Let's stand together and hear God's word read. We'll turn to the Old Testament scriptures, to Isaiah chapter 35, and then to Luke chapter nine. First, Isaiah chapter 35. The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God. Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, be strong, do not fear. Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With the recompense of God, he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For water shall burst forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water. In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes. A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the highway of holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it. It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there and the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sign shall flee away. And we turn to Luke chapter nine. Then he called his 12 disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. And he said to them, take nothing for the journey, neither staffs, nor bag, nor bread, nor money, and do not have two tunics apiece. Whatever house you enter, stay there from there depart. And whoever will not receive you when you shall go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them. So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. Now Herod the Tetrarch heard of all that was done by him, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. Herod said, John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things? So he sought to see him. And the apostles, when they had returned, told him all that they had done. Then he took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. But when the multitudes knew it, they followed him. He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God and healed those who had need of healing. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God abides forever. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we pray now for your divine help in preaching and in hearing. We think of how you have ordained this great supernatural transaction to send your Word of life into the world that sinners would be called to you and your saints build up in love and holiness. We pray that you would lift up Christ and help us understand more of him, to see more of his glory and his ways in the world. And we pray, Father, in Jesus' name, amen. We turn for the preaching of the word to Luke chapter nine, and we will be looking at verses one through 11 in the preaching of the word, though the end of that section we will pick up again as the introduction feeding of the 5,000, so verses 10 and 11 in particular are a transition, so perhaps the closer focus today is verses 1 through 9 with the view to what is coming ahead. We are living in an age of spiritual confusion and deception, and in a rapidly changing world, of international tensions. As I mentioned in Sunday School, perhaps you saw what happened so rapidly in Syria in the last couple of days. And if we were to add names, Ukraine, Yemen, and Taiwan, we are living in times when the Our international order is shaking. We're also living in times when our social order is in decay, moral decay, where families are breaking down, where our economic uncertainty for the next years on account of how we've spent money as a country seems perilous, and where with a combination of deep fakes on the internet and the uncertainty after COVID-19 situation and the increasing distrust of science and authorities. These are all together, if you mix them together, are a recipe for significant social and even global unrest. Now, we're not worried about that because Christ is our King, but when Authorities are no longer trusted for their knowledge or respected for the authority that God has given them. There will be a search in the world for answers to life's most profound questions, for saviors and for truth. People are currently questioning everything. And if you spend any time online at all, you would realize this to be true. People are questioning everything. I think about, some of you, probably you've been noticing the headlines about UFOs, unidentified flying objects. They're just crowding the news. Whatever is happening, I'm not worried about it, but it is also a social phenomenon. and a phenomenon about the state of the hearts of men is we live in a world that's grasping for answers and people are questioning everything and the church is not immune to that questioning at all. Christianity answers these questions. The questions about what is true and what is not, about authority, about reality, about God and man, and why we are here and what we are to do, and how society and nations and families are to be ordered, what our fundamental problem is, which is sin, and what the rescue that is needed, which is by salvation through Jesus Christ, the Incarnate One, the God-man. Christianity says that God made the world and everything in it in six days by the word of His power and all very good, that the reality that He made originally was good and only good, and that we are good body and soul. I've been reading more and more about Gnosticism and Gnostic ideas. It says material is bad and spiritual is good. But no, the world that God made, physical and spiritual, was very good. Man was placed in that world after the image of God, and you all were made after that image. in