Well, again, welcome to our continuing
study in the gospel of Luke. And we're beginning chapter nine
now. There really isn't any division there in what's going on. It's
just a nice thing that the publishers did to help us find where we're
at. But we're in Luke chapter nine, and we're going to be covering
verse one through six today. And we'll just read those verses
to start with. Then he called his twelve disciples
together and gave them power and authority over all devils
and to cure diseases. 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 nor money, neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever
house you enter into there abide, and thence depart. And whosoever
will not receive you, when you 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 everywhere. Boy when I was studying this
it kind of reminded me and we're gonna we're gonna kind of back
up a little bit And review a few things that we learned in in
chapter 8 Because he's been teaching these disciples And the time
has come for them to go out on their own and he's been instructing
them With what they were going to encounter when they when they
get out there with the gospel and it kind of reminded me of
my teaching my daughter to drive, when she had her learner's permit,
we were always with her. She couldn't go on her own. And
we would coach her and say, OK, watch out for this and watch
out for that. And when you get to this place,
there's something there that you should kind of pay attention
to. And here's how to change your tire if you have a flat.
And then to be double safe, we Back in those days, the cell
phones were kind of a new thing. And we went and got her an emergency
cell phone. And it was real expensive to
talk on them at the time. But we said, we just kind of
got the minimum plan, said, here, keep this with you at all times.
And if you have an emergency, you can call us. And when she
ran into a tree or something, she said, Dad, my car won't start. I'm hitching a ride to school
with somebody else. So, come fix it. And then she
threw it back in the glove box. But kids didn't, they weren't
glued to their devices in those days like they are now. But it
just kind of reminded me of that same kind of a situation. He's
got these disciples with him. And they're with him around the
clock. everything he does and everything he says and everything
he sees. And so when he says, then in
chapter nine says, then he called his 12 disciples together. and
gave them some power and abilities. So this takes us back to what
previously transpired in the series of events in which the
Lord has been providing them with spiritual instruction all
this time, unbeknownst to them. They just thought, oh, that's
a wise saying, or what's this parable about? And he's actually
arming them for what they're going to encounter when they
go out in the world. Chapter 8 began with the Lord
and the disciples. They went through every city
and village declaring the good news. That's the most important
thing. And that's what we find here in chapter 9. They've got
some gifts and abilities, but the most important thing is going
out and declaring the good news of the kingdom of God, that Christ
laid down His life as a substitute payment for the sins of His people. And while they're traveling,
He's teaching them for the day that they're going to be kind
of out on their own. And he gives them this parable
of the sower. When you go out and sow the seed,
some of it's going to fall on ground that's not good. I just planted some grass here
a few weeks ago, and some of it went on the sidewalk. It's
never going to grow on the sidewalk. Some of it went on this place
where I rototilled it and got the ground all prepared. And
some of it, every morning, I had to run out there and chase all
the sparrows off of it, because they were out there pecking up
the seeds. And some of it went that way. And some areas didn't
get watered very well, so that didn't grow. And some of it kind
of landed up in the area where there's a lot of moss growing,
and it didn't do well there. So it's the same thing with the
parable of the sores. He says, some of it's going to
land on the good ground. But a lot of it's not. And some, those who have been
given a good heart and an honest heart, it's said, by the Spirit
of God, they're going to hear the glad tidings and be caused
to believe it by the working of His almighty power. Remember
that? We learned that power word there in our last chapter. And then we think about what
Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, an important lesson. And this
lesson is for the church, too. It's not just for these disciples
that are going out, but it's for us. We're putting on sermon audio
here, and we don't have any idea how many people are going to
listen to it. But Paul said, I planted. and Paul is watered,
but it's God that gives the increase. And he's telling these disciples
in this parable of the sower that you don't have control over
that. Your job is to go out there and
preach the gospel, declare it in truth and completeness, be
honest, and then you just let the Spirit take care of the rest. And then we had the parable of
the lamp under the jar. He's saying, I'm teaching you
all this stuff, and I'm not just doing it for no purpose. I'm
not going to give you this light and then put a jar over it so
no one can see it. Your job is to get out there
and reflect that. He says, his expectation was
that they who had experienced grace would reflect that marvelous
light. from him that they would in fact
deliver what they had also received, the gospel of the Savior who
died for them. And then we have the lesson about
the family. And they said, oh, the crowd
is thronging you, it's pressing you, it's squeezing on you. And
he says, your mother and your brethren are out there and they
can't even get to you. And he says, My real mother and
my real brethren are they that hear the Word of God and do it.
