Mission Possible
Luke 10:1-16
I. Introduction
a. Mission Impossible video clip
b. How many of you like the Mission Impossible movies?
i. I like them b/c they take me back to my childhood.
ii. Explain how I used to invent missions for myself.
c. Well, tonight, I’m here to tell you that we’ve been given a mission… should you choose to accept it.
d. READ Luke 10:1 – “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.”
e. Notice that Jesus appointed these disciples to go out.
f. You guys have been appointed… I know this b/c of Matthew 28:19-20
g. READ Matthew 28:19-20 – “19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
h. We have all been called to GO and Make Disciples!!
i. The disciples here in our Luke passage were sent into specific towns and villages…
i. You guys also have a specific mission field… Your school!!
ii. Tomorrow is the big day… it is not the day you go back to school guys… it is the day you step on to the mission field!
j. You’ve been given a mission… and I’m here to tell you tonight that you CAN accomplish this mission… you CAN turn your school upside down for Christ… you CAN see God move in amazing ways this year!
k. How can we see God move in this way… how can we see Him take what seems like mission impossible and turn it into mission possible?
l. Let’s read on here in Luke 10 to find out.
II. By the POWER of PRAYER! (10:2)
a. READ Luke 10:2 – “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.”
b. This should be the most encouraging task that you hear tonight… B/C we ALL can pray!
c. It’s funny how we talk so much about the importance of prayer and yet we do so little praying.
d. I’m a action guy… you know… I one of those dummies that jumps in a lot of times without doing the planning first.
i. How many of you have ever played paintball?
ii. I’m often that guy who doesn’t think a lot before I charge the battle field… and next thing you know, my braveheart battle cry/charge turns into a little girl scream and fetal position as I’m covered in paint and welts!!!!
e. Why do we go into this spiritual battle without praying first?!
f. Here is what prayer does for us in this battle:
i. It opens up the power of God to move in that place!
1. Here’s the deal… we are essentially powerless in this fight in our own strength.
2. You could present the gospel as clearly and cleverly as possible… but unless the Holy Spirit is at work… you ain’t going to see results!!
3. I’ve used this illustration before… but it’s a good one.
4. If you know anything about coon hunting, you know that the hound dogs do all the work.
a. They track the coon… they tree the coon… and they even finish off the coon when you knock them out of the tree!
5. So all prayer is doing is sicking the Holy hound dog on them… aka, the Holy Spirit!
6. Then all we have to do is follow His lead!
ii. It opens up our hearts for those we are praying for.
1. Guys, you cannot spend significant time pouring your heart out to God for someone, without your heart bursting for them.
2. When you start to pray… you start to develop a burden!
g. What else does he say here? Pray for workers!
i. Pray that others will step up to the task… as you yourself go!
h. So my question to you is this… will you pray?
i. My question to me is this…will prayer be a integral part of our strategy to reach Glenelg and River Hill and Oakland Mills and Marriotts Ridge and Resevior, etc.
i. It’s funny to me that we will go on mission trips across the globe and spend a lot of time prayer walking and then we will not even spend time prayer walking our own community and schools.
j. Who will it be?
i. Who in this room will step up and say “Rob, I’ll lead the prayer charge!” “I’ll organize prayer walks and prayer times and I’ll commit to pray for my school!”
ii. Who will do that… or are you waiting on me?!
1. DON’T WAIT ON ME! I’m old and senial.
III. PREPARE for PERSECUTION (10:3)
a. READ Luke 10:3-4 “Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
b. Jesus point blank tells His disciples here that they are going to be persecuted.
i. He goes on in these later verses to tell them to shake off the dust from their sandals when they are rejected… indicating that persecution is going to take place.
c. Here’s the thing guys… persecution can quickly derail our missional mindset if we are not prepared for it.
d. Motorcycle wreck story
i. Had I seen that rock… I could have absorbed the blow.
e. How can we be ready?
i. Don’t be surprised when it hits!
ii. Dress yourself with the armor of God as described in Ephesians 6:10-17
1. Ephesians 6:10-11 – “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”
2. This includes the Word of God!
3. You better be ingesting the Word of God into your life… you will never be able to stand apart from it.
iii. Know and lean on believers around you! God gave us each other for this purpose.
IV. Go in God’s POWER and PROVISION! (10:3-4)
a. Read 10:3-4, “Go! 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.”
b. First just notice Jesus says to them, “GO!”
i. If Jesus were here today… He would say the same thing to us! GO!!
ii. He’d say, “there ain’t nutin’ to but to do it!”
iii. He’d say look… be like Nike… JUST DO IT!
iv. How many excuses do we make to keep from going and doing God’s work… how many excuses to not tell a friend about Jesus!
1. Just Go!
c. But then he says this to them… Don’t take anything with you!
i. We’re a Southern Baptist Church… and we’re known for our committees and meetings.
ii. You know… sometimes we can committee something to death!
iii. This is a part of our excuses…
1. Well, we don’t have this in place
2. We don’t have the money right now
3. I don’t have enough bible knowledge or training in witnessing.
4. Blah, blah, blah
d. Folks… here is what Jesus is saying… you have to go in MY power and provision!
i. In fact if we go in our power and provision… in our adequacy… then we are going to fall flat on our stinking arrogant faces!
e. Read I Corinthians 2:1-5, “1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.[a] 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
i. Paul was about as smart a guy as you would’ve met in those days.
1. He knew the Scriptures like the back of his hand.
ii. But he says here… I didn’t come to you with wise words!
iii. Why not?
1. “so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”
2. If we win someone based on our ability to persuade them… then they may not have a true faith!
iv. NO! He went in the power of the Holy Spirit… and that is how we must go as well (which by the way STARTS at the prayer end)!
V. Finally, Keep the PROPER PERSPECTIVE! (10:16)
a. Jesus goes on to describe how some will react to the gospel and how to respond. And then He says this in V. 16
i. “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me."
ii. Guys… if we keep this perspective, then we will press on even in the face of a multitude of rejection.
iii. They are NOT rejecting us… they are rejecting Christ!
b. Here’s another perspective to keep in mind… we are just Path Pavers!
i. Look at v. 1 again, “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.”
ii. Jesus was “about to go” into these places!!!
iii. Here is a perspective to keep in mind… Jesus is about to go into Glenelg High School… Marriots Ridge… Resevior, etc.
iv. We are just paving the path for Him!
c. Explain Tim Wilkerson story… He said, “God, if you change my thoughts I’ll be obedient and God said, if you be obedient I’ll change your thoughts.”
d. That’s a whole other sermon… but don’t miss the point!
i. Some of us are saying… God if you start moving then I’ll jump on board and be Your ambassador in my school.
ii. God is saying… if you go and be obedient to speak, live and love in your school… I’ll MOVE!!!
VI. Conclusion
a. Guys we’ve been given a mission… it is Mission Possible!
b. Will you go? Will you step up and take the lead in a prayer movement that will radically change this world? Will you trust His power and JUST DO IT?!!
c. Tomorrow you step out onto that mission field… What will you do!
d. Here’s the thing… I’m tired of messages that are hooh rah and we never see practical things come out of it.
i. I’m not saying, sign up for this or sign up for that!
ii. I want to know what you are going to do!
iii. I’ve got some sheets of paper laid out here and some pencils.
iv. If you aren’t going to truly do something in response to God’s Word tonight… please don’t waste some trees.
v. But if you are… if God has jumped all over you about His mission tonight… grab a piece a paper and write down what you are going to do… be specific!
vi. Lay them down at this altar as commitments!
