Were talking about taking off that protection and being all in today. When youre in football, there are times when you practice without your pads and helmet, and youre just going through the motions. There are other times when you say, Okay, its full contact. You put your helmet on; you put your pads on, and say, Were going to hit each other today. Were all in, and thats what were talking about today: being all in. We want to turn in our Bibles to Luke 9. While youre doing that, I want to remind you of a couple of things. We have GPS today after the 11 oclock service. If you need to plug into ministry here at Faith and have not already done so, that class will help you to do that. Lunch is provided. Whats going on in the ministry of Jesus right now is a very defining moment for them (the Disciples). Christ has announced and affirmed to the Apostles that He is the Son of the living God, that He is the Christ. He has begun to tell them some seemingly bad news: that He is going to be betrayed, that He is going to suffer, that Hes going to be crucified. Hell be buried, and then the third day, Hell rise again. They dont understand the full significance of that. They dont understand the theological significance of it. What Jesus begins to do now is send them out. Theyve been watching Him, listening to Him, following Him, but now its their turn to begin to do the things Hes done. Jesus is going to [take the] bubble wrap off and send them out unprotected into the world. Its all in. Its all or nothing right now. Its where the rubber meets the road in this Comfort Zone to the War Zone; thats what were talking about here. Lets take a look at Verse 57 [of Luke 9]. Were going to pick up where we left off (page 1027 of pew Bibles) from last week. Were going to encounter a series of three different men. Usually when you read this passage, these three men are presented in the light that they went AWOL, that they didnt follow through. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that. We simply dont know whom they were. We dont know what the outcome was. All three may very well have followed Christ. It could be that when He sends out the 72 in the next chapter, that these three men were a part of that 72. We simply dont know what their fate is. These verses are very much applicable to our lives and ministries today. As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, ‘I will follow You wherever You go. Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head. Ive heard people talk about that and say, That means Jesus was homeless. Well, thats not entirely true. When you read the Gospels, when Hes in Capernaum, He definitely had a headquarters there where He stayed. There were times when He stayed at Peters house; there were times when He stayed at the home of Mary and Martha; there were times, Im sure, when he was at His mothers home, so there were many times when He had a home. However, at this particular juncture-remember the Samaritans would not allow Him to stay in their villages because He was on His way to Jerusalem (He didnt have a home). We talked about that last week. They said, Were not going to let You stay here, so for that particular night, there was no lodging. Jesus, here, is giving him a realistic view of what its like to be a follower of His. Youve seen the miracles; youve seen the thousands of people fed. Youve seen the demonstrations of power; youve seen this dynamic ministry unfold in front of you, and you want to be a part of that. [Jesus says], You want to be a part of the adventure. What you need to know is that its not always roses. You need to know that sometimes there are sacrifices. Sometimes there are inconveniences, so you need to be aware. Its not all the glamour that it looks like. Tonight were sleeping under the stars. So Hes making him aware of the reality of what it means to follow Him. Its not always going to be an easy path. Sometimes we want to be engaged in certain ministries because we think, Oh, thats where its at. We forget that often times there is a lot of hard work and preparation that goes on underneath. I was watching American Idol, which is kind of a tradition of our family on Tuesday nights. The idols get advice from different stars. This time it was a group called Maroon 5. The lead singer was asked a question, What would you tell the idols to prepare them for their future? What bit of advice do you have? The lead singer said, Just be prepared to work. If you become a professional, just know it requires long hours, and its hard, hard work. People just see the lights, the fame and the glitter. Its hard work. Its rehearsals; its traveling; its different hotels every night. Youre away from home and family. Its hard. I was talking with somebody who was in an elected office recently; he was a friend of mine. He said, You know, sometimes people want to do what I do because they see that there is a certain amount of power; there is a certain amount of notoriety, but they dont see that this is a hard job. They dont see all the research and all the studying, all the preparation and the long hours, and the many different demands. Im sure that sometimes people see you preach on a Sunday and say, ‘I want to be a pastor because I want to do that. But how much of your week as a pastor is spent preaching? I said, A few hours a week. [He said], Its just the tip of the iceberg of what you do. So it is with me. So Jesus is saying, Look, be realistic. Understand the consequences and the potential sacrifice. This whole segment of the chapter is about what were going to call divine priorities, Jesus making sure our priorities are in the right place for life in ministry. Then He encounters a second man. He says, ‘Follow Me, but the man replied, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father. It seems like a reasonable request, doesnt it? Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God. He seems to be saying no to this mans request to bury his father. When you first read that, you go, Well, thats kind of mean. You would think Jesus would say, Well, sure, if your dad died, you better go bury your dad, and I understand, but thats really not whats happening here. Think about it: if this mans dad had just died, would he be out there with Jesus? Where would he be? Hed be with his family. He would be with his mom if she was still living; hed be with his siblings. Hed be with his family. What he is saying here to Jesus is, Listen, my father was up in years. What You are doing sounds important. It sounds good, but let me take care of my dad first. When my dad passes away, then Ill follow You, but right now Im concerned. I dont want to leave him. Hes getting older. His health isnt the greatest, and I just have to be around for him, but someday, Ill follow You. Remember Jesus is not going to be around much longer. He doesnt have many days left, so if hes going to follow Christ, its expedient that he does so now. In essence what this man did was he said, My family is a greater priority to me than the call You put on my life. Sometimes, when people talk about ministry and why they cant serve or why they cant fulfill their call, the excuses they give are really good ones. One of the best ones you hear is family. I cant tell you how many times Ive heard-I mean numerous, numerous times through the years-people who cant serve because of family obligations. Do you think Jesus buys that excuse here? Does Jesus go, Oh, its your family. I understand. Oh, forget about the call and purpose I have on your life. Your family, after all, has to be the number one priority in your life. Is that what Christ would teach? What did Christ say? Do you remember the teaching that is really misunderstood sometimes? Unless you hate mother, father, sister, brother, child more than Me, you cannot be My disciple. What was He saying there? Did He literally mean to hate? No. He meant that every other love we have should pale in our comparison to our love for Him, that He should be the number one priority in our lives. We met Pastor Lyon a few weeks ago when he gave our dedication for our new building. When his son, Curtis, was four years old, he developed a brain tumor. When Dr. Mano performed the surgery, he found that the brain tumor was malignant, and it was too large to remove. It would either kill him or make him a vegetable. They sewed him back up, and they said, The only thing you can do is wait. Im sorry there is nothing earthly speaking that we can do for your boy. [It was] devastating news! With each passing day, Curtis condition decreased. There were many nights when he was gasping for breath and looked like he would die right there. His parents began to take care of him, of course. It was an around-the-clock job, but what was interesting was Pastor Lyon never quit the ministry. He never stepped down from ministry. People would criticize him and say, Look, your son is dying. Why dont you step aside from your responsibilities or dont work so much. Go home and take care of your boy because you dont know how many days you have left with him. I want to tell you something. Nobody, not a board member, not a staff member, not a parishioner, not one person, would have judged or criticized him if he said, Listen, my little boy is dying right now, so I need to stop ministry. Do you know what Pastor Lyon would say to them, time and time again? Hed said, I take care of Gods business. Hell take care of my business. Seek ye first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. So while he ministered to his son, he continued to serve the Lord. Do you know what happened? God miraculously healed Curtis. Eventually with X-rays of his skull, all they found where the tumor used to be was fluid. The malignant tumor was completely dissolved and gone. I would just see pictures of Curtis with the bandage around his head. It looked like a big turban. Id hear the stories. He grew up to be one of my best friends. See, thats the principle here. Friends, families are wonderful. Families are ordained from God. Even something as wonderful as your family should not be an excuse for doing the Lords work and following His call. Jesus didnt buy it. He didnt say, Oh, your dad, sure hes more important than I. Then theres the third person who comes up [to Him.] He says, ‘I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family. Notice the pattern with man number two and man number three; First let me is in both stories. Me first. My priorities, my needs first. Jesus would say, Me first, then you. Jesus is going to correct them on their priorities. He says, Let me go and say good-bye to my family. It seems like a reasonable request. Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God. Now, was Jesus saying, No, you cant say good-bye? Thats not what He was saying at all. He was simply letting the man know that if a result of meeting his family caused him to turn away from the call-have second thoughts about the call-he was not fit for service. Hes going to go back and say good-bye, but whats going to happen when he goes to say good-bye? Whats going to happen when he goes home and says, Mom, Dad, Im going to follow Jesus. When he tells his siblings, a spouse if he has one, children or his friends, Im leaving home, and Im going to follow this Jesus. I dont know where Im going to go. I dont know what Im going to do, but Im going to follow Him. How do you think that would go over back at home base? When I announced to my wife that we were moving to Janesville, and by the way, thats how poorly I did it, I did not do it the way you were supposed to do it. I remember I came home, and she was chopping onions or something. We had lived in Rockford our whole lives. I had a good job; we had a nice house; our daughter was in a nice school; our friends were there; our families were there. All we knew was there, and I said, Were going to go to Janesville and start a church. I think God wants us to start a church in Janesville. She stopped chopping those onions, turned and looked at me and said, Well, you have fun in Janesville because Im staying right here. (Congregation laughing). [She was] one quarter joking and three quarters serious. She began to tell me all of the advantages of staying there, and besides that all of our bills come with us. We had a house payment; we had a car payment. We had this and that. Before you think Im picking on her, I want you to know I was ten times more stubborn than she was. When God told me to go to Janesville, I said, No thank you, Sir. No thank you. No thank you, Sir. I am not going to do that. I was much worse than she was because she eventually, and it wasnt that long, said, If thats what you feel Gods plan is for us, Im in. Im all in. I went and told my mom; now I was a mamas boy when my mom was living. When I told her I was going to take her baby, which was me, she had me late in life and move to Wisconsin and take her grandbabies with me, how do you think that went over? Why would you do that? You love Pastor Lyon. You love your job. You have your new home. You have this and that. Why would you do that? I need you to stay here. I talked to my close friends who were in ministry with me at the church. I said, Im going to be leaving our team and moving to Wisconsin. How do you think that went in there? What did they say? Some of them got mad at me. They saw that as a betrayal. Whats wrong with us that you want to leave us? Why are you going to leave? We have a good thing going here. Why are you going? They were upset with me. These are people who loved me, but what was more, these were people who loved God. My heartstrings would be pulled on, and there would be a passing thought that would say, No, maybe I just need to stay here. Do you know what came to mind? This Scripture right here, Jesus is still teaching this Scripture. That verse would go through my head, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is worthy of the call. I said, You know what? I have to go. Thats what Hes talking about here. Hes not saying to the man, Dont go back and say good-bye. If you go back, and they convince you not to follow Me, be prepared. That could happen. Divine priorities: Gods call must come first. The second thing we want to talk about is in Verse 1-2 of Chapter 10. It says, After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others… It could have been these three among them. …and sent them out 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. This talks about divine partnership. Were not going to say a lot about this because in six weeks it will be World Missions weekend at Faith Community. Twice a year, we devote our weekend services to World Missions. We have a wonderful speaker; Todd Powers is going to be back ministering to us that last weekend in July. Right now he is serving the Lord in Myanmar, in the tragedy that is unfolding there. He is one of the few that got visas to go over there. He did a tremendous job last time he was with us. So Im going to have him preach from this text. This is where he is going to preach from, so Im not going to talk a lot about that. Im going to leave that for him to talk about. I do want to point out something here and that is what we think about personal evangelism. Usually, you think of it as something you do; its kind of all on you, right? You have to listen to the call; you have to go out; you have to share Christ; you have to bring them to faith. What this is really talking about here is not your being a one-man show, like the girl I read about in Texas this week. Did you read about Bonnie Richardson, the student in Texas? Shes a track and field athlete for her high school. She was the only student