TEXT: Luke 9:49-10:2
“As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” — Luke 9:51
Jesus defines…(1. A Kingdom Mindset 2. True Discipleship 3. A Common Mission)
- A Kingdom Mindset (v. 49-50)
“Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.” 50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”
“They’re…not generous toward this guy. They’re not giving him the benefit of the doubt. They want to control him. They’re turf-conscious. They’re jealous. “He’s not one of us.” Jesus comes along and says, “Be generous. Okay, he’s not with you, but he’s still for you because he believes the same things you believe.” — Timothy Keller
- True Discipleship (v. 57-62)
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
- A Common Mission (v. 1-2)
“After this the Lord appointedseventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
“If we return to retention and evangelism like we saw just 20 years ago, more people will be saved than during both Great Awakenings, the African American church growth after the Civil War…and every Billy Graham conversion —combined. The numbers are just that big.” — The Great Opportunity
“Do you commit yourself to a third winning of the west?” – Os Guinness
TAKEAWAYS: What can we learn from this text?
* Remove “us”/“them” (v. 49-50)
* Count the cost of discipleship (v. 57-62)
“If you could do anything to help the church be more fruitful over the next 30 years, what would it be?” (The Great Opportunity)
“I’m never better than when I’m on the full stretch for God.” — George Whitfield
* Pray earnestly for workers (v. 1-2)
* Be “All In”
