Training Jesus’ Style – Luke 9:1-10
Gladstone Baptist Church – 27/11/05 pm
I have never been in the army and never been to boot camp. But sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be in training for the army. What I’ve heard and seen on TV doesn’t make me really desire to join the army really. When I was a kid, one of the shows on TV was Gomer Pyle – does anyone remember that show – Gollllly. Shazam. Well Gomer had a pretty tough Drill Sergent who gave him a hard time, though I sometimes felt sorry for Sergent Carter – imagine having to knock people like Gomer into shape.
Another man who faced a similar challenge was Major Payne. He had to whip a group of school students into line for a military competition. Have a look at some of what they had to do in their training. …
Training is never fun, but it has a purpose and it therefore usually necessary to obtain the necessary skills to do a job.
Jesus’ disciples needed training also. Unbeknown to the disciples, they were being groomed to take over Jesus’ work when he died and so he was going to have to whip them into shape sooner or later.
Tonight, I want us to take a look at one of Jesus’ training exercises that he prepared for the disciples and look at what we can learn from it, because, we are carrying on the tradition of the disciples in being Jesus’ hands, mouth and ears here on this earth. So the things the disciples learnt – we need to learn.
Luke 9:1-10 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. 5 If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them.” 6 So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, 8 others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. 9 But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him.
10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida,
By this time, the disciples had been with Jesus for 2 years. They were in a 3 year apprenticeship remember and so they must have been getting to the stage where they were understanding much of what Jesus was talking about.
So here in this account, Jesus sends them out of the classroom to do some practical work on their own. This was part of their training and was therefore necessary. So lets look five lessons we can learn from their training.
Lesson 1) – We must Answer Jesus’ Call
In Vs 1 we read that Jesus called the disciples together and they responded. It is unlikely that the disciples remained at Jesus’ side for the whole of the 3 year apprenticeship. They had homes and families and some of them lived in the areas of Capernaum and the surrounding villages, so it is highly likely that some of them were visiting with friends and families when Jesus’ call came to them. And when they received Jesus’ call - they came. This symbolises the first step in becoming one of Jesus’ disciples. We need to be called by Jesus and we need to respond to that call if we want to be Jesus’ disciples.
God calls us to follow him and to SERVE HIM. In his calling, he calls us to be ministers and priests. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Eph 2:10 God has some works of service for you to do for Him, and He has called you to do those things. The first thing that is needed therefore is for us to answer Jesus’ call and say – Sure, I’ll do it. This is what the disciples did, they came together and then Jesus told them his plan…
Lesson 2) – Our Calling is to PREACH AND HEAL
They were to go on a preaching and healing tour through all the villages. Although it is not stated, I’m sure at this point they started to feel a bit fearful.
Unfortunately, just like the disciples, many of us baulk at serving God and doing the things which he has commanded us to do. We’d far prefer to just sit in church and sing and theorize about the questions of faith than to have to go outside the church and minister to others. I’m sure the disciples felt this way also – because they were just like you and me.
Leroy Eims was teaching in a bible college England and it occurred to him one day the students were spending an excessive amount of time at their desks and immersed in study. He realised that they needed practical experience that would go hand in hand with their studies and so he organised with a church in a nearby city and asked if the students could come and gain some practical experience on the streets of that city.
When all the details were worked out he went to his students and shared the upcoming adventure with them. Immediately the class experienced a very strange epidemic – everyone got sick and couldn’t go. One young man came to Eims and said, “I can’t go.”
“Why not?” Eims asked.
“Because I’ve lost my voice,” the young man replied.
“Why should that stop you from going?”
The young man said, “I can’t communicate.”
But Eims countered, “You just communicated to me despite the fact that you’ve lost your voice, so you shouldn’t have any problems. Anyway, you haven’t lost your voice, you’re just chicken, you’re afraid.”
“No,” the young man insisted with even less of a voice, “no I’ve lost my voice.”
“Let me tell you something, you’re chicken, I’m chicken, everyone here is chicken, but we’re going!”
