I've Got To Open My Doors!
Courageous • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 4 viewsGod give us power and love and self-control and not fear. So be courageous in your walk in life.
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3 And He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics apiece. 4 “Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city. 5 “And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
Introduction:
This was the first time Jesus sent His disciples out alone; therefore, it a significant event. The instructions given by Jesus to the early disciples are needed by every generation of believers. It is the only sure way the world can ever be reached and grounded in the Lord.
1. Their call: to come together for ministry (v. 1).
the disciples’ call was to come together for ministry. Jesus had to call His disciples back together. Note the word together The word reveals several things to us.
a. The disciples had families and responsibilities. We tend to glamorize the disciples and Jesus, forgetting the disciples were ordinary men with day-to-day duties. They were not with the Lord at this time. They had to spend some time at home taking care of their families and whatever other duties they had. No doubt they did spend most of their time with Jesus as traveling evangelists, but at certain times, they returned home in order to tend to family affairs.
b. The basic ingredient for ministry is togetherness. Note the words, “called … together.” The very thrust of the words points to the importance of coming together.
27 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,
His ministry had been successful. Multitudes knew of His coming to earth, many had been helped and some did believe and trust. Now, before He left the area, He wanted to reach out one more time to those who were close to believing and to more deeply root and ground those who already believed.
2. Their equipment: the Lord’s power and authority (v. 1).
“Power … over all devils.” The word “all” means that the disciple was to have power over all kinds of evil, no matter how evil and enslaving, strong and fierce, subtle and undetected. It also points to the glorious purpose of Jesus. He had come to defeat and conquer the evil forces of this world, to rout and triumph over “all” of them.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus equipped His disciples with power and with the authority to use that power. Power is the gift, the necessary resource to minister; authority is the right to minister. The disciple has to decide when and where to exercise his power (resource). The awesome responsibility for such power should help to keep the disciple on his face before God, acknowledging his total dependence upon God. It should also help the disciple to seek a closeness with God, a true sensitivity to the Spirit of God.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
3. Their mission: to preach and minister (v. 2).
4. Their method (vv. 3–5).
The disciples’ method was threefold.
a. They were not to seek success through personal appearance and materialism. They were to live in utter simplicity and humility. This was the point of the things Christ listed (v. 3. See note—Mk. 6:8–13 for more discussion.) Christ was saying three things to the disciples.
1) The need and the hour were urgent. Concentrate on preaching and ministering. Do not get sidetracked.
“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2).
2) Learn to believe and trust God day by day. Become a living example of what is being preached: faith in God. Do not begin to trust in the things of the world. Learn to trust God daily, and then others can learn what is meant by “believing” and “trusting” God through your example.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Mt. 6:33).
3) Avoid the very appearance of evil. Having your mind upon the things of this world will distract from God and from the needs of men and from the ministry. Become attached to God and to His kingdom alone; not to money, houses, lands, cars, clothes, hairstyles, appearance, food, buying, selling, and accumulating. Be heavenly-minded and ministry-centered, so that men may know there is a far better land than what this earth offers.
“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Ro. 8:5–6).
5 (9:6) Obedience: they went forth and preached and ministered. The disciples did exactly what Christ had commissioned them to do. They did not fail in the least.
a. They departed. There was no hesitation, no question, no condition, no hanging back, no slowness to move.
b. They went through the towns. They reached a home and ministered to its surrounding community, ever moving farther and farther out into the whole town. And then they moved on to another town to bear witness to its people as well.
c. They preached and ministered “everywhere.” They had an extensive ministry, very successful in its outreach, ministering to both soul (preaching) and body (healing).
“Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word” (Ac. 8:4).
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Ti. 4:2).
“Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God” (Lu. 9:60).
(9:4) Church, In Homes: the method Christ chose for evangelizing was the method of home evangelism (see 10:5f). Note this, for it should speak loudly and clearly to us. The disciple was to carefully investigate and search out a receptive family and home. He was to make that home the center for ministry. Note several things about this method.
1. It emphasizes the family, making it the very hub of ministry.
2. It stresses stability, security, and settledness. Nothing on earth is to be any more secure and stable than the family. By placing the center of ministry in the home, the Kingdom of God becomes secure and stable.
3. It centers preaching and ministering in the community, right where people live and walk. It makes the presence of Christ visible to all in day-to-day living.
4. It serves as the center from which the message can move out in an ever-widening circle, spreading from family to family.
The most ideal form of evangelism is probably this method given by Christ: a selected home and family serving as the center of witness within a community or town. The early church was definitely centered in the homes of committed believers (Ac. 5:42; 12:12; 16:40; 20:20; 1 Co. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Phm. 2).
5. They were to warn rejecters. If a community or city did not receive their witness and if a home could not be found that would receive them, then the disciple was to leave.
1) He was not to force the issue or create a bad situation either for the rejecters or for himself. There was to be no tongue-lashing, accusation, or divisiveness created.
2) He was simply to leave; and as he left, he was to give a silent testimony against them. He was to shake the very dust from his feet. This was a symbol of serious judgment. It meant that not even the dust of that place was worthy of the gospel of God, much less the people. The place and its people were left to themselves just as they had wished. They were left without God and His glorious news of salvation, so they were to be left alone to govern their own lives just as they had willed. God would abandon them to their own way and choice of life.
Prayer of Salvation!
John 3:3 - No man can see the Kingdom of Heaven, but by Me.
John 3:5 - …You must be born again; Don’t look for autonomy when God has given us simplicity.
A - Admit (Admitting I’m a sinner. My goodness is not good enough, I need help. I was born with a condition called sin, all of us were; all have sin and fall short of the glory of God. That’s God’s Word! And I can’t fix it with money, self medicating, good deeds, it’s only through the cross.) Something is broken on the inside. I don’t need a chance I need a second birth. I’m a mistaker in need of correction, I’m a sinner in need of a Savior.
B - Believe (Believing that God sent His Son to be my substitute. He didn’t just die for me He died instead of me. We can’t get there on our own we have to believe. He became my sin barrier.
C - Confess (Confess Him as Lord. You’re in charge of my life. Not just for 75mins of a church service but for my entire life.)
Sinners Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus I believe You’re the Son of God, I believe that on the cross you took my sins, my shame, and my guilt and You died for it. You faced hell for me so I wouldn’t have to go. You rose from the dead for me to give me a place in Heaven, a purpose on earth, and a relationship with Your Father. Today Lord Jesus I turn from my sins to be born again.
(Shout it)
GOD IS MY FATHER
JESUS IS MY SAVIOR
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS MY HELPER
AND HEAVEN IS MY HOME!
In Jesus Name Amen!
Welcome Home! Welcome to the family of God! If you prayed this pray text “decided” to 770-525-4161.