Take Joy in Being the Messenger

Title:   Take Joy in Being the Messenger By Pastor Lohn Johnson

Text: Luke 10:  16 "The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me."  17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!"  18 And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

INTRODUCTION: My dear friends in Christ, Our illusions seem to fall one by one. Now the illusion about 007 has fallen. Surely you know who I'm talking about--Ian Fleming's debonair spy, Bond . . . James Bond. He's a fake. A fraud. He's simply unacceptable as a spy. At least that is what MI5 said recently.   A few years ago, MI5--Great Britain's domestic intelligence agency--reported that characters like James Bond are too tall to serve as a spy in Her Majesty's Service. According to MI5, good spies blend in with those around them. Since the average man is 6' tall or less, then the upper acceptable height limit for Great Britain's male spies is 5' 11". For female spies, the upper limit is 5' 8". All the actors who have played James Bond in the movies have been 6' or taller. By MI5's current standards, none of them would have been qualified to serve as real spies. A secret agent can't exactly keep his secret status if he stands out too much. Who would have thought? James Bond was too tall, as well as too flamboyant to be a real spy.

I. In a way you could see the 72 disciples of our text as a not so secret service.  But I doubt that Jesus chose the 72 disciples He sent out on the basis of their height. As he sent them out into the world, he certainly didn't seem concerned that they would stand out too much. In fact, he warned them that they would stand out

A. Jesus was counting on His disciples standing out.

1. Their enthusiasm, their single-minded focus, and their simple mode of travel would make them unusual among their neighbors. But they needed to stand out.

a. They had a message to share, a message that is so life-changing that everyone needs to hear it, the Jew and the Gentile, the saint and the sinner, the ready and the unready.   b. That message was as simple as, "The kingdom of God has come near to you."   c. The kingdom of God has come near to you! Imagine how that sounded to Jews living in poverty and hardship, held under the thumb of an oppressive Roman government. God has not forgotten you. God is not ignorant of the injustice and suffering of this world. The kingdom of God is not yet here, but it has come near to you! It is on its way.

2. But why did Jesus send out 72, why not 90 or 100?

a. Well, it seems that Seventy-two is the number of the nations given in Genesis after the Flood. I think Jesus is telling us He comes for all the nations, as in “make disciples of all the nations.”   b. Symbolically seventy-two is a snapshot of the mission of the church, sent out into all the world to preach repentance, forgiveness and life in Jesus until He comes, that is on the Last Day.

B. But Jesus’ not so secret service was not universally accepted.  So Jesus said: whenever you enter a town and they reject you, announce, "Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near."

1. Like this: One woman tells of a friend who decided that her four-year-old son, Benji, was ready to hear about Jesus. She carefully explained who Jesus is and what he did for us. Then she asked her son, "Benji, would you like to have Jesus in your heart?" Benji rolled his blue eyes and answered seriously, "No. I don't think I want the responsibility."

2. Jesus knew that some people would not welcome his emissaries. They weren't ready to take on the responsibility of welcoming the Christ into their towns or their hearts.

C. But we’ve got to ask what qualifies someone to serve as a disciple, a messenger, of Jesus? Certainly it’s not like the qualifications for 007 service.

1. Height obviously has nothing to do with it.  They weren’t trained like 007.  Age, race, gender, wealth, or even ability do not qualify someone. All that matters is that we have been transformed by the gift of faith given by Christ.   2. You can look at it like this: Many lives have been touched by the story of Nicky Cruz, a violent gang member from Brooklyn who became an international evangelist after he was brought to Christ.

A few years ago, Cruz traveled to Lima, Peru, for a series of evangelism services. They were met with a very hostile reception. At a press conference, a number of reporters demanded to know why a Puerto Rican thought that he could preach to Peruvians about their social problems. Didn't the U.S. have just as many problems with crime and violence?   Nicky Cruz' reply caught their attention: "I used to like to hurt people . . . In fact, I used to like to hurt people just like you." Now everyone was listening closely. But Cruz went on to say that once he was brought to believe in Christ, he was changed from the inside out. He told the reporters, "I didn't come here as an American or a Puerto Rican, but as a Christian who has been changed by the power of God!" (5) Nicky Cruz' simple testimony was all that was required to open many hearts.

II. Jesus deploys His not so secret service to speak His Word. Sent by Him and speaking His Word, they’re speaking on His authority.

