Welcome to An Orderly Account with Pastor John Stewes as he continues a journey through Luke's orderly account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Church of the King strives for biblical worship, which views the Lord's Day as the time when God meets His people to renew His covenant with them. Covenant renewal is characterized by God's calling us to worship, a time for the confession of our sins, the hearing of God's forgiveness based on the finished work of Christ on the cross, the new life and His resurrection, presenting our offerings, approaching the throne of grace and prayer, and His teaching us from the Word of God. Now, here's Pastor Stews. Well, last week we closed by looking at the example of Jesus. how He served His disciples at the beginning of this final Passover meal by washing their feet. This week we will look at another major failure on the part of His disciples, and we will see Jesus use His example of service to teach them about Christian leadership in His coming Kingdom. What we will see Luke do in his orderly account over the next few weeks is to carefully intertwine the suffering of Jesus as He presents Himself for the great sacrifice for the sins of His people, intertwining this with the failure of His disciples. They fail collectively, as we will see today at the supper and in two weeks in the garden. They fail individually, as we will see next week as we consider Peter. In both cases, individually or collectively, Jesus looks past these failures, as God has often done with the failures of His people down through the centuries. Jesus knows that His suffering will fully satisfy the punishment that is due their sins, and that He will rise in power to establish His kingdom. Thus, he diligently prepares them to be its leaders. They must learn to serve because they will be lords of the kingdom. So let's turn to our text and see the latest failure from these very human disciples. Luke tells us that a dispute erupted among them regarding who should be considered the greatest of the disciples. One of His own disciples has betrayed Him. And now even the other eleven are having a prideful argument and will go on to desert and deny their Lord later this very evening. Now again, we must remember that this does not come as a surprise to Jesus, just as our sins and failures do not surprise Him. today. Those without the gift of faith who have hardened their hearts are going to come under severe judgment for their actions. It would have been better that Judas had never been born, we are told, and he dies in his sin, hanging himself in what would be called the field of blood. In a few weeks we'll see Jesus again weeping over those who send him to his death, knowing The utter destruction of Jerusalem is coming in A.D. 70. But what we see here this morning with His chosen ones who have faith is quite different. Their sins are forgiven and they are called to serve in the Kingdom. Jesus continues to instruct them toward this end until the final moments of His earthly ministry. We are to learn from this instruction. And we are to learn from their example as well. Hebrews 11 gives us a long list of examples of faithful saints in the Old Testament. What they refer to as the cloud of witnesses. It's given for us. Now, with the exception of Enoch and Joseph, Those who know their Bibles and have read through this list in Hebrews 11 know that there is no one on this list that does not bring with his or her saving faith some pretty serious problems with sin. We could think of Abraham who lied not once but twice about his wife in Egypt. We could look at his wife who laughed at God when he was making covenant promises to them. We have Moses, the coward, Rahab, the harlot, Gideon, the idolater, Samson, the fornicator, Samuel, the failed parent, and King David, who was a murderer and an adulterer. No one who honestly reads the scriptures can fail to see that it presents God's gracious story of redemption. Throughout all of history, we have all those who are being saved and those who are being lost. That's been the truth since the Garden of Eden and the children of Adam. But we should note, I think very importantly, a major shift that takes place from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. In the Old Testament, the faithful tended to be a very small remnant. Ten spies are weak and lose their faith and are afraid of the people of the land of Canaan, and only Joshua and Caleb are faithful. When the ten tribes are formed under King Solomon and divide, there are ten that go off and rebel in the north, and only Judah and Benjamin that stay faithful for a time in the south. We see that kind of thing over and over again in the Old Testament. But in the New Testament, we can see that things have been reversed. Now we have only one betrayer and eleven disciples who will be faithful. And you see, God has always taken these faithful saints in the Old Testament, His faithful remnant, and used them to advance His plan of redemption. the plan of redemption which Jesus has now come to finish. And now, with an abundance of faithful saints, He will advance this kingdom to fill the earth. And that is what we see in Jesus when He responds to the sin of His disciples this morning. He gently rebukes them for having the wrong argument, and then reminds them of who they are. Jesus points out that the kings of the Gentiles are the ones who exercise lordship the way they are discussing. Jesus says that it is not to be so with them. On the contrary, He tells them, He who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. Jesus now brings His own act of service in washing their feet back to center stage when He says, for who is greater, he who sits at the table or he who serves? Now, He's asking them to simply confirm how the world or the Gentiles would have viewed this and quickly gives them the answer. Is it not He who sits at the table? The king sits in the