After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ (Luke 10:1-9 ESV)

Here we see Jesus in delegation mode.  He’s spent loads of time with his disciples, teaching them with his words and way of life.   Now, it’s time for them to learn by doing.  They have been in gathered mode, now is time to scatter.  So he sends them out with little…no moneybag, knapsack, sandals.   He sends them with so little they will need to have refrigerator rights in other people’s homes to survive.

He wants them to rely on others.    Full dependence on others, will teach them full dependence on him.

He asks them to find these people of peace by saying “peace on this house”.  It almost sounds like a code word, but this was more about who the people are, and what God has already been doing in their lives to prepare them for the missionary’s arrival, and less about their response to a code word!  If God has been making these people seek the peace of the kingdom of God, a travelling preaching proclaiming that message will be welcomed.

Look how deeply he wants these relationships to go.  He wants them to stay with one family, and not go from house to house.  He wants them to become family, to be vulnerable, completely known and trusted by others.

Question: Describe what you think a person of peace would be like.  How would the disciples’ travels be different if they had more supplies?

Ryan Sim - May 19, 2014

Monday - A New Idea - Pioneer People

We introduced our Pioneer Story series with the story of Steve Jobs. This may be because I just watched the film “Jobs”, that chronicles his life from starting the Apple company in a garage, and growing it to what we know today. There’s a scene where the filmmakers go to great pains to show a transformation in Steve. It’s the early days of Apple in a garage. He is angry, having found out his girlfriend is pregnant, and he’s told her to leave his life. He says it’s her problem, not his. We then find him enraged before a mirror, tucking in his shirt, tidying his hair. His face hardens. The next few scenes are designed to show us he’s isolated, hardened and hyperfocused on his success as a businessman. His anger is driving him now. One of his former friends explains to another ,”Steve changed.” This was not exactly a change to be copied in our own lives, that’s not why I tell the story! Steve Jobs accomplished great things, but at great cost. And the turning point, according to this film, was that day his girlfriend said she was pregnant. We’re going to explore a life transformation this week, but one that was ultimately for the good of the entire world, and those who were transformed themselves. This was the transformation that happened in Jesus’ followers when they received the Holy Spirit. With the resurrection of Jesus, they were transformed from terrified failures into emissaries on a mission. With the day of Pentecost, that we learned about last week, the Holy Spirit arrived and transformed them into confident speakers riskily challenging the status quo We’re going to see how that kind of transformation can happen with us. We want to explore those times where people say someone changed, not becoming a hardened, ruthless person, but changing for the better. Jesus still changes lives today, and it’s still up for debate among many whether that’s good or bad. People changed by Jesus are still disowned by families, shunned in workplaces, even killed in some places in the world. Following Jesus entails a transformation not to be taken lightly. Question: Have you ever seen Jesus transform a life? What changed in that person? Was it for the better or worse, in your opinion? What did they do?

From Series: Pioneer Story | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio

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