we're continuing today after uh a few weeks now i guess it was just one week of a break but we're going to mark's gospel and continuing our study in mark chapter 6 we are today mark chapter 6 in the new testament matthew mark and we're looking today at verses 7 through 13 7 through 13 and the next time we'll look at the death of john the baptist this is the word of the lord beginning at mark chapter 6 at verse 7 and he called the 12 and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over the unclean spirits he charged them to take nothing for their journey except the staff no bread no bag no money in their belts but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics and he said to them whenever you enter a house enter a house stay there until you depart from there and if any place will not receive you and will they will not listen to you when you leave shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them so they went out and proclaimed that people should repent and they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them may the lord bless the hearing today of his word well returning to our study in mark you remember that mark 6 is really a chapter demonstrating how to deal with and the problem of unbelief there really has been a great contrast that has been set before us you'll Remember in chapter 5, the disciples were struggling with faith themselves. Jesus had said, remember in the storm incident, are you still, do you still have no faith? Stop fearing, believe. And they were getting on-site training, if you will, on-site training as Jesus demonstrated before them exactly what he was after. He then gave them clear moments where they could see and understand just what Jesus was after in the ministry. As he gave very special examples of that in this woman, for instance, who came with the flow of blood. And reached out her hand and said, if I only touch the hem of his garment, I will be made well. And Jesus says, that's faith. She believed. Well, as they stand there, then they watch Jesus and then move to his hometown, where we looked at a couple weeks ago, for a large homecoming for Jesus, but everything there had gone south, beginning in chapter 6. The people of his hometown were offended by him. The people of his hometown had a real problem with him. They didn't like the way he was doing things. They didn't like what he was saying. Is this not the carpenter? they said we remember his shop is he not the son of mary which was clearly a clearly a ridicule we see his family here his his sisters are right here who does this guy think he is and we read in verse five that jesus could not do any works there uh what good would it have been to do mighty works there that would have only served to harden their hearts further there was no faith they had validated and confirmed when we think about everything that had gone on and everything that jesus was teaching and doing there was a testimony that was given of him as he preached and as he taught but they would not receive that they would not believe that and we read that jesus marveled at their unbelief remember marveled now i said last time jesus did not come there for a homecoming he went there to teach his disciples about the problem of unbelief to teach generations of people who would read the scriptures about unbelief what it looks like how to understand it and and we read a little interesting statement at the end of verse six that Jesus went on a circuit about the villages teaching he was he was doing his teaching and preaching ministry in a circuit it's a really interesting section there that Jesus himself after this went on a circuit and it's here at this moment that jesus felt it was time to give and get his disciples out there on a trial run it's really kind of an interesting moment this is a moment for a trial run for them it anticipates the day of course when he would be ascended and and and seated and they would be sent out to the ends of the earth as apostles and the power of the holy spirit they needed him to go away so that the spirit would come but here we have something we can learn a lot about because here he gives them a trial run in this context of chapter six of unbelief and here's the marvel of it what he had just taught them was that unbelief is the way that the gospel spreads you say what do you mean by that well he's he's demonstrating here when the disciples what they were being taught as they would soon be sent out in the Great Commission, they would know that it's time to move on. They would know that it's time to move on to another village, another place, another city, another town, depending on the response of the people. Very interesting, isn't it? This is how the spread of the Gospel would go. You remember in Acts, doors would close. Certain places, Paul would say, I'm going to stay in this city for a while because God has many of His people here. They're responding to the Gospel. when the door was closed they moved on and it got to the ends of the earth this way this is how the gospel has gone out and come to escondido this way but that's exactly what has happened jesus has preached and as he was rejected he left and he started a circuit of teaching here moving down and moving on had everything to do with gospel response but here's what concerns jesus the disciples needed to understand and know they needed to understand and understand this this issue of unbelief so that he is cautioning them to not let their own lives and their own behavior become the stumbling block that people can use to reject the message of jesus that really gets to the heart of this today. That Jesus is now giving them a series of instructions. I'm going through his instructions