Summoned to Serve

Mark 6:6b-13

If you brought your bibles turn with me over to the Gospel of Mark chapter six. The Gospel of Mark chapter six, and in a moment we are going to read, from the end of verse six through verse thirteen, of the Gospel of Mark chapter six.

 Nothing destroys an institution, a cooperation, or a business like when people get off track and forget what they are supposed to be doing. When people lose sight of the mission, they forget their purpose.

So many great institutions in America seem to have lost there way, and you can probably name some of them yourself.

For example, from the moment the NBA began co-mingling themselves in politics their ratings began to plummet. The same thing can be said of the mainstream news networks, who do not really report information anymore but, they spin stories, based on their political opinions.

The Oscars were on television a couple weeks ago, but I doubt you noticed, because no one was watching. We are not interested, because Hollywood is no longer about making movies that are entertaining, but they have become a left wing propaganda machine..

We see the same thing in the education system. A system designed to teach children reading, writing, arithmetic, has become a social justice tool now. The point is, when any institution loses sight of what it is supposed to do, it is doomed to fail, and the same thing is true of the church.

If you are here this morning and you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are apart of this great institution we call the church. But, It is more than an institution, it’s a living, breathing organism.

We are the body of Christ. And if you are apart of the church, you are an ambassador of the Kingdom of God.  Every one of us must understand what the mission of the church is. So, we do not lose our way and forget our purpose.

One of the reasons you do not hear me talk about some of the examples I have used today is, because that is not our mission. That is not our purpose as the church. (talk to me in the office)

Our purpose as the church, is to to exalt Christ. And we do that by fulfilling the great commandment and the great commission given to us by Christ.

In Matt. 22:37-39 Jesus gave us the great commandment, He said, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.”

And in Matthew 28:18–20, He gave us the Great Commission, He 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;”

That is the purpose and the mission of the church. We are to bring glory to God by loving Him, loving others, and then teaching others how to do the same. Every member of the church is a minister, and every minister is a missionary.

That is what we learn from our passage this morning. We are going to see the very beginning of our mission as a church, and the beginning of our purpose as Christians. What we learn is; Jesus calls us to join Him on His mission in the world.

Mark 6:6–13 KJV

And he went round about the villages, teaching. And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats. And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. And they went out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.

 Lets Pray,

Heavenly Father, I thank you for your Word. I pray Your Word would speak to the hearts and the minds of your people.

Lord, I pray I could make clear what the Bible says, and that It would give wisdom and understanding to those who hear.

Lord, bless our time together, In Jesus Name, Amen!!

 Our passage this morning teaches us that we are called to be on mission in this world. If you are saved and living for God, you have been equipped and empowered by Christ to carry on His work. Our success as God’s people and as a church is measured by our commitment to the mission.

We will look at this passage in four parts. First, we will see The Priority in verse 6b. As Jesus sets the example for the disciples and shows them what the priority of the mission is.

Then we will see The Summons in Vs. 7. As Jesus calls the disciples, He commissions them, and He empowers them for the mission. Then we will see The Instructions in Vs 8-11. Jesus gives the disciples specific instructions of what He wants them to take with them.

Finally, we will look at The Service in Vs. 12-13. The disciples actually go out and serve God in the world. Keep in mind that all of this is an example for us today of who we are supposed to be as followers of Jesus Christ.

I. The Priority Vs. 6b

Every ministry must be clear about what it’s priority is. The priority of the church is to get the Word of God out. And to spread it as far and as wide as it can. Jesus sets the example for us. A good leader always leads by example.

Look at the end of  Vs. 6b “And He went round about the villages, teaching.” This verse literally reads, He was going around the villages in a circle.

And notice the emphasis is on teaching. That is what Jesus came to do. That was His lifestyle. He was teaching the good news of the Kingdom of God. He was teaching that mankind could be redeemed, saved, and made new.

And He was doing it from village to village, spreading the Word of God as far as He could, and then He would go back and do it again.

I am reminded of the parable of the sower. He went out and sowed the seed as liberally as he could. He spread the seed as far and wide as he could, and he didn’t care where the seed fell.

That is what Jesus is doing here. He is actively serving God with everything He had. He wasn’t just sitting around waiting for people to come to Him, He was going to them.

If we want to be like Christ and join Him in His work in the world, this must become our priority. We have to follow the example of Christ and take the message to the people around us.

I am reminded of Billy Graham. Billy Graham spent his entire life traveling the world proclaiming the Word of God, and just look at the impact he had on so many people’s life.

But, more importantly, consider the impact he had on his children. Today, we see Franklin, Ann, and Ruth all following in their father’s footsteps.

The point is; You might not be Billy Graham. You might not be able to travel the world and spread the gospel, but you can have an impact on your children, your family, and your friends by faithfully serving God with your life. By following the example of Jesus and teaching them how to do it.

