Untitled Sermon

Text : Luke 10:1-20

Sermon Title : SE.A.L.

Occasion : English Service

Location : Paya Lebar Methodist Church Sanctuary

MPP : There is urgent work to be done, which is to proclaim the Kingdom of God, let's pull up our sleeves and plow

Good morning, Church…

you know friends, I love watching movies….

Especially military drama movies…

And one of the movies I remember watching when I was growing up was this show called Navy SEALs, starring Charlie Sheen…

This movie is about a group of elite soldiers who were involved in some secretive missions behind military lines,

And for the entire movie, we followed this bunch of really closely knitted group of friends and colleagues, as they went through a series of missions,

to deal with one particular terrorist group…

They are known to be part of an elite group of soldiers called Navy SEALs

Well, the stories in the movie probably aren’t real, but the type of soldiers they are trying to portray, the Navy SEALs do exist…

At that point of time, the navy SEALs were not that well known

because in the last millennium,

Most militaries kept their elite special forces units classified,

meaning nobody talk much about them…and very few people know about them…

But nevertheless, I was intrigued by this special group of soldiers and began to read and find out more things about them…

One thing that I found fascinating was that they were called SEAL, because they were supposed to be able to operate in any environment and anywhere…

SEAL is actually an acronym that is formed from SEa, Air and Land…

And so this group of soldiers are trained to be able to operate in the jungle, urban, artic, mountainous and desert environments,

And they are supposed to be on call any point of time, most of the time heading straight to the aircraft when they are called back to base, not even having the time to go back to their bunks or offices,

giving them a clear advantage against their enemies

because they are ready to go anywhere at anytime… their weapons, munitions and packs are always packed, always ready to go…

when the call comes, they will not be distracted by anything along the way but they have only one thing on their mind… mission success…

and part of the reason why they were able to be mission-ready at all times,

was because they were constantly undergoing training… realistic training…

so, it’s not unusual to be having dinner with your family at one minute,

you receive a text on your pager, you rush back to base and go straight to an aircraft with the engines already started, get a briefing done in the plane itself,

get flown somewhere, complete a mission only to realise that it was a training mission…

and the people who plan and conduct these training missions are more senior members of the SEALs themselves because they see the need for these training missions to grant them success in the real world and hence they commit themselves to undergo as well as to conduct them…

and it is this strong sense of mission success that gives them such impressive success in their many deployments, often overcoming incredible odds such as being outnumbered 10 times over, with very little ammunition, having equipment and transport that failed, and yet able to emerge successful… and one such famous their famous success story was that of the capture of Osama bin Laden… being able to carry out their mission despite one of the helicopters there were on crashing even before they were able to enter the compound…

Yet, despite their incredible success stories and their amazing track record,

their origin could be traced back to WWII

and the reason for the creation of this unit was far more humble…

the initial role of the unit was to conduct covert reconnaissance of beaches on enemy land,

to identify and mark out suitable landing spots for the main amphibious assault vehicles to land on, and guide them towards the shore...

in other words, they were meant to be forerunners to the main force that was to come, and one of their tasks was determine the depth of the water, and they did that by drawing markings on their bodies and used those markings to determine whether the beach was suitable for the vehicles that were coming after them…

never mind that they looked silly with those funny lines…

mission success was key…

For the Navy Seals, they were prepared to go anywhere, anytime to carry out their mission for they knew their missions were usually very urgent,

they were extremely focused on their missions and could overcome extreme odds, and they were always well equipped for their missions…

Always ready, always equipped and always motivated…

these were the traits of the navy seals…

Friends,

I think we should be like the SEALs…

not as in to be elite soldiers and conduct operations behind enemy lines…

but to possess these traits they have…

Always ready, always equipped and always motivated…

To participate in the mission of God…

And this is my point from today’s passage which is taken from Luke 10:1-20,

And friends, let us now listen to the word of the Lord…

" 1After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ 6And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 7Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town. 13“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14But at the judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. 16“Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” 17The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” 18He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”" (Luke 10:1–20 [NRSV])

Here, the Lord Jesus, was recorded to send the disciples out into a mission two by two,

And you realise that it is not the first time that Jesus was sending His disciples out…

Just one chapter earlier, in chapter 9,

you read almost identical words there, during which Jesus sent out the first 12 disciples on a mission…

and what is this mission?

It is, according to v9 of our passage today, " 9cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’" (Luke 10:9 [NRSV])

What does it mean by to heal the sick and to proclaim the Kingdom of God?

Are they even related?

