Spiritual Pitfalls To Be Concerned About

(1) WE SEE THE DISCIPLES CHOSEN.

That is, these twelve men, in some ways, were the most blessed men who ever lived on earth. What an honor to be one of the twelve to follow the Lord from city to city and listen to Him teach and preach, and see Him perform miracle after miracle. These were some very special men!

Also, in this chapter-

(2) WE SEE THE DISPERSING OF THE DISCIPLES.

The Lord knows there are two ways we learn. Many things are learned in the “classroom.” The disciples sat under the greatest teacher ever! But Jesus recognized there comes a time when what we learn in the classroom has to be put into practice. He sent the disciples into the “harvest field” to practice what they had learned, and to learn from their experiences.

Look at verses 2-6. We read, “And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them. And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.”

What was true for the disciples is also true for us. We go to church and hear the Word of God expounded over and over again. Then comes the time when we must go into the “harvest field” and practice what we have heard.

However, some churchgoers have become professional students.

Illus: These remind us of some we know today. They have completed high school, college, post graduate work, etc., yet they continue taking more and more courses. All they ever intend to do with their lives is keep attending classes.

We often observe people like this and we think, “What a waste.”

It is the same in our churches. Many have been taught over and over again what to go “forth” and do, but they never put into practice what they have been taught.

Jesus’ disciples did go forth, but it soon became obvious they needed to come back to the “classroom” and learn more about some of the dangerous pitfalls that all Christians are exposed to every day.

Illus: We all have driven by construction sites and seen where a deep hold has been dug. If anyone fell into that hole he might break his neck. However, OSHA requires that such a pit be encircled with some florescent type ribbons, or fencing, so people can see the hole and not fall into it.

The devil has dug all kinds of “holes” for Christians to “fall into” and he makes sure they are not marked to keep us from falling into them.

However, God’s Word has “roped off” these areas. Let us look at three of them the disciples fell into, and learn from them so we will not fall into them. First, let us look at-

I. THE PITFALL OF BOASTING

Notice that before the Lord sent His disciples out, He did two things:

A. Jesus equipped them

Look at verse 1. We read, “Then he called his twelve disciples together, and GAVE THEM POWER AND AUTHORITY over all devils, and to cure diseases.”

Jesus did not send them out totally unprepared! Remember, who was equipped with POWER and AUTHORITY over ALL DEVILS, and TO CURE DISEASES? The Bible says, “Then he called HIS TWELVE DISCIPLES...” These men were equipped by Jesus to do miracles like we today have never seen.

Illus: Any who watch what is classified as “Christian TV” should read Hank Haegraaff’s book, “Christianity In Crisis.” In it he exposes the lies that some of these men have been caught in, and some of their false teachings. He shows these for what they are, “wolves in sheep’s clothing!”

These claim to be EQUIPPED by God and they are making millions of dollars by telling everyone they are God’s man of the hour. Some of these claim to have such power that they can blow on a person and knock him down. Some claim to have such power that they can put the Holy Spirit in their hands and throw Him at the congregation and knock down two or three rows of standing people.

These men are wolves in sheep’s clothing dealing with people who want so badly to believe in something supernatural that if they got dizzy from eating too much spaghetti sauce they would think it was the Holy Spirit moving on them.

But, Jesus’ twelve disciples were not a bunch of hucksters. The Bible says God EQUIPPED them! What God did through His disciples was documented. No one can come close to doing the miracles God did through them. We have some who claim God has used them, but there is no documentation to support their claims.