The Call to Discipleship Part 2

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Shabbat Shalom to all of you. So glad that you're able to be here today. It's always. I don't know about you, but it's just always a blessing to me to see all the Littles up here. Just a tremendous.

You know, we're not a huge congregation, but in terms of percentage of Littles to the rest of us, it's quite amazing and quite a blessing. The host church, the Westmore Church, had a display out here that we got word of late last night that had all kinds of colorful things. And they said, please make sure you avoid this. And we were all like, ah. So that's why you see that barrier up today.

It's like there was no way with so many of our Littles, they were going to keep their hands off of those wonderful decorations, holiday decorations, whatever they were. But that's why that is there today. We are going to dive right in because we have a lot to cover today. First of all, I want to publicly thank Cam for stepping in and preaching last week. The last two Saturdays, he's done a great job, and I really appreciate that.

In spite of his commentary about me, you know, some people are just filled with the fire of God and it comes out, you know. So I'm sorry that it is hot up here, Cam, because I've got the fire of his spirit within me, and we all have our cross to bear, and mine is right here. So anyway. But no, I really appreciated Cam, thought he did a great job. And it's kind of a baptism of fire.

When you're the youth pastor, you always end up getting thrown in the deep end. Like, they tell you to do one thing, and suddenly they dump something else on you. So I was very appreciative of him stepping in. Well, I want to just dive into really, this would have been a message that we would have had before. We're in this series on the call to discipleship.

And really, I wished I had entitled this the Sermon on the Go. And I'll explain why in a minute. But let's begin with this simple truth. Kingdom citizens are disciples of the King. Amen.

Now, I know that seems very simple. Kingdom citizens are disciples of the King. But it's very important for us to understand. You cannot be a citizen of the Kingdom if you are not a disciple of the King. You don't get all the blessings and the benefits of the Kingdom if you are not actually following the King.

You cannot separate being a disciple of Jesus. And heralds of the Kingdom, they go hand in hand. The Purpose for your following as a Talmudim, as a disciple, is for the sake of you then becoming a herald, someone who can then replicate the message of the Master and bring others into the knowledge of his redeeming work. Which means our ultimate purpose as disciples of the King is to be heralds of the Kingdom. Will you pray with me, Abba?

Father, we bless your name one more time. And as you have inhabited the praises of your people today, as you have listened to the prayers and the blessings over our children, and the prayers by our children, as you have hearkened your ear to that request for healing, would you now also send forth your spirit to open hearts and minds to be truthful with ourselves about where we're at in this journey as disciples? Lord, I pray this would bring glory to you in Jesus name. Amen. So Jesus began his kingdom mission by teaching the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew, chapter five through seven, which, by the way, we're kind of doing things in reverse here. We're covering the Sermon on the Go, which actually follows the Sermon on the Mount. But in February, Lord willing, we'll be diving into the Sermon on the Mount, one of my favorite series in all the Bible. Jesus goes up on the mountain, and after his disciples had come to him, he sits down, he opens his mouth, and he began to teach them. And as he opened his mouth, he began to open their minds and they began to hear and see things that they had heard throughout their entire life that had been passed down through the sages, through the prophets, through the rabbis.

And yet when Jesus opened his mouth, he began to show them the true depth and understanding of the Torah and what it meant to live out its kingdom principles. When that sermon is over, Matthew chapter 8, verse 1, Jesus comes down from the mountain and large crowds begin to follow him. He then begins what we will call his second sermon. But this time it wasn't seated, it wasn't a lecture. This was going to be a real life lab session.

That's why I call it the Sermon on the Go. The disciples were going to follow. They were going to watch him minister and teach and heal, and all of these things were going to continue to be a part of their essential discipleship instruction. Matthew chapter 8:10 has that sermon on the go. For the first two chapters, chapters 8 and 9, Matthew records for us numerous miracles and encounters that Jesus had, all of which were designed to Prepare his chosen 12 for the kingdom harvest mission that he was about to send them into.