in her high school to qualify for the state meet, Division 1A in Texas. She went as the sole person for her school, her high school, and ended up winning the state title for her school as an individual. She threw the discus, high jump, long jump, 100, 200. She accumulated enough points as an individual to win the team trophy for her school. Thats never been done before; shes just an amazing athlete. Sometimes we think we have to be like Bonnie Richardson; we have to do it all. Jesus talks here about when we go out and share our faith, it is a partnership. We are partnering with each other, and were doing it as a community. Were doing it as a team. There is a dependency upon God to equip us and send us out. There is a notice on us to own that message, be obedient, and to proclaim it, and then have God follow through and bring the results. It is a divine partnership that we seek. More about that in six weeks. Verse 3, He says, Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Remember, this is Jesus army-out of the comfort zone into the war zone. Hes sending these people out into the world. Have you noticed the descriptive words? Some of you think of it as being warriors for God. Have you noticed the words Jesus used for the people He is sending out? He calls us lambs, sheep. He says were to be childlike. He calls us servants. [Its] not the mindset you would normally think of, right? Servants and sheep, be like these children. Youd think sometimes-the way believers attack non-believers-that Jesus said, I want you to go out and be wolves among sheep. Youd think Hed sent them out, Devour them! No, He says, Listen, I want you to go out, and youre going to be sheep among wolves. There are people out there who want to destroy you, who want to stop our mission. There are people out there with bad intent. They are evil people; theyre ravenous wolves. Because of their presence, I am sending you out to them. There is a line from a movie I want us to focus in on right now. This movie was recently out, and it is called I am Legend. It stars Will Smith, and its a future apocalyptic science-fiction movie in which all but a remnant of mankind has been wiped out. He has just discovered he is not the only person on the planet. There are some other people like him, and hes trying to find a cure because there are these people out there who have been transformed by this disease. I wont get into all of it. These people are relentless, and theyre trying to destroy him. At the same time, he is trying to find a cure for their condition. This is a dialogue he has, and there is a line in here I want to focus in on. Lets watch this short clip from I am Legend and then talk about it. Heres the line right here: The people who are wanting to make this world worse are not taking a day off. Its true now; it was true then. Jesus says, Im sending you out. This is about divine protection. There is an underlying implication that He is going to protect them. He doesnt say Im sending you out as sheep among wolves to be devoured or to be slaughtered. After all, what chance does a sheep have against a wolf? None, unless there were a shepherd who was greater than the wolf. He says, You dont need to fear the wolves because you have a shepherd who will be watching over you. Until God is finished with you, youre invincible. Until He has finished the work He has called you to do, youre invincible. There was a lady I read about this week. I had never heard of her before. Her name was Irene Sendler. She was a social worker in Poland in 1939. WWII, the Nazis came into the town. She knew what the fate of those children she was in charge of would be. In the course of her time there during WWII-from 1939-1943, she rescued 2,500 children-she and her little team of social workers she lead. [There were] 2,500 children! One of those children she rescued was quoted as saying, She not only rescued us, but she rescued our children and our grandchildren. She rescued generations of people because of her bravery. The Nazis were wolves. The Nazis never took a day off; the Nazis had evil intent. They were going to devour the innocent. They were going to take lives. In a few short years, they would round those people up and send them to death camps. Until that time came, she did her best to save those childrens lives one at a time, one at a time. In 1943, she was captured. She knew if she were ever found out, she could be tortured or killed because of what she was trying to do. During the Gestapo raid in 1943, she was rounded up, and she was tortured. She was tortured repeatedly. She had scars on her body for the torturing, this sweet little old lady. She said, But I kept silent because I would rather die than tell them about our mission. So the underground agency that was trying to liberate Jews bribed the Nazi soldiers. The Nazis-the moral giants they were-took the bribe and set her free. She spent the rest of her days trying to reunite those 2,500 children with any family members who might have still been alive. She tried to give them a life again. She took their names, wrote them down on paper, put them in a jar and she put it under a tree. When the war was over, she dug that up and spent the rest of her life