throne. The servants serve. And yet, I among you, Jesus, as the King of kings, was the one who serves. Now, I've got to believe that even these disciples, who could get so much wrong, could not have missed the point that he's making here. with the feel and smell of their own fresh feet to remind them of the example that Jesus has given. Then Jesus relates what they have done and who they will become in His kingdom. But you, you, the very disciples that have broken out in a prideful argument in the middle of the first Lord's Supper, but you are those who have continued with Me in my trials." Now, obviously, Jesus is not saying that they are sinless. These disciples have had their share of problems right up to this current argument, and their failures will continue later that very night. When they shortly come as the new lords of the kingdom, they will still not be perfect saints. They will serve as forgiven sinners. They will serve as faithful saints, continuing with their Lord in the midst of their failures. They had done so as His disciples, and they would do so even more when the power of the Holy Spirit is poured out on the church. They will be those who will endure the trials that are thrown at them by the world, the devil, and their own flesh. These disciples must begin to understand who they are. So Jesus tells them, I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as my Father bestowed one upon me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. We're going to exercise that truth this morning as we come to His table in His kingdom. And in verse 35, Jesus continues His instruction to these new leaders. Jesus said to them, When I sent you out without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything? And they said, Nothing. Then He said to them, But now he who has the money bag, let him take it. And likewise a knapsack, and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. The rules of engagement are about to change. Like a soldier who has been carefully trained in boot camp and is now moving on to the battlefield. Like one of our covenant children. who has been lovingly trained and discipled in our protective homes, who is now ready to face the world and to do their part to carry on the kingdom, fulfilling the Great Commission. A mature soldier does not continue in basic training. He doesn't keep doing those six weeks over and over and over again. And a disciple is no longer A child. An effective soldier or an effective disciple is one who has learned the lessons about authority and obedience well. Remember, the centurion was the one who Jesus said, I have not found such faith in all of Israel. Because he had learned those lessons as a soldier and understood that it was the same with the King of Kings. as it was with the emperor of Rome. A good soldier and a good disciple knows who is in charge and that they do not act alone, but as part of a unit. To demonstrate his point, Jesus reminds them how they were sent out in boot camp and how things will be different as they go out to serve now in the kingdom. First, Jesus talks about the money bag. What we provide things with. Now here at Church of the King, we are blessed with very many young covenant children. It's a blessing to have them in our congregation, to have them in our families. So I could look around at those, let's say those that are under the age of 10 this morning, and I could ask if they worry about how the roof over their heads is going to be paid for. When was the last time one of your four or five year olds came up and said, Daddy, are you sure we're going to have the rent this month? Did you pay the mortgage insurance? Some of them don't even know that it costs money to keep a house. But you see, there will come a time when these young boys will be the men who provide for their own houses. And these young ladies will be responsible for managing their own households. as they are instructed in Proverbs chapter 31. That is the transition from boot camp to the battlefield that Jesus is talking about to his disciples. The next point in our text is the knapsack. The knapsack pictures personal needs or provisions, the things they carried with them, which again, young recruits and young children don't need to worry about. If you're in boot camp, chow is served three times a day, and there's always soap in the showers. It will not be so on the battlefield. There they'll be responsible for carrying their own food and toiletries, and often struggle to find the simple comforts that we take for granted. Our young children don't have to worry about where the toothpaste comes from. It's always right there in the drawer, every morning. From nursing infants up through young adults, there is often not much thought given to where food and provisions come from. But an important part of our training as parents is to give them a growing awareness and responsibility for making these provisions. It's critically important. For example, in our family, our young daughters were given hope chests. at a pretty early age, and they were encouraged to begin filling those chests with treasures, and some of them were very expensive treasures, things that now adorn their own households. Our young men must learn to be trained. They need to have a proper work ethic. They need to consider what vocation they may be called to and learn the responsibilities of budgets and finance. Done properly, their training and education toward their calling can come at a very early age, and it can be a time where they learn many of these important lessons. They should be working hard to learn their trade and to make money to help offset the cost of the needed training and education in whatever field they're being called to. Now, the last comparison or shift might seem a little strange to our modern ears, but the disciples would have understood that having sandals or swords was a matter of protection. In the harsh climate of Israel