Would you take your Bibles and turn to Mark's gospel chapter six. We continue to make our way through this amazing historical narrative, verse by verse. By the way, I might add that we used to transcribe all of the sermons, it became rather onerous financially. So back in 2017, we stopped doing that in about the middle of the year. But thanks to artificial intelligence, I don't like that term, but you know what it means, right? We are going to catch up with all of those sermons and all sermons from here on out will be transcribed with about 99% accuracy. You know how it is, when you text something by voice, you better read what you said, because sometimes it records something very different. Little bit of that may be the same case here, but for the most part, it will be available to you because I understand, especially for those of you that have not sat under expositional preaching, it can be a bit overwhelming. And certainly for those that, that do not have a strong theological background. And so it's nice to be able to read these things. And a lot of our listeners, especially overseas really want the transcriptions because their internet isn't fast enough to stream what is being said, but they can get it and read it. And that's very helpful. And so I just wanted you to be aware of that. So that way you can go back and you can pick up things that was misstated or whatever, right? So we're gonna look at Mark six here in a moment under the heading “The First Generation Gospel Preachers.” This is a fascinating passage of scripture. Before I get to it, let me make a few comments. Some of you are aware of that, perhaps the most narcissistic, godless, super rich leaders in the planet gathered together last week in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum. And they spent five days discussing quote, "improving the state of the world." And it's really sad. What they fail to realize is that they are basically pawns in Satan's system on his chessboard, as Satan prepares the world for the rule of the Antichrist, the ultimate diabolical, globalist despot, that Christ will defeat. And certainly what they fail to realize, as does many other people, that the whole world that they want to improve lies in the power of the evil one. It's a frightening thought. 1 John 5:19. They failed to realize what Paul says in Second Corinthians four and verse four, that "the god of this world blinds the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ." They failed to realize that the form of this world is passing away according to First Corinthians 7:29. They fail to realize that Jesus came to deliver us out of this world, that we are not of this world as believers. And one day, according to First Corinthians six two "the saints will judge the world." Of course, when they hear things like this they mock, they laugh, and we would to were it not for God's grace. So we need to love them enough to pray for them, to give them the gospel, but certainly not fall for their deceptions. I'm reminded of what Jesus said in First, or what John said in First, John, four beginning in verse five, "They are from the world therefore they speak us from the world and the world listens to them. We are from God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."

So once again, we come together to hear from God, to understand his magnificent purposes, in this world, and certainly in our lives. And in this text today, we learn more about how God has come to deliver sinners from this evil world system. John 16:33 The Lord says "in this world, you will have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world." That wonderful, because we're united to Christ, we are also overcomers with him. In fact, in first John five, beginning of verse four, we read "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith, who was the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." And so what we're going to see here in Mark six is what really happened when the first gospel preachers were sent out, to begin to present the magnificent truths of the gospel. So let's pick it up in verse seven, of Mark six, "And He," referring to Jesus, "summoned to the 12, and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. And He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff, no bread, no bag, no money in their belt, but to wear sandals. And He added, do not put on two tunics. And He said to them, wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet, for a testimony against them. They went out and preached that men should repent. And they were casting out many demons. And were anointing with oil, many sick people and healing them." And then dropping down to verse 30, "The apostles gathered together with Jesus and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, 'Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest for a while.' For there were many people coming and going and they did not even have time to eat. They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves."

