We're looking this morning at
the Gospel of Mark chapter 6. Mark chapter 6. And I hope you
will follow along with me in your Bibles. I always say that
because I hope that someone will truly look at God's Word with
me because I want you to know for a fact that it is God's Word
that I'm speaking from. I want you to be like the noble
Bereans who searched the Scriptures to see if what the apostles were
saying was so. And I want you to do the same,
because it is only God's Word that I want to declare the truth
from God's Word and make much of God's Word, not my thoughts
or the opinions and thoughts of a denomination any man for
that matter, but God's Word. In Mark chapter 6 is a story,
and this is a story of the Lord Jesus Christ calling his apostles
and sending them out to preach. All right? Verse 7 is where we
begin, and it says, He called, that is, Christ called unto him
the twelve. As with salvation, the Lord does
the calling. The Lord does the calling. The passage in Romans 10, which
many quote, whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord, is taken
from Joel, chapter 2, verse 32, which says, as many as the Lord
our God shall call. Whosoever calls, calls on him
because God first called them. As John said, whoever loves Christ,
whoever loves God, loves Him because He first loved them. So as in salvation, the Lord
calls first. The Lord called His apostles
and His preachers of the gospel. And it says, He called them unto
Him. The only calling which the Lord
Jesus Christ makes to any preacher of the gospel be he a prophet,
apostle, or pastor or teacher, the only call which he calls
this person to is the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They're not called to this or
that ministry, or this or that calling, but one calling of gospel
preachers, and that is called to be ministers of Jesus Christ. That is, witnesses, declarers
of Jesus Christ. repeating only what he has said. And it says in verse 7 that he
sent them forth by two and two, that is, by pairs. And that's
in our Lord's goodness and wisdom because we have one another to
rely upon, to feed upon, to iron sharpeneth iron, to help one
another. It's not good that man should
be alone in any capacity. but to have someone, a friend,
to help, to strengthen, to encourage, and we encourage one another.
In verse 7 it says, He gave them power over unclean spirits. He gave them power over unclean
spirits. Now, there's no doubt that the
disciples or the apostles had special powers to actually deal
with devils. But now let me ask you, what
is the power of God in all things? What is the power of God? It's always been one thing. It's
always been the same thing. The Scripture says God's Word
is His power. He upholds all things by the
Word of His power. And Paul said in Romans 1, verse
16, the gospel. is the power of God unto salvation
to everyone that believe it. So the preacher's power has always
been but one thing, be he a prophet, apostle, or now a preacher, pastor,
teacher. The power of God and that which
God uses is His Word. The power of God. God's Word
is His power. It gives light to them that sit
in darkness. It gives life from the dead. To those that are dead and trespassed
in sins, it gives life. It delivers from captivity. Our Lord said, the truth is what
sets men free. It protects from darkness, from
ignorance, from superstition. Yea, it protects the sheep from
the wolves. This has always been the preacher's
power. The prophet, apostle, evangelist,
pastor, teacher, The Word of God is His power. In Isaiah chapter
8, Isaiah chapter 8, now all prophets and apostles and now
preachers, pastors, teachers, they do one thing and that is
they preach or teach and speak God's Word and God's Word only. That's how you know they are
from God. Isaiah chapter 8, it gives this testimony. Verse 20, to the law and to the
testimony. Now, that is the Old Testament
Scripture. To the law and to the testimony. The law of Moses and to the testimony
of the prophet. If they speak not according to
this word, it is because there is no light in them, to the law
and to the testimony. So how do you know a man is sent
from God? He speaks according to God's
word. Let me read to you from Jeremiah
23. Our Lord's exposure of false
prophets is found clearly here in Jeremiah 23, in which he says
in verse 16, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, hearken not unto the
words of the prophets that prophesy unto you. They make you vain. They speak a vision of their
own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord." Verse 22,
"...if they had stood in my counsel, and caused my people to hear
my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way,
and from the evil of their doings. Verse 25, I have heard, the Lord
says, what the prophet said, that prophesy lies in my name,
saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. God told me this last
night. God told me that. Verse 28, the
prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream. But he that
hath my word, let him speak my word. faithfully. And in verse 29, God says, is
not my word like as a fire, saith the Lord, that cause the heart
to burn, like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Yes, God's
word is his power. And that alone is what the true
