Instruction About Ministry & Compassion

We are in a study on the life of Christ, and we are at that point in his life where he is within the last six months of his life. And beginning from about month 6th to month 3, for about a three month period leading up to the crucifixion, we're in that time period of our Lord's life now, which is often called a time of conflict and instruction. Because Jesus is ministering in and around Jerusalem where the height of opposition is on the part of the religious leaders. And so the opposition is most fierce in that area, and that's where Jesus has come back to. He went to the feast of dedication, John chapter 7 we saw, and then the events following that we've been looking at, mostly in John's Gospel through chapter 10. So Jesus is ministering right in the hotbed of opposition, so there's a lot of conflict, a lot of going back and forth with the religious leaders, the Pharisees and scribes, and so forth. But there's also some instruction, and what we're seeing tonight is more the instruction side of what our Lord is doing. So we're in Luke chapter 10 this evening, where we find Jesus instruction, first of all, about ministry. Luke chapter 10. First one deals with the sending of the 72. First one says, after this the Lord appointed 72 others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town in place where he was about to go. Now this is often thought of as the sending of the 70 and some of you will have a translation that says 70 rather than 72. Is anybody concerned about that? You want to pursue that a little bit because that's quite an issue. If you were with us about a year ago a little more in our study of the doctrine of the Bible, you may remember we talked about how the original text of Scripture when it was given, the original writings were inerrant. In other words God gave them without any error at all and the men who wrote them were protected by the Holy Spirit as they wrote the original writings. Now centuries past and those original documents were taken and copied many, many, many copies were made of the original documents. We still have, they're called manuscripts, those copies are, we still have about 5,500 manuscripts of the New Testament in existence today. Not all of them are complete, some of them are just fragmentary, parts of a book or part of the New Testament, but there are many, many copies of the whole New Testament still in existence that go way, way back. Some of them, there's a fragment of the Gospel of John called P46, Papyrus 46, that goes back to the 100s just shortly after John wrote that. So we have a lot of evidence, but obviously in the copying of all of those manuscripts, scribes would sometimes, as careful as they were and they took extreme measures to be careful, sometimes a scribe would be careful. And those of us who have a scribe would have a variant and particularly in numbers, a variant would creep into the text. Usually men who spend their whole life studying the Greek text and they write Greek New Testaments and they put it at the bottom in the footnotes, all the different manuscripts that have the different readings, the different variants. It's very easy to tell what the original was because the oldest and best manuscripts pretty much all agree on a particular reading and you can see where the variants may have come in. On this particular instance, the difference between 70 and 72, the manuscripts are pretty evenly divided, even the oldest and best manuscripts are pretty evenly divided. So it's a reason the translations kind of go back and forth. And so the weight of evidence tips slightly toward 72. So I'm going to use the number 72. Okay, Jesus sends out 72. There are a couple of three things I want you to notice about that. One is that it says he appointed 72 others. This is probably not the 12. This is 72 other people, other than the 12. Otherwise it wouldn't have been stated that way. So that raises a lot of interesting questions, doesn't it? I think we tend to think especially by this point in our Lord's ministry that there's just 12 who are really following him that he would have enough confidence in to send out to preach and teach and do miracles and so forth. But here are 72 others that he sends out at a very critical point in his ministry. So it's obvious he trusts them. These are well qualified, ready to go people. You wonder who are they? Where do they show up in the gospels? You just hear over and over again, the 12. It's possible that some of these men are the some of the early leaders in the book of Acts. Men who would become deacons by Acts chapter six like Stephen and other men like that. Maybe some of them were in this group. But I'd love to know I wish somebody to write a novel on one of these guys. You know what it was like to be one of the 72 not in the inner circle, not the 12 but still be following the Lord enough to have his confidence to be sent out in this kind of ministry. It's pretty fascinating that these guys just all of a sudden show up and they're not they're not neo fights. They're not new converts. They're not fresh in the faith they couldn't be or Jesus would not have the confidence to send them out like this. But just interesting to me that there would be another 72 men that you could call on just like that and send out and have confidence in to do that. Again, most