Here we have a very fascinating and frankly a very instructive passage of scripture that speaks even to contemporary gospel ministry. Today, these things will apply to all of us, as you will see. And bear in mind that up to now, Jesus did all of the teaching, he did all of the healing, he did all of the bold rebuttals and rebukes etc. and his disciples were basically learning from him. He taught them verbally, but he also manifested before them how to effectively minister, so they had spent countless hours learning from Jesus through his teaching, through his actions. And as you probably are aware, many times, we learn more from what is caught than what is taught, right? And so this is what had been going on. Now it's time for the 12 men that he selected to be as apostles; to embark upon a short missionary journey there in the region of Galilee. So, bootcamp is over. Now it's time to actually go into combat. And I might add that pastors and church leaders will never be effective, until they have suffered for Christ in the context of real conflict. You need to know what it's like to be mocked, to be hated, to be challenged, to be forced in situations where you're completely without human resources. And you have to depend upon the Lord and His Word, to do what only He and His Word can do. I remember, in my doctoral training, it sometimes was brutal, because I had some liberal professors, and the ridicule from them and the peers, some of my peers, we would have reading forums where you would have to do position papers. And then you would have to go before 25 or 30 of your peers and maybe four or five professors in the back. I can still see them back there, and you would have to read your paper and then they would begin to dissect what you said. And oh my it could be brutal at times. I remember one professor from the University of Aberdeen just blistering me, because I kept using the phrase the Word of God. "You don't know that it's the word of God. That's just what you think it is. You can call it the sacred writings, or you can call it the Bible, but you can't call it the word of God, you lose all credibility. How do you know it's the word of God?" So it's this type of thing that you must deal with if you're going to ever be effective in ministry. Well, many young pastors today are ill suited and ill equipped. And frankly, I was. I didn't know how difficult it could be until I actually got into combat as a pastor. I hate to put it that way. But that's what it is like, sometimes, fortunately, it's not like that near as much today. have very little of that, but boy, we had it early on in this church, and every startup church will have that, to a great extent, some of the most wicked and divisive people I've ever known, call themselves Christians, and some of them have been a part of this church. So if you're ever going to be especially you, young men, if you're ever going to go into pastoral ministry, you need to ask yourself, How do I deal with bullies? How can I handle conflict? Am I a wilting lily? Or am I an oak? Will I depend upon the Lord? Will I be bold? Or will I cave to the pressure and capitulate so that everybody will like me, so that I won't lose my job?

Well, these are the types of things that Jesus had to instill in his first group of gospel ministers. So this was a, you might say, a short term evangelistic internship, to prepare them for ministry. And, and it's really interesting, when you think about it. The Holy Spirit hadn't fully and permanently equipped them and empowered them. That didn't happen later, until later on at Pentecost. Even though it was promised to them, you will recall an Acts one eight, we read, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." And we know that eventually he commissioned them, after his resurrection, just before his ascension, to go throughout the world. You're familiar with the Great Commission and Matthew 28, beginning in verse 19, "Lord Jesus said, Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Now, as we look at this text, I would like to do so under three categories that provide us some of the ministry principles that flow out of what the Lord would have them do, and what they actually did. These first generation gospel preachers were number one, summoned, sent and validated by God. Secondly, they were required to depend on God's provision and to be content with it. And thirdly, they were commanded to renounce gospel rejecters. The application of these principles in contemporary ministry will become even more obvious as we look closely at this passage and other passages that expand upon it.

So first of all, I want you to notice that they were summoned, sent and validated by God, verse seven, "And He summoned the 12 and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits." What's fascinating is we see in scripture that God specifically summoned or chose each man to accomplish his purposes. Even Judas Iscariot who would betray him, which is a fascinating thought. We know that that was a role that God ordained for this man before the foundation of the world. It's even prophesied in the Old Testament in Psalm 41, nine, Psalm 55, verses 12 through 14, Zachariah 11:12 through 13. And I know some are going to ask so let me just deal with it for a moment. Some will ask and rightfully so how can Judas be held responsible for his treachery? If it was prophesied and predetermined, well, frankly, the contradiction lies only in our mind not in the mind of God. It lies in our understanding of justice, which we don't fully understand. And what's interesting, God never makes any attempt to reconcile this perceived conflict. And we see this in Jesus affirmation of both God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. For example, in Luke 22:22, where Jesus says, "Truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!" And we know that Judas carried out his evil desires in his heart, apart from any divine influence, apart from any coercion, and God ordained all of these events that would ultimately lead Jesus to the cross. So God's perfect plan and Judas' evil plan concurred perfectly to accomplish God's purposes. And by the way, as soon as you try to explain God's sovereignty and man's responsibility, you cease to be biblical. Charles Spurgeon addressed this apparent contradiction between God's sovereignty and human choice by saying this, "If I find in one part of the Bible, that everything is for-ordained, that is true. And if I find in another scripture, that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true. And it is only my folly that leads me to imagine that these two truths can ever contradict each other. I do not believe they can ever be welded into one upon any earthly anvil, but they certainly shall be one in eternity. They are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the human mind which pursues them far this will never discover that they converge, but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring."