prophet, apostle, and preacher uses. The power of God, the word
of God, and Peter more specifically said, the gospel is the power. This is the word of God. All
right. Now, the people back when the
prophets were around and the apostles, the people did not
have a copy of God's word as you and I have. They did not
have copies of God's word. So how would you know a true
prophet from God? Because so many of them came
saying that they had come from God and the people didn't have
a copy of Moses law to look at and test them from? Well, now
the words being spoken by the prophets and the apostles were
at that time being included in the written word of God. And so back then, the only way
you knew if a man was really from God, was really a prophet,
is number one, if you had a copy of the law to compare what they
were saying. And most people did not. But
number two is, the way you would know them, is if their prophecies
came true. If a man called himself a prophet
come from God, and he prophesied something, well, if it came true,
you knew he was from God. This is what Deuteronomy chapter
18 says. I'm reading from Deuteronomy
18, which said, Verse 19, And it shall come to
pass, whosoever will not hearken unto my words, which he shall
speak in my name, I will require it of him. But the prophet which
shall presume to speak a word in my name," that is, the fellow
who says he's come from God and he says he's speaking on behalf
of God, the man which comes to you, and it says that
he shall speak in the name of other gods. Verse 21, if you
say in your heart, how shall we know the word which the Lord
hath not spoken? Someone asks, how do we know
this is God's word, or how do we know it's not? Verse 22, the
Lord said, when a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the
thing follow not, nor come to pass, That is the thing which
the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously. Thou shalt not be afraid of him."
In our modern language, he says, if a prophet says something,
prophesies something, and he says something is going to happen
and it does not happen, God didn't send him. So mark it down, folks. These fellows today that prophesy
this is going to happen or that is going to happen and it does
not come to pass, they are not of God. Only a fool would try
to prophesy certain events for certain times and so forth. Well,
if they do and it does not come to pass, then they are not of
God. Now, our Lord gave His apostles
special powers and provisions proving who they were and who
sent them, who they came from, the Lord Himself. In verses 8
and 9, it says, He commanded them they should take nothing
for their journey save a staff only, no script, no bread, no
money in their purse, but shod with sandals and not put on two
coats. In other words, everything was
to be provided for them. This is proof that the Lord was
with them, that the Lord who worketh all things, the Lord
who is sovereign over all things, the Lord who owns all the gold
and silver in the mines, the cattle on a thousand hills, the
earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof, the world and
the inhabitants thereof." Psalm 25 said, Psalm 24. So those whom the Lord sent out,
the Lord would miraculously provide for them. It was so then, and
it's so now. And any man who claims to be
from God, who practices many financial and money-raising gimmicks
and tactics and programs and this and that and the other,
who's trying to raise money, who calls upon men to provide
for the Lord's work, they call it, those that go about various
financial schemes to raise money saying the Lord's work can't
go on without you. That person is not of God, people. Are you listening to me? They
are not of God. God provides his own. My pastor,
my pastor has been preaching the gospel for over 50 years.
He's been on the television and the radio for over 40 of those
years. Not one time has he ever asked
Anyone at any time for one dime never Never you will never hear
a true preacher the gospel asking men for money to support the
Lord's work No, sir. God Almighty provides for his
own and God opens the door verse 10. It says He sent them and
he said whatever place you enter in to in-house there abide till
you depart from that place God opens the doors. He opened doors
for his apostles to go in and stay with various people. They weren't beggars. They didn't
go from house to house. No, sir. The Lord opens miraculous
doors for the gospel to enter and his preachers to be received.
And he said, Whosoever will not receive you nor hear you, shake
off the dust from under your feet for a testimony against
him. And many did not, because our
Lord said that. He plainly told them, You will
be hated of all men for my sake. What did the disciples come preaching? In verse 12, they went out and
preached that men should repent. They didn't go around telling
everybody how much God loved them and how much God needed
them. No, sir. Their message was of a holy,
sovereign, righteous God who will punish sin, who's angry
with the wicked every day, and that men should repent and turn
from their sins and believe the Lord Jesus Christ. That's still
the message today, and that's still proof of the true preacher
of the gospel. I hope you heard this message.
Until next Sunday, good day. you