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The Call of Jesus
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Welcome to this lesson where we are
going to talk about the call of Jesus
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and how the call Jesus gave us in the Bible
is the same today.
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What Jesus said in the Bible is the same
for you and me who live today.
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The second chapter in my book
"The Call of Jesus" is called
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"The Twelve and The Seventy".
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In that chapter I show that there is
a difference between what Jesus said
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to the Twelve and what He said
to the Seventy.
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But I don't want to focus so much
about that here.
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You need to read the book to know
what the difference is.
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What we need to understand is that
the call Jesus gave us
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is for us today.
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What Jesus said to the Twelve and to the
Seventy is for you and me who are living today.
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But before we are going to look at Luke 10,
try to imagine
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that you have been walking with Jesus
for three and a half years
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and now Jesus wanted to leave you
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and He wanted to say something to you.
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The last words from Jesus, I believe
really, really, really reveal His heart
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in a very, very special way.
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And we can read those last words
in the end of the gospels, Matthew and Mark.
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In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus spoke those
last words. He said here:
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"All authority has been given to me
in heaven and earth.
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Go therefore and make disciples
of all nations,
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baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
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teaching to obey all things
I have commanded you;
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and lo, I am with you,
even to the end of the age."
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These were Jesus' last words there.
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Jesus' last words in Mark were:
(Mark 16:15-19)
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"Go into the world and preach the gospel
to every creature.
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He who believes and is baptized shall be
saved;
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but he who does not believe
will be condemned.
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And these signs will follow
those who believe:
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In My name they will cast out demons;
they will speak with new tongues;
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they will take up serpents;
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and if they drink anything deadly,
it will not hurt them;
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they will lay hands on the sick,
and they will recover."
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These were Jesus' last words.
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And this is revealing Jesus' heart.
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Not only His heart at that time,
but this is revealing Jesus' heart today.
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Why? Because He has not changed.
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We have maybe changed.
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The church has changed.
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Our focus has changed.
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But Jesus is the same yesterday,
today and forever
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and what He said there
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is also what He wants to say to us today.
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Jesus died for the whole world,
not only for you and me.
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He died for everyone out there.
This is His heart.
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He came here to find, to seek
those who are lost.
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And one thing He said there in
the end of Matthew, I want to read again.
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First He said in the end of Matthew:
(Matthew 28:18-19)
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"All the authority has been given to Me
in heaven and earth.
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Go therefore, make disciples
of all nations."
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But the question is: How?
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How do we do that?
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How do we go out and make
disciples of all nations?
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Do we go out, find a building,
get a nice church,
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and get a nice worship band,
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and then, hopefully,
the sinners will come to us.
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Is this how Jesus told us to do it?
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I don't say it's wrong, but...
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it was, actually, not what Jesus
told us to do.
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What we often forget is that Jesus
did not only say:
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Go and make disciples of all nations.
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He also explained how
He wanted them to go.
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How He wanted them and us
to make disciples of all nations.
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We often forget that Jesus said
so much more
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then just: Go!
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So, let's look at it again and read a little
further down in Matthew 28. He said:
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"All authority has been given to Me
in heaven and in earth.
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Go therefore, make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them..."
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And then it comes.
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"and teaching them to observe (obey)
all things I have commanded you."
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Jesus wanted those disciples
to make disciples of all nations,
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baptizing them and teaching them
to obey everything He has commanded them.
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So, what Jesus commanded His disciples,
not only in Matthew 28,
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but while He was walking with them
on earth,
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when He left earth He said:
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Now what I have been teaching you
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you go, make disciples of other nations,
baptizing them
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and teach them to obey the same.
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And then you go and make disciples
of other nations
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and teach them to obey the same.
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And now we are here
and it's the same for you and me.
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What Jesus has commanded them
have not changed.
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It's the same for you and me
who are living today.
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My question is: Why don't we do it?