today. It'll feel very instructional because that's what these are, they're instructions. I'm going to give instructions today. Jesus is giving instructions to his disciples to guard their lives so that they don't become a stumbling block and they're not the reason for the unbelief. And boy, we can learn a lot about that, can't we? We can learn a lot about this, about becoming ourselves a stumbling block and in the wrong kind of way. He has a gospel intention here. It's saturated with concern. It's saturated with grace. He desires that, his good news, he desires that his gospel go out and not be hindered by the behavior of his own disciples. And that's really important because unbelief and offense is going to happen. We'll never overcome that as long as this world exists. You're always going to have unbelief. You're always going to have rejection. But Jesus is saying to us here that rejection that we experience in this life needs to be for the right reasons in our witness. It needs to be because people heard the truth, they processed the truth, and it came from you in sincerity as ambassadors representing me, dear disciples. representing me well and then they decided it was not for them but you can't be the stumbling block you shouldn't be the stumbling block and i can tell you working on this this week was probably one of the most convicting sermons that i've ever had to sit down and write thinking all that many ways in my own behavior have i been a stumbling block to people in the wrong way you understand this is going to strike us it's a very convicting sermon it's a challenging sermon to preach in terms of applying it we'll see why he's not condemning them he's not condemning us he's addressing our manner as those who claim him he's addressing nathan our manner as nathan stood up today now that he goes on and lives he's addressing our our purpose but also how the very presentation of ourselves affects the message and the witness that we carry now as identifying with Jesus baptism the sign of identification into his family profession of faith standing up and saying I believe these promises I believe and I'm identifying my life with him what now should correspond with that and so we have here Jesus interjecting his disciples on a trial sort of mission he's getting their feet wet and that's what he's been doing and training them as he does this he gives specific instructions for them in their dependency upon the lord their behavior and their testimony these are instructions and although we are not apostles we can learn a lot as servants of christ about his ministry and how we share in this so that our lives would be guarded and we would never be an offense to the testimony of jesus ourselves in verse 7 we read that jesus called the disciples to himself and he began to send them out two by two and gave them power over unclean spirits uh here and you'll notice that in verse 7 that they now were going in forth in his authority he had given them a sort of mini commission at this point the word send we understand for apostle the sent ones they were going out in his authority and this had always been uh the principle throughout history when any time the lord was sending in the old testament a prophet you remember they would have to stand in his council they would have to come from the presence of the lord and then go out and speak his words and his testimony they were to represent him we're looking at ordained ministry in a sense right here we're looking at what the ordained ministry looks like and how this happens most people a lot of people don't appreciate this and think that everyone is a sent one today but that is certainly not the case we're looking at something very specific the great commission was very specific this way in dealing with the apostles going out to baptize not everyone baptizes not everyone is a sent preacher he gave some to be apostles some to be prophets some to be pastors and then he sends them out and that's essentially what we have here this authority structure was always recognized especially in the book of acts i believe we need to recover it today In the book of Acts, when the apostles were preaching, when they saw, and I quote, the courage of Peter and John and realized they were unschooled, ordinary men, which we've been focusing on, ordinary men. They were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Wow. Really powerful, isn't it? They went out from him. They went out from Christ to be his ambassadors. It was the great qualification. These ordinary men went in his power. These ordinary men went with his message. These ordinary men came to bring the truth to bear upon the conscience of people's lives. And what now is first and foremost on Jesus' mind as he is about to let them go out now two by two to protect them? That the witness would be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses, which was always the case throughout history in the Old Testament. But the instructions for a moment are fascinating. I felt some pressure, maybe we should sort of just move on from this and get to John the Baptist. And I thought, no, this is a very unique section of Scripture that we need to spend some time in. In verse 8, he commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff, no bag, no bread, no money in their belts. They could wear sandals, and they couldn't take two sets of clothing. You say, what in the world is this? What is that for missionary work? You're going to go through the villages of Galilee, teaching and preaching. But stand back and look at them for a moment. They have one set of clothing. No food, money, only a walking stick. Jesus is very concerned about how they go, isn't he? And clearly you could look