Now, as we come to this text, we must understand that even as apostate Israel had 12 tribes, the Messiah now summons 12 men to be his spokesman, to give Israel the true way of salvation. And it's always interesting to me, that he joked that he chose common ordinary men, right? Just ordinary people, some fishermen, some common laborers, a tax collector, and a Jewish terrorist that absolutely hated Romans. Anxious to meet that guy, one of these days. And this was obviously intended to be a judgment against apostate Israel, because he didn't choose anyone from the scribes or the Pharisees or the Sadducees. No rabbis. And these men minus Judas Iscariot would later be replaced, who would later be replaced by Matthias would, would symbolize the new leaders, now, of the nation. Leaders that will eventually even be a part and functioning in the millennial kingdom, for which the nation was originally intended in fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant. In fact, in Matthew 19:28, Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you have who have followed me in the regeneration," referring to the millennial kingdom, "When the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you also shall sit upon 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel." And Luke 22, beginning of verse 29, "Just as my father has granted me a kingdom, I grant you, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel." So these men were summoned and then sent out in twos and the grammar indicates that they weren't just all lined up in a line and you know, the gun went off and they all went off at the same time, they probably went off, you know, at different intervals. Now, why to two by two? Well, for one reason in Deuteronomy 19:15, we read that "on the evidence of two or three witnesses, a matter shall be confirmed." But also ministry needs to be done in the context of other people. It was never designed to be a lone ranger. It's probably not a good analogy because he had Tonto with him, but I think you get the idea. Ministry requires mutual support. It requires fellowship and protection so it should never be done in isolation. And there's a multiplicity with gifts that we have in the body. And we all need to tap into those things. Plus you have all of the one another passages right? We're to love one another and pray for one another, encourage one another, even admonish one another, care for one another, serve one another, and so forth. So they went out in twos to preach the gospel throughout Galilee. And verse 12, it says, "They went out and preached that men should repent." So what is repentance? And therefore what should be the very heart of the gospel message? Well, true repentance is a god induced hatred of sin. True repentance is a turning from sin. It's a Spirit empowered, turning away from sin, forsaking sin and turning unto God. That's what they preached. While repentance should never be considered a condition for salvation, for there are no conditions to grace, it is a crucial element of the gift of grace as we read, in Ephesians, two eight, you see, belief in Christ and repentance are inseparably linked. And together, they will inevitably result in a life that changes direction. When we truly repent, and God saves us instead of going in this direction, we begin to go in a different direction in our life, as in the case of the Gentiles in Acts 11:21, where we read the Gentiles who believed and turn to the Lord. And we can also rejoice knowing that repentance is produced within us by the author of life who according to Acts 11:18 "gives the repentance that leads to life."

I want you to notice that what we read here is very different than much of what we see in evangelicalism today. They went out and preached repentance, and as we're gonna see, they preach the kingdom of God that we'll get into in a moment. But what they didn't preach was a prosperity gospel. They did not preach a social justice gospel that somehow promotes values borrowed from secular culture regarding race and manhood and womanhood, human sexuality. They did not go out with a big sign that says Jews lives matter. They did not go out with a rainbow flag, right? They went out and they preached repentance. To do otherwise would violate, for example, what Paul said in Colossians, two, eight, "See to it, that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ." No dear friends, they went out and they preached the pure unadulterated gospel of God, the good news that a infinitely Holy God has provided a way for we, as sinful people, to be reconciled to Him through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why Paul, when he came to Corinth, that was exceedingly wicked, he said in First Corinthians two beginning of verse 2:4, "I determined to know nothing among you, except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, and in fear and in much trembling. And my message and my preaching, were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." So he sent them out in pairs, and he gave them authority over the unclean spirits. Luke nine adds to this in verse two, it says, "And he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing." Now, from time to time, people will ask, "Can you help me understand the kingdom of God?" Well, it would probably take months to get into all of it. But let me give you just a few moments, because it is important for you to have the basics.

There are essentially three aspects to the kingdom of God as revealed in Scripture. The kingdom of God consists of a universal kingdom, a mediatorial Kingdom and a spiritual kingdom. God's universal kingdom can be defined as God's eternal, sovereign rule over all that exists. You might recall in David's great song of majesty and love, he said in Psalm 145:13, "Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your domain endures throughout all generations." And God's mediatorial kingdom can be defined as God's sovereign rule over the earth, through divinely chosen human representatives, who speak on his behalf and who represent the people before him. Here God exercises absolute rule in his invisible spiritual kingdom on earth through the agency of divinely chosen men, and he gave them special revelation; they recorded that in Scripture. And therefore we can understand his kingdom purposes and how we as sinners can enter into the kingdom.