And we spent a whole lesson just talking about what that is. It's
not just a list of things for you to do. It's mostly, it's
believing the Word of God. the gospel of his son, and then
being ready to give answer to any man that asks you the reason
the hope that lies within you. That's it in kind of a nutshell. And then he takes him on a special
journey. We spend a lesson on this crossing
of the lake, the Sea of Galilee, where they took to a ship and
they went across from the west side over to the east side to
the land of Gad, And he says, I think I'll just take a nap
here and we'll have a little turbulent sea while I'm taking
a nap and let them have a little experience with that. And all this just to bring in one
sheep in that land of Gadara and this borderland. on the voyage over, he brings
a strong storm for their experience. And then they kind of lose track
of him, and they just kind of look to themselves. And then
they say, oh, we're going to be killed. Master, we perish.
And they just didn't think about all the things that they'd seen
him do. The raising of that dead lad in Nain and all the other
miracles that we've seen, all the displays of his power. They
said, Master, we perish. Now if they had just been like
that guy from Gadara, the maniac from Gadara, and sat at his feet,
and had total trust, total reliance in him, they could have just
said, whatever this storm is, we know it's according to your
purpose, and we know that however it works out, that we're safe
with you, and we don't have to worry about it. But when we trust
to ourselves, we get caught up in it and then
we lose track of Him. And that was kind of the point
of the lesson. If they had just exercised total
reliance on Him, things could have been different, save through
faith. That's not even of yourselves.
It says in Ephesians, it's a gift of God, not of works. Because
what happens if we manage to dredge that up by ourselves?
We would boast. That's what it says. We'd brag about, oh, I've
got a lot of faith here. And if we can just fasten on
to that, Like that lady with the issue of blood, she didn't
just touch him, she fastened on to him and held on to him.
And if we can just fasten on to that, we would keep things
more in perspective and we would realize that the raging seas
of this world are just nothings in the big eternal scope of things. It's all about the last sheep
hearing the gospel. It's all about the Lord bringing
in his flock and redeeming them. And so his reply of, where's
your faith? Where's your total reliance on
me? And then he stills that raging sea as recorded in Psalm 89,
we read. And just as he would still that
raging of the maniac in Gadara, a troop shall overcome him, but
he shall overcome in the end from Genesis chapter 49. So these
lessons that he's imparting to them in chapter eight closes
with two more examples of degrees of faith, that woman with the
issue of blood in Eros, the one that came with the daughter that
was dying. And he says, be of good comfort,
be bold, be courageous in bringing your issues to Christ because
no one that comes to Christ in that way it comes except the
Father which sent Him draw them. And He will in no wise cast them
out." So be bold coming to Christ. So after traveling the land with
Christ and witnessing so many evidences of who He was, and
after revelation of who He was by the Father, after all these
lessons from the Master, we come to chapter 9. Then, He called
His twelve together, And then power and authority over all
devils. When I read that, you know, they
were just nothings to him. These devils and all this other
stuff, it was just a distraction. The main thing was the main thing,
the gospel. He sent them to preach the kingdom
of God and to heal the sick. And then he gives them some more
instructions here. So he calls his 12 disciples
together. The driving lesson is over. You
guys are going out on your own. However, the Spirit of God is
with them. He gives them divine authority
to do certain things, and then gives them that primary directive. It's time for them to test their
wings, as it were, to journey out on their own, accompanied
by the Spirit of God. And even while He's sending them
out, He's ever giving them instructions and lessons and total reliance
on Himself. He did give them power over all
devils and to cure diseases. And you know what? That went
straight to their heads. We find out later when they come
back there. Well, who's the greatest? How
many devils did you cast out? I cast out 27. How many did you
cast out? Oh, 13. I'm greater than you. Well, how many people did you
preach the kingdom of God to? It was all this other stuff,
you know. So it's just one of the sad things
that we contend with, and we always will contend with in this
body of flesh. In 1 John 2, verse 16 says, for
all that's in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of
the eyes, the pride of life, it's not of the Father. it's
of the world. And we learned that this lust
of the flesh and that kind of thing, it's not necessarily just
a sexual issue, but often appears as a desire for power and boasting
and that kind of thing. Isn't that just what we're We
have to be careful about that because that's just, we're prone
to that in this flesh. And we always are easily lose
sight of keeping the main thing, the main thing, and we're just. vessels of clay like that song. And we're just sinners saved
by grace. And our job is just to tell others
we're just sinners saved by grace. And so again, a little bit later
in In Luke, we see the evidence
of those disciples as they're wrangling over who should be
accounted the greatest, who cured the most people, who threw out