at them and say, I mean, this is kind of a pathetic presentation, isn't it? They had no resources to take care of themselves. You generally would take two sets of clothing, and travelers would, and they would set one set over them in the night when they camped out. Nope. One set. I don't even want two sets of clothing. You say, what in the stars? What in the world is this? This has led to all kinds of wild interpretations, by the way. Do I need to go through them throughout history? Even Haight Ashbery and some of the guys in white robes adopted this. Was Jesus promoting some kind of radical ascetic life? Was He saying you need to deny yourself the basic necessities of life? There have been movements throughout history. Followers of Jesus putting on robes and sandals and walking with staffs. You've seen this throughout history. You've seen, and I think maybe this has somewhat troubled us. Are we really tied to the Christianity of Jesus? People have looked at this and wrote books on being more radical in the faith now. You know, the law of non-attachment is even a kind of Buddhist principle. You know that, right? I remember the story of a well-known Buddhist. He lived up in Seattle and said that for so long he was mastered by his stuff. And he was following this principle now of the law of non-attachment of Buddhism. And so he said, one day, I put all of my stuff into my Seattle apartment. I stuffed it all in there, could barely fit it. I took my key, I locked the door, and I dropped it in my neighbor's box, and I went and moved out to an island. I never went back to it. That was freedom, he thought. It was happiness. If I saw the disciples, and I read this, i might think well that's just what jesus is promoting isn't it but it's not the case at all you've got to get to the reason for this what was jesus teaching his disciples he didn't want his servants to be free from um he wanted them he did want his servants to be free from attachment and stuff but for different reasons i want us to think about that for a moment He did want freedom from attachment to stuff. The Buddhist reason was obviously to achieve something for himself in fulfilling a pursuit of karma and a state of karma and all the things that they pursue in the Buddhist world. But they were sent here, the disciples were sent here from him on a great sort of commission to make known Christ. And think of the witness for a moment. Think of the witness they were coming with. They arrived in town as poor men. They didn't even have a change of clothes. They had no money, no food. And when you stop and you say, well, wait a minute. There's somewhat of a witness in this, isn't there? Look at them. Who do they look like? Him. Him. He came from heaven. He had everything. He came here with nothing. No home. No money. He had one set of clothing. His humanity. He had no bread. For your sakes, he became poor. That's the message of the gospel. isn't it? For your sakes, though he was rich, he became poor. Now you stop and you think, well, what is Jesus doing here with his disciples? I don't want you arriving in town different than me. Here's where I think we have to really think about the peculiar and particular ministry of the apostles. Paul described this when he said, it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in christ we are weak but you are strong you are honored we are dishonored to this hour we go hungry and thirsty we are in rags we are brutally treated we are homeless we work with our own hands when we are cursed we bless when we are persecuted we endure it when we are slandered we answer kindly we have become the scum of the earth the garbage of the world right up to this moment i'm writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children even if you had 10 000 guardians in christ you do not have many fathers for in christ jesus i became your father through the gospel therefore i urge you to imitate me he'll go on to say imitate me as i imitate christ the way and the manner in which the apostles came could not undermine who they were representing that's the basic truth there he was rich for our sakes he became poor and what a testimony showing up into town this way no one no one no worry about their lives they didn't worry about what they would put on they didn't worry about what they would drink they didn't worry about what they would eat they demonstrated before everyone life is more than food and clothing we're not seeking these things we're seeking first the kingdom of god and his righteousness and all those other things he'll add so the means in the matter in which they brought the gospel had to be consistent with who they were representing now do you see how that would expose response what did last time we look at everyone was attracted to or not attracted to about jesus his lack of glory we know this we're all attracted to pump we're all attracted to power in the church today we look at the charisma of the person we we look at how how great they are we want the strong man we want the man who who answers not in the ordinary we want to see him see him answer in the extraordinary something that makes me feel powerful and up in the previous section he went to his hometown and what was the essence of the criticism of him the essence of the criticism was he is too ordinary remember remember the phrase the veil of his ordinariness they couldn't look past he's a carpenter he didn't come in on the jet says jesus he's the son of mary he's an illegitimate son he's a nobody and he was teaching us there about the nature of unbelief and and what jesus was after was faith in in the word and they marveled that is wisdom and his power. But when they looked at him, he looked like a