people see this as another tour of Galilee, but it probably isn't. Look at this picture that we have. This is an artist's conception of the sending out of the 72 and if you'll notice carefully, there's a body of water back here and and the surrounding topography. This is the goal on heights. Obviously that's the way they come right up to the sea of Galilee. So this is this is a picture of the sea of Galilee, but that's probably not where this happened. A lot of commentaries even say it's in the sea of Galilee, but where is Jesus right now in his ministry as we've been tracing him chronologically, where is he? He's in Jerusalem, isn't he or around Jerusalem? He's been there now for some time since he went to the feast of dedication and then just stayed there and continued the minister. So let's take a look at this map. This is Galilee up here and here's the sea of Galilee. Jesus is down here and he's going to spend three months actually a large part of the six months before he dies in this region right here. He will very shortly get away from Jerusalem because of the intensity of the opposition and go over into Korea. But notice what verse one says, and there were spending a lot of time on verse one, but notice what it says. It says he sent these two by two ahead of him to every town in place where he was about to go. That's not Galilee. He's not about to go to Galilee. He doesn't go to Galilee any time soon. He's going to stay in this area. And so this is the area where he sends them and it's important to see that because I think it helps us understand why he sent so many. And it's also going to help us to understand some of the instructions he gives them. Remember, he's already sent three tours of disciples through Galilee. That area has been pretty well exposed to his ministry, but not this area in the south. And so with the urgency of time, not much time left, and the increasing opposition, this is kind of like a blitz of Judea and Korea. And he sends 72, not 12, 72, to just canvas this whole area. And it's quite an impressive undertaking, really. Okay, any questions about what's going on here? And we'll look at the instructions that Jesus gives him. Any question just about the scope of what's happening here? Okay, if not, we're going to see the instructions Jesus gives him. And this is very similar to instructions he gave to the disciples when he sent them out in Galilee. You find that. We've already looked at that in Matthew 10. It's going to sound very familiar, but it's not the same incident, different geographical location. So it's a different number of guys sent out, but you're going to hear a lot of similar things because there's a similar type of ministry taking place. There are a number of instructions he gives. The first one in verse two is go in prayer. Go in prayer. By the way, as a lot we can learn from these instructions about doing ministry for the Lord. He told them verse two, the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few, ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore to send out workers into the into his harvest field. Okay, go in prayer. And I think the important thing to remember is that not only are these men told to pray, they're not told to just stay home and pray. They're told to go the very next word in verse three is go. So they're being sent out to the idea is that in the Lord's work, we don't pray for other people to do the Lord's work. We pray for people to join us in doing the Lord's work. We're not just to be praying for people to go. We're to be praying as we go for people to join us in the Lord's work. And that's how the Lord instructed them because they're the ones are going to be sent out. So they're to go in prayer. Secondly, they're to go in dependence number three on your outline. They're to go in dependence. Verse three, go. I'm sending you out like lambs among wolves. Who are the wolves? The lost. Okay. Yes, they are lost. Pardon me, Pharisees. Opposition. Okay. The Jews. Okay. E, all of the above. I think I think what we're talking about here, when he says I'm sending out like lambs among wolves, remember this is a time of really increased opposition. And so there's danger. There's danger here. These men are going to be exposed to some danger as they go out. Pharisees, scribes, the Jews as John calls them, all of whom are lost. They're not believers. And so they would fit that category as well. They're wanting to put to death Jesus. And no doubt they would want to get at some of his followers as well. If they find them out kind of on their own, no doubt they'd want to attack them too. And so there's danger. And what he's saying is you're like sheep among wolves. The very fact that he calls them that uses that analogy indicates that they must depend on their shepherd. If they're sheep, then they've got to depend on their shepherd for protection. A sheep has no natural defenses. Doesn't have horns, sharp teeth, claws. A sheep doesn't have any natural defenses like that. So a sheep is dependent on it's shepherd for protection. So by using that analogy, he's saying, I'm sending you out like sheep among wolves. The idea is you've got to depend on me. You've got to depend on me for protection. So go independence. And then for number four, he says go with urgency. Verse four, do not take a purse or bag or sandals and do