If you have your Bibles, I'd love for you to join me in the gospel of Luke chapter 10. I like to know what I'm supposed to do. I like a plan of action. I don't like to be left in a quandary. I don't want to be wondering about expectations. I like what Luke chapter 10 conveys to us. Luke's gospel specifically emphasizes the phrase, Kingdom of God, throughout all of its chapters. In fact, it appears 32 times in this gospel. When you arrive in Luke chapter 10 and wrap in Luke chapter 11, the concept of the kingdom of God appears over and again in several key moments. Those key moments begin to articulate to us as believers God's expectations for us and thus we have a plan of action. In fact, in verse 9, we read, the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. Jesus is instructing His disciples, specifically empowering them actually to heal the sick, and He's highlighting the arrival of the kingdom of God, and it's earmarked by this power. In verse 11, Jesus warns towns that reject the disciples' message that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. You have a chance. You have this moment. Don't squander it. In Luke chapter 11 and verse 2, Jesus is modeling prayer for the disciples and in his prayer he offers this request, Thy kingdom come. Indicating for us a longing of God's reign to be fully realized. In verse 20 of chapter 11, Jesus has cast out some demons and he's defending himself and he says, but if I, with the finger of God, cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God has come unto you. He's emphasizing that his presence is the kingdom of God, indicating to us it was here in that moment and again, hopefully, fully realized in the future. In verse 23, He sends a clear message. He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. Jesus is conveying that you must sense the urgency of the message of the Kingdom of God being nigh and coming soon. Placing your faith in Him, in these chapters as I have referenced, the Kingdom of God was presented as a present reality. Jesus was right there. It is also indicative of a future hope with its fullness yet to come. Jesus emphasizing the urgency of accepting the message. There is so much in these chapters that He wants for us to learn. It's relevant for us. It's not relegated to a moment in time. It's not just ancient scripture. It's an actual plan of action for we believers. He's going to try to align our hearts with His so that we join Him in praying that specific request, Thy Kingdom come. I know we're diving into chapter 10, which is obviously 10 chapters in to Luke's account. But at this moment in the ministry of Jesus, He's traveling through various towns and villages and He's teaching and He's healing. Performing all kinds of signs, miracles, and wonders. He's doing so intentionally, for Jesus is spreading the message of the kingdom of God. Undeniably, Luke chapter 10 is a pivotal chapter. Because as I have referenced, I believe specifically it outlines for us what a follower of Jesus is supposed to do. We're not left to speculate about it. We're not left to guess. We're listening in to a conversation and we're seeing some vignettes within this chapter. In fact, we'll learn early in this chapter that we are expected to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ. We're heralds of the message of the coming Kingdom. Messengers of the Gospel. We'll learn within this chapter as Jesus responds to a question that we should be neighbors showing out the mercy of the kingdom of God. We'll close in kind of a private scene in chapter 10 where in the midst of all of this action of being an ambassador and being a neighbor, we should never forget that ultimately we are expected to be worshipers who take time to sit at his feet and listen to his teaching. But the first thing we encounter is this idea of being an ambassador. These words that Jesus speaks, I send you. After some time teaching and equipping, we jump right into chapter 10 where Jesus is preparing some of his most faithful disciples. He's calling them specifically to go out and preach the gospel. to go out and proclaim the message of the kingdom of God. He is empowering them specifically within this context and moment to perform some miracles. They are on the road with Jesus. They're learning from him. They're personally interacting with him. They're watching everything that he does and almost unexpectedly, Jesus pauses and he commissions them to go out and get after it. Note with me in verse one. After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come. Therefore said He unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth laborers into His harvest. Go your ways, behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves." After these things, and maybe we could simply summarize it by the account of the first nine chapters of Luke. After all of these things, after all of this investment by Jesus, after all of this modeling ministry by Jesus, He pauses and He commissions these 70 to go out. And Jesus sets for them a realistic expectation, and that's kind of helpful to know what it is that you're getting into. How many of you enjoy root canals? I'm looking for just giving it a second. Nobody enjoys a root canal. I had to have a root canal. It's actually been a couple of years, thank God. I'm almost over the trauma. I was in the chair, I was starting to get tipped back. The doctor was in the room and he said, Mr. Edwards, I want