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Eugene Prewitt

Take Nothing or a Sword

Our father in heaven, I ask that you would join us here this evening that by your spirit you would make your word to be a living thing to us. That you'd help us to understand what it means and how it's important and what to do. And We depend on you for that gift and we ask for it in the name of Jesus. Amen. Turn with me in your bibles to Luke, Luke chapter nine. Luke chapter nine, and we're looking at verse one. Then Jesus called his 12 disciples together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick and listen. And he said unto them, take nothing for your journey. Neither staves nor script, neither bread, neither money, neither have two coats of peace. Let's do a quiz. Jesus, when he sent them out, how did he send them and what did they take with them? Laura, I'll give you a hint. Nothing. They didn't take anything they didn't take with them. I mean they wore something but they didn't take with them very much. They, how many coats did they take? One. I think that was their clothing. I don't think it was just like the winter thing. They didn't take money. They didn't take something written down that they were gonna say or it's something to read from. Do you remember how it went for them when they did that? What did they end up lacking when they were out there? They didn't lack anything. And how many did he send out this way? We're in chapter nine. How many did he send out? He sent out 12 in chapter nine this way. Now go to chapter 10. Some of you were getting ahead of us. Chapter 10, we're looking at verse one after these things. The Lord appointed other 70 also who had he appointed in chapter nine 12 and he sent them out without anything. Chapter 10 verse one. He appointed other 70 also and he sent them two and two before his face into every city in place. Whether he himself would come, therefore said he hunted them. The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few. Stop there for a minute. Where did Jesus send them to every city where he was going? Jesus is coming back soon to the world. Maybe I could say in simple words to every city. And where would he send them today? Maybe every city where he was going, pray therefore the Lord of the harvest that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. Look at verse four. Carry neither purse nor script nor shoes salute. No man, by the way, This is a simple thought. Think it for a minute. There were 12 that went out with nothing and they came back and they were okay and then there were 70 that went out with nothing. Who, who required more bravery in that endeavor? The 12 or the 70? The 12. Right? Because they went out first they had no evidence except what they had seen of Jesus to believe it would work out. But the 70 had people that they could see and know, hey, this works and they went out without anything. Are we in our situation more like the 12 or more like the 70? Okay, we can read it right? So we really are much more like the 70 when it comes to going out to doing God's work. Do you think we might be overly concerned with the provisions of the way? Maybe a little bit too concerned with that? Look at chapter 22, Luke chapter 22 and we are looking at verse 34. Nope, verse 36. Nope, verse 35, Luke 22, verse 35. And he said unto them, that is to the 12 when I sent you without purse and script and shoes, lachy anything. And they said Nothing, Jesus is about to die. There are so many things that he has said that he could refer them back to so many things. But what was the one thing that he brought their attention to here? Their experience of going out with nothing and coming back just fine. Verse 36, then he said unto them, but now he that has a purse, let him take it and likewise his script and he that has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. Why The change of tune in Jesus. It's very clear from the verse before that he hasn't forgotten about how well it went for them when they had nothing. Why did Jesus change his tune? Why did he say before take nothing and now he says, but now take everything and not only equipment for the journey but take a a sword. I wanna suggest to you a reason. Look back at verse 31 and the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold Satan has desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith fail not is it clear in verse 32 that faith can fail And when you are converted, strengthen your brethren. And Peter said to him, Lord, I'm ready to go with you both into prison and to death. And Jesus said, I tell you, Peter, the Cox shall not crow this day before you shall twice deny that you know me. You'll have to check this yourself cuz there's not time for me to prove it, but I suggest to you that Jesus was communicating this thought that when you were working for me, you had everything you needed when you were in my service, I took care of you. When you were going on the journeys that I was sending you on, I was your provision, but tonight you're going to deny me tonight you're going to leave my service and set out in your own way and it's a dangerous world out there. Make sure you're well equipped, make sure you have enough food and make sure you have enough money and make sure you have a sword. Take good care of yourself if we will put our lives into the service of Jesus. We don't have to take good care of ourself. I don't mean how that might have sounded, but I mean God will take good care of us If we're not life insurance. I could use that as an example. If you are have not put your life into God's service, I highly recommend you get life insurance. I think Jesus says right here that you should do it. You should have high quality life insurance. Don't you think you should or you could have? Jesus is that bad advice pastor? All right, I'd like you to turn your Bible. So actually no. Let's notice something else here before we go on. Look back at verse 31 and 32, when Jesus predicted this is a new thought altogether. When Jesus predicted that Simon was going to fall, did he predict anything else that he'd be converted? It is a beautiful thing that when Jesus predicted that Peter would fall, he predicted that he would be converted. This is not the only place where you can see this thought. It's in every one of the gospels. I didn't write down chapter numbers so you can turn to Matthew while I find one, the book of Matthew. Look near the end somewhere I would suggest probably chapter 26 would be about right. That's right. Matthew 26 and look at verse 31 then sayeth Jesus unto them all ye shall be offended because of me this night for it is written, I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flax shall be scattered abroad. Did Jesus predict that they were going to fall? He did look at verse 32, but after I am risen again, I will go before you and to Galilee. Did you just predict that they would still follow him? Eventually he predicted that with their fall there would come arising again. The Bible says that the righteous fall seven times and rise again. If I could, if I could make a simple contrast in the Bible, the righteous and the wicked fall the same number of times they we fall completely, we fall seven times we fall. The difference is how many times they get up the wicked get up between zero and six times And the righteous get up seven times. If you fall seven times. Tiana help me with this. If you fall seven times and get up seven times, will you end up down or up? Is that too complicated up? You're right. You end up up. Jesus. When he spoke to people about their weaknesses, listen