order that you might have communion with God and know him, specially made as the crown of creation with the ability to know God and to have God think of us as his friends. The closeness of communion that we were made for with God in the original creation Abraham, God called Abraham my friend. Jesus said to his disciples, you are my friends. More than that, not only to know him, but in communion with God, to use our lives to further his holy ends and purposes. Not to be passive in the knowledge of God. but to be servants of God in communion with God and to use our lives, our gifts, our talents, our abilities for his glory. Adam, to tend the garden and to keep it under God, yet in fellowship with God. And this was especially signaled by this participation in the works of God. And sin came, and you know the story, alienation, the cherubim, flaming sword, guarding the way to the tree of life. And now we live in the world I just described of war, confusion, and sadness. What we could call a wilderness of sin and sorrow. And Israel's 40 years in the wilderness are emblematic of our condition, even as believers living in a fallen world. And without salvation, it is an utter wilderness, a bleak, A dry and thirsty land where there is no water, hope, there's only confusion, war, bitterness, abuse. Instead of peace, there's only fighting. And the human condition is such that we need help. is the only answer to all of these things. He is the truth. He is the prophet, the trusted authority. He is the priest. He's the savior of sin-sick sinners. He's the king. He's the one who's building and rebuilding a kingdom that will one day break out into perfect glory and bliss. Only God can reverse the pattern of sin and its attendant problems. There's only one mediator, Jesus Christ, only one able to take the scroll and open its seals. There's only one God-man. There's only one way of salvation in life. And this has been signaled in the Gospel of Luke very clearly in all that it says about Jesus Christ, that he was tempted, that he cast out demons, that he healed the sick, and then he preached the gospel. Everything that is wrong with the world can only be made right in and by and through Jesus Christ. And everything that we've read so far about his temptation and his casting out of demons and his healing of the sick and his proclamations of the forgiveness of sins all point to the cross and the empty tomb, what he came for. They foreshadow this truth that only Christ can purge the pollution of sin, only Christ can restore communion He alone is the Lord of the new creation. By word and spirit, He alone is able to make things new. But in Luke chapter 9, we find something remarkable where this message, Christ and Him alone, is communicated to the world by human instruments. That the thing that the world so needs for its salvation is communicated by human instruments. creation pattern of Adam being in the garden to tend and to keep it. Now under the second Adam, the apostles are sent out into the world with the message of the gospel and the power of restoration vested in them by Jesus Christ. in order that the final state would be brought in through the ministry of Jesus Christ, exercised by Him as the only King and Head of the Church, the only Savior, but through human instruments in order to bring that restoration. Luke chapter 9 marks an astonishing window into the ways of God in bringing salvation to a sin-sick world. the participation of the 12. And in a few chapters, we're going to see this broaden, chapter 10 actually, to the 70. And then at the end of Matthew, there's going to be a command not only to go to Israel, but to go to the ends of the earth. And it won't only be the apostles, but it will be the pastors and preachers that follow them together with the whole body of Christ in the service of Christ, laboring to the end that he would be glorified and that this sin sick world would know the only mediator. And so Jesus Christ in Luke chapter nine in these verses reveals the pattern of his kingdom and how it advances and conquers in history. And secondly, the remarkable privilege that we have in communion with Jesus Christ in his service, specially signaled here by this special office of the apostles. So we look at Luke chapter nine. First we see that there is a great commission given, the great commission given and a great commission that has a great effect. And then, surprisingly, we'll learn some great lessons at the end of the sermon about this great commission and its great effect. Again, as I said earlier, the momentum in the Gospel of Luke so far is only one man is in the spotlight. There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for many. And I said it in principle, but I remind you that John the Baptist is the forerunner of Christ, the gospel opens with the birth of Christ, Mary's song about Christ, Simeon's song about Christ, Anna's prophecy about Christ, witness about Christ, Christ in the temple at 12 years of age, Jesus baptized, Jesus conquering Satan, Jesus preaching, Jesus healing, Jesus raising the dead, Jesus casting out demons. Christ himself, he is the focal point, the center point of the gospel. He himself is the gospel. The power of salvation is in him alone. But a second thing that has been happening in the gospel that is perhaps less obvious to us, but that has been