A. They speak His Word of grace and things happen.

1. That Word heals. It delivers from disease.

a. Medicine can help with this life: often when a disease strikes, doctors can put a stop to it—and for the work of medical professionals we give great thanks, because they are God’s gifts for the preservation of health and life in this world.   b. But where medicine puts a stop to one disease, another will eventually come; and if it is stopped, another will follow. But the Word of Christ delivers from disease—maybe not immediately, but ultimately.

2.  72 guys in 36 pairs spoke the Word of God, and even the devil is sent packing.

a. The devil will keep on attacking, along with his allies of sin, death and hell, until the Last Day.   b. But the war is won, though the battle still rages—and it often seems like evil has the upper hand. But here, and now, by the power of God’s Word, evil is beaten back again and again.

B. But Jesus wants them to keep their heads on straight and says:  “do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

1. He reminds them that the best news for them is not that Christ has used them to deliver that grace to others. No, the best news for them is that Christ has used His Word to deliver His grace to them.

III. And His Word is delivered to us in church and in our Bible reading. But you cannot see the lightning, but trust me, it’s there. Not thunder and lightning...just lightning. Satan is falling right now like lightning from heaven. We cannot see it, but Jesus does. The 72 could not see it, but Jesus did.

A. Satan is falling like lightning from heaven because God’s work is being done here among you. You who are spiritually sick are being healed. You who are in the devil’s grasp are being delivered. The good news of the kingdom of God is being preached to you, and Satan is falling; he is falling like lightning from heaven.

1. It’s not Pastor doing God’s work here at Church, it’s Jesus. It’s not Pastor preaching to you, it’s Jesus. It would have little meaning for you if a mere man in a white robe were to forgive your sins. But it’s not me forgiving you. Jesus forgives you through the words that I speak.

a. This Worship Service may look no more remarkable than 36 pairs of men walking from village to village in our Gospel lesson. The view from the pulpit at about 10:30 on a Sunday morning is a blend of relatively harmless looking people. But the Lord is present here with His Word. And as long as He is present with His Word, sin, disease, death, hell and Satan are all vanquished. They don’t stand a chance, because Christ has defeated them all.    b. In a few minutes we will confess the Christian Faith together. And when you stop to really look at the Creed, you can see very clearly that everything in it is what God has done and is doing for us. We’re in there, but not as actors. We are recipients...recipients of God’s work.

2. Our names are written in heaven not because of what we have done for Jesus, but because of what Jesus has done for us.

a. He died for us. He baptized us. He preaches to us. He teaches us. He forgives our sins. He gives us His body and blood at His altar. He gives us faith and keeps us in the faith.   b. So what do we have to boast about? Why are we proud of ourselves? Why do we act like the church would fall apart if we weren’t there to keep it going? Jesus doesn’t need any of us to do His work here among us. And yet, He uses all of us.

B. Every one of you has work to do--God’s work.

1. I know that some are slackers, and some are burnt out. But remember, when God’s work is done--Jesus is working it through us—and Satan falls like lightning.

a. We can’t all be preachers, or teachers. We can’t all play the organ or sing in the choir. We can’t all be ushers. We can’t all serve on boards and committees.   b. But we can all come to church and receive God’s gifts. We can all be in His Word regularly. We can all pray. We can all be Christ to our families and friends. We can all look for ways to serve.

2. All those not so secret service disciples were useful to Jesus. In all of them, and through all of them, He was the one at work.

a. And that is true here as well. We work for Jesus out of love.   b. He moves us to be ready to serve like this:  A pastor and his wife drove up to the church a bit early for the evening activities one Sunday and noticed one of the little girls of the church, perhaps seven or eight years old, sitting on the front steps with a big suitcase. The pastor’s wife figured that the little girl had run away from home, so she went over and sat down beside her and began a conversation. A few general questions revealed that the little girl was not running away from home. “Well, why do you have this suitcase with you?” asked the pastor’s wife. The little girl responded, “This morning the pastor asked who would follow Jesus wherever he went, and I said I would.” She had come prepared.

CONCLUSION: Yes, you and I serve in His not so secret service but we need not let it be so secret.  He moves us to stand out.  He is the one who moves us to action. He is the one working in us and through us. And He does not base His mercy upon how well you have worked for Him. He forgives you--all of you--not because of anything that we have done for Him, but because He laid down His life for us on a cross.