carefully. This is an evangelistic thought. He spoke to them as if they were going to do the right thing, as if they were going to be converted, as if they were going to be faithful. As a matter of fact, in one of these gospels he spoke to them. He said that you're gonna sit on the 12 thrones judge in Israel. There were 12 disciples, one of them was named and Jesus said, how many thrones? He said 12. Jesus spoke to people as if they were going to do the right thing. He talked to them as if they were going to make the right decision. Look in Ma and mark. Turn towards the end of it and I'll give you a chapter number in a moment. Mark, try chapter 14. Thank you, mark chapter 14 and we're looking at verse 27 And Jesus said unto them all, ye shall be offended because of me this night. For it is written, I will smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered, but after that I am risen. I will go before you and to Galilee. If this looks familiar, it's because we just read it in Matthew. It's the same thought. One thing I want you to catch is not everything in the Bible is mentioned twice, some things are mentioned more times than others. This one is mentioned in every single gospel. That's because it's very important that when you speak to people, you speak to them as if they're going to do right in our human nature. You remember this as a child. You remember a time when you were trying to do the right thing and someone suspected you of having done the wrong thing and how badly that hurt. That's a real troubling experience and maybe you can remember in middle school or secondary school when when someone had confidence in you that you could make it and that you could do it or that you were going to come through how you wanted to, to rise to that level of expectancy. Jesus used that in evangelism. He, he didn't go to these men beside the sea and said, listen, I want you to evaluate this, and if you decide it's a good idea, I think you ought follow me. What do you say to them? Follow me as if they were going to do it. It's an important principle. Let's look at the most amazing of these. Look at John, John chapter 13. Thank you, except for I would like to go all the way back to verse 36. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, where are you going? Jesus answered him Where? I go, you cannot follow me. Now listen carefully, but you shall follow me afterwards. Do you hear Jesus speaking to Peter? He said, Peter, you're going to make it. Verse 37, Peter said unto him, Lord, why can I not follow the now I will lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him. Will you lay down your life for my sake, verily, verily, I stand to you. The Cox shall not crow till thou has denied me thrice. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me, in my father's house or many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you, I go to repair a place for you and if I go to repair a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also. And where I go, you know and the way you know, It's one conversation if you doubt it, look at Thomas's response. Thomas said unto him, Lord, we know not where you are going. How can we know the way? That's the same discussion in verse 36, the very same thing. It's the way through. What just said to Peter is, Peter, you are going to deny me. Don't let your heart be troubled. You believe you're going to fall, but you're gonna make it. You're going to rise again. You're going to repent. You're gonna turn away from Ron. You're gonna turn away from sin. Jesus related to people as if they were going to make the right decision and everything in their being rose to meet his expectation. Males that were around him felt for the first time in years that they were men. They felt there was a purpose and something noble in them that they could rise to to be. It's a beautiful thought. I'm gonna share these thoughts again and then I'm gonna risk something. What I'm gonna risk is I'm gonna ask those of you who are canvasing today, if you have any experiences to share out loud that you can tell these dear your people because you weren't here for our testimony time, you can prepare yourself. They just got back The thoughts. The first thought was from Luke nine 10 and 22 and it was this, when we work for Jesus, he takes care of us. We will not suffer anything. He will guard our back. He wants us to focus on the mission and if we have too much other stuff to worry about, it'll detract from what we have to do. So he says, don't get so involved in the things of the world, I'll take care. You just focus on what you have to do. And when people did that, it worked out for them, just swell. But when there came a time when they were going to leave his service and he saw it coming, he did two things. He said, first of all, in the interim time, take good care of yourself, but I know you're gonna make it. Peter, when you're converted, strengthen the brethren. Isn't that a beautiful thing to say to Peter when you are converted, strengthen the brethren. He related to him that way. In the intern time. You know Peter misunderstood, right? So he had the sword, and when they came to get Jesus, he tried to use the sword. What did you just say? Put away, I am still my father's service and if I needed protection, he would presently send angels. Peter, while you're working for God, you don't need the sword. The implication is, when would you need the sword? When you are not working for God, that's when you're gonna need to take care of yourself. That was the first thought. The second one was this, relate to people as if they're gonna do the right thing. If you have to warn someone, warn him in a way that your warning speaks, hope that he can see that you believe it's gonna turn out okay, that in the end he's gonna do something better, that he's gonna get past this thing. Give him a way out in your speech. It'll make a difference in the way he accepts it. Talk to them as if you know that they're gonna be converted. It makes all the difference. If Jesus had not talked to Peter this way, the evidence is, you know what Peter's personality was? It was up and down. And when people that tend to go up and down, get down the darkest that often ends in suicide, Jesus spoke to Peter in a way that would keep him him from the very lowest point when he got to the very lowest point and it did. Jesus looked at Peter. Peter saw Jesus. Instead of being broken in the wrong way, he was broken in the right way. Did you know there's two ways to be broken? I'm not gonna show you this, but you can go look at in your bibles, it's in First Corinthians chapter. I'll get you a chapter number because you might actually look it up and I'll tell you the wrong one. What you'll find there when you look at it is that there are two types of sorrow. I think it's chapter seven, it is seven, but I don't see it, maybe 10. Maybe Second Corinthians Chapter seven. It feels second. Ians seven feels right. It's second Corinthians seven. There you go. Verses like eight through 11. The thought you'll find there when you read it is that there's two types of sorrow. There's the one that leads to death and the one that leads to repentance. And what's the difference between them? A big part of it is hope. Godly sorrow comes with hope that you're gonna make it. The sorrow of the world is hopeless and it ends in death. When you're going to wound someone, do it in a way that speaks hope and it will make a difference for them.

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Take Nothing or a Sword

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