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You know, even as the school year is right around the corner, there's only so much you can learn by sitting in a classroom.

"The Training of the Twelve" September 6. 2009.       Mark 6: 6-13   Cicero United Methodist Church       The 14^th Sunday after Pentecost   Jack Keating

You know, even as the school year is right around the corner, there's only so much you can learn by sitting in a classroom. At some point, you're going to have to get some real life experience! If you want to be a teacher, you need to practice working with real kids! If you want to be an auto mechanic, you need to practice working on real cars. If you want to be a nurse or a doctor, you need to experience working with real sick people! You see, your education is not complete until you get out there and use what you've learned!

And the same is true, I think about the Christian life. In Mark chapter 6, Jesus is teaching his disciples how to do the work of ministry. And now, he's taking them to the next level. He's saying, "Alright. You've watched me preach. You've seen me do healings. You've observed me driving out demons. You've watched me love people that have never been loved before. You've seen me do the things that a servant of God would normally do. Now it's time for you to do it! I didn't pick 12 apostles so that you could stand around and watch me do all the work! It's time for you to get some experience!"

And in our reading, Jesus gives them 5 different tools to use for ministry. And I thought that this morning I'd take a quick look at those five tools.

First he gives them a wonderful model for ministry. Verse 6 says that "Jesus went around teaching from village to village." And you know what I like about that? I like that Jesus leads by example. Before he tells the disciples to go out there and do the work of ministry, he was out there doing it first! Jesus didn't hide up in heaven and tell us what to do from a distance. He came down here and SHOWED us what to do! He's a very "hands on" and practical Savior, it seems.

And notice also that Jesus doesn't wait around for the villagers to come to him. He left Nazareth and went to them!

And I think there's a powerful lesson here. In Christian circles, we often talk a lot about getting people to come to our church. But we don't talk nearly enough about getting our church to go to the people. That's what Jesus is talking about here! He doesn't say, "Wait in the sanctuary, and pray for people to come in and fill the pews." He's saying, "t want the people in the pews to go to them!"

I am more convinced than ever that most of the ministry that God calls us to do is outside the church. It happens when we reach out with God's word to the people here in our-own town. When we teach our kids right from wrong. When we discuss Bible stories around the dinner table. When we reach out, in Christian friendship to co­workers that God has placed in our lives. Reaching out with the love of God beyond the walls of this building. That's our model for ministry.

The second thing that Jesus gives us is companionship for ministry. Verse 7 says "Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two." It was customary in both Jewish and Greek culture to send messengers in groups of two. That way, if something were to go wrong, there would be two witnesses to testify on behalf of the sender. But the bottom line is that God never intended you and I to do the work of ministry by ourselves. We need help! We need encouragement!

I am so thankful that I met Becky when I did. I think the Lord knew I couldn't do the job of a pastor by myself.

He knew there would be tough times ahead. He knew how much I needed a partner, even before I did.

And look at the apostle Paul. As great as he was, when the church sent him out to do his first missionary journey in Acts 13, they didn't send him out there all alone. Do you remember the name of the friend that went with him? Barnabas! And might you know what the name "Barnabas" means? It means Son of Encouragement! We all need sons of encouragement in our lives. We all need people who will love us. People who will build us up when the Christian life gets tough. Ecclesiastes 4:9 says, "Two are better than one, because they have a better return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" I pity the person who thinks that they can do God's work all by themselves. Because when they fail miserably, there will be no one to console them. No one to help them up.

Before you try anything new for the Lord, I want you to pray to God that he will send you a Barnabas. A son of encouragement. Someone who will pray for you and work with you and love you. Don't try to do everything by yourself. Get some help.

So far, we have seen that Jesus gives us a model for ministry and companionship for ministry. And he also gives us power for ministry. The second part of verse 7 says that "he gave them authority or evil spirits." And sometimes I hear people say, "I can't serve the Lord! I can't even overcome the demons in my OWN life! Let alone anyone else's. I'm not strong enough! I can't do it!"

You're probably right! You're not strong enough! But Jesus is not asking you to do this in your own strength.

He's not asking you to minister in your own power. He's not asking you to battle the forces of evil and deception all by yourself. He's giving you HIS power for ministry! If we were in this thing on our own, then I would probably quit myself. But we are not alone! Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!"

So Jesus gives his disciples a model for ministry, companionship for ministry, power for ministry, and fourthly, he gives us the provisions for ministry. Verse 8 says, "These were his instructions: 'Take nothing for the journey except a staff - no bread, no bag, no money for your belts." You know Galilee was a very hilly and rocky place. So no traveler would be without his staff. The staff was a very useful stick. It helped you steady yourself when you climbed up a rocky hill. And if a wild animal or a thief attacked you, you could use it as a club and beat them over the head. So for a traveler, the staff was an indispensable item. And so Jesus graciously allowed the disciples to take one along.