you to understand, you probably won't feel anything at all. Time out. What do you mean I probably won't feel anything at all? I want a definitively won't feel anything at all. I want another shot of Novocaine, man. I want a gas mask on my face. I wanna wake up next Tuesday. I want a cartoon hammer that hits me over the head and stars are spinning over it. I don't want to feel anything. What he is doing in that moment is he is setting some realistic expectations. I don't know how your body will respond to this medicine. I don't know where your nerve endings are exactly, and I want you to know you probably won't feel anything at all, but you might. Now I don't want to make taking the gospel to a lost world akin to a root canal, but I do want you to grasp that Jesus sets some realistic expectations. You may not encounter any pain, but you might. You may not encounter any persecution, but recognize, realistically speaking, it's out there. Jesus said to them something so vital, and I'm sure their ears perked up the moment he said it. I'm sending you forth as lambs among wolves. Grasp, that's the reality of the disciple who goes forth with the message of the kingdom of God. You are a little lamb and I send you out into packs of wolves to proclaim the message. The beautiful reality of it is, though no doubt those disciples who were commissioned in that moment heard that phrase, I believe that's not where Jesus wanted them to focus their attention. That's the reality of the situation, but I believe Jesus wanted them to focus on these three words, I send you. In essence, Jesus is saying, yes, you're going in as lambs among wolves, but you will never be alone. I have sent you, thus I will go with you. Perhaps one of the most classic passages ever studied within Scripture is that which we call the Great Commission. Where Jesus stands and He commissions, He deputizes, as it were, His disciples to go forward with gospel incorporated. Jesus says in Matthew 28, Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. Get this, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Jesus says, understand. I have given you a high and lofty task. Know that you have a commissioning, and realistically you are going as a lamb amongst wolves. But because I have sent you, I will also be with you. I note as I read this, these are unnamed 70 disciples. We're not given biographies of any of these early pioneers of the work that we're expected to be doing here in 2025. I guess in reality that's another way of saying we don't have any biographies because the individual name doesn't matter. Maybe we could go so far as to say we don't have any biographies here because they're actually just normal people. They're a bunch of nobodies. How many of you are glad and maybe you just long to be normal people? I long to be normal people. I'm not there yet. I'm striving for it. A group of nobodies, just normal people that Jesus commissions to go out. One author opined that perhaps some of these men that are sent out on these missions were actually healed blind men. Maybe they were individuals that Jesus had cast a demon out of. Maybe previously they had been a paralytic or a leper. These are common, everyday, normal people that had encountered Jesus and it had changed their lives and now they are getting commissioned by Jesus to go out. Verse one makes it clear that he sends them two by two. Jesus is followed not by celebrities. Jesus is followed by servants. Willing volunteers. He sends them out two by two. I believe one aim is for some encouragement. It's hard to walk uphill, it's better to have a friend. Secondarily, I know Jesus was sending them into these villages and towns and it establishes the Old Testament principle that this could be established with two witnesses. Whatever it is that Jesus is doing to them in this moment, it's applicable for us here and now. These 70 were divinely appointed by God for that specific moment. They were appointed by God specifically for that time, for that place, for that village, for that town. And we should all see that today for us. We should all view our life and our ministry and our interactions through that filter. You have to see yourself in this light. You aren't leaving here today to go home to some incidental neighborhood. You're not going to get up tomorrow morning and head into some accidental office. The reality is, you're not just heading off to some random school. You're not going to some random place to buy your groceries. As a follower of Christ, who has been commissioned to take the message of the kingdom forth, every interaction is a divinely appointed opportunity for you to do that which God has given you to do. And you better understand you have this moment in time, and you're not going to get to do it over again. And you might long for another era, and you might wish for another place, but this is where God has you. And this is your moment in time. As one said, life is not an accident. We happen to be on assignment. And when you take your eyes off of that reality, and you let that passion ebb, and you begin to fixate on the temporal things of this world, we take the potency of the gospel away, because what we must recognize here and now is we have been sent. He has gone with us. It's His plan for us. By the time you arrive at verse two, it's a very well-known verse. The harvest truly is great. But the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he would send