not greet anyone on the road. What do you think he told them don't take a purse. In other words, don't take any extra money. Don't take a bag of possessions or extra pair of sandals. Obviously you'd wear the ones you've got on. Why do you think he told them that? Leave right now. Sure. What else? He'll provide for them. Okay. We'll see in a moment how he'll do that. But what else you think is involved in that? It's a serious time. And it's a very urgent time, isn't it? There's not going to be time to settle anywhere for any length of time. This is going to be a quick operation. And so there's no time to kind of settle in and you don't need extra provisions to wait you down as it were. I'll take care of those. But just get going. As Steve said, leave now. And this is going to be a quick blitz through Judea and Samaria. So go with a sense of urgency. Does it sound like to you though? It's kind of discurdious to say do not greet anyone on the road. Do you think you say it when people pass you by just turn your head and walk on? You know, don't even look at it. What's that all about? Pardon me? Wasting time. Okay. Okay. Put those two together and I think bingo. You've got it. Middle Eastern greetings were not just high. How you doing fine? Which is our kind of greeting. Middle Eastern greetings were long conversations. That's typical even today in the Middle East. But to see someone on the road, you wouldn't just throw up your hand and say, hi, keep going. You'd stop and talk for half hour. And so what Jesus is saying is, man, we don't have time for that. This is an urgent task. It will eat up time. You will lose your focus. You've got to stay on task and you've got to keep focused on what you're doing on what you're doing. Now, obviously there's a balance here as far as how we apply that today. Even today, we can waste a lot of time just by jawing about this, that or the other, you know, but certainly we should take the time to be friendly and engage people and so forth. But there has to be a balance there has to be a balance. We have to remember there's some urgent things that have to be done. And so that's what Jesus is is saying to his followers. And then he says go in a spirit of peace versus five and six. He says, when you enter a house, notice what he first say. Peace be to the or peace to this house. If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him. If not, it will return to you. What do you think he's saying there? What is what is this instruction about? He's talking about when they get to a town, right? This really is a way of identifying where they are to stay. They are to give someone a greeting of peace. And if that is returned in a spirit of peace, then that's where they're to stay. That's the way God will open up places for them to stay. You see. So there's a sense in which this is a greeting that will test different places for the purpose of lodging and so that they'll know where to stay. But it is interesting to me that he says first say peace to this house there to go in a spirit of peace, not in a spirit of having a doctrinal chip on your shoulder and just dare and someone to knock it off. So come on, I'm up for a good argument. I want to get into a theological debate here. Go in peace. And the first greeting is to be peace to this house. And if that same spirit is returned to you, then that's where you to stay. Steve. Peace is a typical greeting. Yes. Yes. If it wasn't returned, they would know there's not an open welcome there. So that is a way to test where they would stay. And then he goes on to talk about what it will be like when they stay somewhere, when they stay with someone. And so what he says next is be content. Be content. Look at verses seven and eight. Stay in that house. Okay. So you've tested whether or not there's a warm welcome in this house. But once you get there, verse seven, stay in that house, eating and drinking, whatever they give you for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. You know, once you're there for a night, you look across the street and say, oh, man, there's a nicer house over there. I'd kind of like to be over there in that place. You know, just stay where you are. Be content. Whatever, whatever place you're in. Stay there. And then he says in verse eight, whenever you enter town or welcomed, eat what is set before you. I remember when I used to live in the parsnitz next door here, I would get a lot of calls of people who were coming through the town, coming through the area and were stranded down at the intersection. Some of them were a jit. Some of them were not. But people were looking for help. And so quite often I would go out and pick them up and try to help with whatever needs they had. And I remember on one occasion, as happened quite often, they needed a place to stay and a meal. And so I remember one gentleman that maybe I should just call him a man. One man that I picked up that. Sorry for being facetious there. But one guy that I picked up and took to a place, we kind of had an arrangement with John Stinson. That's back when when some of our folks were there. Jim and Lori were running that. And so I would take them there. And then I would give them some money for show needs. They could easily walk up to show needs or eat even at John Stinson. And I remember making those arrangements with that