"We begin a new series this morning inside the Gospel of Luke but more on that in a few moments. It’s the time of year when people are considering New Years Resolutions and changing some of their old habits. In light of this, I want to talk about our church and a personal challenge for you in 2015 for just a few minutes before we get started.
1. Personal Responsibility Matters
I had a conversation this week with a friend, a grandfather and old enough to be my father. My friend’s life and counsel has had a significant impact upon me over the past decade. I noticed he had received special recognition for his work and I hadn’t talked to him in a couple of years. Throughout the conversation of catching up, he stepped out of the room where he was in to share something personal with me. He shared how his wife of fifty plus years had recently been diagnosed with the early stages of dementia. Of course, an sadness came over me as we talked and later prayed over the phone together. I know there are numerous people here today who’ve battled this terrible disease in your family and we grieve with you. But in comforting and caring for his wife during the disease, my friend told me something significant. He said, “What you put in early, stays.” “What you put in early, stays.” In his wife’s confusion, she wouldn’t recognize her husband of a half-century. So at times, she thought he was her father or her brother. But then, almost humorously, she thought her husband was her boyfriend. And this grandmother would say, “You know you can’t stay over the night, don’t you? You’ll have to go somewhere else tonight as we can’t spend the night together.” Her principles of purity were coming back full-circle from her days as a young lady. And even in her confusion, my friend told me his wife still reads her Bible each evening as was her practice all these years. Seeing this my friend, said, “What you put in early, stays.” You should understand this principle in life, the first in is the last out.
1.1 Read Your Bible
Read the Bible if you’re a skeptic and read if you’re a disciple. The average person reads 200 to 250 words per minute; there are about 775,000 words in the Bible. Putting this altogether, it takes less than 10 minutes a day to read the whole Bible in a year.
Our Church’s Plan
We have chosen to place in front of you a ninety day reading plan through the four gospels. One chapter a day for ninety days. Each Sunday, we’ll read together a portion of that week’s upcoming reading. And each Tuesday, we’ll post a two minute video explaining a difficult passage in the upcoming week’s reading. You maybe aware that you can listen to the entire Bible and you’ll a number of options with a simple internet search. Take personal responsibility of your spiritual growth this year by reading and meditating on the pages of Scripture. Meditating on the pages of Scripture is like oil for your spiritual engine. Systematically and habitually failing to read and mediate on God’s Word is like bringing black widow spider’s nests into your life. Reading, studying, and feeding yourself is essential for spiritual growth.
1.2 Your Personal Prayer Life
I spent nearly the entire summer of last year talking about prayer. Things happen when you pray that don’t happen when you don’t pray. I had several aborted attempts at journaling in my younger years. But over the course of the past couple of years, I’ve been using a journal that I purchased off the internet called Ecosystem. It’s ruled, it’s on recycled paper, and it costs between $10 and $20. Look online at http://www.ecosystemlife.com and you’ll find all kinds of options. You’ll find other options at a office supply store or a local book store as well,. About once a week, I journal usually on Tuesdays where I write down my prayers to God. This disciplines my thoughts and helps me from running off in every direction. I can review past prayers and see how God is working in my life and in those around me. It’s the place where I often pray for my family and for many of you. But don’t just take my word for it, take the counsel of Flannery O’Connor. Some of you know the famous Southern writer, who at twenty-one years old, sought to deepen her prayer life by using a prayer journal. It since been published and here’s where we find why journaling was so helpful to her:
Dear God, I cannot love Thee the way I want to. You are the slim crescent of a moon that I see and my self is the earth’s shadow that keeps me from seeing all the moon . . . what I am afraid of, dear God, is that my self shadow will grow so large that it blocks the whole moon, and that I will judge myself by the shadow that is nothing. I do not know You God because I am in the way.
Special Note: There’ll be two 24 hour blocks of time I am planning on setting aside for prayer this year – first, for our leaders (SMBS leaders, deacons, and staff) while the second will be open to entire church.