forth laborers into his harvest." Jesus stands with a small following. He looks out on a vast population. He knows that the believers are greatly outnumbered by the non-believers and Jesus says, I'm sending you to begin this work. And as you go two by two into villages and towns, periodically stop and ask the Lord of the harvest that He would send more workers into the harvest. As one said, as is often the case, they were sometimes the answers to their own prayers. Isn't that the worst? Lord, I pray that my coworker would stop being a carnal lost jerk. I pray that they would encounter somebody who could introduce them to Jesus Christ and tell them the truth of scripture. And he taps you on the shoulder and says, yeah, that's you. I pray for someone else, Lord, to please do that on my behalf. Recognize that this verse that we so often reference is, pray the Lord of the harvest that He might send. These that were commanded to pray were also those that were on mission. They were on mission for the kingdom, praying for more harvesters to go out into the harvest. Always be about the word of your Father. As one pastor practically said, I've yet to hear of a church role that has a waiting list for volunteers. Except for senior pastor now intends to have a waiting list. That's another way of saying there's a whole lot of people that tell me how to do my job and 99 out of 100 times they're right and I listen to them Get busy That's what Jesus is communicating He's not playing games. He recognizes that his earthly ministry is winding up and At this moment in time, Jesus is beginning to work His way to Jerusalem, which is where the cross waits for Him. He's developing disciples. He's being stringent. He's being specific. And He is sending them out and He's saying, I want you to realize the facts. You are a lamb going amongst wolves, but you are not alone. I am going with you. It is Me that is sending you. Be about the business, and while you're on mission, pray the Lord of the harvest that He would send more. And it becomes so explicitly clear that not only does Jesus say, I send you, He says, I empower you. Notice verse 9. Heal the sick that are therein. Say unto them, the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. For this specific moment in time, These who have been commissioned to be sent out are specifically enabled by Jesus to heal. And while they heal, they say, the King is near. The fullness of the kingdom is yet to come, but notice by these signs and miracles that match His, the kingdom is near. We could uproot it from the Old Testament. We won't take the time, but Isaiah said, the healing of the sick is a sign of the dawning of the kingdom of God. It's near. Those who had read those prophecies are witnessing it now in their village. As you heal, Jesus says, make certain that you say, the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. Here's the reality behind that. Yet again, these words come to mind in the church. It's not about you. It's not about your capacity to heal. It's about the kingdom. It's all about Him. This is the power of the King. His kingdom has come nigh unto you. One wrote, the King is near. It's all about the King. Any and all accolades are to be deflected and then reflected back to God, for to Him alone belongs the glory, honor, and praise. Whatever is done in His name is done for His glory. He sets the realistic expectation that it's a hard thing we are engaged in. And then He wants us to grasp any success that you enjoy, make certain that you praise Him, for it is He that has empowered you. We come to a little conjunction in verse 10. It's a tone changer, if nothing else. Jesus is instructing these disciples. He's telling them, get out there and preach. The kingdom of God is near. And then he says this in verse 10, but into whatsoever city ye enter and they receive you not, go your ways into the streets of the same and say, we'll come back to that in just a moment. Jesus has set the realistic expectation, your lamb's going out amongst wolves, but I have sent you, therefore I will go with you, and I will empower you, but understand that there are some that will reject you. There are some that will work against you. There are some that will oppose you, for it is a fact that in the Lord's work there is no such thing as forward motion without resistance. There is no opportunity without opposition. There is no moment in this life where we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers That there will never be time where you move forward for God, where the enemy will not have an equal reaction to it. Jesus is saying to them, it's going to be hard and some will not receive you. Going forward as an ambassador for Jesus, as a lamb among wolves, means inherently it's an uphill climb and there will be some that work against you. For the enemy himself as a roaring lion is looking to devour, and he's working against the cause of Christ. One wrote this, there will be times when a friendly face will never show up. When your needs will be ignored. When you end up rejected, or ignored, or maligned. Where no home is open and no heart is open either. He wrote, there will be times in your ministry when the only friendly face you will see is Jesus, and then he said, and he's invisible, so that might not seem like much of a help. Jesus isn't sending us out on some mission and being unrealistic about it. You are walking uphill all the way to the finish line, and