And according to verse 9, they could take the clothes on their backs and a pair of sandals. And that was about it! Jesus said, "Travel light!" For a couple of reasons, I think. Number one: to teach the disciples that if they're eve in a really desperate situation, they will always be able to count on God to take care of them. Remember, this is just a short term mission project. The apostles are just getting their feet wet. And Jesus wants them to know early on that God's call will never lack God's supply. In fact, two years later, Jesus had his disciples look back on this experience. In Luke 22:35 Jesus said, "When you went without purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?" And the disciples said, "Nothing." In other words, "There was never a time when we didn't have what we needed. God always took care of us."

God put that in the Bible for us. He wants us to know that when we step out on faith to serve Him, we will always have everything we need to live our lives.

And another reason why Jesus told the apostles to travel light was so that they would be totally committed to their mission, and not preoccupied with material things. In the 21st century, we live such comfortably posh lives that it's easy to forget that we are supposed to be here on a mission! We're supposed to be here to win people for Christ! We're supposed to be here to minister to the needs in people's lives. Would it make any sense for God to put us on this earth to accumulate lots of toys only to leave them here for someone else when you die? What would be the point of such a fruitless existence? Now you can all help me here, if, on the count of three you all say aloud "God help me to stay on task." Ready? 1,2,3 ... "God help me to stay on task." Very good! Praise God!

Then in verse 10 Jesus says, "Whenever you enter a house stay there until you leave that town." In other words "Don't go running around looking for the nicest possible accommodations. Stay wherever you are welcomed." Back then there were a lot of traveling philosophers wandering around Galilee. And they would stay a night with whoever would take them in. But when someone with a nicer house made them a better offer, they would ditch the first host and stay at the nicer place. And Jesus is telling his disciples here, "Don't do that. Don't leave these people with the impression that your ministry is all about you rather than all about God. Don't lead them to believe that you're in this only for yourself."

There's nothing wrong with experiencing the finer things in life. But when this becomes the main reason why you live your life and serve the Lord..... then there's a problem. And then in verse 11, Jesus says, "If any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them." It was a custom of any Jewish person who had traveled outside of Palestine to carefully shake off all the dust of the Gentile territories where they had passed through when they re-entered the city gates. By this action, they disassociated themselves from the sin of those countries and their impending judgment.

So Jesus is saying that if anyone doesn't welcome you, then you should treat them the same way they treat the Gentiles! Give them a taste of their own medicine! Do this as a reminder to everyone in that town that you have fulfilled your ministry obligations, and that someday, they will have to answer to God!

We all know people that we would love to see come to Christ. But for whatever reason, they are not open to spiritual things. Maybe there is a sin in their life that they don't want to give up. Maybe they're just not ready. Keep them in your prayers. God's not through with them yet. But if they get hostile, shake the dust off. Say, "Lord, I have fulfilled my responsibility to do what you wanted me to do. Now I hand this person over to you and ask you to take it from here."

Well so far, we've seen that Jesus gives us a model for ministry, companionship for ministry, and power and provisions for ministry. And lastly, he gives us practice for ministry. Verse 12 says that the disciples "went out and preached that the people should repent." The word "repent" that is used here means 'to change your mind. " So the disciples were preaching that people need to change their minds about their sin. They need to change their minds about the way they've been living their lives. And they need to change their minds about Jesus Christ! And accept him as the personal Lord and Savior!

It's not too hard to see that this type of preaching could cause a problem. Some people don't like being told that there are things in their lives that need to change. They don't like being told that they have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. They don't like hearing that they need someone greater than themselves to save them. But praise God, this apostolic training session turned into a big success! Verse 13 says that "They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them."

Now notice that the disciples did two things here. In verse 12, we see them ministering to people's eternal needs. And in verse 13, we see them ministering to people's felt needs. The message, I think, is that God calls us to minister to the whole person! He's not just concerned about our eternal destiny. He's concerned about our immediate situation. He's concerned about the problems we have right now! And just as Jesus sent his disciples t help the hurting people of Galilee .... He is sending us to help the hurting people of central New York.

So the old paradigm of the pastors wearing all the hats and doing all the work of ministry will simply not stand the test of scripture. Just like Jesus, our job as pastors is to train you so that YOU can do the work of the ministry! Ephesians 4:11 says, "It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, TO PREPARE GOD'S PEOPLE FOR WORKS OF SERVICE, SO THAT THE BODY OF CHRIST MAY BE BUILT UP!" So in other words, "Our job is to prepare you to do YOUR job!"

And at this point, it's appropriate to say, "Praise the Lord!" There are so many men and women in our congregation who have sacrificed many hours of their time to make Cicero United Methodist Church a better place. And Everett and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You have answered the call to become a more devoted follower of Jesus Christ. And you're a tremendous encouragement to both of us.

But the point is to always remember, as so many of you have, that God never intended us to be spectator Christians. We all need to be involved in some kind of ministry. Whether it's Bible Study, or evangelism, or visiting shut-ins or encouraging other believers. Each one of us needs "hands on", practical experience. Otherwise, your Christian education just isn't complete. If you're not using what God gave you, then you're not really learning anything.

I'd like you to join me in prayer. I want to pray for you that God will reveal to you the ministry he's called you to do. The Bible says in James 1:5 that if anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who generously gives to all without finding fault. So let's do that together. Let's pray..........   AMEN.