And as they went and Jesus was with them, they were learning how they would Go for Jesus and how to go for Jesus. In chapter eight we have the cleansing of a leper, the healing of the centurion's servant, Peter's mother in law being healed, Jesus calming the sea while en route to the other side of the Galilee, to the gentile side of the lake, where he would cast out demons and his thanks would be that they would cast him out and ask him to leave. Yet every miracle was not just a manifestation of the kingdom, it was an instruction for the kingdom. It was something that we were supposed to see, that they're supposed to see, that would prepare them. Sometimes we read through these miracles, we go, that's a great thing.

Wow, Jesus is really showing off. He's really showing himself to be the Messiah. But he's doing far more than just showing who he is. He's showing knowing you and I, who we're called to be. Every miracle not only revealed the heart of God, but exposed the hardness of the religious leaders hearts.

Just like the Sermon on the Mount. In chapter nine, Jesus heals a paralytic and forgives his sins. He calls a tax collector named Matthew to become part of the inner 12. He eats with tax collectors and sinners. He heals the ruler, the daughter, the ruler of the synagogue's daughter and a woman with hemorrhage and two blind men received their sight and he cast out a demon so the mute could speak.

I mean, can you imagine what it would have been like? How many of you are note takers? Any note takers? Can you imagine what life with Jesus was like? I mean, if you had your little parchment there and you're following along and you're just spiritually and physically and mentally, you're just trying to keep up.

I mean, you think I talk fast, but how in the world would you even begin to fully appropriate all that you were seeing and doing? Especially when you come to realize, man, you didn't want to miss one single word that the Master spoke. I was at the Western Wall in Jerusalem years ago and it was at night and there was a big black Mercedes Benz pulled in. And I mean there were thousands of ultra Orthodox Jews there. And I knew whoever this guy is, he's important and he gets out and you couldn't even see him because he was just a little guy.

I finally got to a vantage where I could see which one he was, but he had went down to the wall and then he began to leave that area and there's a long ramp that goes down there and I watched as these young men just pressed in reached, almost climbing over each other to get to him. And I sat there or stood there and I thought, do I look like that with my rabbi? Because that's discipleship. They wanted to be so close to him they could touch him. They did.

When? And he was a little old guy, he'd walk a few feet and he'd stop and everybody, all the thousand would stop and everybody would listen and he'd walk a few more feet and then he'd stop and everybody would press in. Can you imagine what it must have been like knowing that the person you are following is the Son of God? Knowing when he opens his mouth, the wind and the waves will obey him? Man, you didn't want to.

You wouldn't want to miss anything. But this was the sermon on the go. It was learning while doing. It was learning while walking with Jesus. It was filled with powerful and protective insights and lessons, one of the first of which is be ready to be received by those you expect to reject and rejected by those who should be ready to receive.

I think that probably was one of the hardest lessons. The disciples had to watch. When they saw him do all these amazing things and then saw the religious leaders that they had respected all of their lives suddenly turn and instead of celebrating and worshiping, turned to begin to whisper and conspire against him, they knew what was going on.

Why is the kingdom message so important to Yeshua and to God? Because it is his answer to a world that believes it's been rejected by God. In the sermon on the Go, Yeshua reveals the heart of God, the good news for all people, first heralded by the angels to the shepherds. They are not abandoned. God has brought his presence in his kingdom nearer than ever before, nearer than any of us ever believed possible that God would once again walk among us.

At the end of Matthew 9, we read these words. Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, he felt compassion for them because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.

Today we're going to begin what's going to have to be two messages instead of three on Matthew chapter 10 as the sermon on the go concludes. This is what I call the Leviticus of Matthew's Gospel. You may not have known Leviticus had, or Matthew had Leviticus. But I'm telling you, I think it does. Why do I say that?

Because if you look at the structure of the Gospel of Matthew, it begins with the Genesis. It literally begins with the beginning. And this entire lineage that probably in the month of December is about the only time anybody ever pays attention to. But if you look at that lineage, it's the whole history of the Torah. It literally.

I mean that lineage encompasses the history and the narrative and the story of the Torah. And then when Jesus begins his ministry, we see the first exodus where Jesus enters into the wilderness. He follows the same pattern as the ancient Israelites did. Then he returns, saving and delivering his people. But when we come to Matthew, chapter 10, verse one, we come to Matthew's Leviticus.

Now, in Hebrew, the book of Leviticus, as you know, is the Hebrew name is Vayikra. And it means and he called it. It's from the very first word of the book.