guy. And he looked at me and said, you know, I really like cracker barrel better. That really didn't go over too well. You know. What Jesus is saying is if someone is kind enough to put you up, don't be picky about the food. Okay. Just eat whatever set before you. That's a good lesson for all of us. It's a good lesson for any of us who are going to a mission field. Who are being entertained by others who are serving us and helping us in the Lord's work eat whatever's put before be content. Be content with where you're staying. Be content with what's put before you to eat. Don't be picky about that. That's very good advice. So that Lord is giving not only to those men, but to us as well. So be content. And then verse 9 says, be faithful. Be faithful. Says, heal the sick who are there and tell them the kingdom of God is near you. Be faithful to show compassion to people who have needs. He'll the sick. Be faithful to the message that I've given you. The kingdom is near. Okay. Those faithfulness in what you do. Faithfulness in what you say. He's telling them to be faithful. Be faithful to the message. Be faithful to the ministry of compassion to others. So be faithful as you go. And then he says decide when it is best to move on. Look at verse 10. When you enter a town and are not welcomed. Go into its streets and say even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet, we wipe off against you. What Jesus is saying is no when to move on. If you're not welcomed, don't stay. Move on. Now, again, remember, there is a sense of urgency in this whole campaign. They do not have a lot of time. So if there is not an early welcome, shake the very dust of that town off your feet, move on to the next one. That's not necessarily. You have to be careful how you apply all of this to us today. Because remember, this is unique situation. So we can learn some things from this. But Jesus is not saying to us today. If at first you don't get a response, then give up on that person to go on. Now, there may be situations where that's necessary and prudent, wise. But that's not always the case. Sometimes God calls us today to stick it out somewhere where there is no response. And trust God for fruit and a harvest later. Sometimes that happens. So be careful about how you apply these kind of situations. Because remember, it is a specific situation for these 72 that are going out with urgency. Haste. There's no time to cultivate relationships here and build a work. This is a quick, quick thing. So if you're not welcome, go on, just go on to the next place. But all of us need wisdom sometimes to know when to move on. That's difficult. But sometimes we need to know when to move on. We've we've spent enough time. We've spent enough effort on a particular person or particular ministry or whatever. And it's time to move on. It's time to shake the dust off your feet and move on. We all have to have wisdom in that. Notice what he says next. Don't change the message. Look at the end of verse 11. He's just said, even the dust of your town. This is what you're to say to them. Even the dust of your town that sticks to your feet. We wipe off against you. But then notice this next statement. Yet be sure of this. The kingdom of God is near. I just love the way that sounds. Okay. You're shaking your dust. The dust of that village office that you're walking out of town. But as you walk out of town, you look over your shoulder and say, Kingdom of God still near hadn't changed. You know, it's like you don't change the message. The message is still the same. You don't water it down. You don't try to be pleasing and palatable to everybody. But even if you're leaving town, the message is still the same. Just want to warn you one more time. The Kingdom of God is near. So you don't change the message no matter what the response is. The message always stays the same. Okay. Any questions, comments about Jesus instruction to these 72 before we look at number 10. It's an interesting question. It's really hard to tell from what we have here. Whether or not anyone was really targeted. You know, I find myself wondering somewhat the same when you go into a village. You know, the only thing we know that happened next was say peace to this house. Well, how do you know which house is it the first house you come to? Is it is it obviously in the town square? Is it obviously a leader's home? We don't really know if anyone was really targeted or not. But we know that they made their selection by whether or not there was a peaceful welcome to them. That's an interesting question though. Okay. Anything else? Is it a sound room at the history of the building? Evidently so. Yeah. We'll see later when they come back and give the report. Wow. Yeah. There was some pretty special stuff going on. So yeah, they did. They had power to heal just like the 12. That's my assumption. Were the 12 still with Jesus? That would be my assumption. I don't know for sure. But evidently they are still with him ministering in Jerusalem or their bounce. Okay. Look at verses where are we 12 to 15? Yeah. Remember that God takes care of judgment. Okay. He's kind of building here. You've been run out of town in a sense because there's not been any reception. So the next thing he says in verse 12 is I tell you it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. I just think