We're Going on a Road Trip (Luke 10:1-20)

Hello, friends, this is Pastor Creighton.

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The holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

Glory to you.

After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.

And he said to them, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

Go your way, behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

Carry no money bag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.

Whatever house you enter, first say, peace be to this house, and if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him, but if not it will return to you.

And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide.

For the laborer deserves his wages.

Do not go from house to house.

Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you.

Heal the sick in it, and say to them, The kingdom of God has come near to you.

But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you.

Nevertheless, know this that the kingdom of God has come near.

I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

Woe to you, Corazin, woe to you, Besseda, for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.

And for you, Campernium, will you be exalted to heaven?

You shall be brought down to Hades.

The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.

And he said to them, I saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven.

Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

The gospel of the Lord.

Well, this is a surprise, isn't it?

I think I'm just as surprised as you are.

I'll pray.

Let's pray.

Lord God, help me speak the words you want me to speak, and help these dear people to hear the words that you want them to hear.

In the name of Jesus.

Amen.

Please be seated.

We're going on a road trip.

Do those words bring excitement to you?

Like we're going somewhere new, different, we're going to experience different things, we're going to see new people, new places.

I love those words.

We're going on a road trip.

And it reminds me of when our kids were small, and we used to say that to them, and they'd get all excited and they'd rush off and get their knapsacks, and they'd fill them with toys and games and books and maybe their swimsuit.

And they were all ready to go.

And we would plan where to go to camp.

We'd book the campsites, we'd get out the list.

This was for camping, right?

So we had everything.

We'd open up the tailgate and shove it all in the car, and the car hardly shut at the end of it.

We even had egg cups, because who might want a soft-boiled egg for breakfast?

So looking at the gospel story that we've just been reading, I wonder if the 72 disciples mentioned in our gospel today were just as excited at being sent by Jesus to go on a road trip.

Where would they go?

What would they do?

What should they take?

So before we start picking apart at this story, let's just zoom out a bit and see what's going on at this time and why Jesus may have sent them out.

Why did he want to do that?

Jesus was at the height of his ministry.

He'd become a household name in the region.

But he knew that his time was nearly up and that his ministry on earth was coming to fruition.

So he was making his way with his disciples to Jerusalem for the Passover and to his own death.

He was preaching and healing on the way.

He had already sent out the twelve to spread the news about him in Galilee.

But now he wanted some of the other disciples following him to spread the news about him and to prepare the towns and villages as he made his way south towards Jerusalem.

I think he wanted particularly to draw attention to himself.

Before he said, don't tell anybody, and he didn't want attention, but now he does.

Because he's going to enter Jerusalem and he's going to demonstrate to the people that his kingdom was of an entirely different nature than the one they expected.

What was the ruler they expected?

A military ruler who would overthrow Rome.

But no, this was to be a heavenly kingdom with forgiveness of sins as demonstrated by his ultimate act of love, his sacrificial death on the cross and the empty tomb.

So the focus in going to Jerusalem was the cross.

He probably felt a sense of urgency.

He wanted as many people to hear about him and the coming kingdom as possible.

He wouldn't be coming this way again.

So this passage is Jesus calling the 72.

What is this passage about?

How would you describe it in a single word?

Evangelism.

What is evangelism?

One definition I found on Google says the spreading of the Christian gospel by public preaching or by personal witness.

Most of us it would be personal witness, I think.

So how do we witness personally?

Well, I think it's not just act, it's not just words, I think it's actions as well when we do our personal witnessing for Christ.

So let's look at the steps Jesus took with his 72 disciples and see how they can relate to us today.

So keep your bulletin open at that passage because we're going to go right through it.

So I've called them the seven steps of evangelism.

Jesus calls, commissions, prepares, empowers, he sends, he covers with prayer, and he rejoices on the completion of the mission.

He did this with the 72, and he does it with us today.

So let's look at the first one.

Jesus calls.

He called the 72.

They were already following him.

He wasn't calling them to follow him.

He was calling them because he had a mission.

So we don't know how he called them.

He didn't have, they didn't have cell phones or anything like that.

But maybe they had a sophisticated word of mouth system that the twelve disciples would have spread around.