The young man looked stunned and then said with a fully recovered voice, “you’re scared!?”
Eims said he learned about two new spiritual gifts he had that day, discernment and healing!
None of us like the prospect of going and sharing the gospel. We are all scared of it, but this is what Jesus calls his followers to do.
I think it is interesting that Jesus commissions them is to seek to help others SPIRITUALLY AND PHYSICALLY. Last Sunday night we spoke about Jesus being concerned about our hurts and that he wants to heal us completely – spiritually, emotionally, socially and physically. Jesus is concerned about all aspects of our lives and that is why he told his disciples to go and preach and heal (vs 6). It is a simple extension to Jesus’ ministry. Jesus came to preach and heal and he expects his followers to continue doing that same thing – preach and heal, preach and heal, preach and heal.
We are sent into the world to preach the gospel. The great commission in Mark 16:15 says - “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
But this is not the end of it. Jesus goes on to say …
17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
Not only will we preach the good news of Jesus, but we will perform miraculous deeds – drive out demons, speak in tongues, heal sick people. God is still calling us to preach and heal. Why? Because he is interested in the eternal destiny of people and also in their current state of pain. He wants to heal people fully.
But this doesn’t lessen the fear that many of us have when we are called to go and share the gospel does it?
Lesson 3) – We minister with Jesus’ POWER AND AUTHORITY
Very few of us relish the prospect of going and sharing the gospel. But we need to remember that we don’t go in our own strength – we minister with Jesus’ power and authority. Jesus called the disciples and then “he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,”
This is an important lesson we need to learn – ANYONE JESUS CALLS, HE EQUIPS. Do you ever doubt that you’ve got what it takes to do what God has asked you to do? Maybe you feel a tug to help out with youth work or to help out with Children’s ministry, but you’ve never done it before and you wonder whether you have the gifts it requires.
Well if God is calling you to do something, he will equip you. The disciples were being called to preach and heal. They didn’t have any great oratory skills or any healing gifts, but Jesus gives them his power and his authority so that they could accomplish the task – preach, drive out demons and cure the sick.
Paul experienced exactly the same thing when he was called 1 Cor 2:4-5 “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”
When we come to serve Jesus we need to put away our fears and take on the resources that Jesus offers to us. What are these resources?
Firstly there is POWER. Power is the ABILITY to accomplish a task. Jesus had power to calm storms, to drive out demons, to heal the sick and dying. We don’t have that power. But Jesus offers us his power and if we take it, we then are able to wield Jesus’ power to accomplish things that you or I could never imagine.
Secondly there is AUTHORITY. Authority is different to power. It is what the policeman has when they put up their hand for you to stop. They don’t have the physical power to make you stop. But they have the RIGHT to make you stop. Jesus offers us his authority to us. No demon is going to listen to you or me because we don’t have any authority over them. But when we have been invested with Jesus’ authority then we can make things happen.
We are called to preach and heal and we are to accomplish these tasks with Jesus’ power and authority. This is an important lesson for us to learn. Don’t be fearful of ministry, rather accept it and use Jesus’ power and authority to accomplish what Jesus has for you to do.
Lesson 4) – Jesus will PROVIDE OUR NEEDS
The fourth lesson we need to learn from this training exercise is that Jesus promises to provide for our needs when we step out in faith and follow him.
Jesus told his disciples that they weren’t to take anything at all. Not a staff, not a bag, not food, not money, not even spare clothes. They were instead trust God and rely on his provisions.
When they entered a town, they were to find someone who was willing to give them a bed and they were to accept this hospitality until they left the town.
How would you feel, being sent out with absolutely nothing – wondering where tomorrow’s food would come from or where your bed would be tonight? This is how the disciples felt. But remember this was a training exercise. Jesus didn’t always send his disciples out with no preparation. In Luke 22, he tells them to go out with a bag, with a purse of money and even buy a sword to take with you. So he is not trying to set a precedent here for us all to follow. Rather, it is all part of the training. The disciples needed to learn to TRUST GOD FOR THEIR DAY TO DAY NEEDS. They needed to prove to themselves that God was faithful and would take care of them. They needed to learn that often the work at hand is so important that they needed to guard against getting distracted by the activities of life.
And so when they returned, they all came back and reported how God had looked after them. And I’m sure their faith had grown. When you God calls you to minister for him, you need to learn that God will provide for your needs – physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. We need to trust God.
Lesson 5) – Don’t waste time on those who reject you.
The last lesson we need to learn from this training exercise is that we must not waste time on those who reject our message. Jesus tells his disciples Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. 5 If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them.”
It was a custom for Jewish rabbis returning home to pause and shake off the dust from their feet before they crossed the border back into Israel after traveling to another country. They felt so strongly that the land of Israel was a blessed nation and all other nations were heathens and condemned, that they didn’t want to carry any of defiled Gentile soil into their own country. So this became a symbol to the Gentiles that they were defiled and rejected.
But now Jesus tells his disciples to do the same thing when an Israeli village rejected them. Imagine the insult this would cause. The disciples were traveling around to villages in Israel. So for Jesus to tell his disciples to shake off the dust from your feet when you leave villages that reject you, he is saying, show them by your actions that they are no better off than the heathen Gentiles. Anyone who rejects our message is rejecting Jesus and are therefore rejecting God. They are heathens, no matter what race they are or how nice they are.
I think it is amazing that Jesus doesn’t tell his disciples to try to persuade them that they’ve made a mistake. Contrast Jesus’ attitude here with ours. Jesus said – preach the gospel to them and if they respond – great, stay and teach them, if they don’t – move on. We say – if at first we don’t succeed, try, try again. If they don’t respond, we just need to pray a bit more. If they are not interested, we just need to find something they are interested in to invite them to. If they don’t agree with us, we just need to live a Christian life so they see how good it is. No – Jesus says – don’t waste your time – move on to those who are dying in sin who will accept your preaching.
This is a huge challenge to us Western Christians. In a town like Gladstone, we have about 18 churches and anyone could walk into a church whenever they wanted to. We have a radio station which people can hear the gospel on. You can buy a bible just about anywhere. Probably most people in Gladstone have had a colleague or neighbor or friend who is a Christian and most will have heard about Jesus at some point in their lives and have chosen to reject him. I’m not saying that we should tell them only once and then leave, but neither should we kid ourselves that we are being effective by trying to get blood out of a stone.
Instead of moving our resources to parts of the harvest field where the fruit are ripe for harvest, we continue to persist trying to crack the hard nuts where we are. Why is this? Is it because we are comfortable where we are now? Is it because we don’t really care about people in this world that are dying by the millions without hearing about Jesus?
One of the lessons we need to learn from this training exercise is that the task before us is urgent and we can’t afford to waste all our time and resources on the resistant hearts that surround us.
So here are 5 lessons we need to learn …
1) We must answer Jesus’ Call
2) Our Calling is to Preach and Heal
3) We minister with Jesus’ power and authority
4) Jesus will provide our needs
5) Don’t waste time on those who reject you
I want to close by telling you a story . As I tell it, try to identify which character you are most like …
Once upon a time there was an apple grower who had 10,000 acres of apple orchards. One day he went to the nearby town. There, he hired 1,000 apple pickers. He told them: "Go to my orchards. Harvest the ripe apples, and build storage buildings for them so that they will not spoil. I need to be gone for a while, but I will provide all you will need to complete the task. When I return, I will reward you for your work.
"I’ll set up a Society for the Picking of Apples. The Society -- to which you will all belong -- will be responsible for the entire operation. Naturally, in addition to those of you doing the actual harvesting, some will carry supplies, others will care for the physical needs of the group, and still others will have administrative responsibilities."
As he set up the Society structure, some people volunteered to be pickers and others to be packers. Others put their skills to work as truck drivers, cooks, accountants, storehouse builders, apple inspectors and even administrators. Every one of his workers could, of course, have picked apples. In the end, however, only 100 of the 1,000 employees wound up as full-time pickers.
The 100 pickers started harvesting immediately. Ninety-four of them began picking around the homestead. The remaining six looked out toward the horizon. They decided to head out to the far-away orchards.
Before long, the storehouses in the 800 acres immediately surrounding the homestead had been filled by the 94 pickers with beautiful, delicious apples. However, with almost all of the pickers concentrating on these 800 acres, those trees were soon picked nearly bare. In fact, the ninety-four apple pickers working around the homestead began having difficulty finding trees which had not been picked
As the apple picking slowed down around the homestead, Society members began channeling effort into building larger storehouses and developing better equipment for picking and packing. They even started some schools to train prospective apple pickers to replace those who one day would be too old to pick apples.
Sadly, those ninety-four pickers working around the homestead began fighting among themselves. Incredible as it may sound, some began stealing apples that had already been picked. Although there were enough trees on the 10,000 acres to keep every available worker busy, those working nearest the homestead failed to move into unharvested areas. They just kept working those 800 acres nearest the house.
Even with all that activity, the harvest on the remaining 9,200 acres was left to just six pickers. Those six were, of course, far too few to gather all the ripe fruit in those thousands of acres. So, by the hundreds of thousands, apples rotted on the trees and fell to the ground.
One of the students at the apple-picking school showed a special talent for picking apples quickly and effectively. When he heard about the thousands of acres of untouched faraway orchards, he started talking about going there.
His friends discouraged him. They said: "Your talents and abilities make you very valuable around the homestead. You’d be wasting your talents out there. Your gifts can help us harvest apples from the trees on our central 800 acres more rapidly. That will give us more time to build bigger and better storehouses. Perhaps you could even help us devise better ways to use our big storehouses since we have wound up with more space than we need for the present crop of apples."
With so many workers and so few trees, the pickers and packers and truck drivers -- and all the rest of the Society for the Picking of Apples living around the homestead -- had time for more than just picking apples.
They built nice houses and raised their standard of living. Some became very conscious of clothing styles. Thus, when the six pickers from the far-off orchards returned to the homestead for a visit, it was apparent that they were not keeping up with the styles in vogue with the other apple pickers and packers.
To be sure, those on the homestead were always good to those six who worked in the far away orchards. When any of those six returned from the far away fields, they were given the red carpet treatment. Nonetheless, those six pickers were saddened that the Society of the Picking of Apples spent 96 percent of its budget for bigger and better apple-picking methods and equipment and personnel for the 800 acres around the homestead while it spent only 4 percent of its budget on all those distant orchards.
To be sure, those six pickers knew that an apple is an apple wherever it may be picked. They knew that the apples around the homestead were just as important as apples far away. Still, they could not erase from their minds the sight of thousands of trees which had never been touched by a picker.
They longed for more pickers to come help them. They longed for help from packers, truck drivers, supervisors, equipment-maintenance men, and ladder builders. They wondered if the professionals working back around the homestead could teach them better apple-picking methods so that, out where they worked, fewer apples would rot and fall to the ground.
While one might question whether the Society was doing all the owner wanted done, the members did keep very busy. Several members were convinced that proper apple picking requires nothing less than the very best equipment. Thus, the Society assigned several members to develop bigger and better ladders as well as nicer boxes to store apples. The Society also prided itself at having raised the qualification level for full-time apple pickers.
When the owner returns, the Society members will crowd around him. They’ll proudly show off the bigger and better ladders they’ve built and the nice apple boxes they’ve designed and made. One wonders how happy that owner will be, however, when he looks out and sees the acres and acres of untouched trees with their unpicked apples.
Jesus calls us to God and preach and heal. There are apples all over this world rotting on the tree that need Jesus’ message. The task is urgent. Jesus tells us to go and work in his power and rely on him for all our needs. The big question is – are you willing to obey his call? If you are one of Jesus’ followers, then this message is for you – what lessons are you going to learn.