In the Greek Septuagint, it uses two words to say what it only has to use one word in Hebrew to say. In the Septuagint you have the word chi which means and. And the word kaleo which means called, so vayikra. And he called in Greek kai kaleo. And he called.

Matthew, chapter 10, verse 1. The new American standard translates Jesus summoned his 12 disciples. The New International translates Jesus called his 12 disciples. But it's the English standard vers that captures the Hebraic origin and simply translate it as it is. And he called Vayikra Leviticus, Chapter one.

And he called to Moses and the Lord spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, notice that the Lord calls to Moses so that he could instruct him to say to the sons of Israel about the priesthood which is the ministry. Please hear this. What is the priesthood all about? The priesthood is the ministry of his presence. It's the place where people would go to draw near to him with their draw near offerings.

The Lord called Moses and before he established that, he made sure he instructed Moses, telling them exactly what to say. My friends, please hear this. When we preach the good news of the kingdom, what are we declaring? We are declaring the ministry of how God came and made his tabernacle and tabernacled among us. Where did the first vicar happen?

At the door of the tent of meeting. At the very place where people could enter in. How do we enter in? Through Yeshua. Through Jesus.

So Matthew 10:1, Jesus calls the disciples to himself to tell them how to minister to the lost Sheep of the house of Israel. So why does it matter so much to point out this word parallel? Because I have this silly belief that if that is how God spoke to Moses about the priesthood and that he took time to instruct before sending, and if that is how Jesus spoke to his disciples about the kingdom, then that is how God will teach you and I to be kingdom disciples sent into the harvest to speak what we've been told to speak. Which means if you're going to be a kingdom servant, you must meet the king at the tabernacle. What I mean by that is you have to make being in his presence your priority.

You have to make hearing every word, understanding every teaching, watching every nuance of his actions as he is with you and you are present with him. That has to be where it starts. Matthew 10:1. And he called his disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Folks, let's start with three things called people.

Disciples are instructed. People called people are empowered and called people are sent. That's just the way it works. How do I know? Because that's how it worked from the very beginning.

But sometimes that empowering equipping occurs not while we're sitting listening to a lecture, but as we go. You see, I understand as a preacher that what happens in this room today is really not the main lesson, because the application of the lesson doesn't necessarily happen in here. All I can do is teach. I can equip. I can tell you about how you are empowered.

But it's when you walk through those doors and you go out into this world in the sermon on when you begin to walk with Jesus that you will begin to see these things. Disciples who pray here am I send me. Must remember the lessons they learned when they were sitting with Jesus. You remember what Jesus told the Roman centurion? He said, go, and it shall be done for you as you have believed.

Man, I love that Roman centurion because he amazed Jesus faith. And Jesus wasn't amazed at very much. But what was he amazed at? He understood authority. Going on mission with Jesus means that something will happen, that some things will happen as we go.

And if we don't believe, that were likely never going to get up and go. Let me simplify it and say it like this. Peter didn't walk on the water in the boat.

And all God's people said, well, duh, the Bible didn't record. And Peter got in the boat. Ooh, anybody can get in the Boat.

Discipleship is getting out of the boat. Did Peter know how to walk on water? Nope. But Jesus was there and he figured he'll fill in the gaps. You see, sometimes we get this mentality that we have to know everything before we go.

And Jesus is going to dispel that. The Roman centurion believed that Jesus had that authority.

We've been sent in his name. I want to ask you a quick question. Who had the authority in Israel to send with authority two people, the king and the High Priest. Well, that's convenient, because Jesus is both. Remember Saul of Tarsus?

He wanted to go and persecute the believers in Damascus, but he first had to gain the authority to do so from the High priest. And so he went to the high priest, received a letter from him in hand proving he had the authority to persecute the Way. And I keep coming back to this thing that we talked about during our study on the Holy Spirit, that how come none of us have to be convinced, we are all convinced that Satan has power and that he's using whatever authority he has to come after us. Amen. I mean, we all, none of us doubt that.

Why then do we doubt when Jesus says, go in my name? And if you go in my name, you go in my authority. And if you go in my authority, you go with my blessing of provision?