nobody. I mean, this man gets down and washes people's feet. This man's going to be hung on the cursed tree. This was God's wisdom to save. Two ordinary. And he's got these 12 ordinary men. Fishermen. He's got 12 ordinary men. Tax collectors. And here's the Gospel. He's laying down His life, taking on our rags, becoming nothing so that we might be forgiven and that's His message. He didn't arrive at your door with Hollywood stars. He didn't even use angels to make it all known to you. Everyone wants that. Everyone wants something great. He used nobody. And the church, for a long time in our land, has been unsatisfied with an ordinary ministry and an ordinary Jesus. I don't need to go back into all that. I could. But there's something that shines here. The response to the ordinariness, the response to the lack of pomp in their arrival into town was to provide for them a gauge of sincerity of response to the gospel. do you see this response to the ordinariness was a gauge of a sincerity of response as they arrived in a town the length of their stay was determined by hospitality this is really powerful if you see the connection here the length of their stay was determined by hospitality how they were cared for likewise when the doors were closed to them for hospitality they left when the message was rejected they were to shake off the dust off their feet and leave so here you have them walking into town these these fishermen bumbling on into town look at them they have no way to provide for themselves how how did the lord provide for his disciples what how in the world were they supposed to be sustained you could give the pious answer well the lord will just provide and the lord's saying i'm going to tell you how you're going to know gospel response the love of my people are going to provide and here's the beauty of this he would provide through those who were responders their doors to their homes would be open so that meant that the effectiveness of the gospel message and witness in a place would be seen through the provision of his people that's how they would gauge whether the gospel is being heard in fact in matthew right after he said don't take money bags he says this for workers worthy of his food and that's the principle of of payment what he was saying is how do you how do they view your work how do they appreciate your work that would be a gauge of response wouldn't it a gauge of their giving shows response by the way that they're caring for and valuing the church the ministry the gospel and those who bring it but the rubber really meets the road in the sincerity of our christianity through the open door then of the hot of our hospitality and our care for those in need we've always known that about christianity we've always said that about christianity this has always been what the scriptures have taught us about christianity now do you see how focused jesus is on their witness he has a gospel intention he takes it further in verse 10 verse 10 is interesting it has to do with their behavior in the witness and he said to them in whatever place you enter a house stay there till you depart from that place So you guys come into town. I want you to stay there. I don't want you going anywhere else until you leave. Why? What is Jesus concerned about? Well, where you are received, when you are received, you are received. There are going to be a lot of people when you go into houses who hear this gospel into these cities, and they're going to be really thankful for your work. The hearts of my people will really want to see you taken care of. But here's the danger. At your first meeting, the first bedroom that you're offered may not be very good. The first dinner table may be at a poor man's house. After some time, you're going to meet a lot of other people in your ministry. You're going to get a variety of accommodations and opportunities. Someone's going to have better accommodations. Someone is going to have a better suite. I don't want you moving around to the best places. In other words, you stay in the first place. I don't want upgrades to the Hilton. Now, we'll get at motivation here in a minute. This concerned Jesus because, as he always taught, the manner of wolves and false teachers was that they loved the best seats in the house. It was that they loved the best places. Woe to you, Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces. It has always been the problem in the ministry. Paul delves with this constantly to Timothy. There are all sorts of people doing this for dishonest gain. And here's what he's saying. You guys can easily fall into that. Chris Gordon, you can easily fall into that. This was always a protective mechanism, if you will, that would hinder, there was always a protective way that the Lord was shielding them. You could receive so many good things from people who actually, in the ministry at times, may try to buy you. That's happened. So they no longer want to be confronted. They no longer want to have to feel repentance and face it. And many pastors in the ministry have shut down the offense of the gospel, the offense of preaching the law and crushing because of this reason, because they've been given the best seats. It's hard to do, trust me. It's a hard message to preach. I'm not an apostle. I'm not calling anyone to be white-robed ascetics, by the way. I'm not doing that. We can drive nice cars. This is not a one-for-one correspondence. and i want to be careful being overly pious here as if we can't enjoy god's good gifts that would be so wrong to read it this way to do a one-for-one correspondence or that the disciples did not struggle with these things themselves their entire struggle their entire struggle in the ministry