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Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
So this morning, we are, as we mentioned earlier, celebrating, the kind of the close of our first ever missions weekend. Our theme has been you are sent coming from John 2021 where Jesus says to his disciples, as the father has sent me, even so am I sending you. So we've been looking at that about how Jesus sends us out, and it works really well with our text for today because we're actually going to be continuing in Mark chapter 6 as Jesus sends out the 12 apostles. Now, this theme has been everywhere in Mark up to this point. It's actually been impossible to miss.
Dwight Castle:It's so central to what Mark is trying to describe that Jesus is doing and what it means for us and his followers. So central to who we are as Christians. Now, it can be tough at this point in a sermon series to remember where all we've come from. So let me just remind you of a couple of the snapshots that demonstrate this theme of Jesus sending out his people. It begins in chapter 1 where Mark describes that John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for Jesus.
Dwight Castle:And then Simon and Andrew are called by Jesus, and he tells them right out the gate. He says, hey. I'm gonna make you fishers of men for me. In chapter 3, Jesus calls the other apostles, and he tells them that they are going to be with him and they are going to be sent out. We heard about the parable of the sower where Joel said, hey.
Dwight Castle:Whether you guys knew it or not, you're basically all farmers. You, have to change locations. We are going to scatter seed with everything that we do. Indiscriminately, we are going to spread the good news of the gospel everywhere we go. When Jesus heals the man of the legion of demons, the man begs Jesus, can I just stay with you?
Dwight Castle:And Jesus says, no. You must go. Tell of all that God has done for you. This theme is everywhere. Today, Jesus is going to bring it into even more clarity for us.
Dwight Castle:So, if you will join me as we read Mark 6 beginning in verse 7. And he called the 12 and began to send them out 2 by 2, and he gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff. No bread, no bag, no money in their belts, but to wear sandals and not to put on to tunics. And he said to them, whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there.
Dwight Castle:And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them. So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. This is the word of the Lord. Pray with me.
Dwight Castle:Now, Jesus, we to you today, and we ask that you will speak to us. We know that when we come, as Joel reminded us weeks ago, when we come hungry and thirsty for a word from you, you will give it. And so we ask you to speak to us today. We ask for you to show us the joy of what it means to know you and that you will give us the courage to follow you and to obey. Lord, I ask now that the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart will be pleasing and acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Dwight Castle:Amen. Mark Twain said this quote, it ain't those parts of the Bible that I don't understand that bother me. It's the parts that I do understand. Now, I don't know if this rings true for you with this passage, but if I'm honest, it certainly does for me, which might shock some of you. Right?
Dwight Castle:I'm the missions pastor, so I'm supposed to like just be on board with this whole serve Jesus with your life thing all the time with no problems, but that's just not the reality for me or other people. None of us like being told what to do. Right? Does anyone here love being bossed around? We don't like that feeling.
Dwight Castle:Tell me what I can and can't do with my life. But here's what I want us to hear and see today from this passage. Yes. We are called to be sent out. That's undeniable.
Dwight Castle:It is God's design, but it's a good thing, and it only works if it comes from a place of joy. When we see what Jesus has done in our lives, when we see him for who he really is, that should change us. It should give us joy. It's not about forcible obedience. It's about seeing Jesus and enjoy responding.
Dwight Castle:Let me ask you. Have you ever believed in something or been such a fan of something that you just absolutely had to tell people around you about? Maybe you went on a trip to an amazing place, or you read a book, or saw a movie, or you went to your favorite restaurant in Birmingham, which we all obviously know as Helen. Right? Anyone who doesn't believe that, I'm sorry that you're wrong.
Dwight Castle:But even though you're not paid to represent that restaurant unless you're an influencer, and I'm clearly not, though I do love Helen, You're not paid. It's not your job. No one's telling you to do that. You are so affected by this experience that you want to share it with other people, And this is what we see in this passage today. The disciples are compelled.
Dwight Castle:We are compelled after meeting with Jesus. Let's look here at verse 7. And he called the 12 and began to send them out. Now pause there before we go any further. You notice the order here?