the most devils. But we don't seem to see anyone
boasting over the multitudes whom they brought the glad tidings
of the good news of. Christ substituting himself in
their place and dying for them. The very place that he's steadfastly
headed to is Jerusalem to accomplish that very deed. And you know, even at the end, it's
just a valuable lesson for the church that we just always have
to be watchful for that because even at the end, We still have this issue. These disciples, they were with
Him right up until the time of the crucifixion. And in Luke
chapter 22, we find that He's having the last farewell supper
with them. And this due in remembrance of
Me. And He's kind of giving them the final things. And He said, one of you is going
to betray Me. And they're all saying, oh, is
it I, is it I, is it I? And then one verse later it says,
and also there was strife among them, which of them should be
accounted the greatest? That's just part of the flesh
that we have to contend with all the time. And what a lesson
for us from here. keep the main thing the main
thing and we're just humbled to be saved by grace and that
not of ourselves. So we learn this is still true
in chapter 10. of Luke when he sends out the 70. He sends out
70 two by two, and then the same thing comes back. They come back
and say, oh, even the devils are subject to us. And he says,
you know what? The main thing is you should
be rejoicing that your names are written in heaven, not the
fact that you have power over these inconsequential distractions
here in this world. Still the same. notwithstanding in this rejoice
not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice
because your names are written in heaven. Luke 10 verse 20. And so the primary directive,
he sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Verse six tells us that they
went out, they departed and they went through towns preaching
the gospel of the Kingdom of God and Christ and Him crucified
and healing everywhere. Verse 6, they departed and went
through the towns preaching the gospel. The main thing's the
main thing. And then, now in verse 3, he
gives them some practical experience in growing faith, in growing
their total reliance on Him and trust in Him to be able to take
care of them even though seemingly He's not with them. Physically,
He's not going to be with them. And what a valuable lesson for
the church, not to get caught up in that, but to trust in Him
spiritually for everything. And so He says, take nothing. Take nothing. Nothing for your
journey. Don't take any staves, nor scrip,
the little bag that you'd carry your food and whatnots in. Neither bread nor money, neither
have two coats apiece. When God sends someone to do
His will, He never fails to provide what is necessary to accomplish
it. That's what I love about Lance. He's just like, I'm going
to New Guinea. See ya, I'll write ya from when
I get back." Or from over there. He doesn't go on some big journey
through trying to drum up support and do a bunch of stuff to round up his bread and his script
and his money. He says, take nothing. And that takes a lot of faith.
That takes a lot of total reliance on Christ. Let me tell you. And so just as we find in all
things, whatever he demands, he supplies. He demands faith. Well, faith is a gift of God.
He gives us that. He gives us everything. We're
told to believe. Well, we believe according to
the working of His mighty power, His mighty dunamis, the power
which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. So in all things that He demands,
He supplies. When I go somewhere, I like to take a lot of stuff.
I don't like to be caught unprepared. I have a whole bunch of just-in-case
stuff. Well, you never know. This might
happen. Might need my umbrella or three
spare tires or something. Up in Alaska, I had two spare
tires because the roads are so cruddy up there. I had one mounted
underneath the truck and another big one up on the front bumper. The roads were so horrible, the
tires didn't last long up there. But you know, he says, Take nothing. It's hard to overcome
the issue of the flesh and supplying our own needs. And that's a big
spiritual issue that we have. And it's hard to overcome in
salvation. I need to do something. I can't
just trust Christ and not move a muscle or not move an inch,
as our pastor brought in that lesson. And as he always brings,
trust Christ and don't move a muscle. That's hard to do. And we like
to, we like to think, well, I know I need to trust Christ, but I
need to bring my, my spare tire. So this lesson that we learn
from the Lord is self is it's revealed in Luke chapter two
regarding this very issue in Luke chapter 22 verse 35. He says, you know, when I sent
you guys out, Did you lack anything? And they said, nothing. Not one
thing. He supplied every need that they
had on their little trip to preach the gospel in all those towns
and cities they went. When I sent you without purse
and script and shoes, lacked you anything? And they said,
nothing. Luke 22, 35. He brings that to their memory
that it's just something We all need to be reminded of every
day, all the time, it's hard to let go of yourself and trust
Christ. It just takes a miracle of God.
That's just all there is to that. Take nothing. And our pastor,
one of the messages circulating on Sermon Audio is, nothing in
my hand I bring. Nothing. That's from the Ezra
study. And he says, don't take a staff.
You know, it's interesting that a lot of these things that we
find here, and as I mentioned before, is the more we study,
the more we find out there's not very much things that happened
in the New Testament that weren't written in the Old Testament.