growing and here breaks out into the open in a new way, is the question of disciples of Jesus. That he has those who follow him. And here that they don't only follow him passively, but in a moment we'll see actively that his call to them is a call on their life that they might serve him with everything. Chapter five and verse 30, we see, well, the beginning of chapter five, the first disciples are called formally, even though many are already following him and his ministry. We first read the word disciples in chapter five and verse 30, the scribes and Pharisees complained against his disciples, those who followed him, those who called him. We have Christ and his followers in the gospel. It was when his disciples plucked heads of grain that Jesus was criticized concerning the Sabbath day. We read about the special selection, we'll see this later, of 12 apostles, but he teaches them and a greater crowd of disciples. Chapter 6 and verse 17 and chapter 7 and verse 11, we read again that Jesus went to Nain and many of the disciples went with him to hear him preach and teach and to watch the raising, ultimately, perhaps they didn't know, but of the son of the widow of Nain. that there is a group that is with Him, that follows Him. We read in chapter 8 that there are many women in this group, there are men in this group, there's a great multitude in this group, verse 4 of chapter 8. His disciples, verse 9 of chapter 8, ask Him questions. There's an interchange between Jesus and this group that is growing and following Him. And the word disciples implies not only following, but trusting and receiving His teaching. That there's a relationship developing between the Master and His disciples. What's clear, if we go back to chapter 6, is that of this greater number, there's a narrower number called the twelve. The twelve are chosen. Chapter 6 and verse 13 following, an inner circle chosen specifically with the special privilege and calling to follow him. And he chose them after prayer all night to God. He called his disciples to himself, verse 13 of chapter 6, and from them he chose twelve whom he also named apostles, Simon whom he also named Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, Simon, Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor. This number, the twelve, are in view here in chapter 9 and verse 1. And he called his 12 disciples together. This is the inner circle. Those who were witnesses of his close personal instruction. Those who would follow him and be taught by him for three years, sobering, as an aside, one of them is one who does not believe in Jesus from the heart. He loves the money, he loves the fame, but he doesn't love the Savior, and he will betray Jesus due to his scariness. which reminds us that disciples must be those who are truly following from the heart. But what this points to is something about the king. He gathers disciples, generally, and secondly, he intends to use them in the advance of his kingdom, specially. His purposes break out in verse chapter 9 when he calls the twelve together and gave them power and authority. And he also sent them to teach. Now, a little bit about the 12, it should make you think of a few things in your Bible. Why 12? Where do you see the number 12 in the scriptures? Well, you have a man named Jacob, who's later called Israel, the son of God, and he has 12 sons. And those 12 sons represent what? The fullness of Israel. The heads of the tribes. the 12 tribes. Moses, later on in Numbers 1 and verse 22, when he seeks to communicate to the people of God as the great prophet of the Old Testament, calls 12 heads, Numbers 1 and verse 22, in order that they might communicate his leadership to the nation of Israel. And later again, Joshua, in Joshua 4.4, he does the same thing, interestingly, in Joshua 4.4. He calls 12 new heads in another generation of the nation of Israel, representing the 12 tribes, the fullness of the people of God. And he uses them as those who are instruments, who carry out his labor for the whole people of God. And this idea of the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 representing the fullness, is even seen in places like Elijah at Mount Carmel when he takes 12 stones to make the altar one for each of the 12 tribes of Israel who need the cleansing. of sacrifice in order to be made right with God after their idolatry. But the idea of the 12 has the fullness of the people of God. And secondly, again and again, across the generations, 12 representatives chosen to represent the people of God and also to take the commands and teachings, for example, of Moses to Israel or Joshua to Israel. So it's not surprising to an Israelite that Jesus would choose 12 disciples and that there would be something of an echo of earlier times. It's also interesting, if you go to the end of your Bible, Revelation chapter 21, that the gates, the 12 gates of the heavenly city, the Jerusalem of God, are inscribed with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel and the foundation stones, 12 foundation stones, are the 12 names of the 12 apostles. and that this is the entirety of the saving purposes of God in redemption ultimately are signified by these sets of names. Of course there is, perhaps you're thinking about this, the question of the name of Judas. There's two different views on that from Acts chapter 1, but