Well, friends,

Sickness and the kingdom of God is actually very closely tied together…

Sickness was never meant to be part of the world, and it is a constant reminder that our world is broken…

The world is not as it should be…

If you go back with me all the way to Genesis when the world was created,

You will remember that man was created in the image of God…

Gen 1:26 says “" 26Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”" (Genesis 1:26 [NIV])

Well, the word for image here צֶ֫לֶם (tze-lem) has the meaning of representation or resembling something or someone, somewhat like an ambassador or envoy…

And what does it mean to be a representative of God?

It is to rule over the world…

To take care of the world on God’s behalf…

However, with the fall of mankind, the world fell as well, v17 in Gen 1 we read “" 17To Adam God said, “…Cursed is the ground because of you” (Genesis 3:17 [NIV])

The world is broken because of man…

The world is broken because man gave up his rights and responsibilities to the devil disguised as the serpent…

The world is not as it should be…

And malicious viruses and bacteria and hence diseases are part of the brokenness…

With the fall of man, there was the introduction of sin, and the world fell as well…

Ecology and the world is cursed…

And the door was open for the serpent and evil to come in and wreck it’s havoc…

But thank God, because of God’s incarnation which we are celebrating in this season of Advent,

Jesus has come to reclaim rightful ownership of the world from the devil once again…

The Kingdom of God has arrived…

And this King Jesus has power over sickness and the demons…

And this we see in the many healing stories which are very closely tied together with exorcism such as Mark 1:32,34 which says “" 32That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed… 34and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons..." (Mark 1:32,34 [NIV])

The close association between the two is because as man fell and gave up his rights to rule the world to the devil, he also resulted in the fall of the world, and hence sickness and the demons were hence able to disturb man…

But when Jesus with the ability to overcome these two came, with the associated arrival of the kingdom of God,

Jesus was on a mission… to reverse the fall…

And when he arrived on that mission, there was a new era, and those who profess to be children of God have been given the same power and authority over demons and cure diseases…

This is of course the same as Luke 9:1 which says Jesus “" …gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal." (Luke 9:1–2 [ESV])

In case you’re thinking aiyah… it doesn’t apply to me…

Think again, folks…

These two number sin Lk 9:1 and Lk 10:1 are significant…

In 9:1, we are just talking about the 12 disciples... his inner group…

In 10:1, we are talking about 70 disciples… but realise these 70 disciples do not include the earlier 12…

They are " … seventy others…" (Luke 10:1 [NRSV])

So there inherently, is already an increase in the number of people here already…

As well as an increase in the number of people who receive the news, and a good summary is Acts 1:8 which says “" 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”" (Acts 1:8 [NRSV])

What’s more, the choice of the number of people sent was significant…

We had 12 at first, which is significant because that’s the number of tribes in Israel…

Then we have 70 next, which is significant because that’s a reference to Gen 10 which is commonly called the table of the nations…

Because listed in the chapter were

" …the families of Noah’s sons, according to their genealogies, in their nations; and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood." (Genesis 10:32 [NRSV])

In other words, the sending out of the 70 disciples was also a prophetic and symbolic act of sending out the nations, into the nations…

Which means all the world needs to be involved in the mission of God, and the mission is to go into all the world…

All the children of God everywhere need to be involved in God’s mission…

Again, this idea of the geographical expansion in those who receive the Gospel and where the workers go to spread the good news is summarised in Acts 1:8 which says… " 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”" (Acts 1:8 [NRSV])

And what’s God’s mission?

To witness to people about God’s goodness by healing those who are sick… sick physically, sick emotionally, sick spiritually…

To witness to people about God’s goodness by giving them hope, by telling them the good news that the Kingdom of God has arrived and will fully come one day…

And again this missiological emphasis is evident in Acts 1:8 which says " 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”" (Acts 1:8 [NRSV])

And you have been empowered to carry out your mandate, your task and your mission to be God’s witnesses everywhere you go,

Because you have been granted the authority from God to fulfil your mission…

This was read in v19 of today’s passage which says “"…I have given you authority… over all the power of the enemy..." (Luke 10:19 [NRSV])

Which is similar to Lk 9:1 where Jesus “"…gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases," (Luke 9:1 [NRSV])

And again, is summarised in Acts 1:8 which says " 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”" (Acts 1:8 [NRSV])

Friends, I hope the message is clear…

We, like the Navy SEALs team are on a mission…

And that is my first point for us this morning…

Is that:

1. All of us, Children of God, are on a mission…

Can you turn to the person next you to and ask… “are you a child of God?”