Dwight Castle:What is it that Jesus does first? He calls them. Before he ever sends them out, he calls them. Now in this passage, he's calling them to him so he can send them out, but he has actually done this prior to this point. We read about it in chapter 3 several weeks or months ago at this point.
Dwight Castle:Jesus called the disciples, and as I mentioned a minute ago, it's for two reasons. Jesus is really clear. He calls them to be with him and he calls them to send them out. Let's sit here for a minute because this is important. Jesus calls each one of these men personally, individually, by name.
Dwight Castle:We have their stories here in Mark and in other gospels. We see that Jesus calls these men and completely changes their lives in a moment. I mean, he takes fishermen, 4 of these guys who are fishermen, and when Jesus says follow me, they drop their nets. They're like, yep. I'm going.
Dwight Castle:He takes a tax collector who had completely sold out to the Romans, and then he drops that in a moment. He takes a zealot who was sold out for a very fervent cause with his entire life, and like that, it changes. Jesus calls them, and they are in a moment changed. This is the same for us. We are changed when Jesus calls us.
Dwight Castle:These men, they give up everything. Their vocations. They leave their families, their friends, their reputations. This clearly isn't a surface level change. This is a heart depth, genuine change.
Dwight Castle:And why? It's because Jesus wants to be with them. Joel reminded us of this before when he preached on the passage of calling the apostles. Jesus had a lot of followers at this point or a lot of, excuse me, a lot of fans at this point. He doesn't want fans.
Dwight Castle:He wants followers, which means he wants relationship. He wants to be with you. He wants you to be with him. I mean, these men had seen so many amazing things up to this point. They could not be unchanged.
Dwight Castle:Let's just think about some of the things that they saw that we have actually studied. I mean, Jesus heals a leper in front of them. I mean, just put yourself in their shoes for that moment. Imagine that you're watching someone's skin actually miraculously change in front of you. He heals a paralytic who is lowered in this dramatic scene from a roof.
Dwight Castle:A man who's never walked gets up and walks. Jesus calms a hurricane level storm. He heals a man of thousands of demons. He cures an uncurable woman. We even learned last week he raises a little girl from the dead.
Dwight Castle:You have to be changed when you see this. They're seeing these things going around them and they are being changed themselves. What we're seeing is that they are getting a new identity. They are not primarily anymore fishermen or tax collectors or sons or husbands or brothers, they are followers of Jesus. They've been brought into the family of God.
Dwight Castle:And Mark makes it clear. They don't understand everything that's going on at this point. Right? They don't have all the answers, but make make make no mistake. They're throwing their lot in with Jesus.
Dwight Castle:They've tasted and they've seen that he is good. Now for some of you, you might not be able to relate to this. When I say that, you have no idea what I'm talking about. You've never tasted and seen that Jesus is good. Maybe you've been a fan from a distance kind of following what he's doing.
Dwight Castle:Maybe you've been a skeptic. Maybe you've been burnt by the church. If that's you, I want you to hear me. Jesus is calling you. He wants you.
Dwight Castle:He wants to be in relationship with you. He wants to know you and for you to know him. He meets you right where you are in your hurting, in your doubts, in your questions. Now for many of us and for the disciples, we've tasted and we've seen. We do have a new identity.
Dwight Castle:And before Jesus sends us out, we must understand that he has called us. We have an identity in him. It is the only way that we have the purpose to go out. We have the joy. We have the power.
Dwight Castle:We have the purpose because we have met with Jesus. Now if you have a new identity in Jesus, you have a new purpose in him, and we can't separate the 2. We make a mistake a lot of the time in our culture and thinking that these are 2 separate things. You can't take one and leave the other. They're two sides of the same coin.
Dwight Castle:Joel said this weeks ago, and it struck me, to be called by Jesus is to be sent by Jesus. I mean, Jesus echoes this again in his last words to his followers in the great commission in Matthew 28. He gives them the same twofold purpose. He says, hey. You are to be my disciples and you're to make disciples.
Dwight Castle:They're the same thing. Now, I would venture to say that for some of us, this might be why a lot of us struggle with purpose in life. We feel kind of purposeless a lot of the time before actually honest with ourselves, and it's everywhere in culture. Our society tells us to find our our authentic self. Be true to yourself.