Meet Jesus at noon at meet Jesus at dawn on the sandy knoll or something like that.

So we would have spread all around through the 72.

He calls us too.

How does Jesus call us?

First of all, we have to be listening.

There are many different ways that we can experience his calling.

Through the Bible, a sermon, a voice in our heads, a nudging from the Holy Spirit.

Or we can hear through books, movies, dreams.

God even spoke through a talking donkey in the Old Testament.

When the 72 were called, they obeyed.

We are also to obey when we feel his calling.

We are to say, Yes, Lord, tell me more.

So Jesus commissions, second step.

He commissioned the 72.

He told them what the purpose of the task was: to go and prepare the way for him in the towns and villages between where they were and Jerusalem.

He commissions us too.

Of course, we all know the Great Commission in Matthew, where Jesus calls on his followers to make disciples of and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

But we all have individual commissions as well.

He may want us to go off to another country and preach the gospel.

Or take the crusty old man down the street, a bowl of soup.

There are no big or small tasks.

Who knows what ripple effects may come from a simple act of kindness done with a loving heart.

If we are unsure what we are called to, we can ask ourselves what stirrings do we feel in our hearts, what gifts or talents do we have, what creates passion in us, and we can pray and ask God to use us.

Jesus prepares us.

He doesn't just send us off, willy-nilly, to do this mission.

He has instructions for us.

So let's see how he instructed the disciples and see how they apply to us.

He told the 72 to pray and specifically to pray for other workers because the harvest is plentiful.

I don't know about you, but I was really surprised when I read this.

Is that the first thing he tells them to do?

He didn't tell them to pray for themselves or the people that they were going to meet or the success of their mission.

They were to pray for more workers.

I think this again shows Jesus' sense of urgency and his heart for the lost.

We are also to pray for more workers.

The harvest is no less plentiful today.

And we are to have a heart for the lost.

Jesus warned them of danger.

They were being sent out as lambs amidst wolves.

But also they were to go out with an attitude of gentleness.

We too are to count the cost.

There is always some risk in obeying God.

Our task may involve some danger, or we may face rejection or embarrassment at being ridiculed for mentioning the name of Jesus.

But a loving, gentle attitude can sometimes be disarming in the face of aggression.

Lambs amongst wolves.

They were not to take anything with them.

No money bag, knapsack, or sandals.

Wow.

So definitely no list for them.

We are also to trust Jesus to provide what we need for our commissioned task.

Maybe we need financial aid, money for an airplane ticket, or even help.

We are to have an attitude of trust and reliance on Jesus to provide.

When I felt the call to preach, I had no idea how I was to go about it.

But I was at Bible study in the basement of the church.

And there on my left was a bookshelf.

And I went and looked at the books, and there was a single book on its own.

It looked as though it was just waiting for me, and it was called Biblical Preaching.

Just sitting there, waiting for me.

So I took it home.

Creighton saw it and he said, That's the book I studied at seminary.

Okay, this was great encouragement to me as I went through the book, read it, and confirmation that I was on the right path, that I did hear right.

Then the next instruction.

They were not to be distracted by greetings on the road.

Apparently, the greetings in those days were long and convoluted.

Come, come and me, come with me and see my flower garden and stuff like that.

So we are also not to be distracted.

Satan would love to distract us from our task by leading us off on some tangent.

We are to stick to our goal.

He instructed them on how to handle hospitality, to test the waters of a particular house by offering a greeting of peace.

When we approach people, we are to do it gently with an attitude of peace and love.

If this approach is rejected, we are not to be upset.

We are to remain peaceful and loving.

They were not to move around, but to accept the first accommodation offered and not to be fussy eaters.

This was so that it wouldn't look as though they were looking for somewhere better or for better food.

This was an attitude of humility and consideration of their hosts.

We too are to be humble and considerate in our approach to people.

We're not just to go at them and lay the gospel on them.

We're to do it humbly and gently.

If the town rejected them, they were not to take it personally, but to shake the dust off their feet and give a warning that the town was rejecting the kingdom of God.

I'm not quite sure what the equivalent action is for us.

But I do think of the warning by Jesus not to cast pearls before swine.

So if we're really unwelcome, then just move on.