 That is our priority. Jesus did not wait for people to come to Him to hear about God, He took God to the people. And He calls us to do the same. He calls us to join Him on His mission in the world.

That is one of the reasons, I wanted to start the outreach team here at the church. so, that you and I can work together, and being on mission with Christ, in Millersburg, and the surrounding area. So, that we as a church can fulfil the great Commandment of God, and the great commission of Christ!!

So, the first thing we see in this passage is the priority of the mission. We are all called to share our faith with those around us. And to spread the gospel like Jesus did. He is our leader and our example. The second thing I want you to see in this story is

II. The Summons Vs. 7.

“And He called unto Him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two.”

 I want you to notice Jesus called them. The disciples did not volunteer for this. There wasn’t a sign- up sheet.

This was a “summons.” The word “called here is intense. It literally means they were called to stand before Him face to face. It reminds me of John 15:16, where Jesus tells them “you didn’t choose me, but I chose you.”

And that is true of everyone of us sitting here today. You have been chosen by God. He has chosen you to serve Him with your life. To proclaim Him to the world.

The disciples didn’t sign up for this. They were not consulted, they were summonsed. They were called to appear before the court of the king.

At the beginning of last year, I got summonsed for jury duty in Detroit. As I read the letter, I noticed they were not asking me if I was busy that day. In fact, they did not apologize for the inconvenience. No, they told me that I would be fined and go to jail if I did not appear. That is the type of summons we see in this story. This was God’s call on the life of the disciples.

This is an example of God’s call on our life as well. God’s call on our life, works in two ways. First, He calls us to be saved, and then He calls us to serve.

The call to be saved is a sovereign call of God to have a relationship with Him. To come out of the darkness and into the light. John 1:12 says, “As many as receive Him, He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” That is the call of salvation on your life. You are called to believe, receive, and become a child of God.

The second call, is a call to serve, and we see that in Mark 1:17, when Jesus is talking to the fishermen; Peter and Andrew and He says, “follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”

You see every believer is a minister and every minister is a missionary. And the call on our life is to be on mission as fishers of men.

(Pause)

Notice verse 7, not only does He summons them, but He commissions them. He sends them out in pairs. He tells them you are going to go with me. You are going to go to this village, and I am will go to that village, and His message becomes their message, and His ministry becomes their ministry. His priority becomes their priority.

 The fact that Jesus sends the disciples out in pairs, speaks to the importance of fellowship on this journey. God’s Word tells us in Genesis, it is not good for man to be alone. Ecclesiastes tells us that two are better than one, and a three -chord strand is hard to break.

That means It is you and me, plus Jesus and we are in this together. We need each other. We are better together. We are not on this journey alone. We are accountable to one another.

 I want you to notice there are three phrases in verse 7 and they are all connected by the word “and.”  It says, “And He summoned the twelve, and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.”

In other words, Jesus called them. He commissioned them, and He empowered them for their mission. We might not be performing exorcisms in this world, like the disciples were, but we are called, commissioned, and empowered just like the disciples.

   We have the power and the authority of the Word of God on our side, and with the help of the Holy Spirit we can bring healing and hope to the lost. We can bring forgiveness and deliverance to the afflicted and oppressed. God can do amazing things through His people if they are willing to serve Him.

Are you willing to serve Him? Are you willing to be empowered and mission with Christ as a witness to the world of your faith.

I think about how Moses stood before the burning bush and told God I don’t speak very well you need to send someone else. Jeremiah told God I am just a child no one will listen to me. Paul told God I have this thorn in my flesh and I could be so much better If you would just take it away. Let me ask you this, what are you negotiating with God about? what is your excuse for why you can’t serve God?

I am reminded of when I first began to preach here at NCBC. I gave God all the reasons why I shouldn’t be your Pastor. (God I am getting older, God I don’t know if I want to do this anymore, After 8 mos. of God continuing to send me back here every Sunday, I ran out of excuses.) what is your excuse for why you can’t serve God?

 So, the second thing we see in this passage is the summons.  Jesus calls us to join Him on His mission in the world. We have been summonsed!! The third thing I want you to see in this story is;

III. The Instructions Vs. 8-11   

Here Jesus gives the disciples instructions for their mission.        

Look at Vs. 8-9, “And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.”

These instructions all sound very strange to us, but what Jesus is saying here, is you need to have a sense of urgency. He is telling them they need to travel light. They don’t need any excess baggage in you life.

And the point is; what we do for God, we must do it today.  Don’t you feel that in this world? Don’t you feel like time is ticking away, and we need to have a passion for the mission of God in the world.  If Jesus wanted them to travel light and have a sense of urgency how much more do we need to be urgent today?

The message for us is clear, if we are going to serve God’s purpose for our life there are some things we are going to have to let go of. Things that are holding us back. Let me ask you this, what is the excess baggage in your life? What keeps you from serving God’s plan for you?