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Why are we so focused on going out
and renting a church building
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and getting people to come to our church,
because this is not what He has commanded?
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Why are we so busy doing many other things
than doing what Jesus said to us in the Bible?
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It almost looks like it has changed,
but when did it change?
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Did it change in year 500?
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Did it change in 1500?
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Did it change when we came into
the year 2000?
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Did Jesus suddenly change and said:
Stop, stop, stop...
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I don't want you to do what I told you to do.
I want you to do this instead.
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No. But let's be honest.
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Most people today are busy with church,
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are busy with church activities,
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are busy with programs,
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are busy with so many things,
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but they, actually, are not obeying
what we read Jesus was saying.
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They are so busy without taking the time
to look at what, actually,
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is Jesus wants to obey.
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And what was it Jesus said to His disciples?
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What was it He said to His disciples
they should teach us,
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so we may obey it?
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One of the places we read what Jesus
said to His disciples
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that He wanted them to teach us
so we will obey it and teach others,
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so they will obey it is what we read
in Luke 10.
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So, when we are going to read these words
from Luke 10, remember
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that what He there said to them,
He later said to them
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that they should teach us
so we will obey the same.
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So, what Jesus says here is the same
for us who are living today.
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And just be honest.
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Where do we find in these texts
I'm going to read here
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that we should have nice, fine churches
with professional worship bands
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and if we have a nice worship band
and nice, fine church,
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the harvest would come to us.
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I don't read in the Bible that the harvest
was supposed to come to us.
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No, we were supposed to go to the harvest.
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And the harvest is ready and plentiful
and waiting for us.
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I don't say it's wrong to have a church
building and meet,
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but the problem is: if we just end up there
and not obeying Jesus - we have a problem.
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Let's look at what Jesus said to
His disciples
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and what He's saying to you and me
in Luke 10. Read these words.
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"After these things the Lord appointed
seventy others, and sent them
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two by two before His face into
every city and place
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where He himself was about to go.
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And He said to them, 'The harvest is truly
great, but the laborers are few;
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therefore pray the Lord of the harvest
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to send out laborers into His harvest.
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Go your way; behold, I'm sending you
out as lambs among wolves.
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Carry neither money bag, knapsack,
or sandals;
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and greet no one on the road."
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Listen here.
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Where do people do that today?
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Where do people just come together
two and two and go out
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in the harvest that is great and plentiful?
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Where do we find people who are praying
the Lord of the harvest to send out workers,
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as we are reading here?
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You know, the harvest is ready,
the harvest is plentiful,
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there's nothing wrong with the harvest.
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The problem is the workers.
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We need to go out.
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And let's continue what He's saying.
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Because what does He want us to go out
to do?
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He wants us to find somebody.
He said here (Luke 10:5-11):
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"Whatever house you enter, first say,
'Peace to this house.'
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And if a son of peace is there, your peace
will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.
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And remain in the same home, eating
and drinking what they serve,
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for a laborer is worthy of his wage.
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Do not go from house to house.
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Whatever city you enter,
and they receive you,
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eat such things as they set before you.
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And heal the sick, and say to them,
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The kingdom of God has come near to you.
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But whatever city you enter, and they
do not receive you,
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go out into the street and say,
'Even the dust of your city we wipe off us
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as a testimony against you.
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Nevertheless, the kingdom of God has
come near to you."
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These are some of the things Jesus
was saying.
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That we should go out and find
a person of peace.
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Many people don't know what
a person of peace is.
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They don't know what they are
going out for,
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and therefore they are not going to find,
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what Jesus has called them to do.
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And He said what we should do
when we find that person,
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that we should stay in their house,
we should eat and drink.
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He said how we should heal the sick,
how we should share the gospel,
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how we should not go from house
to house.
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He also said when people will not receive
our message,
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take the dust off your feet and hands
and move on.
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It was what Jesus said.