Why is it so much easier for us to believe what Satan is doing than what God can do through us? If we would begin to listen, if we would bend our ear, if we would crave every word and watch every action of the Master, wouldn't you like to have one of those moments in your life? Well, maybe your question wouldn't sound exactly like this, but wouldn't you like to have one of those moments where you exclaim, who is this man that even the wind and waves obey him?

Wouldn't you like to be that close to Jesus to see that moment? He gives them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out. In doing so, he is teaching us to understand that some illnesses, some situations, some circumstances may not have their origin in the demonic, but the demonic exacerbates them. Humanity is plagued by the degradation of our physical bodies, but it's even more degradated by the spiritual condition of our lives. Kingdom Discipleship ministry is given under the authority of heaven and earth in Jesus name.

And it is over both physical and spiritual elements of mankind. Which means when you go forth in the authority of his name, you go forth to minister to people. And sometimes it's going to be physical and sometimes it's going to be spiritual, but every time it's going to be both. Because I can promise you there is no physical ailment. There is no physical challenge.

There's no financial, relational, whatever the challenge may be that's affecting us. That Satan doesn't pile on. He doesn't have to oppress you to.

He doesn't have to possess you to oppress you. So every time we go out, we are going out against another kingdom. But as we said in the first message, we don't go alone. I'm going to skip over the part where Jesus, Matthew actually names the disciples. There's a whole wonderful teachings and stuff we could do on that, but I want to get to what he actually says.

Matthew, chapter 10, verses 5 and 6. Jesus says to them, tells them who to go to and who not to go to. Verse 5, do not go the way of the Gentiles and do not enter the city of the Samaritans, but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. So I'm going to give you some basic sermon on the go lessons. Really tough.

Lesson number one, go where I send you. Everybody say, go where I send you. I mean, I'm supposed to go. I mean, parents, does it ever irritate you when you tell your kids to go somewhere and they go somewhere else and you. And you just want to go, why, I oughta.

I don't know how. Our Father doesn't, in heaven, doesn't just spend every day of his life going, why I oughta. You know, what did I tell you? I told you not to go there. I know.

Well, how did it work out when you went there? Not so well. Do the math.

Two lessons. The gospel had to go first to those called to take it to the nations. Jesus isn't being racist here by saying, don't go to the Gentiles, don't go to the Samaritans. He's already been across the lake to the Gentiles. But in this moment, in this mission, for this purpose, the people who had to receive the message first and the instruction were those who were called to be the light to the nations, to the Jew first, and then to the nations, to the Gentiles.

He is preparing them so that when they go as they are called to go, they will go with his instruction and not with his opinion. Which means sometimes you have to go to someone else. That doesn't seem like the priority of the person you want to go to.

How many of you have ever wasted your time? Well, I don't want to call it wasted time. How many of you have just invested so much time with one at the expense of others? You see, Jesus knows who is ready to hear. That's why he says the harvest is plentiful.

It's not pitiful, it's plentiful. It's only pitiful because I. I think we spend a lot of time going where we want to go instead of going where he has told us to go. And sometimes that season changes in our life.

First lesson is it had to go to those to whom it was first given. Secondly, the Gospel is a miracle of timing. And many times we ignore God's timing and his leading and our outreach. We're often so busy pleading with God to violate somebody else's free will instead of recognizing the timing of God's timing of God in that person's life. We go the way we want to go instead of where he told us to go.

And by the way, I think sometimes we need to change the way we pray for people that we want to get saved. Did Jesus violate you to bring you to himself? The answer that is no. Which means if you're praying, oh God, force that loved one to accept you. Yeah, that's dead on arrival, folks.

He's not going to violate them because you want him to. So change your prayer. Jesus said, pray to the Lord of the harvest. Well, Lord, if I'm not getting through to that person, Lord, maybe you start praying for that person that you don't even know who's going to be the person. And every day you pray.

Empowering, equipping prayers over them so that when they meet them, that person that you're not reaching or that you love so much that they are equipped to do what you were not equipped to do in God's timing. Sometimes we have to change the way we pray.

So the personal application is very simple. Are we going where we've been sent?

Lesson one. Go where he sends you. Lesson two. As you go, say what he told you to say, Matthew 10:7. And as you go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand that has drawn near.