It's just all there. It's the same gospel. It's the
same thing. And he's just telling them what
he decreed thousands of years, hundreds of years before. Don't
take a staff. In Psalm 23, I'm sure you guys
all know this Psalm. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou
art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Don't take your own staff. Take
the staff of Christ. That's what gets you through.
the staff, the support. That's just a walking stick to
kind of help you get over the rough spots and you want to use
them when walking in the, when it's a little slipperier. Back
when she was having some balance issues, she had her walking staffs
that she would use to kind of help. And he says, don't, don't
take those. Depend on me. Have total reliance
on Christ. Don't take food. or a bag to
carry it in. You know, that's what I do. If
I had the bag, I'd say, well, I'm just going to stick this
Rice Krispie Treat in here, just in case I need a snack on the
way, or something, or a bologna sandwich, or whatever. He said,
don't take food or a bag to carry it in. Psalm 37, verse 3 says,
trust in the Lord. Isn't that what total reliance
is about? Trust in the Lord and do good. So shalt thou dwell
in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Isn't that interesting? Don't take a coat. He just showed
them that he controlled the weather out there on that raging sea.
While you guys are on the road, I'll make sure that you'll be
comfortable and you won't have any bad weather. You won't need
a coat. You won't need two coats. That's from Luke 8 24. And then he gives them another
reminder about that parable of the sower lesson that he just
taught them. And you know one of the things, one of the rules
of teaching is you teach something and then you apply it. There
has to be some kind of relative application of it to make it
worthwhile. And so he brings that back to
their attention about this parable of the sower. Whatsoever house
you enter into there abide, and hence depart, and whosoever will
not receive you that ground that's choked with thorns, or that ground
that's not watered, or that ground that's where the fowls are hanging
out, or the hard packed ground where everybody's walking. Whosoever
will not receive you when you go out of that city, shake off
the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them. And just like Paul, the Lord
says, I want you to go to Corinth. And he says, don't worry. I have
much people there." But he probably had a lot more that were not. There's going to be some of my
sheep there, and when they hear you preach the Gospel, the good
tidings of the Kingdom, that Christ died for their sins according
to the Scriptures in their place, they're going to come awake.
The Spirit's going to cause that to be effectual in them. I've got much people in that
city. And it's kind of a reminder. He says, if they don't receive
you, leave. It's not up to you to make it
effectual. You can't do that. You can sit
there and argue with someone till the cows come home. But unless the spirit of God
gets involved, You're just wasting your time.
He says, give him the gospel and then leave it up to God. And I was kind of looking at
this sowing and whatnot, and I came across the scripture in
Ecclesiastes chapter 11, verse 5 and 6. It talks about sowing your seed
in the morning and hold back, knot your hand in the evening. He says, you don't know whether
it's going to prosper or not. You don't know which seeds are
going to sprout. And I was looking up seed propagation for grass.
And it says, well, you're really doing good if you can get 85%
of the grass seed to propagate. grow into a blade of grass. It
didn't look to me like I had anywhere near that out in my
lawn when I was planting that. I threw a lot of seed, and I
still see a lot of seed just laying there. It just never germinated. But he says, you don't know whether
it's going to prosper, either this or that, or whether they
both shall be good. And in verse 5, he says, as thou knowest not what is the
way of the spirit, or how the bones do grow in the womb of
her that is with child, even so thou knowest not the work
of God who maketh all. That just sounds an awful lot
like John chapter three, doesn't it? When Christ is speaking to
Nicodemus, he says, Marvel not that I said you must
be born again. You don't know how this new birth
happens. The wind blows where it listeth,
and you hear the sound thereof, but you can't tell where it goes
or where it comes from. So is everyone that is born of
the Spirit. You know not what is the way
of the Spirit. or how the bones do grow in the
womb of her that is with child. Even so, thou knowest not the
works of God who maketh all. So as you're casting your seed
there, just kind of remember that. You're going to cast a
lot of seed out, you're going to preach a lot of gospel to
a lot of people, and you just have to let it go then. You just
have to depend on the Holy Spirit to make that effectual in everyone
whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life from before
the foundation of the world. Everyone who, electing eternal
love. God said, I'm going to make sure
the gospel gets to that person. And at the appointed time, I'll
reveal my son in them. So some of that seed of the word
of God is going to land on the good ground, but much of it will
not. Their job was just to declare it and leave the rest up to God. And if they didn't want the good
news, depart from them. Shake off the dust off your feet.
You did what you were supposed to do. No more, no less. The disciples, they had power
over certain things, but not over the power to cause people
to believe. And that's just something you
just always run into with people. What shall we do that we might
work the works of God? And he said, you know what? It's
the work of God that you believe. It's his job to make you believe. It's his job to cause you to
believe. You can't do that. You can work miracles, or not.
But that is not the thing that causes people to believe. Men cannot work that. This is
the work of God. In Acts it says, the Lord added
daily, such as should be saved. He added to the church, such
as should be saved. So we're gonna stop there, and
the next time we get together, Lord willing, we're gonna move
on in Luke chapter nine, and the subject is gonna be, whom
say ye that I am? Very important question the Lord
brings up. So with that, we'll stop for
the day, and thank you for your attention. And as always, be
free.