And then there's God's spiritual kingdom, which can be defined as an invisible kingdom that exists only in the hearts of those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior and King. And I might add, that it is my firm belief that the kingdom of God is the all encompassing and unifying theme of Scripture. In fact, if you want a brief summary of the Bible, if somebody were to say, "Can you tell me what's in the Bible?" All right, that's a loaded question. Right? What's in the Bible? Well, you could summarize it in this way by saying, you know, it begins in Genesis, one of a creator King of the universe, that made man in His image to rule and subdue the earth to bring glory to the king. But he failed, he sinned, and God cursed man. Yet God promised that the seed of a woman would one day emerge, and would defeat the serpent that usurped the throne, and reverse the effects of the fall so that man could effectively rule over creation. And God in His mercy sent the Messiah King to bring redemption through His atoning work on the cross. And the cross then becomes the basis for reconciling both people and creation, to God. Acts three, verse 10, speaks of the restoration of all things. And we see in the Bible that God gave covenants, to ultimately carry out his promises, to accomplish his purposes in restoring his kingdom. The out workings of unilateral, unconditional, irreversible, irrevocable covenants, all of those are instruments that God uses to manifest his his kingdom. There's the covenant that he made with Noah, in Genesis 6 and Genesis 9, there's the covenant that he made with Abraham in Genesis 15, and Genesis 17. There's the covenant that he made with the priests, the priestly covenant in Numbers 25. And then you have the Davidic Covenant, the one that he made with David in Second Samuel 7. You have the new covenant in Jeremiah 31. So that's what's in the Bible. But then the very last chapter of the Bible, in Revelation 22 in verse three and verse five, we see the final rule of God, and the rule of the lamb and God's people, the revealed is ruling on a new earth, There we read, "There will no longer be any curse and the throne of God, and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond servants will serve Him...and they will reign forever and ever." So there's a little synopsis of what's in the Bible, right? And the amazing thing to me, beloved, is that all of this was ordained by a sovereign God in eternity past. And somehow we're a part of this. It's absolutely staggering to me. I might even add that David gives us a record of when God set all this into motion in Psalm two. And it was not according to some covenant or agreement rooted in theologically derived covenants as covenant theologians would assert. I'm very uncomfortable with that, but rather it's rooted in biblical covenants. God's Kingdom program was decreed by the Lord and in Psalm two beginning of verse seven we read, "I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord. Believe David writing here. And then we read, "He said to me, 'You are my son today I have begotten you.'" And this son language, by the way, parallels the son language that we read in the Davidic Covenant in Second Samuel seven in verse 14 in regards to the coming descendant of David. We go on to read "Ask of me and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance and the very ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, you shall shatter them like earthenware. Now, therefore, oh kings, show discernment. Take warning, oh judges of the earth, worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling, do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in him!" Oh, how I wish I could have been in Davos last week, to read that passage, and preach that text. Beloved, this is the gospel. These are the types of things that the apostles preached.

Now back to the historical narrative, Matthew adds a little bit more as to what went on in Matthew 10, beginning of verse five, "These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, 'Do not go in the way of the Gentiles and do not enter any city of the Samaritans, but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'" We know that the gospel first, it was to the Jew first, then later to the Gentile. In fact, Paul's ministry was primarily to the Gentiles. So this is what they were to preach. This is what we must preach. So back to our text in Mark six, verse seven, "He summoned the twelve and he began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits." Luke adds to this saying, in chapter nine, verse two, "they performed healing." So what we see is that he gave them supernatural authority over the demons, and disease. And he did this in order to authenticate, or you might say, validate both the message and the messenger as being from God. And I might add that once the New Testament canon was complete, these miraculous sign gifts disappeared. And so anyone who speaks divine truth with divine authority must be validated not by miraculous signs that they do, but they must be validated or authenticated by their faithfulness to the text of Scripture. That's how we measure if a person is speaking on God's behalf, on the basis of the inspired, inerrant, authoritative and fallible, all sufficient Word of the living God. Sorry, Professor. That, by the way, it was a lot of my rebuke. I'll never forget that day. And many others like it. But folks, if you don't believe in the inspiration of Scripture, which by the way, several of those professors did not, you don't have anything, and there's going to be conflict galore. So no one today has authority over unclean spirits. Though I might add unclean spirits or demons are very, very active in countless people today, we aren't able to always discern that. And it's not up to us to do that we just unleash the gospel. As I say, we are not to exorcise we are to evangelize and the Spirit of God does the rest. And no one can heal or raise the dead. So every pastor, every teacher, must be tested by comparing what they say, and do by what God has said and what He requires. So we are to preach the word, for example, we're to contend earnestly for the faith, it was once and for all delivered to the saints, we are to shepherd the flock of God, and so forth. First, John four, one, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." So when you hear some of this crazy stuff that's out there, you have to say, "All right, let's look at scripture and and let's just see, what does the word of God say about what you're teaching?"

