Friday January 03
The Urgency and Simplicity in Going
Luke 9:1-11
1 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. 2 He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them." 6 So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, 8 and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. 9 Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?" So he sought to see Him. 10 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.
Jesus is training His disciple to become the leaders of His church, that they will have the responsibility for after His death, burial, resurrection and His ascension into heaven. When you read all three of the Gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark and Luke), of His three and half years of ministry, you will find that He spends most of it with the disciples in the region of Galilee. When we come to Luke 9, we believe that He now is in His third year of ministry and on this occasion, Jesus sends the twelve in pairs of two on their own to preach and to heal (Mark 6:7).
Jesus told the disciples what to take on their journey, with an emphasis on urgency and simplicity. They were not to take a "begging bag" along but were to trust God to open up homes for their hospitality. Matthew 10:11-15 tells how they were to select these homes. If they were refused, they should shake off the dust from their feet, a familiar act performed by orthodox Jews whenever they left Gentile territory (see Luke 10:10-11; Acts 13:51).
If there was ever a time that we need to understand the urgency in our going and sharing the Gospel with the world, it should be today! I just finished out last year on December 31, New Years Eve, preaching the home going celebration of a dear friend and wonderful saint, Elaine Brugh. Her mother lived to be 110 years old and just passed away a few years ago. We all thought that Elaine had her mother’s genes and would be around for a long time to come. But she got sick and suddenly passed away. It shocked all of us. This reminds us of the daily urgency to tell others of Jesus, because we are told in Scripture that “today is the day of salvation, today is the accepted time” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Then yesterday on January 2, I preached the home going celebration of another wonderful man of God, and a man of prayer, Mike Griffin, who suddenly passed away after a three-year battle with cancer. Thankfully, both of these dear people were prepared for eternity! But there are so many who are not! The harvest fields are ripe now and we must share the Gospel with people today!
That is why I am going to a Southeast Asian country this next week! We currently have a partnership ministry with over 600 pastors who lead over 1300 churches. I will be connecting with the leaders to encourage them in this great outreach to their nation. I will be gathering specific information about each of them. It is my goal to connect each one of them with a prayer partner here in the states who will take them into their heart for faithful prayer support on a consistent basis. If you would like to be a prayer partner here in the states for one of these dear men of God, please email me at pastormike@pmiministries.org.
Also, if you would like to financially support this trip and ministry to these pastors, you can do so by going to my website and clicking on the “donate” button. https://www.pmiministries.org/
Or you can send me an email at the above address, I will be glad to respond to give you other ways you can send any support.
Jesus sent His disciples telling them to go in simplicity depending upon Him for everything. Not to worry about opposition but to go on to the next person, town or village that would receive them and their message!
May the Lord give us strength and grace to be obedient to His calling to continue to fulfill the Great Commission today!
God bless!
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