
this is
telling us
we need to
have a big
view of who
he is
the mission
is big
but our
God is
big
I think
that's a
great place
for us
to finish
for this
morning
as we
think about
the greatness
of our
gods
what do the
disciples need
to know
that as they
go in the
name of their
saviour
they need to
know the
incomparable
power and
provision of
their saviour
what does
it mean to
follow Jesus
what does he
call his
disciples to
what does he
call his
followers to
well here it
is at the
beginning of
chapter 9
two aspects
of it
to follow him
is to sign
up to a
life of
going
and to
follow him
is to sign
up to a
life of
knowing
now we're
going to
one of the
songs that
we're going
to finish
with is
guide me
oh thou
great
jehovah
let me
just read
this verse
to you as
we finish
I think it
just picks up
on a lot
of the themes
that we've
been looking
at this
morning
guide me
oh thou
great
jehovah
pilgrim
through this
barren land
I am weak
but you
are mighty
hold me
with thy
powerful hand
bread of
heaven
bread of
heaven
feed me
till I
want no
more
feed me
till I
want no
more
let's pray
together
oh dear
father we
ask that you
would help
us this
week
we ask
that you
help us
this week
to be in
tune with
your
incomparable
greatness
would you
help us
to be
those
people
who
follow
you
and who
live
not by
sight
but who
live by
faith
and we
do so
because we
know that
you are
the gods
who is
able to
provide for
all of
our needs
and I
ask dear
father that
in our
own times
this week
of reading
your words
would you
feed us
up
would you
build us
up
would you
strengthen
us
and would
you send
us to
a lost
world
to proclaim
the greatness
of your
son Jesus
Christ
and so we
thank you for
our time this
morning
and we pray
you'll be with us
now in the rest
of our service
in Jesus name
Amen