Remember in Exodus chapter 3:16, the redeemer code, God told Moses, you go down and tell them this, I am indeed concerned about you, and I have come down to deliver you that message, that redeemer message was, this is what they need to hear. You know, God has a way of knowing that better than we do.

Which may I just sidebar. If you are intimately involved in sharing with somebody, how much time do you spend Praying, asking for the Lord to tell you what to say or to just be still and ask the Lord what's really going on here? What do I need to hear that they're saying that I'm not hearing because I'm so busy trying to prove my point?

Maybe the Lord is saying, why don't you try listening? John 3:16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth him should not perish but have everlasting life. That's the message every human heart needs to hear.

So let me ask you, what is your passion about what you tell people? Pull your toes in, everybody. Get your toes pulled in. Get them tight. Is it that you worship on Saturday?

I mean, can you just not wait to tell them, oh, we don't do that Sunday thing. Yeah, we do. Is it that you keep kosher? Is that the most important thing they need to hear?

Is it that you know how to pronounce Jesus name in Hebrew as Yeshua?

I'm just asking you, what is your. You know, if I was in a Sunday church, I could just, I could do a whole list of, you know, that our church, our church program is the best. We have the best youth program.

So don't take it personally. Take it personal.

The point is, are we on point? Are we saying what we were told to say? If the message of the Kingdom disciples, the Kingdom is drawn near, that is a message that has to translate into people's hearts. That God is not distant from you. You are the one that has been distant from God.

He's done everything to draw near to you. He's at the door.

Lesson one, go where he tells you. Lesson two, as you go, say what he told you to say. Lesson three, as you go, do what he told you to do. Matthew 10:8. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper and cast out demons.

Freely you have received. Freely give. Okay, everybody looking at me. This is a trick question. Now I've warned you.

Trick question heading your way. Does Jesus send us to do these same things? And all God's people said, I'm not even going to commit to saying anything out loud on that one.

In Christianity, some will say, yes, even though some of these things are seldom seen. Others will say, no, it was only for the 12. Now here's the problem with having doing the Sermon on the Mount after the Sermon on the Go when we get to the Sermon on the Mount. Spoiler alert. Lord willing, if we get there in February, we're going to See that Jesus is going to interpret things that God has said in ways that we might not have thought of.

You have heard it said, thou shalt not murder. How many of you got up this morning and that was your priority Prayer, not parents can't answer.

How many of you spend your devotional time going, jesus, help me not to. Now just a sidebar. If you are having that problem, please come see me afterwards because we need to get you some help. I mean of the 10, at least that one I get a gimme on, right? No you don't.

Because Jesus then gives the fulfilled living interpretation and takes it way beyond the letter of the literal of what was written. Jesus says, go heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, cast out demons. And if you and I limit our understanding to what Jesus was talking about to only healing lepers, then we didn't pay attention to what he just did in the Sermon on the Mount. So how can we do what the Master told us? Let's just look at these things very quickly.

We can heal the sick in Jesus name. Sometimes that is by the immediate work of the Holy Spirit and sometimes it's by the investment in medical ministries. Sometimes our prayer, the Holy Spirit will work in the actual body of the person who needs healing. And sometimes the Lord will work in the hands that will be rendering the healing in some surgical or medical procedure. And we give God glory for both.

Amen. Now we would love to avoid the doctors and we believe that the Holy Spirit can do it. But I want you to hear this. There is no religion that has built more hospitals than Christianity. Why?

Jesus said heal the sick. Now this is one of those situations where you can't ignore the literal. We are called to lay hands and believe that the Lord can heal. I've said this before. Years ago I was ministering in a church and we were going to pray for the healing of a person.

And I had one of the church leaders say, well, I can't do that. I said, why not? He said, well, what if they don't get healed? I said, when did that become your business?

That's not up to you. Are you saying and doing and going? Are you doing what the Master said to do?

The Roman centurion understood the authority of Jesus to deputize and to authorize people.

By the way, since every situation is both physical and spiritual, you say, well, I don't think I have the gift of healing for that person. Well, what about being the gift of God's presence for that person in that hospital room at that bedside.