either it's the one who was elected to be a replacement or the Apostle Paul. I would lean towards Special choosing of the Apostle Paul there, the replacement for Judas in terms of that apostleship. But these names and these human instruments are to communicate the saving power of God to his people. Here in Luke chapter 9, there's another principle because it appears that they are sent to Israel, the house of Israel. And this is well understood when he said, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. And it's in the middle of his chapters in Romans 9 through 11 where he's talking about the salvation of Israel, where he talks about the beautiful feet of those who are sent to preach the gospel of peace, that preaching is at the heart of the saving ministry of Jesus Christ. And here, Israel, Old Covenant Israel, National Israel is being represented by these 12 men who were chosen by God to bring the thing that Israel so needed after all of its years of idolatry and all of its years of pharisaical legalism. Striking statement that follows this. He gathered the 12 and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. He gave them an ability and power, and this word for power, dynamis, that's where we get our word dynamite from. This power is invested in them by our Savior Jesus Christ, but it is the power of God. It has a supernatural character and quality. This word is often used for that supernatural character and quality. The authority adds to it. It's the right to use that power in rule. Power and authority invested in them over all of the demonic realm. He gave it to them. He puts them. Christ, the prophet king, places on them like Elisha gave his mantle to Elisha. He delegates. He's the found in origin by his word and his spirit. He gives them this power. Numbers 11 and verse 7, we have a similar thing where Moses, the Lord says to Moses, I will take some of the spirit that is on you and I will give it to the elders of Israel. And there's a great investing, transfer, and giving of power and authority over all demons. And you remember, this is just after the healing of the demoniac. which caused the whole region to be in fear. This is after the disciples saw Jesus calm the wind and the waves. Who is this that calms the wind and the waves? This is after Jesus raised Jairus' daughter and healed the woman with the issue of blood. He says, I give you power over all demons to cure all diseases. What you have seen me do, and if we're reading Luke for the last eight chapters, now belongs to you. Clearly the 12 in a special manner. were being made as those who would carry the ministry of Jesus Christ to all Israel. They were being made as jars of clay, as Paul would understand, vessels in which the power of God and the gospel would be communicated to Israel. He gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure all diseases. And then the capstone is in verse two, he gives them a commission. He sent them. So listen, look at the active verbs. He called them, he gave them, and now he sent them. Called, gave, sent. Simple authority, go. Where? Verse six tells us, the part of them went through the towns preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. They were to go to every nook and cranny of Israel, the surrounding towns and villages. As Jesus would later say at his ascension, you are my witnesses to Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Here was the beginning, the very beginning of that ministry, the beginning of the sending, and they go from town, the intention, the call of Christ was to blanket Israel with the message and the evidences of the power of God and the kingdom of God, which was in and through Jesus Christ, that there would be no forgotten place, that they would publish abroad, find everyone who had not heard They were to do what you are supposed to do with life-changing news. If you have life-changing news, if there's a new baby born in your family, if someone dies in your family, if you have financial distress or a great blessing, if there's some earth-shaking change in event, what do you do? There's people who are wired like this, they would tell nobody. Most of us are not wired like that. The moment we receive news, we're bursting. to tell others. And here, He's invested them with power and authority. He's given the power to cure diseases. And they are to carry the message of the Kingdom of God. Preach the Kingdom of God. What does that mean? That's what they were to centrally do. Take the life-changing news that they had heard and seen, heard from Jesus, seen in Christ, and announce. They were to preach it. What does that mean? To proclaim. To herald. But not just bear. wrote proclamation with a persuasive urging to consider the kingdom of Jesus Christ. They were to preach the kingdom of God. the lordship of Christ, the saving purposes of Christ, the coming judgment of God. Now, what would they say? We know in verse six what they understood this to be, because the text tells us they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. The good news that there's salvation in Jesus Christ. It is given to them. They are called, they are given authority, and they are sent with a message. They were preaching the kingdom, which meant for Jesus and them, they were preaching the gospel. And they were doing what? As the officers of Jesus Christ, extending