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And I want to say to you,
in many years I have done church my way,
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I have done it the way most people did it,
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but some years ago I stopped doing it
my way
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and I started to do it as Jesus is saying here
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and that changed everything.
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It changed everything, not only my life,
but it changed those people around me.
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Yes, we don't live in Israel and many
things have changed today.
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The culture has changed,
the technology has changed,
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and many things are different today,
but the call of Jesus is the same.
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And one thing happens
when we obey Jesus.
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Joy. We experience joy, we experience
excitement when God is using us.
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And when Jesus sent His disciples out
in Luke 10, we read later (Luke 10:17):
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"They returned with joy saying:
'Lord, even the demons obey in your name."
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They returned with joy.
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Let me read something from my book here.
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"What we need to realize here, is that
the seventy disciples came home rejoicing.
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This is what should be happening
when we serve God.
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When we step out in faith on Jesus' Words
and see His Spirit work through us,
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it should bring forth a great joy!
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We should not be able to contain
our excitement.
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I have seen this in so many people,
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where they have taken their first step,
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pray for someone for the first time,
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shared the gospel with somebody
for the first time,
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baptize somebody in water
for the first time,
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or baptize somebody with the Holy Spirit
for the first time.
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They cannot hide their excitement!
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They are full of joy because they have
realized
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that God has used them to spread
His Kingdom!"
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Can you see it? Hallelujah!
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That joy, that joy, that joy, that joy
is for you.
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That joy is for you, and when you
start to obey Jesus' words,
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you experience that joy,
you experience you are alive.
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Don't be frustrated.
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Obey Jesus.
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Because the problem is that many people
in churches are frustrated
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and losing their first love and their faith.
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I want to read a little more from my book.
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"An amazing revelation in Luke 10
is that this is for everyone.
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Jesus did not only give these commands
to pastors
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or to people with special status
or special calling or talents.
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The commands Jesus made in Luke 10
is both for young and for old people in Christ.
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You don't have to wait to get started to obey
Jesus in what He is saying here.
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Many Christians are sitting in their church
feeling frustrated.
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They are frustrated because they are waiting.
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They are waiting for something.
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They are waiting for their turn
to be used by God.
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They are waiting for the pastor to notice them
and give them opportunity to be used by God.
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But I'm telling you that you don't need
to wait anymore.
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Jesus has already given you His calling
and commandment for your life,
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and it is so clear written in front of you."
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I want to say: This is for everyone.
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And when you understand what Jesus
is saying,
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that the harvest is truly plentiful and ready,
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and what a person of peace is
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and how you can find a person of peace,
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how you can heal the sick,
how you can share the gospel,
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how you can baptize them in your bathtub,
how you can make disciples,
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it's going to change, as I said,
not only you,
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but many, many, many people around you.
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And what we want to do in this video series
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and what I want to do in the book
"The Call of Jesus"
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is I want to spend a lot of time
on Luke 10.
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I want to go through Luke 10
verse, by verse, by verse.
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And then give you examples
how this look today
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and give you tools so you can start
to find that person of peace
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and heal the sick, and do what
Jesus has commanded you.
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So, until next time we see,
take a little more time
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to read Luke 9, Luke 10 and Matthew 10.
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Just be honest, look at it
and then look at your church,
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look at your life, look at what
you grew up in
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and ask yourself: Have we've been.
actually, doing it?
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Have we've been doing what Jesus
has called us to do?
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Or we have been busy doing
so many other things
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He has not called us to do?
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And please share this video
and get the book, if you can.
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Get it on Amazon, get it on our website.
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If you don't have money for the book
send an e-mail to us,
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to TheLastReformation.com
and we can give you a link
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and you can get the book for free.
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We want this to come out
to as many people as possible.
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It's time to obey the call Jesus has given us,
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because the harvest is great,
the workers are few,
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and in that moment we start to obey
His call,
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it's going to change the world.
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God bless you!
See you next time! Bye-bye!
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The Call of Jesus