about that. Think about that for a minute. Sodom in the Old Testament was destroyed because of incredible wickedness and immorality and God sent fire from heaven to destroy that place. But what are you saying here in the ultimate judgment? It'll go easier on them than it will on the city that heard you. Why? Why is that the case? Why? They were made aware of these cities that the disciples are going to. They've been warned. Yes. They've been warned. And they they have much more light than the Old Testament city of Sodom had. They have Jesus in their midst. They have the disciples announcing the kingdom. So they got a lot. You know the more the more light we have the more we're given by God the more responsibility we have for that. And that's the essence of what Jesus is saying. Verse 13 he says, what are you? Corazin? What are you? Betheseda? For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon. They would have repented long ago sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment at the judgment then for you. And you cappurnum. Will you not be lifted or will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. Now here's another reason why some people say this is in Galilee because the cities that Jesus is addressing are in Galilee. Let's just take a look at the map. This is a map of Galilee that we've used before this kind of grayish blue areas all Galilee. See of Galilee. Here's cappurnum. Here's Corazin. Here's Betheseda. The three cities that Jesus mentions up here are kind of grouped together on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. And it's one of the reasons why some have mistaken this for a tour of Galilee. But if you read, if you read carefully and note closely, Jesus is not speaking to those villages. He's speaking to the 72. He's not addressing those towns. He's still giving instructions to the 72. And he basically has given the main instruction in verse 12. It will be more bearable for Sodom than on the town that you went to. And then basically I think what he does in verses 13 to 15 is remind them of the warning before back when they were ministering in Galilee. Remember what I told you before cities that have had a lot of light, a lot of opportunity are going to have it worse in the judgment. There's no indication he's speaking this to those cities. He's in Judea speaking to the 72. He's just reminding them of that principle. Corazin, Betheseda, cappurnum, going to have a rough time in the judgment. And so will these cities that have heard you. And then he mentioned that he compares them to Tyran side and look at this next map for Tyran. Oh, forgot I had this picture in there. This is this is the northern edge of the sea of Galilee. This is where. Okay, here's the plane of Betheseda. Here's cappurnum. Corazin would be up in here somewhere. All these villages are up here. This is one of my favorite views of the sea of Galilee. It's from the Arbale cliff. It's a large cliff that is on the west side of the sea of Galilee. And I will never forget hiking up to that precipice right there and overlooking the sea of Galilee. And it's a arduous hike. But once you get there, this is what you get. It's worth it. This view is absolutely incredible. But this is the area that he's talking about. Next map tells us. Okay, here's the sea of Galilee. Here's Tyre. Here's Sidon. This is in a whole different country. This is Gentile territory in Phoenicia. This is not even Jewish territory. So what he's saying is it's going to go easier for them in the judgment than it will for those cities that were right at the center of where Jesus did most of his ministry in Galilee. Okay, the principle is more light, more judgment, more opportunity, more responsibility. But all that's left up to God. Okay, the judgment is left up to God. That comes in the final judgment. He's talking about the day of judgment. Okay, it's not up to me to pronounce that judgment. It's not up to me to call them God's judgment or wrath on anybody that awaits. That's for him to do. Okay, so that awaits the judgment. That's Jesus' point. God takes care of the judgment. We just have to be faithful. That's all God asked us to do. Be faithful to do what he wants us to do. He'll take care of the judgment if there's any needed. Did you think that the people of the city that they will live in and knew what he was talking about? That's just like followers. They know Jesus is now the followers of the crowd. Yeah, yeah. And these men are really impressive. Yes. I think so. I think these 72 were with him when he ministered in Galilee. When Jesus sent the 12 on preaching tours, they didn't do that, but they were with Jesus when he would teach, when he would travel. There was a larger number than the 12 on occasion. It was just the 12. We know, but there was a larger number of people that followed Jesus and these 72 are evidently men who've proven themselves over pretty time. And we know that after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to over 500 people at one time. Those 500 people didn't all come to him in the three days between his death and resurrection. Those were people who had followed him in his ministry. So there were more people than just the 12. See. I don't think there's anything in the text that would give us guidance either way as to whether or not there were any women included. We