So they were summoned, sent and validated by God, but secondly, I want you to notice, they were required to depend on God's provision and be content with it. Verse eight in Mark six "and he instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey except a mere staff." Staffs were used somewhat as a walking stick, but also for self protection. There were animals or crazy people like we have today. And he said, no bread, no bag, no money in their belt, but to wear sandals. And he added do not put on two tunics. In other words, he's basically saying, Look, guys, I want you to travel light with only the clothes on your back sandals in your feet. Bring no provisions, I want you to learn to depend upon me, I want you to trust in me. And he said to them wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. That seems a little bit odd unless you understand the context of that day, where false teachers who were in it for the money would go in and, and they would begin to teach and they would begin to get better offers and they're making money off of people. And certainly this is what Jesus knew would happen with them. But they weren't careful. Because you think about it, all of a sudden, you come to town and you're healing people. Well, people are gonna line up to say, hey, come and stay at my place. You know, my place is bigger and better. In fact, I will give you... and here we go. Don't do that. Because you're not in this for the money. It isn't about you and your needs. It's about God and His glory. And what a stark contrast to the false teachers of that day. And frankly, of this day. In fact, Paul addressed this in Second Timothy three, six, they were the type of characters that would "enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins." I remember in 1995, we sold our house, getting ready to go teach at Masters on the Bible faculty. And a guy came with his wife and said, We'll take it, we'll buy the house. Got to talking with him, I found out that he was the primary fundraiser for a couple of the most notorious prosperity preachers. In fact, you would know who they were. They're still in existence today. And I said, How can you possibly raise money for these guys, you've got to know that they're con artists. These are charlatans. And I remember because it really angered me. And I remember he just kind of laughed it off. And he said, and this is almost a direct quote, he said, well, people are going to give it somewhere. It might as well be us. And then he went on to tell me that they primarily targeted middle aged women who read romance novels, watch soap operas and listen to Oprah Winfrey. So that was their target audience. So Jesus forbade these men from using their abilities in their ministry to make money. Remember what he said in Matthew 10, verse eight, "Freely you received, freely give, do not acquire gold or silver or copper for your money belts." You see true missionaries, true gospel preachers, pastors, must depend upon God's provision and be content with what he provides. We can all tell countless stories of how he has fulfilled those things in our lives. Jesus wanted to teach them from firsthand experience. In fact Matthew six verse 31, he wanted them to learn what he said, "Do not worry then saying 'What will we eat? or What will we drink? Or what will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles, eagerly seek all these things' for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things, But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you." The apostle Paul certainly understood this. That's why he told the church in Philipi in Philippians, four beginning of verse 11, "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content and whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need, I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." And so God's man will be content with what God provides and he'll not desire, material gain. I remember having a discussion with a family they were insiders with a very popular, charismatic ministry and broadcast network. And they were telling me how there are rooms that they have, that are filled with boxes of various expensive items that people have given to them so that they can buy a miracle. Described boxes of very expensive watches, boxes of expensive cameras, boxes of expensive jewelry and so on and so forth. Folks, that's always the mark of a charlatan, I think you realize that. I mean, Jesus had virtually no earthly possessions, right. In fact, he said in Matthew 8:20, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." You never saw Jesus or the apostles, doing big fundraisers so that they could have a jet to fly around for their ministry, right? I know they didn't have jets back in those days, I don't know fancy chariots or whatever. You never saw any of that type of thing. No lavish ministry estates, no entourage carrying their bags. Sadly, many churches today are pastored by entrepreneurs, people trying to make a buck. Paul said this in First Timothy six beginning in verse six, "But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment, For we brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering with these, we shall be content. But those who want to get rich, fall into temptation, and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness." Now, I might also add that later on, Jesus lifted some of these austere requirements. He wanted them to learn the lesson of dependence from the outset, but he wasn't somehow advocating a vow of poverty as some might teach. In fact, in Luke 22, we learn whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one." It's a very complicated passage, not exactly sure what it means. Some will argue that was a first century version of concealed carry, you know that you need to have a sword to protect yourself. It might be and maybe, I leaned towards this, that it's more of a figurative expression, used to describe the perilous nature of the gospel ministry. We can't say for sure. But he went on to say "For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in me. And he has he was numbered with transgressors for that which refers to me has its fulfillment. Then they said, 'Lord, look, here are two swords,' and he said to them, 'It is enough.'" In other words, enough of that kind of talk. I want you to trust in me even for your protection. So they were required to depend upon him. Let me pause for a moment. Ask yourself, do I depend upon the Lord for my needs, especially as I minister the gospel? Maybe we need to back up? Are you ministering the gospel in your life? Or are you kind of a chameleon Christian that just kind of blends in so that nobody would be offended with your position? Your faith in Christ? Is it your priority to serve Christ? Or to serve self? Do you depend upon God's provision in your life? Are you content with what you have? Are you obsessed with material wealth rather than his glory?