1.3 Love Loud
We’ve chosen Love Loud to best describe the efforts of where God is directing our church for the next year. Love Loud is the name for one day of service in late October for our church each year. But this year, we’re expanding on this theme. Love Loud is this year’s theme where I’m challenging our church to take personal responsibility to love beyond the walls of your home and our church. Love Loud is our church’s desire to show Christ’s love to those in the mid-cities and beyond. Take personal responsibility for loving others. Each SMBS, take responsibility for group projects to share Christ’s love.
We’ve adopted two elementary schools – Jack C. Binion and the nearby apartment complexes where our bus ministry runs.
Now get to our text…
We begin a series entitled, Jesus Said What? this morning. The Gospel According to Luke has 1,151 verses (to be exact) and 568 of those verses are simply the words of Jesus. If you want to know what Jesus said, just read Luke’s Gospel. Roughly half of Luke’s Gospel, which is the longest Gospel, is just quoting verbatim exactly what Jesus said. Jesus’ words are powerful. How many of your lives have been changed by the words of Jesus (ask for a show of hands). But, Jesus said some curious things in His day. On one occasion a big crowd was gathered around Him when He promptly said, “Eat my flesh and drink my blood and I will continue to be with you and you’ll continue to be with Me” (John 6:56). On another occasion, Jesus said to “Hate your father, mother, and children” (Luke 14:26). Jesus confuses us. Every time you think you think you can anticipate His next move, He baffles you. He enjoys questionable company as He talks with people your mother warned you about. The path He choose for His life wasn’t “sensible” as even His closest friends said, “They’ll kill you for talking like that.” And when He spoke about His relationship with God, people thought He was being disrespectful. Jesus said a number of baffling things and today we’ll look at the first of some four head-scratching comments scattered through the Gospel of Luke.
Page 1101 in the black books in front of you, there in your pews.
And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.” (Luke 9:1-6)
Jesus has gathered the twelve men who followed Him around throughout His public teaching time and He gives them authority to carry out His work. Jesus mentions three specific tasks: His disciples were to overcome demonic forces …bring healing to diseased people … and to proclaim the gospel.
What Jesus had done, His disciples will do. This is a critical time in the formation of the Twelve as it is mentioned in three of the four Gospel accounts. We shouldn’t miss what Jesus is doing here. The Son of God came to earth to get a message out to the four corners of our planet.
2. Evangelism Matters
The original word for “preaching the gospel” is our word evangelism: “And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.” (Luke 9:6) They weren’t to make up their message – they were to speak the gospel from village to village.
Evangelism in Our Day
For most of us, evangelism isn’t something we enjoy. The subject of evangelism isn’t an emotionally neutral matter but it is emotionally charged. People get mad when people the idea of converting others to Jesus is brought up.
Jim McDermott was elected to Congress since 1988 (back when I was in high school) from the Seattle Washington area. He is a father of two and a grandfather of three. I mention the Congressmen because he didn’t like, no scratch that, he loathed Christian’s efforts to sharing the gospel with Hindu’s. In the Fall of 2009, the Congressmen sent a letter sent to all 434 of his fellow House members, charging Southern Baptists with “an aggressive, intolerant approach,” and “an intolerant view that has inflamed Hindu communities worldwide.” His letters asks the SBC to “end your conversion campaign directed to members of the Hindu faith.” What got the Congressmen in a lather was a prayer guide that encouraged people to pray for Hindus to come to faith in Christ.
Those outside the faith, will typically labels any efforts to share the gospel as “proselytism.” But evangelism isn’t what those on the outside consider as proselytism. Evangelism is a clear presentation of the gospel so that it is understood and others can freely and honestly make up their minds whether to believe the gospel’s message. The person who says, “It’s okay to believe in Jesus; just don’t convert anybody” is asking you to abandon your view of Jesus in favor of his view of Jesus. The person who says, “It’s okay to believe in Jesus; just don’t convert anybody” is really saying, “You must not believe in Jesus.”
