Luke 10:1-20
Welcome! In a few minutes we will take the bread and the cup to help us remember that the Lord Jesus died for us, taking the punishment that we deserve for our sins, and doing this so that we could spend an eternity not separated from God but with Him, enjoying Him, worshiping Him forever. When I say that Jesus died for us, I don’t mean “us” in an abstract sense, as in people in general, but I mean each particular one of us. I mean me, and I mean you.
Communion, remembering Jesus with the bread and the cup, was not a church practice that became a tradition over time, like having a church meeting on Sunday mornings, but was something Jesus Himself instituted with His disciples. He did not specify a frequency, but because we are a forgetful people, and because we are a fickle people, it makes sense that we should do it often. There are indications in the Bible that the early disciples did it quite often.
We do it once a month as a body on Sunday morning and we encourage one another to do it more often than that in your homes. The home fellowship that meets at the Custers’ house, for example, does it every time they meet, which is twice a month.
This week as I was praying and thinking about what I could say to prepare us for communion, I thought about the account of Asa in 2 Chronicles. Who was Asa? Well, here is a one-minute history lesson to help you remember. Do you remember King David and after him, King Solomon? Recall that they reigned over a united kingdom consisting of the land allocated to the tribes of Israel. But after Solomon died, the kingdom split into two – the southern kingdom, consisting of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and the northern kingdom, consisting of the other ten tribes. The Bible calls the southern kingdom Judah, and it calls the northern kingdom Israel. Asa was the third king of Judah, after Rehoboam and Abijah.
Asa started his reign by really seeking after God. Listen to this:
Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to obey his laws and commands. He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. – 2 Chron. 14:2-6
Later Judah was threatened by a million-man army led by Zerah the Cushite, and Asa, vastly outnumbered, realizing that he had no hope for salvation apart from God’s deliverance, turned to God in prayer.
Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, "Lord, there is no one like You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this vast army. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You." – 2 Chron. 14:11
What happened? The Lord delivered them! But then the years went by, and something happened to Asa. In the 36th year of his reign, he was again threatened, this time, by, of all people, Baasha the king of Israel! This king began to fortify a city called Ramah to serve as a siege and blockade against Judah, so that he could control what went in and out of Judah.
What did Asa do this time?
Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the Lord's temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. "Let there be a treaty between me and you," he said, "as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me." – 2 Chron. 16:2-3
That may sound reasonable, prudent, and even wise. What do you think? I for one am quite concerned that he used temple money for this purpose. Never mind that God warned against this sort of thing in Exodus:
Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and cut down their Asherah poles. – Ex. 34:12-13
But hey, if it works, don’t knock it, right? That verse is ancient history, anyway. They weren’t going to worship anything. Remember, Asa had already done the things described in that second verse. They just need to protect themselves from that nasty king of Israel! He started it! So how did it go?
Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim and all the store cities of Naphtali. When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and abandoned his work. Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah, and they carried away from Ramah the stones and timber Baasha had been using. With them he built up Geba and Mizpah. – 2 Chron. 16:4-6
So it worked! He was very clever, right? Good job, Asa!
At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: "Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. – 2 Chron. 16:7-8
So it wasn’t a good thing. Asa had forgotten the Lord. Despite all the good things he had done in the past, his heart had drifted away from God. The temple sacrifices and meetings and the all the religious festivals were still going on, but Asa’s heart had grown cold. He had become secular in his thinking. He was relying on his own wits in life, instead of nurturing a day-to-day relationship with God, seeking and involving the Lord in his life. And the result was that he missed out on what “could have been.” Later in Chronicles we see this behavior of Asa continue, as he becomes seriously ill, and relies solely on doctors without seeking the Lord.
What happened to Asa can happen to us. I don’t care how long you have been a Christian, or what God has done through you in the past – each of us is at risk of losing the intimacy of our walk with Christ. It happens little by little; our hearts become cooler and cooler, we pray less and less, we make decisions more and more on our own, and we can become just like Asa.
Before we take communion together, I ask you to check your heart. Has it cooled? Are you living secularly Monday through Saturday? How is your prayer life? How is your thought life? How much are you involving the Lord in your life?
Remember what Jesus said was the greatest commandment of all?
