FAITH OVER FEAR - Like Sheep Among Wolves
Luke 10:1-12 February 19, 2023
Introduction:
Jesus and his disciples are walking down the road to another village when a man approaches Jesus and says, “I’ll Follow you wherever you go!”
And Jesus wants to make sure he knows what he’s in for.
“Foxes have dens and birds have nests but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Basically Jesus is telling this man… “If you choose to follow me it won’t be comfortable…you’ll have no real home here on earth.”
And then Jesus looks at another man and says, “Come follow me…” but the man says “Lord, just let me go bury my dad.”
Sounds like an important priority doesn’t it? I’ve buried my dad…it’s an emotional subject…But we need to understand…His dad’s not dead…He wants to oversee family affairs and settle inheritance issues in the future…He’s the eldest son who gets a double portion…He’s saying, “Let me get my inheritance and then I’m all in…” Jesus cuts to the chase.
If you want to live for me…If you’re alive spiritually…let dead people bury dead people…you go proclaim the Kingdom of God as the most important thing.
And then another guy jumps into the conversation…“I’ll follow you Lord, but just let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
Jesus replies…“No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God.”
Like Lot’s wife…he wants one more glance at his old home…one more look at his old life…Jesus says: “You cannot serve in my Kingdom if you keep doing this!”
The Apostle Paul came to understand the power of this truth when he set his priorities…One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:13-14)
Trying to look back while you’re stretching for the finish line is a recipe for failure.
(I was a swimmer growing up...a pretty good one and I love to watch swimming in the Olympics. When Micheal Phelps was swimming in the 200m butterfly in the Rio Olympics he won because Chad Le Clos took his eye off the finish line and turned toward Micheal to take a look....he finished 7 tenths of a second behind.....show pic)
So, immediately after Jesus encounters these individuals who say they want to follow him, but have some other priorities to fulfill first, He appoints 72 others and sends them out in teams of 2…they go ahead of Him to every town He intends to go…His advance teams.
I always wondered if any of those 3 men were in the 72…It doesn’t tell us what their choices were…fear would have had them headed home to their own beds, becoming administrators of their family assets, and renewing relationships with old friends and family…Faith would have had them not even taking a purse or bag or sandals on the journey of a lifetime.
Following Jesus is still the journey of a lifetime…It’s abundant and absolutely filled with a harvest…but few choose it…Why? Because:
I. IT’S DANGEROUS TO BE A LAMB LIVING AMONG WOLVES
The first thing Jesus tells His advance team is: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few…Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field…Go…I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves.
What??? That doesn’t sound like the pep talk I’d want to hear from Jesus in this situation.
I like the big harvest part…but being small in number and surrounded by wolves isn’t that appealing at all.
When Matthew records this same commission by Jesus he gets even more specific about how dangerous it will be.
MATTHEW 10:16-18
Sheep among wolves..shrewd as snakes but innocent like doves…Be alert, you’re gonna get beat on…you’ll be arrested and have to testify on my behalf.
Jesus knew that if we live with Him as our King…and we preach His Kingdom of salvation in this world of sin and selfishness, the response would not be kindness…but hatred.
He even said, “As the world has hated me…so it will hate you as well.” “It hated me first.” (John 15:18)
Darkness hates light…evil hates righteousness. Oil and water do not mix. It’s a world filled with wolves…you are to be sheep.
Jesus is the most truth speaking teacher that’s ever lived…He is the truth…so it’s important we as His followers, then and now, understand that “real Christianity” lived out in the real world, will not be comfortable or popular.
What’s His advice…be shrews…be innocent…be on your guard. But Go!!!
[When I was a freshman at Johnson Bible College I played the part of Jim Elliot in a play called “Bridge of Blood.” They would make a movie about Jim Elliot and 4 other missionaries (Nate Saint, Pete Fleming, Ed McCully, and Roger Youderian) called The End of the Spear.
(Picture of these men)
These men left their homes and the comfort of America to share the gospel with the Waodoni tribe in Ecuador….Nate Saint, their pilot landed their plane on a sandbar of The Currency River…communication was slow but everything seemed to go well, until one of the tribe members lied to the chief about the missionaries’ intentions…10 warriors were sent with spears…and they massacred the men on that beach…Jim Elliot’s famous quote is… “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain that which he cannot lose.”