So we have looked at the first three steps.

This was a last, this was a long step.

We've looked at Jesus' calls, Jesus commissions, Jesus prepares.

Let's look at the next four steps.

Jesus empowers, sends, prays for, and rejoices with.

Jesus empowers.

He empowered the 72.

He gave them authority to heal and to drive out demons.

Why did he do that?

Jesus' own ministry involved preaching about the kingdom of God and healing.

I think the healing was to emphasize his message that he was sent by God.

It was an act of love triggered by the compassion he felt when he encountered those who were sick or ailing.

The disciples were also to be filled with such compassion and were also given the spiritual gift of healing and driving out demons.

In other words, their mission in preparing the way for Jesus was to be accompanied by compassion and love.

He empowers us.

He fills us with the Holy Spirit.

He won't send us out without the Holy Spirit.

We all have spiritual gifts.

He will make sure we have those required for the task he has commissioned us for.

Even the humblest of tasks needs the Holy Spirit's empowering.

But we are also to heed the warning from Paul in 1 Corinthians 13.

You probably can recall the love chapter, and that is that spiritual gifts mean nothing if they are not accompanied by a heart of love.

And the fifth point, Jesus sends, we're getting there.

He sent them in pairs, probably for safety and to be a witness for each other.

I picture him drawing a picture on the sand at the sandy knoll of a rough map of the area and designating certain spots for each pair.

Or maybe he just left it to them.

Go what do you think?

He sends us, he shows us the time is right.

He opens doors for us.

We may get an invitation to visit a certain country, or we bump into the very person we have been asked to speak to.

Things start falling into place.

Creighton asks me to preach.

Okay.

It's falling into place.

They often look like coincidences.

Look for them, they are God incidences.

Jesus waits and prays.

While they were gone, I'm sure he was praying for them.

Jesus saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven in verse 18 in the passage.

So he must have been watching and praying for them.

And for us, the Holy Spirit guides us, protects us, even when we stumble.

He gives us the words to say.

And we know that Jesus is at God's right hand, constantly making intercession for us.

Jesus rejoices on completion.

He rejoiced on the return of the 72, verses 17 and 21, which is beyond the passage.

He also warned them of spiritual pride and rejoiced more in their heavenly citizenship and being used by God.

He rejoices with us at the succession, at the success of our mission.

We will feel joy when we are used by God for a specific purpose.

It does, it just brings joy into us.

We just have to watch for spiritual pride.

I fell prey to that in Nepal because God used me there to heal people.

And I thought, ooh, I'm something special.

I really let that one go into my head.

We are only able to do what we do through the power of the Holy Spirit within us.

We need to thank God for the opportunity to serve in His kingdom.

So, folks, we're coming to the end.

Well no, I probably took much longer than Cryton normally does, but anyway.

So here's the conclusion.

We've already concluded that this passage is about evangelism.

We, like the 72 disciples, are to spread the good news about Jesus.

We tend to think how hard this is.

In a post-Christian Western nation like Canada, there is much cynicism towards the church.

And we cringe every time a pastor of a large evangelical church is all over the news when falling from grace.

And we cringe whenever there is news about another set of unmarked graves at a Christian residential school.

It really makes us hesitate to put ourselves out there.

So, how do we evangelize and spread the joy that our faith brings in the face of such cynicism?

We remember the seven steps of evangelism.

Jesus will give us what we need to fulfill the task He calls us to.

He will not give us more than we can manage with His help.

We are to have the attitudes that the 72 were to have when they were called.

They were following Jesus, they were listening, they obeyed, they were gentle, they trusted Jesus.

They were humble.

They went in peace.

They had consideration for people.

They had compassion.

They had love.

Indeed, all these attitudes are components of love.

Love for God and love for others, the first and second commandments.

So as we obey our mission that we're called to, we're to do it in love.

And even if we do not feel called to a specific task or mission at present, we are always called to love.

To love those that love us and love those that don't.

To love those within the walls of the church and in the harvest fields outside the church.

We live in a love-starved world.

People want love.

So open the doors of your hearts and go and spread Jesus' love and enjoy the trip.

Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thank you for listening today.

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May God bless you and keep you today and every day.