his kingdom in the saving act of proclamation, as Paul said about the gospel, the word itself is the power of God. with its attendant signs of preaching and healing. They came back, verse 10, and told Him all that they had done. After preaching and healing everywhere, verse 6. They were proclaiming, and in proclaiming, they were extending as sinners were converted to God under the preaching of Jesus Christ, even in its rudimentary form here before the cross and the empty tomb. Calling sinners to repentance from sin and rebellion to God. Planting the flag of the kingdom of God across Israel in every place. Curing diseases, signs of kingdom redemption, and the mercy of God. Attendant evidences of the saving power of Jesus Christ. Do you remember what the false shepherds of Israel were condemned for in Exodus 34? And what false teachers always do? Here's one of the signs of the true gospel being preached. True gospel preached is always, has the attendant qualities of mercy and care of the needy. And when A and B are divorced, you have the false shepherds of Ezekiel 34, where the blind and the sick and the lame are left in cruelty. The ministry of Christ through his apostles is the opposite. The message of salvation combined with the mercy of God, proclaiming the glory of Christ to the nation. Finally, the last thing about this call, look at the lifestyle and the manner of these messengers' urgency. Travel light, take nothing, go. He said to them, take nothing for the journey, neither staffs, nor bag, nor bread, nor money. Do not have two tunics apiece. Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart." They were to move, travel light, trust God for the increase, move quickly, and if they were not received, look at verse 5, they were to move on even quicker, shaking the very dust off their feet as a testimony against them. We read in Acts 13 and verse 49, it's exactly what the apostles did. When the Jews of the region where Paul was preaching, Paul and Barnabas, when they left, they shook the dust off their feet. If they were to be rejected in unbelief, they were to move on to another place where the gospel would be received in faith and love. And they were to trust, like Israel in the Exodus, that God would provide the manna, that God would bring them to the places, that they were not to store up in barns, but say, give us this day our daily bread and run. Now, go. Don't stay long, keep moving. If you're received, stay at the first house. Make it the base of your operations. If not, shake the dust off your feet. And there's an application here for all of you. You're under preaching every week. And don't think that it isn't an astounding mercy of God, that he calls you and he calls you and he calls you and he speaks to you. And when you hear it, lay hold of it now. and believe. What are the effects? The effects are the magnification of the saving mission of our Lord Jesus Christ. Multiplied 12-fold, it goes everywhere, verse 6, everywhere. It penetrates the whole of the nations. And here is a window into how Christ rules and how his kingdom advances. They have power over demons. It multiplies now the power of Christ as he invested. Well, it's the same power, but its extension is multiplied through his investment in his officers to carry the message of the kingdom to the ends of the earth. And that's what he does, which is why preaching is central to life. The second effect. The second effect of this is Herod, verses seven through nine. The powers of this age become fearful. It's sort of an ordinary thing, the preaching of the word and the gift of a Bible and all the blessings that God gives us so wonderfully, but it's not ordinary, interestingly, in the eyes of the world. I think what we read here in verses seven through nine is not just that Herod heard the miracles that Jesus did, As an individual, later on we'll know that Herod wanted to see one of those miracles himself in chapter 23. He was curious about Jesus, but he could not help but notice that the gospel was turning Israel upside down. And what was one man is now 12 men. And what would be 12 in the present age has covered the world. And the powers of this age are perplexed. Herod's perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, but John had been killed by Herod. Some that Elijah appeared, one of the old prophets had risen again. There was something clearly supernatural. Israel is throbbing with. The power of God is evidenced and manifested. You remember, they're not just preaching, they're healing everywhere. This thing is multiplying. The king on the throne is sensing a movement, and the movement of God, and he's not in submission to God. And he's terrified. He's perplexed. He says, John, I'm beheaded. I thought I cut this off. All Israel was going to John at the Jordan. And he bothered me. He's gone. But who is this and what is this power in my land? So he sought to see Him. Two effects. The gospel being preached everywhere, the healing everywhere, the magnification and extension of the ministry of Christ, and the powers of this age are fearful and terrified, which they always have been. After Charles I was executed, and there was a period where there was the reign of the Cromwells, Oliver Cromwell and Richard Cromwell in the 1640s in England, followed up by Charles II. And it was interesting, there was nothing