knew there were. We know there were women followers of Jesus, whether or not there are any husband and wife teams here. You know, there was a husband and wife team on the road to a Mayas, the day of the resurrection that Jesus appeared to may have been some husband and wife teams here. I don't know. There's really no way to tell from the text, but it's possible. Yeah. I don't think there is unless there would be some pronouns that might be mask and refinement. I have to get the Greek text to see, but I don't know. Okay, look at verse 16 where Jesus gives them another instruction and that is don't take rejection personally. He who listens to you listens to me. He who rejects you rejects me, but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me. So what Jesus is reminding them is don't take rejection personally. If they reject you, remember, they're really rejecting me. And if they're rejecting me, they're really rejecting the father. So don't take that personally. Rejection of you is really rejection of me. And don't you notice, even in our culture today, how much a clear public stand for Christ will be treated differently than than standing for anything else. I'm thinking right now of Tim Tivo, some of you know, Tim Tivo, the quarterback from Florida, who's playing the effort Denver and and there have been people on his back ever since he came into the NFL mainly because he has a very clear outspoken Christian testimony. He had a really bad game Sunday and against the Detroit lines, I saw a clip on this later. I didn't get to see the game, but I saw a clip on it later. Tivo is known for before the game, pausing the in zone, kneeling down on one knee and praying. And he's very genuine about that. If you ever heard him speak or heard anything that he says he's a very genuine devoted believer, clear on his testimony. Well, he had a pretty bad game. He was sacked seven times and on one of the sacks actually on several plays, but on one of the sacks in particular when when the player sacked him pretty roughly that player then knelt in what they called the Tivo pose like he was praying like Tim Tivo mocking him. And that happened several times in the game. Now let me ask you this. Please understand what I'm going to say. I'm just, well, just please understand what I'm going to say. If that quarterback had been Muslim and had been known for bowing his face to the ground to the turf before the game, do you think that defensive player would have done that? No way. Because there would have been a national outcry against that, but not against a Christian. Okay, you see what I'm talking about here. Same thing Jesus is talking about. People reject you. Why? Because they're really rejected me. It's Christ they hate. I mean, they'll tolerate any other religion or religious expression, but not Christ. It's Christ they really hate. Christ they really reject. And you see that that's just one example, but you see that even today, the real hatred, the animosity against any claim of being Christian in the public arena today. You can claim to be anything else you want, but you claim to be a Christian. You're open for attack. And that's exactly what's happening in our culture. Satan is behind that because Satan hates the Lord Jesus, but Jesus is saying don't take that personally. Just realize if they reject you, they're really rejecting me. That's that's what's behind it. Okay, then number 12 on your outline, keep the right perspective on results. This is really a good reminder. Keep the right perspective on results. The 72 returned with joy and said, Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name. Can you just see the excitement there? I mean, they're says they have joy and they're just, I can just hear them giving the reports. Lord, you wouldn't believe this. Even the demons are subject to us. You wouldn't believe the results that we saw out there in the field. And notice Jesus response. He replied, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Now there are two ways you can take that. Some people have said that Jesus is saying you saw a demon subject to you. I saw Satan fall from heaven. Top that. I don't think that's what Jesus was doing. I don't think Jesus was doing what a lot of folks do. I got a better story than you put you in your place. I don't think that's the spirit of things here because of what Jesus goes on to say. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions to overcome all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. I think what Jesus was saying was when they came back and gave all these glowing reports about the power of God through them, even to cast out demons that demons were subject to them. Jesus is saying. You have put a dent in Satan's kingdom. In fact, this reminds me of the time he was thrown out of heaven in his original rebellion. It's the same kind of thing that you're seeing now. Power over Satan. Him being defeated. And you have defeated him. He's rejoicing with them. He's not doing the one upsmanship thing. He's rejoicing with them. This reminds me. I'm so excited for it. It reminds me when Satan was kicked out of heaven. And you're putting a real dent in his kingdom now too. And he's affirming them that I've given you this power. But then notice verse 20. And this is really the point he's making. However, he says, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. What he's saying is keep results in perspective. It's very easy for us to get results oriented. I did this and this many people came forward. This many people got saved. This many people made decisions. This happened. This happened. This happened. This happened. And get all excited about the results of my ministry. And Jesus is saying, wait a second, keep all that in perspective. He's going to go on to say in a moment, God is responsible for the results. You keep your focus up on the great privilege he's given you to be in his family. That your name is on his book. And you have the great privilege of us sharing other people into that same family. That's where you keep your focus on. Don't tally up the results and get all excited about results because results, ebb and flow. There are wonderful times of harvest and there are times of a lot of sewing where you don't see anything. That's just a part of ministry that happened in Paul's ministry happened Jesus ministry. So Jesus is saying keep the proper perspective here on results. And then secondly, he says keep the right perspective on power. Where did the power come from to do all this? Verse 21, 22. At that time, Jesus full of joy through the Holy Spirit. So he's rejoicing with them about their report. Full of joy through the Holy Spirit said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by my father. No one knows who the son is except the father and no one knows who the father is except the son and those to whom the son chooses to reveal him. Very strong statement of the fact that it is God who accomplishes all the results in ministry anyway. Nothing happens unless God does it. It's very easy for us to begin to think, well, I did this and saw this kind of response. Wow. By the way, I just want to say this, it is very easy. I've been in ministry 38 years now. I've seen pretty much everything there is to see with with things that happen in ministry. It is very easy to do certain things to get response. You can do that. That's very dangerous. That's messing with the power of God and with things eternal in people's lives. It's much better to let God take care of the results. Just be faithful throughout the net. Let people know they can respond. But when you start doing things to trick people into responding or moving them in certain ways emotionally, that's very dangerous. That takes it out of God's hands and that is something to really be careful about. Jesus is saying here, nobody knows the Son except the Father and to him, whoever the Father reveals him. Let God take care of that. You be faithful. Make sure people know how to respond. But don't you dare trick them into responding. That's very, very dangerous. Keep the right perspective on power. The power for this doesn't come from me. It comes from God. Then number 14, and we'll have to close with this. I feel so sorry for Jim. Jim is choosing songs that go with the second half and I'm never getting there. I'm sorry, Jim. And they're great songs, but I'm not getting there. Sorry. Number 14, keep the right perspective on privilege. Verse 23, then he turned to his disciples and said privately, blessed are the eyes that see what you see. I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, but did not see it and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it. Keep the right perspective on privilege. Whenever you do see God work, that is an awesome privilege. What he's saying to these people is there were Old Testament kings and prophets that longed for the day you're experiencing right now. To be sent out by the Messiah himself to do his work and to see his power. As you do that work. I mean, that's what the Old Testament prophets prophesied about. Longed for, prayed for, dreamed about. That's what the kings wanted to see and they never saw it in their day and you're getting to see it now. So whenever you see God at work, first of all, don't take credit for it. Remember the power comes from him and then just enjoy the privilege. God gives you to witness his awesome power. That's what he's saying to his disciples here. Keep the right perspective on that. It's not me. It's not so that I can write glowing reports about what I've done. It's, remember, it's all about God and just say, Lord, thank you for the privilege to witness this, to see this. So he said, you got to keep the right perspective. Now, next week we'll get into the parable of the Good Samaritan, which is a great story, familiar story, and we'll get into some of that. We'll even show you where it happened. And you'll be able to see from the terrain and the road how it could easily be a setting for what happened to the man going from Jerusalem to Jericho. All right, let's pray. Father, we're grateful to you for the Lord's instruction of these who went out to serve him. Lord, thank you for what we can learn, even though some of it is specific to that time and location and type of ministry. We thank you for the lessons we can learn about how you want us to serve you. And we pray that we will be faithful to do that as would please you. Father, help us to take the marching orders of our commander in chief, the Lord Jesus. And be serious about the work you have for us to do. In this day and age, the time you've given us, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.