Well, again, they were summoned, sent, validated by God, secondly, required to depend upon God's provision and be content with it. And finally, they were commanded to renounce gospel rejecters. Now, what we are about to examine here is utterly antithetical to evangelical pragmatism today that believes that friendship with the world is a better strategy for evangelism than preaching the gospel. That you've got to be seeker sensitive, make sure everybody likes you, let's don't offend anybody. Verse 11, "'Any place that does not receive you,' Jesus said, "or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them." Now to be sure they were going to run into many Nazareth's remember how they were treated, Jesus was treated in Nazareth, we all experienced this. And when this would happen, Jesus didn't want them to just keep preaching in a vicious audience that's scoffing at them, and at the Lord, those who oppose the gospel. In fact, he said in Matthew seven, six, "Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine or they will trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces." But also, Jesus didn't want them to just kind of throw up their hands and just kind of quietly walk away and go to another town. He wanted them to publicly renounce them, to pronounce judgment upon their unholy heads. Now, Jews understood the symbolism of shaking the dust off your feet. It was a visible expression of scorn and contempt for Gentiles and all of their paganism. So whenever they were in a pagan area, and they walked back in to the Jewish territory, they would visibly take the their feet and shake off the dust. And it symbolizes the uncleanliness, the filth, the contamination of Gentile paganism. And likewise, you must understand, when the emissaries of Christ would encounter, shall we say, spiritual dogs and pigs of apostate Jews who mocked Christ and reject the gospel, they were to shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them. Luke expands upon this in Luke 10, beginning in verse 10, "But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say." Let me stop there a second. This was to be a public renunciation, all right. It's not like, Hey, do this when nobody's looking. No, this was probably, go out into the streets and say, "Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet, we will wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near." He went on to say, "I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that for that city. Woe to you, Chorzin! Woe to you Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed, and Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you." In other words, I want you people who have rejected the Gospel and made a mockery of Christ, to know this, that even as there was no hope for Sodom, there is no hope for you, unless you repent and believe in Christ.

On many occasions, I've had to communicate these types of things to smug vicious people, gospel rejecters, where I've had to say, you know, we need to stop right here, I can tell that you are completely dominated by unbelief. And I'm not going to continue to be berated by you, but you must understand that unless you repent, you will perish in your sins. And one day you will bow before the Lord Jesus Christ. But you will bow before him in terror, not in triumph, and God will judge you. And I can only pray that He will have mercy on your soul. Then you leave. So what happened? Verse 12, "They went out and preached that men should repent." And oh the opposition they faced, right? As we do today, we want to ask ourselves, how, how is he using me? Have any of you ever really suffered for Christ because you stood for him in some way? I'm not saying go out and pick a fight. But I mean, you know, just stand up at the watercooler and say, you know, I don't agree with that. That's not what God has said in his word. What about Facebook. Well, there's a great forum. You know, the good news is folks he uses common ordinary people like you and me. I think what Paul said in First Corinthians 1:20 and following "Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where's the debater of this age Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world. For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed, Jews asked for signs and Greeks search for wisdom. We preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block into Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men. And the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling brother, and that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world, to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that he may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by his doing, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, so that just as it is written, let him who boasts, boast in the Lord."

