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