in the first century, sandals were essential. Men would travel with an extra pair of sandals, and they would often have a sword for physical protection. Now, again, young recruits in the army don't have to worry about defending their boot camp. They don't have to put up guards because those boot camps are safely within their nation. But when they see their first battle, they will be expected to have their own weapon and to know how to use it. Our young children should feel safe in our homes, and they usually will as long as we don't have them watching too much of the evening news. Their safety and security at a young age should be something they don't have to give a second thought to. They are protected if we're being good parents. But the time will come when they must be the protectors. Now, many of the commentators prefer to spiritualize the reference to swords here, saying that Jesus is referring to the Word of God or some sort of moral protection. Now, these are certainly essential and even more important than physical protection. Jesus said that we were not to fear those who can only kill the body, but we are to fear him who, after death, can cast both body and soul into hell. A well-armed home that is not hearing and doing the teachings of Jesus is no protection at all. from the fires of hell. However, when Paul tells us that if anyone does not provide for his own and especially for those of his household, such a one has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. I think this has to include physical protection for the family as well. Again, A Bible-centered home that has high moral standards, that allows burglars or rapists to enter unhindered, is not a home that is being properly cared for. So Jesus has used these three things as our examples. And I hope that you can see that the point of all of this is maturity. The disciples, as children in the faith, are sent out by Jesus and they are told not to take a money bag, not to take a knapsack, not even to take a second pair of sandals. They were to learn the lesson that they were completely dependent upon Jesus. And such is the case with our covenant children. And we pray that it is a lesson that they learn well. This is why the command to honor your father and mother is the first with promise. We read that command this morning and we read Paul's reference to it. He says we have the promise of long life. And that promise is there if you faithfully follow this command. Because if you do, children, you will exit your home to establish your own family as a well-trained disciple who knows who they are in Christ and how he or she will serve in his kingdom. Now again, this does not mean that you will be perfect children. You are born with the same sin nature that has our disciples arguing about who is the greatest in the midst of the very first Lord's Supper. How upset would we be with any of our congregants if such an argument broke out while we were distributing the bread and the wine? And yet, that's what sin nature can do. So we need to remember that just like them, and all of the faithful saints in the Bible, We will stumble. We will sin. But like those faithful saints, and Lord willing, like our covenant children, you will come to Jesus asking Him to forgive those sins, to cleanse you, and to prepare you for proper service. Now, what if we have not had the blessing of being raised in a Christian home? Well, then we must follow the command of Jesus where He says, Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. We don't have to pass any theological or spiritual health test to enter the service of the King of Kings. We must simply turn to Jesus, turn to Him in repentance, and trust Him and Him alone. We do this when we are first saved, and then we do it each week as we confess our sins and come before His throne to be instructed from His Word, come before His table to be fed, and are commissioned to go out and serve in His Kingdom. We do this with confidence because of the finished work of Jesus, which He reminds His disciples about in verse 37. For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me. And He was numbered with the transgressors, for the things concerning Me have an end." In a sense, He's telling these prideful disciples, your very sin that you're committing tonight, here at this table and later in their desertion and denials, I will take upon Me. just as the prophets foretold, and they will have an end in me." Jesus has come to save His people from their sins, and He will, He has accomplished that task. Finally, the disciples respond to Jesus saying, look, here, we have two swords. And Jesus said to them, it is enough. It does not matter this morning whether you are rich or poor, with lots of money in your money bag or very little. It does not matter if you live in a big home with lots of clothes in the walk-in closet or just scrape by in a rented apartment without much. It does not matter if you have the latest shotgun for self-defense or a small can of mace. What matters is that you have obeyed our Savior and been faithful with what we have to make these types of provisions in our lives, trusting that God will establish the work of our hands as we advance His Kingdom. Thank you for listening to Pastor John Stewes of Church of the King. Join us next week at the same time as the journey through Luke's orderly account of the gospel of Jesus Christ continues. You're invited to join us for Sunday worship at 11 o'clock, where biblical worship is characterized by the active and vigorous participation of the entire congregation. Church of the King is a pro-life, pro-family church where all baptized children participate in worship, including the Lord's Table, on a weekly basis. To learn more or to hear this message in its entirety, visit orderlyaccount.com or call 916-451-5660. and conquer, still advancing o'er and o'er. Till all people, till all people, shall your holy name adore.