Ambassadors: Representing The Lord (2014)

SERMON OUTLINE:

• There Is A Call to Be Answered

• There Is A Consequence That Needs To Be Considered

• There Is A Joy That Needs To Be Tempered

• There Is A Grace That Needs To Be Remembered

• There Is A Privilege That Needs To Be Contemplated

SERMON BODY:

Ill:

• Edna Butterfield story:

• My husband, Ron, once taught a class of mentally impaired teenagers.

• Looking at his students’ capabilities rather than their limitations,

• Ron got them to play chess, restore furniture and repair electrical appliances.

• Most important, he taught them to ‘have faith’ that is to believe in themselves.

• One of the mentally impaired teenagers was a boy called Bobby;

• He soon proved how well he had learned that last lesson of faith.

• One day he brought in a broken toaster to repair.

• He arrived carrying the toaster tucked under one arm,

• And a half-loaf of bread under the other.

• TRANSITION:

• That boy Bobby demonstrated an incredible trust in his teacher;

• Likewise the 12 disciples and the other disciples who followed Jesus.

• Were required to show an incredible trust in him.

Note:

• This event in Luke chapter 10 should not be confused with another similar event

• That we read about in Luke chapter 9.

• In Luke chapter 9 Jesus commissioned or sent out ONLY the 12 disciples.

• Here in Luke chapter 10 Jesus commissioned or sent out 72 of his followers.

• Now there are a number of similarities in both incidents;

• And this should be expected;

• After all it is the same master, who is sending out his followers to do the same basic job.

So there are similarities but there are also some important differences:

• The 12 disciples were sent out to minister in Galilee (north);

• But these 72 men were sent out to minister in Judea (south).

• And the men in this chapter are not called apostles;

• They were anonymous disciples N.I.V. ‘others’. K.J.B. ‘seventy also’.

• Anonymous disciples and yet they were true followers of Jesus;

• They were just not members of the inner-core,

• What we know as and refer to as the 12 disciples.

Now part of our calling as Christians (as disciples) is to go, to share, to evangelise!

Ill:

• Some years ago, when missionaries were allowed to serve in China,

• A blind Chinese man was taken to a Christian mission hospital.

• The missionary doctor performed an operation;

• And removed cataracts from the man's eyes.

• Soon, the man was able to return to his home,

• He left the mission hospital rejoicing in his restored eyesight.

• A few weeks later the missionaries at the hospital;

• Saw the man coming back down the road toward them.

• But this time he was holding a rope to which forty other blind people were clinging.

• He was bringing them to the place where his sight had been restored.

• TRANSITION:

• I’m sure you don’t need me to put an application on that story!

• We are in the business of bringing others to Jesus!

(1). There Is A Call That Needs Answering (vs 1-4)

“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

3Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.”

Ill:

• My Passport; What I hold in my hand is a fairly common document.

• It’s my passport, it allows me right to travel around the world,

• It shows not only where I come from but also who I am.

• It shows that I am a citizen of the United Kingdom (no you are not seeing the photo!);

• Therefore I am also a representative of my country to the rest of the world.

• The way that people abroad view me will have an impact on how they view my county.

• These 72 followers (passport holders) of Jesus were not just his followers:

• They were also his ambassadors;

Question: What is an ambassador?

Answer:

• An ambassador is an authorized representative of a sovereign.

• He speaks not in his own name but on behalf of the ruler whose deputy he is,

• And his whole duty and responsibility;

• Is to interpret that ruler’s mind faithfully to those to whom he is sent.

• The followers of Jesus: