[0:00] Well, good morning and a warm welcome to the service this morning. Those who are in the building, it's good to have people in the building. It's still almost a novelty to have people in the building and it's good to see you.
[0:15] You're all very welcome. Those on the camera, I don't forget as well. There are many at home and a warm welcome to those who are tuning in on the YouTube page or who are listening in on the telephone.
[0:28] So the evening service will be at six tonight and for another step in the right direction. For the first time, we're having an in-person evening service.
[0:39] So those who are coming should know by now the emails will have gone out. And I'm thankful to Cammie for organising all that. So we'll have an in-person service this evening and also it will be live streamed at six tonight.
[0:54] So we'll be encouraged to tune in or come along if you're able to. The prayer meeting will be on Wednesday at half past seven. We're keeping that on Zoom meantime.
[1:06] And the YF, I think, Stuart will meet tonight on Zoom at half past seven. So these, I think, are all the intimations. One thing I've meant to see over the past few weeks as well that I forgot to say is that if there are people who have been watching over the months and who haven't actually come to church before or haven't come for a while and who want to come back, there is space.
[1:31] And you're very welcome. So if you're aware of people as well who may want to come but who haven't come for a while or come at all, then please encourage them to come forward and either speak to Cammie, if you know Cammie, or someone in the congregation and we can make sure that there's space.
[1:50] There is space. It's just a question week by week of us managing who's coming along to the services. So these, I think, are all the intimations. And we're going to begin this time of worship by singing to God's praise.
[2:03] Or E&A will sing to God's praise and we'll follow on. You'll be able to sing in your own homes. Psalm 40, verses 1 to verse 5. I waited for the Lord my God and patiently did bear.
[2:16] At length to me he did incline my voice and cry to hear. He took me from a fearful pit and from the miry clay. And on a rock he set my feet, establishing my way.
[2:28] Down to the end of verse 5. We'll hear God's word, God's praise as being sung. I waited for the Lord my God And patiently did bear.
[2:53] At length to me he did incline my voice and cry to hear.
[3:08] He took me from a fearful pit. And from the mighty clay.
[3:21] And on a rock he set my feet, establishing my way.
[3:36] He put a new song in my mouth. Our God to magnify.
[3:51] Many shall see it and shall fear. And on the Lord rely.
[4:05] O blessed is the man whose trust upon the Lord relies.
[4:20] respecting not the proud nor such. As turn aside to lies.
[4:35] O Lord my God, full many are. The wonders thou hast done.
[4:50] Thy gracious thoughts to us were fought. Above all thoughts are gone.
[5:04] In order none can reckon them. To thee if them declare.
[5:18] And speak of them. I would they more. Than can be numbered of.
[5:34] Let's unite our hearts in prayer. Let's pray.
[5:44] Our heavenly Father.
[5:55] Father we thank you for this your day. We thank you for your word. Which we've been able to hear sung in the building here at this time.
[6:06] For your word. Which some have been able to sing in their own homes even. As they gather together as families. We thank you for that psalm. A psalm that's precious to us.
[6:17] A psalm that goes back many thousands of years. A psalm that's precious to us. A psalm that's precious to us. A psalm that's precious to us. A psalm that's precious to us. A psalm that's precious to us. One of the people that you called to follow you.
[6:30] A man after your own heart. We think about his life. And we think about the struggles that David had to endure. Some of which he brought upon himself as he wandered from you.
[6:44] Many of which he came under pressure because of his faith in you. And we thank you for the psalm. The prayer that he penned. That we're able to sing.
[6:56] We thank you for the deliverances that he knew in his life. For the times when he felt that he was sinking. When there was no way out. When there was no way of being saved.
[7:07] And as he cried out to you. You saved him. Time and time again. In miraculous ways. And yet we thank you that this is a psalm. That does not end with David's life.
[7:19] But it's a psalm that points us forward. To the life of Jesus. Your son. Our saviour. We thank you that he is the one that we see.
[7:30] As we sing and as we meditate upon this psalm. He is the one who lifts us from the muck and the mire of our sin. He is the one who lifts us from the pit.
[7:42] That we sink into. As fallen people. He is the one who places us on firm steady ground. He is the one who is that firm steady ground.
[7:55] He is the rock of our salvation. He is the solid rock. That we are able to build our lives on in time. And we acknowledge Lord with thanksgiving.
[8:06] That he is the one who enables us. Not only to know security and steadiness. In time. But who gives us that entry. Into eternity.
[8:17] Safety and security for all. Eternity. In heaven. For all of your people. So we thank you for that psalm. That points us to Christ. And we pray that we would make it our own.
[8:29] That we would not simply read it. As something distant from us. But we pray that we would make this our prayer. We ask that this would be the word of our testimony.
[8:39] I waited for the Lord my God. And patiently did bear. He took me from the fearful pit. And from the mighty clay. On the rock he set my feet.
[8:52] Establishing my way. We pray that each of us Lord. In this building. And those who listen on phones. Those who are online. And we pray that each of us would be able to say that.
[9:03] Christ is the rock of our salvation. That we are his. And yet Lord we know that there are many. In this world. Many.
[9:14] In our community. Who do not yet. See Jesus. And who do not yet see the. The danger that they are in. Apart from Christ. And so we pray Lord. That you would be working.
[9:25] To awaken. Souls that are. Are dead in transgression and sin. We pray that you would be working. To revive. Hearts that once may have been.
[9:37] Hot for Christ. And now. Have become lukewarm. Even cool. We know Lord. That we cannot. Make a change of that nature. Through our words.
[9:48] But you. And the power of your spirit. Are able to work. In each heart. And so we. We pray Lord. For each other. As we think of people. That come to our mind's eye. Some close with you.
[10:00] We ask that you would bless them Lord. That some who may. Be far from you. Some who may have drifted. In past. Months. And even years. We ask Lord.
[10:10] That you would be working. That you would meet one. Each one at the point of. Of their need. Of our need. Or that you would work. In our lives. We thank you.
[10:21] That we can come to you in prayer. We thank you. That you hear us. And you answer us. Because of Jesus. As the one. In whose name we pray. And the one. In whose work we trust. And so we ask Lord.
[10:33] That you would hear us. As we. Ask for your help. We pray for those. Who are grieving. Today. We. We think especially. Of. Of our queen. We think of the pictures.
[10:44] That we saw yesterday. The service. That we may have listened. Into and watched. And the image. Of. Of that. Old. Frail. Lady.
[10:54] With her head bowed. So. Alone. In that room. We pray that you would come. Alongside her Lord. As the God. Of all comfort. That you would.
[11:06] Surround her. With your strength. With your love. We pray that she would know. Your presence. And your peace. As on this. Your day. She.
[11:17] Comes before you. As she has done. So many times. We thank you for the. Steadiness of her witness. We ask Lord. That you would bless her. And that you would. Minister to her.
[11:29] In this difficult time. We pray that you would. Raise up those. Who are like her. We look around those. At those in authority. In our land. And we see. So few. Who are willing.
[11:40] To say the name. Of Jesus. We see so few. Who are willing. To take a stand. And say that the Bible. Is your word. And we ask Lord.
[11:50] That you would move. In this country. Once known. As the land of the book. We pray that you would. Bring us back. To the book. That book. Your word. That gave us steadiness. Over many generations.
[12:01] Now we see. Ourselves. As so. Unstable. In all our ways. And we pray. Father. That you would be. Working in this land. To bring glory. To your name.
[12:13] And we ask. That you would be. Working. In our lives. We know. There are always. Those around us. Who are grieving. For loved ones. Past. And in recent days. And in distant years.
[12:25] And we ask. For your comfort. For all. Who grieve. We pray on. For those who are sick. Some. Who come to our minds. Who. Are in our extended family. And friends. Some who are with us.
[12:37] And we ask Lord. That. All those who are struggling. With sickness. That you would. Come alongside them Lord. That you would give that grace. That is sufficient. For each day.
[12:47] That you give to us. In time. And enable us. We pray. As those who. Are in time. For such a. A short period. To make our calling. And election sure. By trusting Christ.
[12:59] For eternity. We ask. That you would be with us. As we open your word. That you would help us. To understand. Help us to see Jesus. We pray for Gordon.
[13:10] As he ministers. In Scalpy. This morning as well. And we ask. That you would speak. Through him. That you would. Guide him. In his thoughts. And in his words. And we pray for.
[13:20] Andrew Coggle. Whose mother is. Is seriously unwell. And who's had to leave. To go to be with her. And we pray your blessing. Upon him. And upon his family.
[13:32] So hear our prayers. Bless this time together. Cleanse us from our sin. As we confess it. Empty us of all. That we seek to. Turn in ourselves. And fill us with your spirit.
[13:44] That we may see. Jesus. For we pray these things. In Jesus name. And for his sake. Amen. Boys and girls.
[13:55] I'm looking around. Just to see where you all are. I hope before too long. You'll be able to come back down here. And sit down. And have a chat with me. How are you all today? All good.
[14:06] Any news this week? No news? Nobody's birthday this week. Nobody was 40 this week. Michael's got his finger.
[14:20] Pointing in the direction of James. Happy birthday James. 40 years young. So. It's good to see you. I want to tell you.
[14:32] Just that. I want to show you. A couple of pictures as well. In a minute. But. Last week. As you know. I wasn't here. In the. I hope it here. I wasn't preaching. I was in Harris.
[14:43] But I was on holiday. So I was looking for bits and pieces. Of things to do. I was relaxing. For some of the time. And for some of the time. I had work to do. I had to list.
[14:54] To do lists. To work through. You know. These things are like. When you're on holiday. And there was one day. And the weather wasn't too bad. And I decided.
[15:06] That I would go out. And do some work. In the garden. You know what it's like. To work in the garden. Well. I had to go and do some work.
[15:17] In the garden. And because we had diggers. In the garden last year. Putting in a septic tank. Everything had been smoothed out. And flattened out. And that's a good thing.
[15:27] But the bad thing is. Everything was very. Very soft. And so when the girls. Would go down. And go on the swings. They'd be going down. In their wellies. And the mud would be coming up.
[15:38] Over the top of their wellies. So I thought. I better go and try. And do something about this. So I went off with my spade. My wellies on. And I thought. I'll just take a couple of drains. And I'll take the water.
[15:50] That's all. Sitting around the swings. And I'll divert it off. Away from the swings. And everything will be dry. And everything will be good. That was the plan. How do you think it went?
[16:05] Terrible. Terrible. Said the lady at the back there. Terrible. Do you think it was terrible? Yes. It was terrible.
[16:16] Do you think I managed to dig. Lovely drains. That dried out the whole garden. No. What do you think I did? What do you think I made? I'll tell you what I made.
[16:31] A mess. All I made. Was one big muddy mess. And where the mud was going up to the top of my wellies before.
[16:42] It was going up to the top of my thighs after. And the more I dug to take the water away. The deeper the water seemed to go. And by the time I was finished after an hour and a half.
[16:53] Everything was just one big mess. So what do you do when you get into a mess? I'll tell you what you do. You phone Janangus.
[17:07] Who's over there. So I phoned Janangus. And a few days later on a dry day. He came along. And he walked around the garden for five minutes.
[17:17] And he looked this way. And he looked that way. And he looked the next way. And then he went to where the water was washed. And he got his shovel out. And he just. Oh here we've got pictures. We can show actually.
[17:28] I forgot. This is what Janangus did. I forgot.
[18:08] So when you get into a big mess. Down at the swings.
[18:19] With mud everywhere. What did I do? I couldn't do it. Because I'm not very good at doing these things. But after five minutes work. Janangus says.
[18:29] I think we'll put a wee thing there. We'll dig a wee trench there. We'll put a wee channel there. And we'll see how we got on. And everything was transformed. Now boys and girls.
[18:44] I'm not here to give you gardening advice. You know that. But. Sometimes in our lives. Do our hearts. End up looking a bit like a mess.
[18:57] They do. Don't they? And what is it that makes our hearts a mess? What's it called? Michael? Sin. Sin makes our hearts.
[19:09] Into a mess. And when we see that mess. And we start feeling like we're sinking. And it's getting worse and worse. Sometimes we try and fix it ourselves. And we think. Well. I'll try harder not to do this.
[19:21] And I'll try harder. To do. More good things. And less bad things. And I'll try really hard. And things will be sorted out. And are they? They're not.
[19:31] Because we can't fix our hearts ourselves. So we need to ask for help. And we don't phone Jean Angus. To help us with our hearts.
[19:42] Who do we? Who do we ask for help? When we see the sin in our hearts. Yeah? We ask God. We ask Jesus. Don't we? We ask Jesus.
[19:55] And see the psalm that we were singing just a minute ago. In Psalm 40. It said in the psalm. It said. He took me from the fearful pit.
[20:07] And from the mighty clay. And on a rock. He set my feet. He put my feet. Establishing. Making us steady. So if we want the mess of our hearts.
[20:23] Fixed. If we want someone to come in to our hearts. And take the sin away. And make us steady.
[20:34] And save us. Then we call upon Jesus. Don't we? We see Jesus in that psalm. He's the one.
[20:46] Who lifts us. From the mud. And the muck. Out of the sin of our hearts. He's the one. Who makes us safe. He's the one. Who takes us from the pit. That the Bible speaks of.
[20:57] Hell. And promises us. That when we're trusting in him. He will give us heaven. So. I'm going to give you a verse. And you can take the verse.
[21:08] With you. And you can think about it. And try and remember it. Romans chapter 10. Verse 13. Says. Everyone. Who calls. On the name. Of the Lord.
[21:18] Will. Be saved. We can't save ourselves. But Romans 10. 13. Everyone. Who calls.
[21:29] On the name. Of the Lord. Will. Be. Saved. So boys and girls. And mums and dads. And grannies and shenners. And everybody in between. Let's be encouraged this morning.
[21:41] To call. Upon the name. Of the Lord Jesus. And ask him. To save us. To make us safe. In this world. And forever. We'll pray about that now.
[21:54] Lord God. We thank you. For the fact. That you love us enough. To tell us. That the mess. That we see. In our own hearts. Is a mess. We thank you.
[22:05] That you've. You've told us. That the. The mess in our hearts. Is called sin. But we thank you. Lord Jesus. That you are the one. Who came to this world. And you said.
[22:16] I've come to seek. And to save the lost. I've come. For sinners. And we thank you. That when. We cry out. When we call upon the name. Of the Lord Jesus.
[22:27] He is the one. Who is able to. To hear our prayers. And help us. We thank you. That he. Is the one. Who went to a cross. To take our sin away.
[22:38] And to make. Us safe. Forever. So help us. We pray. To be. Looking to. And calling upon. The name.
[22:48] Of the Lord Jesus. Save us. We pray. And we ask this. In Jesus name. And for his sake. Amen. Okay boys and girls.
[22:59] You can. Head now through. To Sunday school. And.
[23:16] We'll. Turn now. In our Bibles. To. To. Look chapter 9. Luke chapter 9 and we'll read from verses 1 to verse 17.
[23:49] This is God's word. When Jesus had called the twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases.
[24:02] And he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He told them, take nothing for the journey. No staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic.
[24:15] Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town as a testimony against them.
[24:26] So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere. 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.
[24:42] Others that Elijah had appeared and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. But Herod said, I beheaded John. Who then is this I hear such things about?
[24:54] And he tried to see him. 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.
[25:09] But the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God and healed those who needed healing. Late in the afternoon, the twelve came to him and said, Sight in the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging because we are in a remote place here.
[25:31] He replied, you give them something to eat. They answered, we have only five loaves of bread and two fish unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.
[25:41] About five thousand men were there. But he said to his disciples, make them sit down in groups of about fifty each. The disciples did so and everybody sat down.
[25:53] Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. They all ate and were satisfied.
[26:07] And the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. I'm just going to read on a couple more verses. Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, Who do the crowd say I am?
[26:23] They replied, Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life. But what about you? He asked.
[26:34] Who do you say I am? Peter answered. The Christ of God. Amen. And may God bless that reading of his word to us.
[26:50] We'll pray for a moment as we turn back to you. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you once more for the privilege, for the opportunity, for the freedom that we have to open your word.
[27:06] We're mindful of many who do not have such freedom. Some of whom we heard of even on Wednesday evening of this week past. Those in the church across the world who are desperately persecuted because of their faith in Christ.
[27:23] And yet who continue to meet, risking life even in doing so. We thank you Lord that we have freedom. We thank you that we have opportunity. We thank you that we have the desire to be here.
[27:36] And we ask that you would meet with us Lord as we bow before you. We pray for some who have no desire to be here. We pray for some who perhaps were given opportunity to come today or in the evening.
[27:49] And who declined it. We pray for some who once had eyes fixed on Christ and who now have eyes on this world.
[28:01] And we ask Lord that you would minister to them. That you would open eyes once more to see Jesus. And enable each of us to be able to see and say what Peter said.
[28:13] You are the Christ. The Son of God. The Messiah. The Savior of sinners. Help us Lord to see that we pray. We pray that for ourselves here in this room.
[28:26] We pray that for the children. As the word of God is open simply to them. That you would give them faith. That they would believe. That they would walk close with Christ all the days of their lives.
[28:40] We pray for the churches that are around us. Different denominations. We thank you that the gospel is preached in each of them. And we ask that you would add your blessing. That you would build your church in this place.
[28:53] And we ask that you would help us now. We cannot hear. We cannot see. We cannot speak. We cannot understand unless the Holy Spirit works in us and through us.
[29:04] And so we ask that you would send your spirit. That we may be reached by you through your word. And for any Lord who may be distracted.
[29:16] Any who may have anxious thoughts that take their minds off different places. Because even in this hour. We pray Lord that you would set these minds at peace.
[29:28] As we look to you. So hear our prayers. And help us Lord. As we open your word. And we pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.
[29:39] Amen. If you could have your Bibles open. At Luke chapter 9. That would be helpful. One thing that we are perhaps more aware of.
[30:06] As those who live in this place. Than others who may live in cities. Or who may live in land. Is we are aware of the movement of the sea.
[30:18] We cannot help but see. Day by day. The movement of the waters. As the tide comes in. The water levels rise.
[30:31] And then the tide goes out. We see this constant. We see this continual movement. In the landscape. That God has put us in. And that's something that was on my mind.
[30:45] As I looked at this chapter. We see it throughout all the Gospels. We see it throughout Luke's Gospel. We see it in a particular way in this chapter. We see that kind of coming in.
[30:59] And going out movement. Between Jesus. And the disciples. And I want just to look. In the time that we have. And I'll try to be disciplined. In my time this morning.
[31:09] I want to look at the. At the two scenes. That we read in the first 17 verses. We see Jesus. Sending out the 12.
[31:20] That's the first section. That's the first point. And we'll spend a bit more time. On that point. Verses 1 to 9. Jesus. He sends out the 12. In his name.
[31:31] To do his work. And in the second scene. That we have. From verse 10. Through to verse 17. As we have that. A very famous. Episode. That's recorded.
[31:42] In all the Gospels. When Jesus feeds the. The 5,000 men. Probably more likely. To be 15,000 people. Because the woman. And the children. Wouldn't have been counted. In that.
[31:53] In that culture. So we'll look at these two points. These two scenes. So. First of all. We see Jesus. Sending out the 12. That's what the heading says.
[32:04] In my Bible. Jesus. He sends out the 12. But the. The thing I want us to see. Before we. Focus on that. And what they do. When they go out. Is.
[32:15] Is that. Before they go out. Jesus first calls them to come in. Yes. He sends out the 12. But before the 12. Go out. In his name. He first calls them in.
[32:27] And so we see the disciples. In the first instance. Abiding with Jesus. That's the first. Point. Or the first. Section. Under the first point. The first scene.
[32:38] Is Jesus sending out the 12. But within that. We see. A. Jesus. Calling the. The disciples. To abide with him. So we see the disciples.
[32:49] Abiding. With Jesus. When Jesus. Had called the 12. Together. He gave them power. Now I mentioned a moment or two ago. The. The movement of the sea.
[33:01] The tide comes in. The tide goes out. And. That's necessary. If that was to stop. There would be chaos. There would be environmental chaos. That's. Necessary for the health of the ocean.
[33:13] It's necessary for the health of the whole. Environment. And for the. The spiritual health and effectiveness. Of the disciples. This. This coming. This coming in and going out movement.
[33:24] Is a. A necessary. And it's a healthy thing. That same movement. That we note here. Of coming in.
[33:35] To Jesus. And then going out. In the name of Jesus. It was. And it is. Necessary. For disciples. Back then. And for disciples.
[33:46] Christians. Today. Jesus. Called the 12. Together. To be. To be with him. Together. And he called.
[33:56] The 12. Together. To be with each other. They were together. In fellowship. And it was. When they were together. As believers.
[34:08] And together. With him. That he. He gave them. Power. They didn't have. Power of their own. The power.
[34:20] The power. That they. They needed. To be disciples. Of Jesus. To go out. In the name of Jesus. Jesus. Was received. As they. Spent time. With him.
[34:30] As they. Abided. With him. So. Jesus. He calls them in. They're with him. They're with each other.
[34:42] In fellowship. They're given power. And then. He sends them out. Most of us.
[34:54] Have power tools. In our garages. And. Take for an example. An electric drill. How. How does it work?
[35:05] Well you don't just go. To your garage. And. Pick up an electric drill. That's been sitting on a shelf. For 10 years. And expect it's going to work. You pick it up. You plug it in.
[35:17] You let it. Receive. The power that it needs. For the time. That it needs to. To be charged up. And only then. Can it be used. To do the job. That you need to do.
[35:29] And that's. Very simply. What we're seeing here. The time. Spent with Jesus. The time. Spent with. With each other. In the presence.
[35:40] Of Jesus. Was. Time. Where the disciples. Were empowered. Where they were. Charged up. To be tools. In the hands of Jesus.
[35:52] And then. And only then. He sent them out. With a job to do. I don't know. How many.
[36:03] YF talks. I heard. Over the years. But I can only remember. Two or three of them. I would have heard.
[36:13] And given. Thousands. But I can only remember. Two or three of them. And one YF talk. That I heard. That I've never forgotten. Was by a.
[36:23] A man called. Jim Lyon. Who came from. The faith mission. And he was very straight. With the. The kids. Of the YF. And he. He challenged us.
[36:36] At one point. And in his. In his warm. Northern Irish accent. He said. Are you an instrument. Or are you an ornament.
[36:48] Are you an ornament. Like. An old. China. House. Sitting on your granny's. Mantle piece. Gathering dust. Looking pretty.
[36:59] But doing nothing. Or he says. Are you. An instrument. Someone. That can be. Used. In the hands.
[37:10] Of Jesus. To do. What he calls us. To do. Are you an instrument. Are you an ornament. And these disciples.
[37:22] Flawed as they were. They were instruments. In the hands. Of Jesus. But in order for them. And in order for us.
[37:32] As flawed disciples. If we are believers. In Jesus. In order for us. To be. Empowered. To be tools. To be instruments. In the hands of Christ.
[37:46] And he sends us out. In this place. We need first of all. To be abiding with him. So that's the first. Element within this.
[37:57] We see. Jesus sending out the twelve. But. Before. They go out. They abide with. With Jesus. The second point. Under this heading is.
[38:08] They receive authority. From Jesus. So they abide with Jesus. And then they receive authority. From Jesus. Verses one and two. When Jesus.
[38:19] Called the twelve together. He gave them power. And authority. To drive out. All demons. And to cure. Diseases. And he sent them out. To preach the kingdom of God. And to heal.
[38:30] The sick. Now notice. Here again. The source of power. And authority.
[38:41] The disciples. Having spent time with Jesus. They don't go out. With an authority of their own. Jesus doesn't say to them.
[38:52] You know. Off you go. You can do it. Just believe in yourselves. You've got it in you. Now that's not what he said. He. He sends them out. With a power.
[39:04] And authority. That. That came from him. And that was evident. In the things that they did. As they healed the sick. As they drove out demons. The authority that Christ.
[39:16] Gave them. Was evident. In and through them. Now we might ask the question. Well as. Disciples of Jesus. Today. What. Authority. Do we go out with.
[39:27] Well. We go out with an authority. Not so much to. To heal the sick. And drive out demons. That's not the ministry. That God has. Has called. Us to.
[39:37] I think. In any. Sort of primary way. God is still able. To do that. But he sends us out. As believers. With the authority. Of his word.
[39:54] God's word. Is authoritative. It will stand. When everything else. Falls. Matthew 24.
[40:07] Verse 35. Jesus. Said. Heaven and earth. Will pass away. But my words. Will never. Pass. Away. Amen. Remember.
[40:20] As a. Ten year old boy. Probably. In Aberdeen. We used to. Used to go to a brethren. Sunday school. In a wee gospel hall. And on Saturday night.
[40:31] They used to take us out to. A leisure center. In Aberdeen. Kingcorth. We went to something called. Camp club. And for about two hours. We would play football.
[40:43] Then go and get high on sugar. From the tuck shop. And then there would be a wee talk. There'd be choruses. And so many of these choruses. That we sang. Are still.
[40:53] Bouncing around in my head. All these years later. When I was reading. The notes. On. On this passage. The. The chorus.
[41:04] Came back to my mind. That we used to sing. Kingdoms may rise. Kingdoms may fall. Nations refuse. To heed God's call. But the word of the Lord.
[41:17] Endures. Forevermore. And that's what our authority is. You know. I have no authority.
[41:27] Whatsoever. To stand up. And proclaim anything. But what. The Bible says. To absolutely no point.
[41:42] In me standing up. And giving you my thoughts. Or my opinions. On what's going on in the world. I have no authority to do that. The only authority I have.
[41:53] Is to. Proclaim what the Bible says. So I. I must preach that. But the situation today. Is that most people today.
[42:05] Even here. Don't come to church. They don't hear preaching. So the reality is. That. Your life.
[42:17] And mine. As we move around. In this community. Is the only Bible. That many people. Will ever read. So through our lives.
[42:33] If we are believers. As Jesus. Sends us out. Into this community. We are to. Preach the kingdom of God.
[42:48] We are to preach. That there is a king. We are to preach. That there is a king. Like no other king. A king who.
[43:02] As the hymn goes. Laid aside his majesty. Gave up everything for me. Suffered at the hands. Of those. He had created.
[43:13] Who took all our guilt. And shame. When he died. And rose again. Now in. Heaven he reigns.
[43:24] And heaven and earth. Exalted. People don't know. That there is a king. And it's our job.
[43:39] To tell him. There is a king. Who is ruling. Over all. And his name is. Is Jesus.
[43:50] Jesus. The disciples. The disciples mission. Back in. In Luke chapter 9. Was. And the. Disciples mission. Today.
[44:00] Still is. To go and tell. The world about him. God. You know. It's easy for us. To talk about church. And sometimes.
[44:13] It's necessary. For us to talk about church. But. People need to hear. About Jesus. So be challenged. Be encouraged. Start with myself.
[44:24] In conversation. If we are believers. Tell people. About Jesus. Maybe. Especially. In this.
[44:35] Current context. That we're in. It seems so chaotic. The world. All of a sudden. Became so unpredictable. People were so anxious. People. Were so afraid.
[44:46] Everything. Looked to be. In meltdown. What do people. Need to hear. That there's a king. He's reigning. He's ruling.
[44:57] He's sovereign. He has all this. Under control. And he calls us. To trust him. Is he trustworthy?
[45:11] We'll look to the cross. And see how trustworthy. He is. What other king. Laid aside his majesty. What other king. Can we find in history. Who gave up.
[45:21] Everything for us. Who suffered. At the hands. He had created. What other king. Took all our guilt. And shame. And died.
[45:32] And rose again. To save us. People need to hear. About Jesus. But this mission.
[45:45] Remember. It's not just about. The things we say. It's about what we do. Alistair Bega. Said. Sometimes the gospel.
[45:55] Is best. Felt. Not tellt. Sometimes the gospel. Is best felt. Not tellt. And the disciples.
[46:06] Were sent out. By Jesus. Not simply. To tell. The world. About him. But to care. For those who were struggling. To care for those who were sick.
[46:18] To care for those. Who were. Who were cast down. To show compassion. To those who were sick. To those who were troubled. That was part of the mission.
[46:28] Still is. General Booth. Who was the foundation. The founder. Of the Salvation Army. He was once. Criticised.
[46:40] He had lots. Of ministry. Down in London. Where there was. So much. Poverty. On the streets. And he cared. For the drunks. He cared. For the diner nights. And he was once.
[46:50] Criticised. By another religious leader. For offering. Material care. To people. When he should just be. Telling them. The gospel message. And he responded.
[47:01] By saying. It is impossible. To comfort. Men's hearts. With the love of God. When their feet. Are perishing. With cold. So he was putting.
[47:13] Shoes on their feet. Before he. He gave them the message. Of Christ's compassion. And we are.
[47:24] Sent out. In Jesus name. And yes. People should be able. To hear. Clearly from us. About Jesus. And his love. And what he's done for us.
[47:39] But equally. People. Should be able. To feel. From us. Something. Of the love. And the compassion. Of Jesus.
[47:51] Are you aware. Of someone. Who's lonely. And depressed. Don't just. Ping them. A text. Verse. Of scripture. And say.
[48:03] My job is done. Go and sit with them. In the darkness. As they struggle. As they struggle. Are you aware. Of somebody. Who's hungry. Don't just tell them.
[48:16] The Lord will provide. Use some of what he's put. In your cupboards. To make them a meal. There are.
[48:27] Practical things. We can do. And we are called to do. So that people. Will. Will be able to. To feel the gospel. Through us. And not just.
[48:39] Hear the gospel. From us. So these. Disciples. They're. They're sent out. By Jesus. He sends out the twelve. But before he sends them out.
[48:50] They're to abide with them. As he sends them out. He gives them authority. There's authority. From Jesus. And the third thing. The final thing here. Is that he sends them out.
[49:00] As ambassadors. For him. As ambassadors. For Jesus. Now the UK. Like every other country. Has ambassadors. Who go out.
[49:11] From this country. From their home. To other countries. On business. On specific missions. And these disciples. They were ambassadors.
[49:21] For Christ. And so Jesus. As he sends them out. He gives them. instructions. On how they're. To conduct themselves. As they go out.
[49:31] In his name. On his business. And he told them. Verse three. Take nothing. For the journey. No staff. No bag. No bread. No money. No extra tunic.
[49:47] Max Lucado. Wrote a book. With the title. Traveling Light. And essentially. That's what Jesus. Says to his disciples. As he sends them. Out the door. He says.
[49:57] Travel Light. You don't need. To pack a suitcase. You don't need. A staff. Leave the baseball bat.
[50:07] At home. I will protect you. You don't need. A bag full of stuff. Because. Your stuff. Will just. Hold you back. And slow you down.
[50:19] You don't need. To take bread. Or money. Or an extra coat. Because. I'll provide. Everything that you need. Whatever house. You enter. Verse four.
[50:30] Stay there. Until you leave. That town. Don't go looking. For a five star accommodation. Says Jesus. That's not the priority. Somebody gives you. A place to stay.
[50:41] Stay in it. Contentedly. You're only going to be. In that place. For a short while. And you won't have time. Says Jesus. To put your feet up.
[50:51] For so. For too long. You've got a mission. To fulfill. So focus on that. Wearspeed. The commentator. Says. This tour. That Jesus was sending them out on.
[51:03] Was not to be a holiday. So they were exhorted. To travel light. And live by faith. And Jesus says to them.
[51:13] Don't be put off by opposition. It's going to come. Verse five. If people do not welcome you. Shake the dust. Off your feet. When you leave their town.
[51:23] As a testimony against them. So they set out. And went from village to village. Preaching the gospel. And healing people. Everywhere. And all this.
[51:35] As we look in on the disciples. At this juncture. In their ministry. All this is a. Is a picture. For us. If we're Christians. Paul reminds us.
[51:49] In 2 Corinthians 5. 20. We are ambassadors. For Christ. That's our calling. That's our primary calling. It's our first calling.
[52:00] Our first calling. Is not to make money. It's not to build up. A healthy business. A good reputation. It's not to. Make sure. Our children. Are the. The best educated.
[52:10] Best behaved. Our primary calling. Is to be ambassadors. For Christ. And so.
[52:22] We're to live that way. Remembering. Why we're here. Remembering. This world. Is not our home. Hebrews 13.
[52:35] 14. We have no. Continuing city here. But we seek one to come. So we're to travel light. And we're to stay on mission.
[52:49] I told you before. Some. Probably some years ago now. About friends of ours.
[52:59] Who. Who were hoping to build a house. Just outside. Inverness. And. They. Stayed in their mobile home. On the side. Just until they got things.
[53:10] Organized. Until the planning permission. Came through. The planning permission. Took longer. A lot longer. Than they expected. To come through. The whole process. Of. Of getting the.
[53:20] The job up and running. Was. A lot more onerous. Than they. Than they realized. And so they ended up. In the. The mobile home. In the caravan. For a bit longer. Than they expected.
[53:31] But. During the time. They were in it. They didn't make it luxurious. They remembered. Always. That they were going to be there. Just for a while.
[53:44] So they. They saved. They. Made sure. That. Their investments. Were not. On. On. Making luxurious.
[53:54] Something that was so temporary. But they wanted to. To focus. On what was. Longer term. And it's just a picture. We're here. We're here just for a while.
[54:06] We forget that. But we're here. Just for a while. James says. This. This life is like a mist. And then there's eternity.
[54:20] So we're to travel light. If we're Christians. We're to stay on mission. Verse 7. Now Herod.
[54:32] The tetrarch. Had. Heard. About all that was going on. And. Was perplexed. Because some were saying that John.
[54:43] Had been raised from the dead. Others that Elijah had appeared. And still others that one of the prophets. Of long ago had come back to life. But Herod said. I beheaded John. Who then is this?
[54:55] I hear such things about. And he tried. To see him. And in some ways. I think.
[55:07] We wonder what this is doing here. Because we've had quite a focused. Narrative on. On Jesus. And the disciples. Sending them out. And then all of a sudden.