was they were fighting constantly over what the best seats we want the best places they struggled with that so what am i saying you can't upgrade in your car to leather that's not what i'm saying i like leather seats in cars go for it it's not it's not it we're so sinful we could hear this and think that what jesus is promoting even is having pride in little think about this I've seen I've seen rich people who take pride in driving the beater around you know you could have the problem with a beamer or a beater either way I've seen a kind of idolization of being thrifty and holding on to every penny presenting it as if people are living a modest life thriftiness can be the worst kind of idolatry you understand I have to say that in this context So I don't know how this sermon is going to be received or heard. You can be just as proud of being thrifty at the thrift store shopping or driving the old car as a cover to supposedly living a Christian life as we look in jealousy of those who have more and don't do those things. What is Jesus after here? I think it's something very simple and very practical. Isn't it true that more accumulation brings more worry? Jesus was saying, it's going to be really easy for you to lose perspective on why you're doing this. There are going to be doing and things are going to be thrown at you that are going to weigh you down and that are distracting to your purpose. And you've got to be aware of this. And don't we know that? Don't we understand this to some degree? Don't we get that? We're all so busy with our American way of life and we say constantly how busy we are and we're running around here and we're running around there and we have little time for anything, which doesn't make sense because we always have time to do what we want to do. But we really don't have time when anyone asks us to do anything. And little time to speak of Christ or little time to open our door of hospitality is not the reason for this often if we're really honest because we are so consumed with things and stuff. Worry about this and that and worry about these things. For some people, they live for these things. Their life is for more and more clutter and I'm guilty of this. And it affects the work. Bogged down with the abundance of things so that you can't do or can't focus on the calling that the Lord has given us. I think you can do this with sports. I think you can do it with activities. You can so accumulate so much busyness in life. You're really not free. And you bring yourself under bondage. There's something to what Jesus said. Life doesn't consist in the abundance of our possessions. Think of how it hit the rich young ruler when Jesus threw the books at him and threw the law at him and said, listen, I'll follow you, really? Sell everything you have, give to the poor, then come follow me. What if Jesus said that to us? He wants us free. Free from the love of things. Free from the things that hold us down. Mortgage to the teeth. sometimes with bill after bill after bill unhindered he wants us in his work for the benefit and the love of our neighbor it's not that jesus was teaching asceticism it's not that we can't have things it's not that you can't drive a nice car that's not that's not the focus here what he's teaching us is to remember why we're here to remember what you're doing if you're going to be his witnesses Jesus is simply saying you have to look a lot like me that's a basic principle isn't it this is why the apostles were constantly saying imitate me as I imitate Christ there is imitation think of the last day when he raises the very issue of your hospitality in this life which is very interesting in terms of reward not in terms of judgment but in Matthew 25 Jesus said you gave me a lot of hospitality in this life and and those who were standing there said well I don't remember when I did that come you blessed of my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world for I was hungry and you gave me food I was thirsty and you gave me drink I was stranger and you welcomed me I was naked and you clothed me I was sick and you visited me I was in prison and you came to me you weren't too busy for that then the righteous will answer him saying lord when did we see you hungry and feed you and thirsty and give you jesus a drink and when did we see you jesus a stranger and welcome you or naked and clothe you when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you and the king will answer them truly i say to you as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers. He did it to me. Now I'm so thankful that salvation doesn't ultimately have people rest in my hands and that's not what I'm promoting here. It's all a work of grace. But he has made, in terms of ordained ministry and in terms of the apostles in this particular case, his direct ambassadors to the message that he was giving as the gospel was going out to the ends of the earth. He has made you witnesses who testify of who he is and what he has done, and he's remembering and he's teaching us to think about who we represent in this life. And I'll be the first to say, I need that. After giving these instructions, he tells them that their witness and behavior is going to cause, at times, a reaction of unbelief. For the right reason. And how are they to handle that? He says, if in any place we'll not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony to them. Shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them. In other words, if anyone refuses your words, you're preaching if the door of hospitality goes shut if they no longer will receive it it was to be a symbolic action it was to be a public declaration when they shook the dust off their feet of