What about going in and believing that you are the tabernacle of the Holy Spirit? And that when you walk into that room and you touch that person and you pray with that person, you are ministering the presence of Jesus Christ. That's what the Levitical ministry was all about, the presence of God. That's what disciples do when they go and they care for people who are hurting, who respond to physical tragedies. Jesus says, heal the sick.

Jesus says, raise the dead.

I have to be real honest with you. I'm kind of glad that we don't see this literally happen very often. All right? Because I want to be truthful with you. Most of the people that I would try to raise from the dead, if I was successful doing it, would punch me in the head the minute they were alive.

They would look at me and say, what are you doing? I was in the presence of the Lamb of God. What am I doing back here? So let's just be honest. There's not a whole lot of people that most of the people that we would want to pray for to come back really don't want to be here right now.

That doesn't mean it doesn't happen. But let me say, let's take the way Jesus interpreted scripture. You say, well, I can't raise the dead. What do you think happens every time God uses you to bring a person to call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? What does baptism represent?

You were buried and united with him in his death so that you can rise and walk in the newness of life. Paul said that we were yet dead, dead in our trespasses and sins before Jesus. Do you realize that when you are engaged as a disciple heralding the good news of the kingdom and you're bringing someone to Jesus, you are in the business of raising the dead. Unless, of course, you just want to go with thou shalt not murder. And that doesn't apply to me.

Expand your thinking. Jesus says, do this. Cleanse the leper. Well, surely this doesn't apply literally because we just don't have rampant leprosy in our culture, at least not in America. It's making its way back, as most diseases are.

But let me ask you this. Do we have anybody in our culture that feels like a complete outcast? Do we have anybody in our society that feels like their body is at war with themselves? Do we have people in our community, in our culture, that whose sexual orientation and the wounding that they have that has so messed up their identity they don't know what gender they are. They don't know whether they're a dog or a cat or a human.

Do we have people who are so wounded that they have become outcasts in our culture? Cleanse them.

They already know you don't agree with them. Good for you. Your bumper sticker, God created Adam and Eve and not Adam and Steve. Yeah, well done. Well done.

I'm sure that just melted their heart and they came running to Jesus. Cleanse them.

But you know what's going to have to happen in order for that to happen? You're going to have to get close to some very messed up, messy lives.

Come on.

The world needs to know that there is grace for the person who has committed abortion, as much as they need to know that God hates abortion.

The woman who has been traumatized by that scenario needs the grace of Jesus, and she needs that to be as loud as your voice is when you're warring against abortion. Jesus said, do this. Cast out demons. Now, this is one of the ones we are kind of willing to accept as literal. It hasn't happened a lot in my ministry.

Only once that I was sure it happened. The Father didn't bother to tell me he was about to do it when he did it. That's that sermon on the go. Sometimes you don't know till you get there.

But if we believe in Jesus, do we believe that he has given us the authority over these things? Hebrews 1:14. The writer of Hebrews asks a question regarding the role of angels. Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? In my first message, I noted we are not alone.

Ever. The angels are ministering servants of the Most High God. And their charge is to assist us who will inherit the kingdom. Which means if you ever come across a person that has that scenario, you are not alone. And it doesn't matter how many are in them.

What matters is how many of his are surrounding you, supporting you, and strengthening you for the moment that you must, by the authority of the Name, cast out that demon.

But the same is true when you just need to have the courage to speak a word of correction and exhortation into someone's life. The same host of heaven is there for that moment as well.

Jesus concludes and says, do this. Give as you have received freely. When we get to the Sermon on the Mount, we're going to come to Matthew 6:33. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Man.

There's a time when you just come to this place where you realize that God has called us to give. That's righteousness, and to do righteousness as we have received righteousness. And sometimes we go, I'm willing to do that. I'm willing to do that. Sometimes, you know, I'm not out there trying to take money for any of this.

No, sometimes we're not out there trying to take money for something. But sometimes we are unwilling to serve unless we get an affirmation or some kind of payday from the person we're serving.

Well, I would do this for them, but they wouldn't appreciate it.

Come on. Well, I serve and serve and serve, and no one says, thank you.