If the person says “yes” then say “then God has given you a mission”

If the person says “no”, then you better pray for the person and then you can start evangelising to him/her now…

Friends, if it is not already clear,

Being on mission for God is to declare that the Kingdom of God has arrived with the first coming of Christ,

Which was when He came as a human being,

Born of the virgin Mary…

As a vulnerable baby 2000 years ago…

As the promised messiah,

And allowed the powers of God over demons and sickness be manifest on earth…

Evident through this promised messiah, Jesus Christ…

Who had authority over demons, as seen when he exorcised the demon possessed man who used to be mute and blind in Matthew 12, when he exorcised the demon possess boy in Matthew 17, and of course in Luke 8 where Jesus exorcised the man possessed by many demons in Gerasene…

The Kingdom of God has arrived… The power over darkness has arrived…

The arrived of Jesus also indicated the arrival of power over sickness…

The centurion’s servant was healed as we read in Matthew 8, Simon’s Mother-in-law, the two blind men and the mute person was healed by Jesus as testified in Matthew 9

The Kingdom of God has arrived and likewise, the power over darkness has come…

That was the first advent and the first coming…

And we who are children of God, just like the 12 who were sent out to heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God…

Just like the 70 who were sent out to heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God…

Have been given the same authority over sickness and given the mandate to proclaim the Kingdom of God…

That’s our mission on earth…

And friends, like what I mentioned, earlier,

Sickness doesn’t necessarily mean physical, but it can mean spiritual and emotionally as well…

We’re in a very broken world…

According to the IMH website, 6% of adults had suffered from Major Depressive Disorder at some point in their lifetime…[1]

There are 8.36 deaths per 100,000 Singapore residents in 2018…[2]

In UK, one in three children come from a broken family…[3]

Friends, Christians,

We’re here to make a difference, not just to proclaim that the Kingdom of God has arrived through words, but also to proclaim that the Kingdom of God has arrived through works as well…

There are so many things you can get involved in our church, in terms of our outreach and social concerns ministry, our mission ministry, our counselling ministry, our young adult ministry, our youth ministry, our children’s ministry…

And friends, there are many many opportunities for you who have gone slightly longer in your journey to walk along someone else who is younger, share lives, mentor someone, share what you have experienced…

Just like the SEAL team who are always being trained by senior team members who share their lessons they had learnt so that the next generation doesn’t need to learn the same lessons again…

We need to have the culture of motivating and teaching the next generation as well…

or other placed you can serve in are for example our other Methodist institutions…

Methodist Welfare Services, Methodist Missions Society, Family Service Centre…

Whether you’re finance trained, administratively trained, counselling trained, trained in the education field, you can all do your part to help fulfil all the different places that are simply crying out for helpers…

There’s so much to do and we’re so much in need of help…

Indeed, as it is written in verse 2 of our passage today…

" The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few…" (Luke 10:2 [NRSV])

Come and do your part…

Fulfil your call to be part of the mission…

And as you do so, v16 tells us that we are his very representative on earth... in the ministry…

For it tells us that whoever accepts our message is accepting Jesus and whoever rejects our message is rejecting God…

Christians… Don’t neglect that mission…

And friends, the second point I have for us today is

2. Children of God, don’t hesitate to take up this mandate because time is running out…

This is of the most urgent matter which is why in verse 4 of our passage,

Jesus told the disciples that as they go out,

" … greet no one on the road." (Luke 10:4 [NRSV])

This was not telling the disciples to be unfriendly or unkind…

The point of the passage is that because our mission is so important, we should be careful not to be distracted by all sorts of entanglement in the world or be waylaid by the dazzle of the world around us…

Which is also why Jesus told them to travel light and not to “" 4Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals..." (Luke 10:4 [NRSV])

Can you imagine how you would feel, if say there is a terrorist incident

Our Singapore equivalent of the Navy SEALs that we talked about at the beginning of the sermon were activated…

And as they proceed to their base, they decide star bucks to order some take-away coffee before proceeding to the incident location,

Or worse still, can you imagine if on the way to the location

While buying coffee, they get distracted by a soccer match that is on the television and they forget about coming to rescue to poor hostage…

Friends, many of us however are like that…

We tend to come up with many wonderful reasons for not taking part of the mission…

If you’re a student, it may be tests and exams,

When you’re done with schools, then maybe it’s because you just got into NS,

When you’re done with NS, then maybe it’s because you just got attached,

Then in uni, it’s because you just got into uni…

Then it’s because you’re just got your first job…

You just got married,

You just got your BTO,

You just got your first kid…

You just got your first promotion…

You just got retired…

You just got your first grandchild…

Friends, if you haven’t already noticed, this covers every aspect of life…

There are challenges at every step of your life…

If you just look at the challenges, then you will never take part in the mission….