So they went out and they preached repentance, verse 13, "And they were casting out many demons that were anointing with oil, many sick people, and healing them." Now, I might add, that the people of that day would have understood the symbolism of the anointing of oil. It wasn't like they had to have oil, to somehow heal people. You know, it's not like they came and somebody needed healing and they say, Hey, I forgot my oil, anybody got any oil? You know, we can't heal them unless we get some oil. You know, that's not what's going on. Rather, they understood that in the Old Testament, the anointing of olive oil was something that demonstrated how God was investing in an individual's power, it was a symbol of consecration for service, to set people apart for service, and it symbolizes God's presence and His power and His authority upon a person. And the apostles did this to symbolize their power and their authority that God had given to them. That was the point. I remember one of the rodeos I went to when I lived in California, there was this cowboy preacher, pastor, that, sadly, was just a total heretic. I had spent time with him on a number of occasions, but at that, at that rodeo, one of the bull riders was hurt pretty bad and, and people went out and they kind of gathered around and they wheeled him off and in the little cart thing that they use, and I remember, he went running to his truck, and he pulled out his dipstick and got some oil on his fingers. And then he came running back and he started making a big scene that he was going to pray for this man and anoint him with oil. And he started doing the whole tongues things, you know, and, and a couple others joined in. It was quite a show, and then he put oil on the guy's forehead and you know, the rest of the story, folks, that's unbiblical. Anyway, as we think about all that happened with these dear people, these dear men that went out originally, what an amazing thing it is to see how God used them to begin to build his church, and to see how these ministry principles apply to us.

And in closing, what happened? Well, later on in the chapter in verse 30, we read that, "The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught." Let me pause there for a second, folks, this is so important to do. We need to get together on a regular basis with one another, and kind of report to each other. What God has been doing in our lives, in our ministry, to be able to share, Hey, I'm going to tell you I've been praying for this person and I had an opportunity to speak truth into this person's life and we need to pray that this will happen, and please help me because I'm facing this horrible opposition in my family with this person. I mean, we need to do that. How encouraging it is, to hear these things from one another so that we can pray for one another, so that we can see that we're not alone. And it's also some accountability, isn't it? You don't want to be the only one sitting there thinking man, all I did last week was watch TV. You know? Well, that's what they did. They gathered together with Jesus reported to Him all that they had done all that they had taught. And often when I get together with people, and they share what they did and what they taught, sometimes I have to say, "You know what your teaching there isn't quite accurate. Can I humbly suggest to you that this is what the text says?" "Oh, I didn't realize that." That's what we need folks. "And He said to them, 'Come away by yourselves to a secluded place, and rest for a while.' (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) Well, anybody that has been in ministry understands that it can be very draining. And the Lord knew that they were exhausted. Plus, they would have learned about John the Baptist's beheading at the hand of Herod. Something that we'll talk about next week, Lord willing. And then we read that, "They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves." Luke tells us in Luke nine, verse 10, that they "sailed across the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee, near the town of Bethsaida." Bethsaida means house of fish. So it was probably a small fishing village. By the way, that's where Peter and Andrew were originally from. So they go there to get some rest and relaxation, and to get their batteries charged once again to go back into ministry. Well, folks, may I challenge you get serious about your witness for Christ, speak up, be bold. The fear of man is the snare, don't get caught in that snare. Worship the Most High God, don't be afraid of these people. Love them enough to give them the gospel. "Oh, but I might lose my job." Oh, boy, I hope that doesn't happen. But you know what, I kind of think that the God of the universe can handle that, you know? Publicly express your faith. "Well, I don't really know what to say." Oh, come on. If you know Christ, you know the basics of the gospel. Just tell them that. Give them your testimony. Beloved, never underestimate the power of your testimony, tell people what Christ has done, is doing and will do in your life. And watch what the Spirit of God can do with that. And then when times are difficult, you will find that God will minister to you in ways that you can't imagine. And then, by the way, you will long to be in the presence of other brothers and sisters in Christ, to share what God is doing. Because you're gonna long to hear from them. You're gonna want to pray with them, pray for them, and just learn from one another and do all of the one another things. I mean, that's just a part of what it is to be in the body of Christ. Right? So there's a little sample of what happened with those first generation preachers. May we continue in that same vein, for our good and for God's glory. Amen. Father, thank you for the amazing truths that emerge from these historical narratives. We learn so much from them and we find ourselves feeling at times embarrassed for our lack of boldness, our lack of witness, for our lack of intentionality. Lord, bring conviction to each of our hearts that we might truly be salt and light, that many will come to faith in Christ through our witness, through our lives, through our mouth. We pray in Christ's name and for His glory. Amen.