[55:20] Luke takes the camera. And he swings it over. On to this new character. Herod. And we wonder. Why. Why are we. Being.
[55:31] Caused to look at Herod. All of a sudden. And having. Thought about this. For a few days. I think the reason. That we've been shown Herod.
[55:43] Is that Herod. Is a warning to us. Herod. Is an example. Of what. Verse 5. Looks like. In real personal terms. Verse 5.
[55:56] Jesus says. The disciples. If people do not welcome you. Shake. The dust. Off your feet. When you leave their town. As a testimony. Against them. And I think.
[56:08] We're seeing Herod. Here. In the cloud of dust. Herod. Had heard. The gospel. Many. Many. Times. Through. John the Baptist.
[56:18] Christ. But Herod. Did not welcome it. In fact. He rejected it. And he imprisoned.
[56:30] John. And then. He beheaded. John. And now. It seems. That as there's. This stir. Caused. By the disciples.
[56:40] Going out. Herod says. I think. After all this time. I want now. To meet Jesus. Send for him. So it says.
[56:51] In verse 9. Herod. Tried. To see. Jesus. But it seems. That for Herod. The opportunity.
[57:02] Had passed. Eventually. Herod. Does get. To meet Jesus. It's in Luke. Chapter. 23.
[57:14] But in the verses. If you. Scan them later. You can see. That although. Herod. Got to meet Jesus. Jesus. Had nothing. Now. To say.
[57:24] To Herod. The opportunity. Had passed. It's a warning. And I think.
[57:37] We. We need to just. Take that on board. Don't make the. Mistake. That Herod. Did. He heard.
[57:49] The gospel. Many times. He liked. To hear it. But. Week. By week. He rejected it. And eventually.
[58:03] Jesus. Rejected him. It's not what I. Intended to finish. But.
[58:14] Time is gone. So. We're going to. Finish there. Let's pray. heavenly father we thank you for your word we thank you for the the clarity of the the gospel we thank you for the fact that Jesus is the king he is the king of kings we thank you for all that he did laying aside his majesty coming to this world as the servant king the one who laid down his life to save us the one who came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many we thank you for the cross of christ for that place where he went to make an end of all our sin we thank you for his blood that was shed that brings forgiveness to all who look to who call upon who trust in him and we thank you lord for the the gospel message which went out from the disciples through the disciples across land and sea we thank you for the the gospel message the good news about Jesus which we have heard which we have received by faith some of us and which we are sent out to proclaim we confess lord that we forget that we are here just for a while sometimes we forget about the reality of eternity sometimes we forget about the the danger that those around us are in who are outside of christ so we thank you lord for the reminder that we have in this passage and we pray that as the disciples were sent out that we would be sent out today that we would speak to people about Jesus that we would seek to to care for people and show compassion to people and love people like Jesus and we pray that we would use us that we would not be like ornaments on the shelf gathering dust but we pray that we would be instruments in the hands of Jesus those who having spent time with him now go out as ambassadors for him so hear our prayers we pray for any who may be in the dangerous position that Herod was in for so long pray for any who may be watching who may be listening who like to listen who like to watch who have an interest in the things of God who at this time are still resisting and rejecting Christ we pray that even today there may be some there may be someone even who who repents of sin who believes in Jesus and who is saved so hear our prayers and take away our sin and we pray this in Jesus name
[61:44] Amen we're going to hear the hymn sung as we finish 1209 in Mission Praise 1209 in Mission Praise my heart is filled with thankfulness to him who bore my pain who plumbed the depths of my disgrace and gave me life again who crushed my curse of sinfulness and clothed me with his light and wrote his law of righteousness and put with power upon my heart so we hear the gospel through that hymn and then as the hymn finishes we're sent out in Jesus name so I will give my life my all to love and follow him we hear this hymn sung to God's praise my heart my heart is filled with thankfulness to him who bore my pain who blown the depths of my disgrace and gave me life again who crushed my curse of sinfulness and clothed me with his light and wrote his law of righteousness with power upon my heart my heart is filled with thankfulness to him who walks beside who floods my weaknesses with strength and causes fears to fly whose every promise is enough for every step
[64:01] I take I take sustaining me with arms of love and crowning me with grace my heart is filled with thankfulness to him who reigns above whose wisdom is my perfect peace whose every thought is love for every day I have on earth is given by the king so I will give my life my all to love and follow him I was hearing about we're just about to have the benediction don't worry this is not sermon part two
[65:03] I was hearing a story this week past about a church I think it was down in Glasgow direction and just above the door on the way out on the exit point there's a there's a plaque and for every person that's heading out of the church the last thing they see before they walk through the door is a wee plaque and it just says this you are now entering the mission field maybe we should take that with us today we've seen the disciples being sent out but if we are Christ's people we are his disciples today we are being sent out you are about to enter the mission field so let's stand for the benediction and I may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of God the Holy
[66:04] Spirit be with us all both now and forevermore amen amen man God by the king always