The story doesn’t end with these dead men on a beach…2 years later Elizabeth Elliot (Jim’s wife) and Rachael Saint (Nate’s sister) and her son returned to the Auca Indians…and many gave their lives to Christ, including the man who had lied and the Chief of the Waudonis…Jim Elliot’s prayer was always that more people would become missionaries…but n his death he influenced thousands to answer the call…To GO!!!]
We understand this danger of being on foreign soil…but what about living as lambs among wolves in our community?
How willing are we to be Jesus’ advance team in our community, to our neighbors to our world…Jesus never tells the world to go to church, but He most certainly tells the church to go into the world.
“Go, I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves…Do not take a purse or bag of sandals, and do not greet anyone on the road.”
Lambs are protected by the Shepherd…and we have a great one!!! He provides what we need…and He wants our focus to be on the mission, not peripheral stuff.
What has happened to the church? Many believers seem to be content to gather with other sheep, and then go home to live safe, ostracized lives while they shoot at the wolves on Facebook…Healing the sick and telling them that the Kingdom of God has come near is much too dangerous!
You see unless we live lives of faith over fear the Kingdom of God cannot come near to those who need it most. Jesus makes it very clear:
II. WE ARE TO BE PREPARED TO SHARE THE GOSPEL
First, Jesus wants to make sure we have the right attitude when we go into any home. Jesus said, “say peace to this house.” We are not to approach people as antagonists or competitors…we are to bring peace…and offer peace.
After all, that should be easy. We represent the “prince of peace.”
There are lots of homes without peace. The answer for the war which rages is Jesus.
The Apostle Peter went from the hothead who cuts off people’s ears…to writing these words:
1 PETER 3:9-15
If you’re a follower of Christ and your goal is to bring the Kingdom near to those who are lost…(by the way....none of these are easy)
1. Be more concerned over their soul than winning the fight.
If Christ is your Lord, revere that truth in your heart…Give can answer for the hope you have that they don’t…but do it gently and with respect…that attitude brings peace.
Because the second way we prepare to share the gospel requires:
2. We know how to handle rejection.
Jesus knew about rejection…“He came to His own and His own did not receive Him.”
His challenge…forget the past and more on. Look forward instead of behind…wipe the dust off your feet and move on to the next person or city.
So often we get caught up in debating the truth…arguing about it instead of offering it.
The believer must know how to handle rejection because when you offer the good news to a world captivated with sin, rejection is certainly going to be something you will experience…and if you cannot develop the ability to forget the past, you will stop going and you will stop sharing.
Remember you and I are not the Judge. There is a judge, and everyone will stand before Him one day…Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess him as Lord…but if someone rejects the gospel they have not rejected you. They have rejected the Almighty God and it will be a horrible day when they stand before Him and are shown the opportunity they threw away.
It will be more bearable for Sodom on that day than for individuals who reject Christ.
The principle we should remember from Jesus’ words here is: “You will not be judged and punished for that which you could not do, but you will certainly be judged for that which you could have done…but did not!
One last characteristic of effective evangelism Jesus tells the 12:
3. Don’t be afraid to spend the time you need on relationships.
“If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them. If not it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you; for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.” (v. 6-7)
Here’s a quick paraphrase: “You’re not looking for the best cook in town…you’re looking for someone whose open to your message…thankfully accept what you’re given…it’s God’s way of providing for those who share the gospel. Relationships are more important than comfort and food.”
[Eating with people is a great way to break down walls…People let their guards down when you break bread together…Several years ago we had a young lady at our house…she spent all day with us around the table and with our family…my mom loved all over her and must have prayed with her 3 times. She’s African American and we’re white…but on that day none of that mattered because love and peace permeated our relationship. She said she’d never experienced anything like it in her lifetime…I wonder what would happen if we all started doing a lot more of this rather than arguing about what lives matter…all lives matter…and we should start acting like it.]
Let’s pray.