god's divine displeasure that rested on that place that refused his gospel Jesus put it in city categories often. It will be better for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that city that is turned from you. So His disciples were to stay for a time where the door was open, but when the door went closed due to unbelief, they were to move on. And this is how the gospel has spread. It was a command from the Lord and the reason of its importance can't be undervalued. He wanted people to take very seriously the consequences of rejection of the gospel. Sometimes in our evangelistic fervor, we act like we're just begging people to come into the kingdom and we're so worried about everyone to come into the kingdom. We forget that the sword is cutting two ways and that those who refuse it, who harden their hearts against it, by closing the doors to the ministry and servants, divine displeasure rests on them, that house, that place, that city. That person, woe to you, Bethsaida. For if the works had been done and you had been done in Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have repented a long time ago in sackcloth and in ashes. You could almost say that to us in the United States. Woe to you. For if all the missionaries, all the gospel preachers, all the testimony, all the witness, all the churches that I have raised up, if all that had been in Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have repented. Be more tolerable. Sometimes I think our witness is ineffective because we've forgotten that Jesus did say that there's a time not to give what is holy to the dogs. There is a time. And people have to know that. The text ends here today. We'll close with this. The disciples went on a circuit and they went out and they preached and they called people to repentance telling people to turn to Jesus, to come under His authority, to believe in Him, to receive forgiveness, to receive gospel. And I close today saying, look at how wonderful our Lord is. Is His intention here to be hard? Is His intention to burn them up? His intention is that in our behavior, that in our message, that in the way that we bring it, in the way that we're willing to say, you cannot do that anymore or we're going to have to shake the dust off our feet. All of this is a display of his concern that people would turn and repent and believe that this is the mission. And he's saying that we're a part of this. He has sent servants and he has raised them up for thousands of years now, rising up early to publish good tidings of great joy. Glad tiding. And he gives a ministry of reconciliation to be His lights and to show hospitality to one another in love, to announce His gospel love. I pray in this place, and this is what encourages me today and you should be encouraged leaving. I pray in this place that hospitality flourishes in our love for one another. It would be a tragedy in any church if the lampstand was pulled because His gospel and His word was no longer valued. And it would be shown in a church when hospitality is gone. Think about that. But I think so well of this church. I have seen it here. I've received it here. You guys take care of your ministers. You love us. You've treated us so well. You love the truth. You receive the truth. You love one another. I am saying this as an encouragement today. of your love for the gospel your hospitality and love is abounding here and if you're one that the door is closed in your house start opening it think about how you can love your brethren in this place it demonstrates that you are responding to the gospel in your own life and that's why the apostle said never grow weary in doing good and receiving this ministry his goal in this ministry is a ministry of reconciliation and where i fail as you fail i need to repent trust me i had to get on my knees about my own worldliness in this deal i have to preach this and i have to live it and i was down on my knees i promise you struggling but i do all this and we do all this realizing we are sinners and that ultimately the benefits and blessings of the ministry and the effectiveness of it rests upon the work of the Holy Spirit. So I thank Him for His continued faithfulness in raising up and sending servants into the fields which are white for harvests. Receive them. Bless them. Be a part of this gospel ministry. Show hospitality. Love one another fervently with a pure heart. He has given you the greatest news that could ever be given to sinners. Let's thank Him. Gracious Heavenly Father, we bow the head realizing how insufficient we are for these things. We're weak. Like the disciples, pastors can say, we have struggled for the best seats. We've wanted the best fame and glory. We've wanted to be known. We've wanted to have our names exalted. And there isn't much of that spirit of John the Baptist that says, may we decrease and Christ increase. And then in the body of Christ where hospitality should be shown and love should be demonstrated in the body, it could be, Lord, that there are those here who have never once opened their door because really the Gospel has yet to penetrate their heart. Would that, Lord, change? Thank You for the Escondido URC. Thank You for this place where love does abound, where Your truth is received. where the door of hospitality is open. May it open wide to every type of person, every people group that we, Lord, would demonstrate how the Gospel has broken into our hearts and be thankful. And where we have sinned, forgive us. And what needs to be refined and decluttered, help us. And may we be free to do Your work unhindered as witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a privilege. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.