Dwight Castle:Do what makes you happy. And so we go on this endless pursuit of the next high. We go to parties and events and concerts and trips and all for what? We don't know. We're purposeless.
Dwight Castle:We're trying to find some sense of who we are and our narrative of where we're going. What is my story? We get wrapped up in our own story, but if you're a follower of Jesus, you already have an identity. You already have a story. Your purpose is caught up in his purpose, and as soon as we figure this out and embrace it, we will actually find joy in our lives because we will act not based on what we do, but who we are.
Dwight Castle:Our lives won't be caught up in our self. We'll be caught up in his story. He is working around us. He's working in us, and we get to join in that. Now what does this practically mean for us?
Dwight Castle:If we are sent out, how do we do that? Well, let's look at verses 12 and 13 and see what the apostles do here. Verse 12. So they went out and they proclaimed that people should repent, and they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick, and they healed them. So what do we see?
Dwight Castle:Jesus gives them his authority to go out and preach repentance, heal, and cast out demons. Basically, Jesus gives them his authority to do the same exact things he has been doing. I mean, why would they change it up? They're to preach and heal. They're to scatter the seed, the word of God, the good news of his kingdom, and they are to demonstrate the power and the redemption that his kingdom brings to people's lives.
Dwight Castle:It's not complicated. It's actually really simple. Through the power of the spirit, we are all to mirror Jesus. Now, again, the disciples don't get all this. They have lots of questions.
Dwight Castle:They even get confused about who Jesus is, but this doesn't stop them from being able to go out and do this. They don't have to have all the answers. I mean, think about the demoniac. He gets healed and immediately Jesus sends him out. Do you think he has all of his answers all of his questions answered?
Dwight Castle:Do you think he's really trained and equipped to do that? Well, that doesn't stop him from going out. We are called to go out regardless. Jesus doesn't lay out a 10 step plan. He doesn't answer all the details.
Dwight Castle:He doesn't say, hey. You've got to be in this profession to do this, or you've got to live in this area. Spend your money like this, have this perfect ratio of ministry life and personal life. He just says, know me and live intentionally for me. Now scripture helps us.
Dwight Castle:There are guidelines. There are principles that we see that begin to help us apply this generally, things like love God, love others, show hospitality, Care for the vulnerable, the marginalized, the hurt. Act justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly.
Dwight Castle:These things guide us, but the details, they aren't prescribed. That is something we, by God's Spirit, seek wisdom about how to do in our own way and context. Now this is actually one of the coolest things that I get to see God's people do, how God has made them in a particular way so that they can serve him. So you look around you and you say, Lord, what are the needs around me right where I live? What are the needs I see in the world?
Dwight Castle:And what have you put in me to do something about that? Now I think about even in my own family, for example, about how this could be applied. I I had a great aunt that passed away a few years ago, aunt Greta. She lived to be a 101 years old until the day that she died. Even though she was blind for the last several years of her life, she made yarn dolls to be sent to orphan kids that her grandchildren went on mission trips to.
Dwight Castle:My grandparents who are in their nineties still go to the nursing home to care for the old people, and I don't have the heart to tell them they are the old people, but they've been doing it for so long. The children here at Redeemer and VBS this summer brainstormed and were creative about ways they could raise money to care for our global missions partners. It doesn't matter your age or your context. Think about who you see every day, your neighbors, your coworkers, your friends. Think about the lonely in our society.
Dwight Castle:Those who are suffering from injustice. We look around and we say, Lord, what would you have me to do? And here's the great news. Now we don't have a lot of time to dive into this, but we don't have to do it alone. We see in this passage, Jesus sends them out 2 by 2.
Dwight Castle:That's intentional. Minish never meant to be done alone. So if you don't know what it is you could do, ask a friend. Hey. What am I good at?
Dwight Castle:Do you do you what is something that you've been blessed by seeing me do? Talk to your home group about ideas. If you're scared or intimidated, go out together. We don't have to do it alone. There's an unlimited number of ways that you could apply this truth.
Dwight Castle:Here's the one option we don't have, to do nothing. Jesus says if you're called, you're sent. Go and tell of his mercy. Now, I recognize that for some people in here this is a little overwhelming. Maybe it's so intimidating it actually draws you to the point of feeling paralyzed to do anything.