actually, Mary Queen of Scots, same thing in Scotland. It's interesting in the Reformation period that there was nothing more terrifying to an evil and wicked king or queen than the simple, ordinary preaching of the word of God. And so very soon, Charles II ejected all the faithful preachers out of the pulpit, some 2,000 men, and then he swept into Scotland in order to kill the Covenanters, the killing times. Why? Because they preached Jesus Christ. There is a fear and a recognition of a kingdom and a power and a glory and a judgment that comes by, listen, preaching and healing the good news and the saving power of God. And the kingdoms of this world have reason for concern. The church is an unconquerable power, the gospel is too, Christ is king, his kingdom is forever, and he has now died and risen again, ascended and sent his spirit and has power and glory and rules the nations. And kings and rulers should submit to him. But the note that they're afraid of him reinforces the calling, giving, and sending power of Jesus Christ. Some uses of this doctrine. A couple things, we start at the beginning, what is happening in the world and what can I do with my life, and light is what is happening. What is happening in the world? Something that has not changed. The kingdoms of this world rage. Christ remains on his throne, and he continues to do from his throne what he did on this day, which is to send out human instruments to preach the gospel with authority and power in order that his kingdom-saving purposes would be advanced in the world in spiritual means. Paul says that he ascended into heaven, Christ, in Ephesians 4, led captivity captive, gave gifts to men, a stream of pastors, teachers, and evangelists by the proclamation of the word. by the power of the Holy Spirit to push forward the kingdom of God, which is forgiveness and mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord. And he's pleased to use simple human instruments to advance these saving purposes and to push back the kingdom of darkness and to head the kingdom of light. A couple things to notice from the text. First, Christ is the only fount and source of that saving power. Don't be confused. The apostles are instruments in the hand of a Redeemer. They are jars of clay into which has been poured the treasure of the gospel. Their calling, their authority, and their mission is that of Jesus Christ. And John the Baptist understood this even as the forerunner, which means that he would increase and they would decrease. He's the only king and head of the church, there's no pope, there's no cult leader who mediates the power of investment and calling. It's word and spirit, Christ rules directly even now. Matter of fact, church and ordination, you see a man ordained a few weeks ago at Joe Gehrman's ordination, there was the laying on of hands. You have to understand that it's the authority of Jesus Christ and what the church is doing there is recognizing Christ's call, Christ's equipping, and Christ's sending. He's alone the king and head of the church. Number two, he does use human instruments. Later, 10 in verse 1, he'll call 70 commissioned in a similar fashion. We'll see that indicative foreshadowing of the mission to the world and the nations of the world from Genesis 10 and 11. Then repeated again in Matthew 28, go into all the nations. And then, though preaching is central, and the focus here is on the herald, the principle is that the king of the kingdom draws us into participation in the expansion and extension of his kingdom as human instruments, in prayer, and in giving, and in personal witness. You should never be an aimless Christian. You should know what you are called to do. You are called to participate in the advance of this kingdom. And you are to devote yourself to Christ's Church and its mission in the world. You are to be a worshiper. You are to be a giver. You are to be a prayer. And some of you Christ might be calling specifically to be a preacher. And you young men should think and pray about that. Missionaries and Sunday school teachers and nursery volunteers and faithfulness and prayer and hospitality and witness, there is this privilege of being used by the king for the extension of the kingdom and in every way to assist this central mission which is to go. Third, the central act of going is the word preached. Preaching the message of the kingdom, preaching the gospel. The world doesn't understand this. Again, I was watching video of tanks rolling in the streets of Iraq as people were defecting from Syria to Iraq in the hopes of finding a friendlier reception than the rebels in their own land and so much confusion. We do not have carnal physical weaponry in this advance. We have the preaching of the word. Because, as Paul asks, How shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? How shall they hear without a preacher? How shall they preach unless they are sent? How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things. The gospel here is the power of God of salvation. And this is the leading edge of kingdom advance in the world. I was having a long text conversation with a friend who's in seminary, a young friend in seminary. And we differ pretty profoundly on a certain question, which is at the heart of the Reformation, which is where does preaching fit into the kingdom? And this act of proclamation