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. – Matt. 22:37
All. Today, before you participate in the bread and the cup, to remember in thanksgiving Jesus’ sacrifice of His body and His blood for you, spend some time in confession to Him about the state of your heart. His desire, perhaps more than anything else, is that you would recommit yourself to Him today. He is eagerly searching for those who would really seek to follow this commandment. He knows that you cannot do it in your own strength. He desires to strengthen you. He will strengthen you, if you ask Him. Indeed, in the passage about Asa, the very next verse is this:
For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. – 2 Chron. 16:9
I am now going to play some quiet music on the keyboard. Spend time in prayer with the Lord, as much time as you need to get your heart right with Him. When you are ready, come up and get the bread and cup and take it back to your seat. Again, spend time with the Lord in prayer, remembering Him and thanking Him for His sacrifice for you, and when you are ready, partake of the bread and the cup.
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. – Luke 10:1-4
"When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. – Luke 10:5-7
"When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.' I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. – Luke 10:8-12
"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. – Luke 10:13-15
"He who listens to you listens to Me; he who rejects you rejects Me; but he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me." – Luke 10:16
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name." He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." – Luke 10:17-20
Possible questions:
1. Back in Jesus’ day, what kind of work was harvesting? What happened to a harvest if there weren’t enough workers?
2. How is one to get more harvesters? What does it mean to “send out” harvesters? (Hint: the Greek is ekballo, from which we get ballistic.)
3. What does it mean to be like a lamb among wolves? What do lambs need?
4. Why does it say not to greet anyone on the road? (Hint: What were eastern greetings like?)
5. Why does it say to eat what is given or set before you? (Hint: see I Cor. 10:27).
6. What does “the worker deserves his wages” mean here? (Hint: see I Cor. 9:4-18).
7. Why say “peace be to this house”? (Hint: see Numbers 6:23-27)
8. Why isn’t the “shake dust off” part cruel and harsh? Are we really supposed to do this? (It sends a message as to the seriousness of their sin problem.)
9. Why isn’t Jesus’ “woes” similarly harsh? (Same answer. See Rev. 6:15-16.)
10. Should we take rejection or praise personally when we share the gospel? (See vs. 16.)
11. Why did Jesus respond with “I saw Satan fall from heaven” when He did? (Jesus is saying that He has given them authority over the devil.)
12. What does “nothing shall by any means hurt you” mean? (Spiritual, not physical safety.)
13. Why is it more important to rejoice in salvation than in God’s answered prayers in our lives, as implied in vs. 20? (Nothing compares.) (Rev. 21:27)
Communion, remembering Jesus with the bread and the cup, was not a church practice that became a tradition over time, like having a church meeting on Sunday mornings, but was something Jesus Himself instituted with His disciples. He did not specify a frequency, but because we are a forgetful people, and because we are a fickle people, it makes sense that we should do it often. There are indications in the Bible that the early disciples did it quite often.
We do it once a month as a body on Sunday morning and we encourage one another to do it more often than that in your homes. The home fellowship that meets at the Custers’ house, for example, does it every time they meet, which is twice a month.
This week as I was praying and thinking about what I could say to prepare us for communion, I thought about the account of Asa in 2 Chronicles. Who was Asa? Well, here is a one-minute history lesson to help you remember. Do you remember King David and after him, King Solomon? Recall that they reigned over a united kingdom consisting of the land allocated to the tribes of Israel. But after Solomon died, the kingdom split into two – the southern kingdom, consisting of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and the northern kingdom, consisting of the other ten tribes. The Bible calls the southern kingdom Judah, and it calls the northern kingdom Israel. Asa was the third king of Judah, after Rehoboam and Abijah.
Asa started his reign by really seeking after God. Listen to this:
Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to obey his laws and commands. He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. – 2 Chron. 14:2-6
Later Judah was threatened by a million-man army led by Zerah the Cushite, and Asa, vastly outnumbered, realizing that he had no hope for salvation apart from God’s deliverance, turned to God in prayer.
Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, "Lord, there is no one like You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this vast army. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You." – 2 Chron. 14:11
What happened? The Lord delivered them! But then the years went by, and something happened to Asa. In the 36th year of his reign, he was again threatened, this time, by, of all people, Baasha the king of Israel! This king began to fortify a city called Ramah to serve as a siege and blockade against Judah, so that he could control what went in and out of Judah.
What did Asa do this time?
Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the Lord's temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. "Let there be a treaty between me and you," he said, "as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me." – 2 Chron. 16:2-3
That may sound reasonable, prudent, and even wise. What do you think? I for one am quite concerned that he used temple money for this purpose. Never mind that God warned against this sort of thing in Exodus:
Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and cut down their Asherah poles. – Ex. 34:12-13
But hey, if it works, don’t knock it, right? That verse is ancient history, anyway. They weren’t going to worship anything. Remember, Asa had already done the things described in that second verse. They just need to protect themselves from that nasty king of Israel! He started it! So how did it go?
Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim and all the store cities of Naphtali. When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and abandoned his work. Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah, and they carried away from Ramah the stones and timber Baasha had been using. With them he built up Geba and Mizpah. – 2 Chron. 16:4-6
So it worked! He was very clever, right? Good job, Asa!
At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: "Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. – 2 Chron. 16:7-8
So it wasn’t a good thing. Asa had forgotten the Lord. Despite all the good things he had done in the past, his heart had drifted away from God. The temple sacrifices and meetings and the all the religious festivals were still going on, but Asa’s heart had grown cold. He had become secular in his thinking. He was relying on his own wits in life, instead of nurturing a day-to-day relationship with God, seeking and involving the Lord in his life. And the result was that he missed out on what “could have been.” Later in Chronicles we see this behavior of Asa continue, as he becomes seriously ill, and relies solely on doctors without seeking the Lord.
What happened to Asa can happen to us. I don’t care how long you have been a Christian, or what God has done through you in the past – each of us is at risk of losing the intimacy of our walk with Christ. It happens little by little; our hearts become cooler and cooler, we pray less and less, we make decisions more and more on our own, and we can become just like Asa.
Before we take communion together, I ask you to check your heart. Has it cooled? Are you living secularly Monday through Saturday? How is your prayer life? How is your thought life? How much are you involving the Lord in your life?
Remember what Jesus said was the greatest commandment of all?
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. – Matt. 22:37
All. Today, before you participate in the bread and the cup, to remember in thanksgiving Jesus’ sacrifice of His body and His blood for you, spend some time in confession to Him about the state of your heart. His desire, perhaps more than anything else, is that you would recommit yourself to Him today. He is eagerly searching for those who would really seek to follow this commandment. He knows that you cannot do it in your own strength. He desires to strengthen you. He will strengthen you, if you ask Him. Indeed, in the passage about Asa, the very next verse is this:
For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. – 2 Chron. 16:9
I am now going to play some quiet music on the keyboard. Spend time in prayer with the Lord, as much time as you need to get your heart right with Him. When you are ready, come up and get the bread and cup and take it back to your seat. Again, spend time with the Lord in prayer, remembering Him and thanking Him for His sacrifice for you, and when you are ready, partake of the bread and the cup.
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. – Luke 10:1-4
"When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. – Luke 10:5-7
"When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.' I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. – Luke 10:8-12
"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. – Luke 10:13-15
"He who listens to you listens to Me; he who rejects you rejects Me; but he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me." – Luke 10:16
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name." He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." – Luke 10:17-20
Possible questions:
1. Back in Jesus’ day, what kind of work was harvesting? What happened to a harvest if there weren’t enough workers?
2. How is one to get more harvesters? What does it mean to “send out” harvesters? (Hint: the Greek is ekballo, from which we get ballistic.)
3. What does it mean to be like a lamb among wolves? What do lambs need?
4. Why does it say not to greet anyone on the road? (Hint: What were eastern greetings like?)
5. Why does it say to eat what is given or set before you? (Hint: see I Cor. 10:27).
6. What does “the worker deserves his wages” mean here? (Hint: see I Cor. 9:4-18).
7. Why say “peace be to this house”? (Hint: see Numbers 6:23-27)
8. Why isn’t the “shake dust off” part cruel and harsh? Are we really supposed to do this? (It sends a message as to the seriousness of their sin problem.)
9. Why isn’t Jesus’ “woes” similarly harsh? (Same answer. See Rev. 6:15-16.)
10. Should we take rejection or praise personally when we share the gospel? (See vs. 16.)
11. Why did Jesus respond with “I saw Satan fall from heaven” when He did? (Jesus is saying that He has given them authority over the devil.)
12. What does “nothing shall by any means hurt you” mean? (Spiritual, not physical safety.)
13. Why is it more important to rejoice in salvation than in God’s answered prayers in our lives, as implied in vs. 20? (Nothing compares.) (Rev. 21:27)
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