Jesus has been preaching and teaching, and healing and casting out demons . . . and everywhere He went, thousands of people followed him.
And as we get to this part of his journey, a transition has take place in his ministry . . . In the previous chapter it says that, “He set his face towards Jerusalem”. Jesus is staking his claim, and determining his future . . . “This is who I am, this is where I’m going, and this is what I’m doing.”
And so no he is on this multi month walk toward Jerusalem, toward the cross, toward his place of death, burial, resurrection, and ascension . . . and he’s building a team of people to help him accomplish this mission set before him.
He has the 12 who have been following him for a few years and have been trained by him and now he adds 72 more people. In our culture, we would call them volunteers.
You see Jesus understands that ministry isn’t supposed to be done by an individual; lone rangers with big visions but rather by a team of people, called and led by God to work together to accomplish his mission and His purpose.
The same reason we have created ministry teams here at Logos Dei. If we want to accomplish our mission . . . it’s gonna take a committed group of people. It’s gonna take all of us.
So Jesus adds 72 more people to his team and he sends them out 2 by 2. And He does this, I believe to create some accountability; making sure that they don’t compromise the mission.
You see, it’s easy to get pumped up when you first get involved in something – especially when you’ve got a leader with a great vision - but we can quickly get side tracked by life, boredom, frustration
Can’t we?
So Jesus sends them out 2 by 2 to work things through, to talk things over, to learn together, and pray together. To hold one another accountable to the commitments they made together.
So he sends these volunteers out 2 by 2 and what he tells them is that the harvest is plentiful, that there is great opportunity, there are people whom God has already been working on.
They just need someone to come and serve them and speak to them, and pray with them, and answer their questions, and to see them come to a relationship with Jesus.
In short, they are called to practice the faith that they had confessed and to help make the invisible kingdom, visible. And by doing this 72 are transformed from bystanders to active participants in the work of God.
This is an exciting call . . . God has already done the work you just have to go out and harvest!
But you have to go empty handed. You can’t bring money, no sword to protect yourself, no food or supplies, no sandals for your feet. You have to leave all of those comforts and necessities at home and go only with a message; the kingdom of God has come near.
And yeah, before I forget . . . you’re gonna be mocked, made fun of, opposed, and rejected. And there are gonna be these wolves out to get you on this journey who are going to try to get you to compromise your mission, your morals and everything that I’ve taught you.
OK team, bring in your hands . . . 1, 2, 3 ready . . . break!
How’s that for a locker room pep talk? But, Jesus needed them to be aware of how perilous the work of the gospel would be and he needed them to trust that God has already done the work and that he would take care of their every need along their Journey . . . so, no stuff, just a message!
Well, the 72 go out into villages and they do ministry, and they pray for people and they share Jesus with people. They see lives changed, bodies healed and they come back to Jesus and they are just buzzing. They’re thrilled. They’re excited. They’re like, “Jesus, you’ll never guess what . . . it was just like you said it would be, and we’re so excited about it.”
Jesus says, “You think that’s amazing . . . I’ve got something even better than that. There’s a father who loves you, and heals you, and redeems you, and rejoices in you and I’m on this mission to build His kingdom and your name is written on the list of those who will inherit this kingdom”
Boo yah . . . What, what! As Jesus tells them this truth, he is fired up. He’s excited. He’s happy. He’s rejoicing. His voice is loud and his hands are all raised up in the air.
But what’s got him so fired up? It can’t be his circumstances. He’s walking over rugged terrain in the heat with a bunch of his disciples, some of whom are really weird. He’s homeless, not sure where he’s gonna eat his next meal and he constantly has to battle with religious dudes. And he’s marching toward Jerusalem to get murdered. So it’s certainly not the circumstances that have got him pumped up.
Out text says that he was rejoicing in The Holy Spirit. You see, the Holy Spirit brings joy even in the midst of the most difficult of circumstances.
Now, some of you have been hanging around religious people and you’re like, “God can’t be happy. I’ve met some of his people and they’re not happy people. I mean, those people are no fun at all . . . and if they’re in heaven, I’m gonna ask for my own room.”
But you need to know . . . God is joyful . . . always has been . . . especially when his work is being done by his people.