Many of you don’t practice evangelism because you’re are afraid that our neighbors and strangers will laugh at you. When we invite family members “to trust in Christ,” we fear they’ll roll their eyes at us. And for those of you who are convinced in Jesus, the whole subject of evangelism makes you feel guilty for what you’re not doing. We’d rather ditch evangelism and work on eradicating poverty, adopt orphans, or work toward stopping human trafficking. It’s not like evangelism has ever been popular. You can see that Jesus anticipated that many wouldn’t like what the disciples were doing in verse five: “And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” (Luke 9:5)
What did Jesus mean?
Take a minute and every one turn with me to Acts 13 (Page 1174 in the black books in front of you, there in your pews)/ As you’re turning, you should know that Luke wrote both the Gospel According to Luke and the book you’re turning to now, the book of Acts. Although they are separated in our Bibles today by the Gospel of John, they were originally together – sort of like a sequel. This is a summary account by Luke after Paul spoke the gospel in the city of Antioch, a city that would eventually become a center for Christian mission. And while Paul wasn’t present when Jesus gave His command to the original Twelve, we can see Paul following Jesus’ instructions some years later. Notice Paul didn’t invent His message, but he spoke the gospel to the people – verses sixteen through forty-one. The reaction in Antioch was enormous as Luke tells us the whole city turned out the next Saturday to hear the gospel message (Acts 13:44).
And then we read our summary account: “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 13:48-52)
Not only did Paul obey Jesus’ instructions to share the gospel message, but Paul along with his good friend Barnabas, “shook the dust of their feet” when the message was rejected. Watch in this passage, the typical reaction to the gospel… First, some people gladly want Jesus’ grace. Luke refers to this with the words of verse forty-eight, “as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” Second, some are always indifferent to the message of Jesus. You can see this in verse forty-six: “Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life” (Acts 14:46b) And lastly, some really oppose the message. Luke refers to this in verse fifty when he speaks of people of the Jewish religion stirring up women to kick the gospel out of town.
Again, Jesus tells His followers to Shake Off the Dust from your Feet when they reject the message of His grace. It meant two things and both are important for you to hear today.
1. A Sign of God’s Future Judgment.
It was a visible picture and everyone would have turned around to see what the disciples were doing. Down through the centuries, this visible act shows just how serious your reaction to the gospel’ message is. You and I (as well as everyone) will be one day be judged by your reaction to this gospel. “And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15) Dust is dry skin but it much more than dry skin when Jesus pictures makes it a billboard for your future.
2. A Reminder that Your Reaction is Your Responsibility
When they did this public act, it showed everyone their rejection was on them – their reaction was their responsibility. This act spoke volumes: to reject the disciples message is to reject the disciples’ King. This was – and is – serious business.
“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.” (Revelation 20:12)
You may not have another opportunity to choose Christ again. When the disciples did this, it didn’t mean they were never going to reenter the town that had rejected the gospel. We know this because the Twelve went back into places such as Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside when they rejected Jesus. But it did mean they were going to spend any more time speaking these precious words into deaf, dead ears.
3. Obedience Matters
Jesus calls on the Twelve to travel simply: And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. 4 And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. (Luke 9:4-5)
They were to leave their home without even the basic stuff they were going to need. They were to leave home with the clothes they had on their back and depend on the people hospitality where they traveled. They had to depend on God at every turn of the journey. Jesus further tells them not to move from house to house looking for a better place to stay once they arrive. No five-star hotels with turn-down service. Obeying Jesus matters, even when you don’t understand it. What you do now can matter for eternity. God is watching. God is keeping track. God rewards the child who gave to the missions offering the money she had saved for the softball mitt. He rewards the teenager who keeps himself pure despite the pressure to give in. He rewards the man who tenderly cares for his wife with Lou Gehrig’s. He rewards the compassion and care of the mother who raises her child with cerebral palsy. God knows, God sees, and God rewards.
Power of Jesus’ Words
Some words are paid attention to… the words of the airline attendant giving the “safety speech.” But some words ring in your ears years later. Do you remember the last words of your father or mother? Do you remember the first time your spouse say, “I love you?”