There's no difference. You're expecting a payday for doing what the Master told you to do. Does it sting a little bit when people don't. Yeah, sure, get over it. Jesus says, do not acquire gold or silver or copper for your money, belt or a bag for your journey, or even two coats or sandals or a staff for the worker is worthy of his hire.

If you want to jump down to the next section as we close, it says, and whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it and stay in that house until you leave the city. As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it's not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. Whoever does not receive you nor heed your words as you go out of the house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet, truly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment for that city.

Culturally, you and I do not understand this, because we think that we would be imposing a burden if we just showed up expecting somebody to take us in. But culturally, in the Middle east, even to this day, if you were to go into the wilderness and come to a Bedouin tent, they would, by their own cultural tradition, be required to bring you into their home, feed you, care for you at least three days, and then you would be expected to leave. In these days, what Jesus is saying is, here's the thing that's hard for us to grasp, because sometimes we want to do ministry when we know everything before we go, when we have everything before we go. And Jesus says, sometimes what you have is my promise that you will have what you need when you get there. Now, that doesn't mean you that we're not supposed to be Wise and plan and those things.

But the problem is, so many times we don't engage in ministry because we're so busy waiting to have everything, every spiritual. I'm not going to do anything until I know I've got the spiritual gifting. I'm not going to know until the Lord gives me a specific word. And we never go. And this is why this sermon on the go is so important, because sometimes you're not going to go.

There was a scribe that wanted to become part of the 12. He wasn't just saying, hey, can I follow you? Of course he could follow him. Thousands of people were following him. That's not what he was asking.

He wanted to be in the inner circle. He wanted to be part of the 12. And Jesus says, foxes have dens. The Son of Man doesn't even have a place to lay his head. You follow me?

Sometimes the faith is, I don't have it now, but he's promised to give it. And when I get there, he'll provide. Because in every city, there's gonna be somebody that God has already blessed for that moment to take care of you. Which means. Cause I know you're not gonna.

Well, I'm heading down to Norman today. Gonna go down to those big, nice houses God sent me. Let me in. No. But what about holding back on going and interacting with people?

Because we're just waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting for some lightning bolt in the sky, some supernatural financial blessings.

Sometimes the blessing is waiting for you at the place God is sending you. And you have to have the courage to get up and go, worship team, you can come back.

So what have we learned from the sermon on the go? He says, go and tell people the kingdom of heaven has drawn near. Go and tell people that God still loves you. God was so indeed concerned about your physical, your spiritual condition that he has come down and wow. If you think it was impressive when he came down on Sinai, it was even more impressive when he came down.

And there he was on that mountain in the north of the Galilee, in the flesh, the word of God, tabernacling with us. He says, go tell people, I'm right here. I'm the door. I am the place where you can meet and enter God's presence and go and do this. Heal the sick, cleanse the leper, raise the dead, cast out demons.

Go believing that you are a blessing and not a burden. Go believing that those who seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness will have everything. Because here's the thing. Throughout the Torah God constantly. He has all these laws about.

You are not to oppress the worker. Even the laws of slavery. You are not to oppress the slave. You are to make sure they are wealthy. You cannot violate the one who works for you.

I mean, how many of you know. You've read those? You know those, right?

Do you work for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords? Do you think he's going to violate his own Torah? If he calls you to go, will he not provide? But Lord, I don't know what. I don't have anything in my bag of witty, insightful comebacks.

Your bag will be filled when it needs to be filled. Just go in the authority of his name. Go. You'll have what you need when you get there. And go.

Stop believing that you're going to be a burden to people because you're trying to tell them the truth. And that doesn't mean be a jerk. That doesn't mean be rude. That doesn't mean be invasive. But don't think that what you're doing is a burden.

It's a blessing. Go and preach the kingdom in righteousness. And make sure, maybe this is one of the most important ones. Make sure that people know that what we're doing isn't just for our benefit. Make sure that people that you're ministering to in your family, in your workplace, in your school, wherever it is, make sure they understand.

You're not trying to win a notch on your belt. You're not trying to. They're coming to know Jesus isn't. So you get some sort of prize. It's because you really care about them and Jesus died for them.

Make sure they understand that what you're giving them is all about them and not about you. Go and say and do what he called you to do. Because Kingdom disciples must first be disciples of the King.