So as the 72 are reporting back to Jesus about the amazing things that God has been doing through them, Jesus is pumped up, he’s excited, he’s rejoicing in the Holy Spirit and then he prayed,
“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and reveled them to little children; yes, Father for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my father, and no one knows who the Son is except the father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
Let’s unpack this . . .
And in this prayer God is revealed as, “Abba”; Father. This is a mind blowing concept.
You see, the Jews saw God as a “Force”, a spiritual being, something impersonal; something up there, out there. So sacred and distant that you didn’t even speak his name and you certainly hoped that you didn’t do anything to offend Him because you were very aware of the creative ways he takes people out.
So when Jesus starts talking about God as Daddy, he was walking a very thin line.
But you see, people don’t need a force . . . they need a dad who loves us and gives to us a new life.
• God’s not a force. He’s a father.
• God’s not impersonal. He’s personal. And he loves us.
When Jesus prays to the father, he is modeling for us the fact that God is a father who loves us and desperately wants to be in relationship with us . . . He always has!
And then Jesus says, “no one knows the son, except the father and no one knows the father except the son.”
What he’s saying is, “I’m the only person on earth who knows God” . . . that’s a big statement!
Jesus is saying, “As the son of God, the father and I have been together perfectly and eternally.”
• He knows me like no one else
• I know him like no one else
• And no one knows him unless I reveal him to them.
Here’s the point. No one knows God the father apart from God the Son. No one knows God apart from Jesus.
Some of you are here and you are desperately seeking for God. Some of you, you don’t know what’s going on inside of you. You don’t know why your life’s not working.
Let me tell you this . . . Jesus is revealing himself to you right now so that you can know and experience the love of the father.
You see, it’s about Jesus. And if you understand that, the Holy Spirit wells up in you with rejoicing. There’s an enthusiasm and excitement.
Yeah, all that other stuff in my life really stinks . . . but God loves me anyway . . . that rocks!
Now some of you are a bit stuffy . . . you can’t get fired up about this stuff because you live in your head and you feel that you might look a little foolish if you get a little pumped up about Jesus.
So Jesus says, “Rejoice. If you know the father is in you . . . rejoice because the holy spirit takes the love and joy and the peace of God and puts it in the child of God and we should get just a little fired up about that . . . and blow it up with our friends, raise our hands in the air like we just don’t care and give a little woot, woot!
Well, he pulls the disciples aside and he says, “All right, guys, here’s the deal. You remember what the prophets said and what the kings wanted . . . You remember that?”
“Oh yeah, Jesus, we remember all of that.”
“Okay, here’s the deal . . . its happening. The kingdom of God is among you, because the king is here, and the kingdom is showing up.
• You know why those demons obeyed you?
• You know why people are getting healed?
• You know why people are getting saved?
The kingdom of God has dawned. That’s why all of this of this is happening and you really need to get a little fired up about that.
It’s as if Jesus says, “We just need to stop for a minute and pay attention to what’s been happening. And then rejoice in that! Throw a little party . . .
‘Wow, God. You let me see what you’re doing and be a part of it.’”
But do you know what’s amazing? They hadn’t even seen him rise from death yet.
He hadn’t gotten to Jerusalem. He hadn’t died on the cross. He hadn’t risen from the dead. He hadn’t conquered sin, and death. He hadn’t yet ascended into heaven. He had not yet sent the Holy Spirit.
Logos Dei, we are on this side of the cross and to be honest with you, this is the most exciting season I ever remember in the history of our church.
Yeah, money’s tight. Something things are difficult; we have more ideas than we have people, and we don’t always get the words right on the screen.
But Jesus is pulling us aside today and he’s saying, “Look at what’s going on. Look what God is doing. The harvest is ripe, people are ready to hear this message of hope and grace that I have given to you and have been preparing for you . . .
So get pumped up and be filled with joy and enthusiasm and hope and expectancy and pray that God will bring more people to Logos Dei because the harvest is ripe but the workers are few.
So, here’s what were’ gonna do. We’re gonna share in communion with one another in a few minutes so that we can be reminded of what Christ has done for us and during that time, I want you to reflect on where you see God at work in your life and I want you to think about how you can get more involved in the mission and ministry at Logos Dei.
We have a great vision but it can’t get done without you.
And then we’re gonna gather back together and get a little pumped up with music . . . we’re gonna celebrate God’s kingdom around us and his work among us and I warn you, it might get a little crazy in here!