is at the center of kingdom life. And the sacraments, the Word made visible, are signs and seals on the Word itself. Preaching has been in history and is the central work of God in building his kingdom and in saving and keeping sinners, together with the sacraments, not to divorce them. Preaching has this great central place here in the purposes of Jesus Christ. And because of this, the church ought to be, and especially its ministers, devoted to the ministry of word and prayer, Acts 6. Because this means is spiritual, fourth, it needs to be accompanied by a manner of life that is simple. Some of you see the restoration of the Notre Dame Cathedral, remarkable piece of architecture with a remarkable history, cultural icon, magnificent building, but filled with all the pomp and circumstance of the Roman Catholic Church, not to mention the fact it's called Our Lady. It has a worldly, outward, showy characteristic. Jesus, go, take nothing. All you need is the word of the kingdom. That's it. And the kingdoms of this world will take note, and my kingdom will advance. Simplicity, spirituality, and at the heart preaching of a message for which we need nothing of the powers of this world. And Jesus says, make the means match the manner. Urgency and simplicity. Take nothing and leave quickly if the message is rejected. Finally, trust. Here's a question. Would you go? Would you go? Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs, nor bag, nor money. Don't take two tunics. Just take the coat on your back, the robe you're wearing, and move now. It's not just go, it's go now and trust me for tomorrow. There's some people I know And we're all tempted to this, who might leave Jesus at this moment. Because at the core level of the heart, who may be out loadedly busy with the kingdom, here's a question, what would you do that day? It's worth asking. What you see and know about Jesus Christ, in his faithfulness, kindness, and mercy to you, would you be willing to leave everything behind so the world might know? who he is and what he's done. Would you go? He said, just go, take nothing. Just go, now. Some people might say, Peter, he didn't say don't plan ahead. Actually, he said exactly that. Take nothing extra, just go. Trust me. Apostle Paul would have never left on his journeys if he had everything in place. There's some who always have some danger, some impediment, fearful, paralyzed, won't take any risks for Christ, so comfortable, so regulated, so nervous, it's inconceivable to me that we would live like this as Christians. Living by faith seems like a lost art. Now Calvin would caution me a little bit here. He'd say, Peter, they were clearly restricted to the land of Israel, so they didn't have to go that far, and you would have had to plan for a larger journey. Yes, but it doesn't take away the urgency. that this kingdom, this message, this freedom, this healing, this freedom from the whole kingdom of darkness that they were invested with was worth running now and leaving everything behind to take any risk. Here's a question for you. You ever wish you could go out like this? I can tell you, I can confess something. When we go on vacation, we were in Idaho a couple months ago in Eastern Idaho, and it's all Mormon country. We were so far into Idaho, we could hardly find a Christian church anywhere. I go up to Northern Ontario, I was there a few weeks ago with my brother, and the entire north from where he lives north is just thousands of miles of small towns where there's almost no gospel proclamation at all in North America. Nothing. Nothing. And here's my confession, I'm out there and sometimes I think, I should just stay here. It doesn't matter if I have nothing, what we do have is the gospel of Jesus Christ in earthen vessels with a command to go and trust Him for all provision tomorrow. Run. Do you ever wish you could go like this? We should pray about it more. Lord, you're pleased to use us as fallen creatures, even on this side of a restored world, to participate in the life and glory and extension of your kingdom. Ask yourself, what am I doing with my life now or from this moment on? Am I giving and praying for the preaching of the gospel? And am I willing to say, Lord, here's my life. Lord, send me. Let's pray. Lord our God, we thank you for your word and that it has come to us across the ages through human instruments in whom you have invested your power and given your message that we might have life in Christ. where all of us have benefited from this ministry without distinction. We pray that you would help us to see its glory, even as the world recognizes its power, that we more so, that we would give our lives in new ways to it, that we would see the glory of communion with you, where our lives become wrapped up in the mission of the one who came for us. We pray, if there are any here wondering about how to serve or when, that your simple commands here, with the urgency and spiritual clarity with which they come to us, would shape the rest of the course of our lives. Help us all, we pray, to take the treasure that you have given us in earthen vessels and to be willing to speak of Christ. We pray, bless, especially, the declarative ministry of your church in every age. We ask in Jesus' name, amen. Look up and receive that blessing. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.