by the way, you're walking uphill in a headwind. And every once in a while there's an adversary or an enemy that comes out and tries to trip you up or hold you up or push you over. You are as a lamb going amongst wolves. But recognize, Jesus said, I'm still sending you. I'm not letting you off the hook. I'm still empowering you. I still have expectations of you. Yes, there will be some that reject. Yes, there will be some that work against you. But I'm with you and the mission has not changed. And they don't get away with it either. And I don't say that glibly, and I don't say that gladly. In fact, we pick this up in verse 11. Jesus says, even the very dust of your city which cleaveth on us, if they reject you, if they reject your message of peace, Jesus said, wipe it off. Notwithstanding, be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come nigh unto you. You had a chance. I was here as a proclaimer, notice this, but I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city. That's a mouthful. It shall be more tolerable in that day. That speaks of the day of judgment. That speaks for the day when the kingdom of God will be fully realized and God will reign and He will judge. God says it will actually be more tolerable for Sodom than it will be for this city where light has been exposed. Think for just a moment about how wicked Sodom was. And then remember that they had one righteous example. That was Lot. And all the activity of Sodom vexed his righteous soul. Lot was their lone source of light, and he glowed very dimly, for even his own son-in-laws did not believe his message." So when God rains down fire and brimstone upon Sodom, He does so, and they lie in ignorance. And Jesus has this audacious claim that when you, as a messenger, go in and proclaim the kingdom of God, and they reject your message of light as the kingdom of darkness is wont to do, and they send you out without peace, you're able to say to them, recognize, it will be more tolerable for Sodom in the day of judgment than it will be for you, because you've had a shot at light and truth. He goes on and gets real specific. Verse 13, Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which had been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you and thou. Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, get this, that was Jesus' earthly ministry headquarters. Peter's house is in Capernaum. Whole lot of ministry happened in Capernaum. Jesus says, you Capernaum, which have been exalted to heaven, you have had an incredible chance. You've encountered firsthand the kingdom of God, but you who reject shall be thrust to hell. He that heareth you, heareth me. He that despiseth you, despiseth me. And he that despiseth him, that sent me. Can you imagine what Jesus has just articulated? That judgment for those places where light and truth have been is going to be harsh because they've had a chance. It heightens the urgency of what we're here to do. Can you imagine what the judgment will be like on the quote unquote Bible Belt where we have a church on every corner? Where we have opportunity, vast opportunity to reach through technology, where light is available and light and truth are rejected? Think of those who have sat in churches just like this one, sometimes decades after decades, and have sat under teaching and preaching, line upon line and precept upon precept, but with their seared conscience have said no and no and no and no in that day of judgment what Jesus has just said. It sounds harsh, but I recognize the reality. These words were not spoken with anger. These words were not spoken with any rage, with any condescension. In fact, the word woe of verse 13 conveys a warning, but it's also a word of lamenting and sorrow. As one said, if you had heard Jesus speaking, you would have heard the tone of sorrow in His voice. He didn't clap for the destruction that was to come. It's not His heart. It's not His desire that anyone dies in their sins. He wants all men to repent. There's an urgency to our message. Delivering the gospel is not offering another option. It's delivering an ultimatum. If you reject this truth, you reject your only chance. Jesus is training the disciples. If they reject you, if they work against you, don't take it personally. They're not rejecting you, they're rejecting me. Now as soon as Jesus has corrected their perception of rejection, they're not rejecting you, they're rejecting me, he will now round the corner and he will correct their perception when they are successful. They're so human, these 70 that get commissioned out. I love this verse because I can hear myself in it. And verse 17, here they come back now, and they're gonna give their progress reports for their field trip. And the 70 returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. That's the one thing they focused on. We cast out demons in your name. Look what happened to us. Look at this success. And immediately Jesus responds. And it's striking what he says in verse 18. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning falling from heaven. You see, that's one of the weirdest verses in all the Bible. until you put it in context and recognize what Jesus is doing. Here come the disciples back, been commissioned, they've been empowered. They come back, they aren't focusing on those that have responded to the truth. They aren't focusing on the work that they have done, the fact that their shoes lasted a little longer, and their money stretched a little further, and their needs were met. They look at Jesus and say, unbelievable. If I use your name, I have power over demons. And Jesus immediately says to them, in effect, and you can imagine, just a slow clap. Great. I'm an eternal being that was in heaven when Lucifer rose up in pride against God Almighty and was cast out. In effect, he's one-upping them. He's setting this tone for them. When you succeed, keep your eyes on me and recognize you better sit down and stay humble. When things break your direction and people respond to your message or you do something great in my name, deflect the praise and reflect it back to me because I am Jesus. This is my mission. I'm the one that sent you. It's my message. It's my blood. If you get the opportunity to build a building, don't pat yourself on the back and clap your hands. Go into it recognizing any forward movement is going to be met with spiritual opposition. It's on its way. And if you complete it and cut a ribbon, don't stand there and applaud for yourself. You say, praise God, look at what God did on our behalf. Because all eyes on Jesus cause us to stay humble and stay seated. That's what Jesus is saying. In the end, it's all about Him. His mission, His sending, His empowering. I love verse 21. In that hour, Jesus rejoiced in Spirit and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth. Stop for a moment and consider that Jesus rejoiced in His Spirit because the message of the Kingdom had gone forth into towns and villages. Jesus rejoiced in His Spirit because some no-name, ordinary pioneers went out in faith and in an uphill battle proclaimed the message of the Kingdom of God. And some were rejected, but some were received. And Jesus is rejoicing in His Spirit because the mission is being carried out. You and I have the opportunity to cause Jesus to rejoice in His Spirit. We studied last year, we recognized something within Scripture. All of heaven pauses and celebrates when one sinner comes to repentance. And in this moment, we recognize that this action by these disciples caused Jesus to rejoice in His Spirit, and He thanks the Lord for the ordinary, everyday individual. He says, I thank you that thou hast hid these things from the wise and the prudent. and has revealed them unto babes. This is the simple. And by the way, if you wonder what category you're in, Jesus says, thank you for all you simple folks that keep showing up. Thank you for all you non-extraordinary, ordinary, carry-the-bucket, normals, babes that believe. Father, so it seemed good in thy sight. He says, all things are delivered to me of my Father. No man knoweth who the Son is but the Father, and who the Father is but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal. In effect, whether they receive or not, we've been sent and we're blessed. Jesus turns in verse 23 and He has a private moment with His disciples. Listen to this. He turned Him unto His disciples and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see and have not seen them and to hear those things which ye hear and have not heard them. Do you recognize that we are blessed to be saved? We are blessed to have the completed Word of God. We are blessed to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We are blessed to be sent. That is motivation enough. I began by saying we all clamor for some purpose. We want a plan of action. And Luke chapter 10 tells us the plan of action for the followers of Jesus. You are a sent one. I send you forth. As a lamb amongst wolves, I send you forth and I'm going with you. Nothing is on accident, not your neighborhood, not your kid's school, not your school, not your office, not anywhere that you go. It's a divine appointment. Begin to see it that way and seize it like that. empowered by Jesus. I don't mean that we have the capacity to do what they did in this developmental moment, but I do mean we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, and we have the power of the Spirit resting upon us, and on the message of truth. And I am telling you there's an urgency to it. You and I have here and now, and many people don't feel the potency or even the conviction of a message like this, because they are not engaged at all in preaching the coming Kingdom of God. It's all lost. But Jesus is looking at common people like us and he's saying plainly to us, this is your moment. This is your shot. This is your life. This is your church. This is your community. This is your village. This is your town. Tell them about the kingdom. Yeah, they might reject, but some will receive and press on. And if you experience any success whatsoever, say thank you and deflect all praise to me because it's not about you. It's about the kingdom and advancing it. Would you just for a moment bow your heads with me? Thanks for listening this week to the Graceway Baptist Church Podcast. For more information about our church and our ministries, head on over to our website at gracewaycharlotte.org. We are a church located in South Charlotte. We are growing and our ministries are doing big things for Christ. If you're looking for a way to get plugged into what we're doing, email us at info at gracewaycharlotte.org. Also, stay in the loop with everything happening by following us on Facebook and Instagram. Our handle is GracewayCharlotte. Thanks again for listening to the Graceway Charlotte podcast. We'll see you next week.