Sometimes, friends, you just need to make a decision, take the plunge and say…

I’m not going to let my challenges define me…

I’m going to make a difference in the Kingdom of God…

I’m going to just try out in this ministry I feel called to…

Don’t hesitate friends, time is running out…

Each day that passes, we’re one day closer to the second advent, when Jesus will come again…

And the Kingdom of God will fully return,

And when the period of grace will end…

And even before that period of grace ends for the world,

The period of grace may end for that person you have yet to minister to…

You may never have the chance to minister to that child or youth or young adult again…

You may never have the chance to speak to that stranger in the lift ever again…

You may never have that nice opening during which someone asks you about your faith ever again…

Seize every opportunity friends… time is running out…

Be like the SEAL team… they are always mission ready…

Anywhere… Sea, Air Land…

Likewise, be always ready to capitalise on any opportunity that presents itself to you…

And friends.. what’s the worse can happen?

If you find that the fit between you and that particular ministry is not there,

Then look for another ministry to serve in…

The person just says no….

But at least you knew you tried…

And friends, even if the person doesn’t receive your message of your gift…

It doesn’t matter…

Because we read here in v11 which says

“" 10But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’" (Luke 10:10–11 [NRSV])

What this verse is trying to say is that,

If the person does not accept God’s message that you say, it’s not your fault and you shouldn’t take it to heart…

You see, in the worldview of that time, there is this very strong notion that if a judgement falls upon a place, the entire place is judged and everything that belongs to it, is similarly judged…

And there is therefore a danger that when the dust clings unto you, you are similarly judged by contact…

And you are in need of physical cleansing…

But this phrase of wiping off the dust of the town that is judged by God,

It is saying that you have no association with the downfall of the place…

It doesn’t count against you…

You are not accountable for the rejection by the place and the people…

Friends,

In other words, we will not be accountable for the success or failure of the projects…

Keith Drury affirms this by saying that our “job is not to produce results, but to be obedient [to] the Holy Spirit.”[4]

So

3. Children of God, don’t let the fear of failure hold you back from being obedient to the spirit

And friends, as you do so,

You will be like the 70 who came back joyfully after being sent out…

Not because they were successful in all they did, but that they were obedient to God…

And lastly, as you’re obedient to God,

4. Children of God, be assured that God will provide your needs

And were told to " carry no purse, no bag, no sandals..." (Luke 10:4 [NRSV])

Because God in His ways, will provide your needs, and send people alongside you,

For verse 1 tells us that the people were sent two by two,

And this talks about them having companionship and has this model of being able to encourage each other…

This part is also evident here in verse 2 which urges us to “… Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." (Luke 10:2 [NIV])

Which means that if you ask, God will supply other co-workers to come alongside you and help out in the harvesting work…

And as for the needs, verse 7 speaks about how they will be provided with sustenance to give them energy for the tasks at hand…

But I think the most amazing one is in verse 1, which is absent in many English Bibles,

Which you can see in the Greek Bible, the original text which says that the 70 were sent out…

" ἀνὰ δύο δύο πρὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ ..." (Luke 10:1 [LGNTI:SBL])

Which literally means by two two, before his face…

This literally brings to mind the blessings of God to those he sent out…

And if you remember the Aaronic blessings that you sometimes hear the pastors say

“let His face shine upon you and be gracious to you”…

The shining of the face of God is the expression of God’s favour and mercy upon the people…

And when the face of God shines upon someone, someone is receiving the protection and sustenance…

Therefore, know this… as you are sent out to do God’s work, to fulfil your mission, you’re not alone... you’re with fellow believers who will offer you support when you’re tired and weak, God who will sustain you, and give you strength and provision…

So friends,

All of us, Children of God, are on a mission…

And let us not

Children of God, don’t hesitate to take up this mandate because time is running out…

Let us not

Children of God, don’t let the fear of failure hold you back from being obedient to the spirit

And let us be

Children of God, be assured that God will provide your needs

So I pray that all of us will go forth and answer the call by God to all of us to participate in the mission that our God had called us to… Amen…

[1] https://www.imh.com.sg/wellness/page.aspx?id=554#:~:text=At%20a%20global%20level%2C%20over,some%20time%20in%20their%20lifetime.

[2] https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/suicides-number-2018-teenagers-boys-highest-11761480

[3] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1289399/Nation-broken-families-One-children-lives-single-parent-step-mum-dad.html

[4] Keith Drury, Call of a Lifetime: How to Know If God Is Leading You to the Ministry. (Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Pub House, 2013), 77.