Each one of us are going to leave this world one day and we all want to go to heaven, but what you are going to find, is you can’t take anything with you. So, do not let anything hold you back and prevent you from making the journey.

 This story reminds me of when people go to climb Mount Everest. They are told to travel light. Do not take more than you need, because when you reach Hillary’s Step, the final push before you reach the summit all you can take is an oxygen bottle to breath.

People try to take all kinds of thigs to the top and many times they don’t come back because of it. Jesus is telling the disciples here to travel light the mission is urgent. You do not need excess baggage.

(Pause)

 Notice Vs. 11 says, “And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.”

     First, He tells them to “When you depart thence” In other words, you don’t have to stay where you are not wanted. You don’t have to stay where people refuse to believe in God, and you don’t have to fight with them about what you believe.

The message for us in this passage is; people are responsible for themselves. The disciples were responsible for going to the people and sowing the seed, the people were responsible to receive it.

  Then Jesus tells them to “shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.” This was a symbolic gesture the Jews would do, whenever they would leave a Gentile region. They would shake the dust off their feet. It is a gesture declaring them to be pagan unbelievers who are responsible for their own fate.

 When you consider Jesus had already been rejected by the people in our story. Remember, This is taking place in His hometown of Nazareth where He was rejected.

This shaking the dust off their feet becomes more serious. It becomes a final opportunity to receive Christ. If the missionary departs in rejection, it is a rejection of God leading to judgment. This all speaks to the seriousness, and finality of unbelief.

That is where we are at today. We are the missionaries. We are the disciples in this story, and we stand in the gap between man and God. We are offering people a final opportunity to receive and believe in Jesus, or reject and be lost.

And verse 11 tells us, as Christians we should expect opposition. There is a time a Christian must stand with God and reject unbelievers.

I have brothers and sisters who have grown up hearing the gospel, surrounded by people telling them about Jesus Christ and yet they refuse to believe. I have personally witnessed to them for thirty years. All I can do today is move on, and shake the dust off my feet.

   So, the third thing we see in this passage is the instructions Jesus gives for the disciples. They needed to have a sense of urgency and they needed to understand, they are not responsible for unbelief.

  Jesus calls us to join Him on His mission in the world. The final thing I want to show you in this story is;

IV. The Service Vs. 12-13

What we see here is; the disciples did what Christ had empowered them to do. They proclaimed the gospel, they delivered the message, and they brought healing and hope to the people.

But I want you to notice their message was demanding. Look at Vs. 12 “They proclaimed that men should repent.” In other words, they did not water down the message. They told the people the truth.

They told the people they needed to turn from their sin and turn toward God. That is what it means to repent. Repentance is to change your mind, to change your heart and to change your will and the result is the fruit of righteousness.

Today the church tries to sell a watered- down version of the gospel. A gospel with it’s teeth pulled and that will never make a difference in anyone’s life. There is no Gospel without repentance, and there is no salvation without the turning away from sin and turning toward God.

The greatest thing about repentance is that it doesn’t matter how far you have gone in the wrong direction Jesus Christ is always at the next exit. He is always waiting there with grace and forgiveness for those who want to get it right.

My wife, will tell you, I have this bad habit, when we are on a trip, of always talking while I am driving, and missing my exit. It’s not a question of whether I am going to miss my exit and go out of my way, the question is how far I am going to go before I realize it.

The good news is Jesus is always the next exit that takes you back in the right direction and it doesn’t matter how far you have gone!!

  The disciples had a demanding message, and we need a demanding message too. Because, at the end of the day, we are not trying to make people feel good.

We are trying to help them become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. We are trying to help people get to heaven and to heal, by introducing them to God.

Conclusion

This passage, serves as a forerunner of our calling today. The disciples were summoned, they were instructed, and they served God’s purpose in the world, and that is what we are supposed to do.

This is an example of the Great Commission. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, His final words were, “go into all the world and make disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to obey all that I have commanded them to do, and lo, I am with you always even to the ends of the world.” That is our mission today. That is our purpose, and that is what we see the disciples doing.

 How amazing is it, that this incredible God who loves us, invites us into a relationship with Him, and He invites us to participate in His relationship with others?

That is what we are doing here this morning. We are gathered together as the body of Christ to exalt the name of Jesus as a testimony of what He has done in our life.

We are a part of this great institution we call the church. It is meant to be kept holy. It is meant to be kept sacred, but It is meant to be shared with the world.  

That is the purpose and the mission of the church. To bring glory to God by loving Him, loving others, and teaching others how to do the same. Every member of the church is a minister, and every minister is a missionary. We are summoned to Serve.

Lets pray together, Heavenly Father,

We thank you for your call on our life to serve you!!

We thank you that you invite us to be on mission with you in the world. To make a difference in the lives of our family and friends.

Lord gives us the courage to carry out your calling on our lives. Lord make us deliberate in our approach to your mission. Inspire us, and unite us in your work my God!!

In Jesus Name I pray, Amen!