Dwight Castle:Now, I wanna acknowledge that. You feel scared, ill equipped, This could go sideways in so many ways. For a moment, imagine how the disciples felt right here. K? Now this whole time, they've been on team Jesus.
Dwight Castle:Right? They've been following along. They're like, yeah. Go, Jesus. Go.
Dwight Castle:Look what we're doing. This is awesome. And then all of a sudden, Jesus is like, alright. Your turn. And I can just imagine they're like, wait, what?
Dwight Castle:Like, I did not sign up for this. I can relate to this feeling a little bit. This reminded me of a story when Redeemer first started taking short term mission trips at the the beginning of when we started. We went to Haiti with one of our, global partners, Canaan Christian Community. And our connection was with one of our friends, Joel Busby, who's the pastor of Grace Fellowship.
Dwight Castle:And Joel and I co led this first trip. At least at first, we co led it, because on the morning of the 3rd day, Joel completely abandoned me. Yes. It felt like that. He actually got on a plane, and he left.
Dwight Castle:He flew back to the states, and I was left to lead this team for the first time in a new country, new culture, new language, new people. I had no idea what I was doing. I'd never done this before. I was terrified. I felt like a fraud, and I was afraid that every person around me could see it too.
Dwight Castle:Right? Now this had actually been the plan the whole time. We had planned for this, but the theory was very different from the reality. It's the same way with the disciples here though. Jesus told him out the gate, hey, I'm gonna call you to be with me and to send you out.
Dwight Castle:And they're probably like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm sure that's a figure of speech. But, no, the time's here now, and I am sure they're like, I'm supposed to do miracles, cast out demons, preach the word eloquently to great crowds of people.
Dwight Castle:But here's the deal. Here's the good news. The power isn't in the sower. It's in the seed. Jesus had given them his authority.
Dwight Castle:He gives us his authority. Furthermore, he gives us his spirit, and the disciples will find out it doesn't depend on them. It doesn't depend on how good or bad they are at this task. Doesn't depend on their experience or their knowledge or their skill or courage, nothing. It doesn't matter what they bring to the table at all.
Dwight Castle:What matters is obedience in faith. And, actually, in a very strange turn here, Jesus doesn't let them bring anything to the table. I don't know if you caught that. I'm sure this freaked out the disciples. Jesus forbids them from bringing anything journey.
Dwight Castle:You know, just basic things like food, clothes, money. I'm sure they are like, what? How are we supposed to survive? Why is Jesus doing this? He wants them to be completely dependent on him and his provision for them.
Dwight Castle:He doesn't want them to halfway trust him, but have a good backup plan in case it doesn't pan out. He wants them to trust him. And when we step out in faith, friends, we don't know what will happen. Gina Tyler talked about they had no idea where that was going. The disciples had no idea what was going to happen when they hopped in that boat to go across to the other side, and it struck me when Tyler said, hey, If they'd known about the storm, they probably would have tuck tailed and ran.
Dwight Castle:If they knew they'd eventually be casting out demons, they probably would have gotten prideful. But they obeyed the Lord and they saw him work. And, guys, it gave them purpose and joy. This is how God grows us. There's so much more here.
Dwight Castle:We just don't have time right now. Here's what I want you to hear from me today. God the father sent Jesus. He sent him from heaven, perfection, the trinity, into our mess, And he saved us. He redeemed us.
Dwight Castle:And we have a story to tell if we have tasted and seen. It's not what we do. It's who we are. And we have this opportunity to respond in joy and to tell a lost world in word and in deed about the kingdom of God, what Jesus means to us. It's our privilege to join in what he's already doing, and our only task now is to say, lord, what would you have me to do?
Dwight Castle:What would this look like for me? So let's pray right now. Let's ask him to help us to know the answer. Lord Jesus, we know that all of this is yours, all of it. And we praise you for what you've done for us, Lord.
Dwight Castle:We have tasted and seen so many of us, and we are changed. Help us to remember our first love. Help us to remember the things we've seen you do for us and around us, and help us to respond in joy. And we need wisdom, Lord. Give us wisdom to know how we can apply this.
Dwight Castle:We ask all this in your name. Amen.