continuing to minister to those kids. She died at the age of 98, just this week. Irene Sendler was a sheep among wolves. She never took a day off because they never took a day off. The mission was worth it. The cause was worth it. Jesus says, Look, I am sending you out there. I know how wicked they are, and I know the potential danger and threat, but understand this: Im going to protect you and watch over you. Pastor Sean and Heather, one of our pastors who left for Haiti, were asked repeatedly, How could you go to Haiti? How can you take your four little children to the poorest nation in the world, the voodoo capital of the world? [There is] a high crime rate in Haiti. How can you take your four children? Pastor Sean understood this principle. He would say to you, The safest place on the planet is in the center of the will of God. Until God is done with me, Im invincible. In January, their language training will be over, and January 09, they move to Haiti long-term. Its possibly for the rest of their lives because they feel thats where God wants them to be. Are there wolves in Haiti? Sure. There are shepherds there too. The shepherd is greater than the wolves, and He has a mission for them to reach the Haitian people. [Lets pick up at] Verse 4 where He says, ‘Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. Jesus is not telling them, Hey, be rude. Dont talk to people. Be rude. No, what Hes saying is there is expediency to your mission. I dont want you to be deterred or side-tracked. You have a job to do, and time is short. There are times when I go to exercise at the club, and I have time to kill. I can talk and chat, have a conversation. Maybe Ill talk with several people. Well stop our workout and talk sports, the weather or whatever. Well have a nice conversation. There are other times when I have like 20 minutes before I have to be out of there. Ive tried to stare straight ahead. I try not to get in conversations. If somebody wants to talk to me, they are going to have to talk to me while Im exercising because Im not going to stop. I have a mission to do here. Thats the mindset. Its not being rude; its more like you have a job to do. Notice He basically says, Just bring the clothes on your back. It wasnt the first time He told his followers that. Flip back one page to Chapter 9 where He sends out the 12. He told them in Verse 3, Take nothing for the journey-no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. The bag contained their provisions. Dont take provisions. The staff would ward off potential predators, like wolves. Dont take a staff; dont take extra shoes; dont take extra clothes; dont take food; dont take money. Wow! This is talking about divine provision. What do you think is going to happen? Were not there yet. We wont get there until next week, but what do you think happens when these 72 come back? Do they all die of starvation or dehydration? Are they chewed up by wolves? Do they get infections because their feet are not taken care of? What is going to happen to them? Do you know what? They are all going to find lodging; theyre all going to have their meals; their needs are going to be met. Jesus says, If you trust Me to send you out, trust Me to provide for you while youre doing what Ive called you to do. Heavens economy. There are a lot of us in the community that are worried about whats going to happen this summer. We know for a fact that GM is scaling back. We know were going to lose hundreds of jobs. We know were going to lose hundreds more jobs of subsidiaries who are dependent on GM. We know further that economically, that can trickle down on other businesses-less money for entertainment, less money for restaurants, less money all the way around. Yet, the demands are going up, and sometimes fear rises in the hearts even of believers. Let me ask you a question: Is your job your source, or is God your source? God is able to provide for you in ways that you cant even imagine, that you cant even conceive. You have to work; you have to look sometimes, but you have to keep in mind, if you belong to Him, you are under Heavens economy. Heavens economy never goes through recession, depression, inflation or any other shun you can think of. He says, Trust Me to meet your needs. So as we look back now in this passage, how are you doing here? What about in the areas of divine priorities? Are you finding good excuses like family to keep you from doing the best thing, which is fulfilling the call Hes placed on your life? Are you finding all kinds of reasons why you cant, or are you going forward in faith? If you go forward in faith, then the other three enter into the picture. Its a divine partnership with divine protection and divine provision. Like a child, I trust my heavenly Father to meet my needs. Were going to pick up there next week. Were going to find out what happens when these 72 go out. Some are going to receive their mission, their message. Others are going to reject theirs. Well talk about stubborn and unrepentant hearts next week as we wrap up From the Comfort Zone to the War Zone. I invite you to stand with me as we close in prayer this morning. We are going to pray, and after were done praying, if you have anything you would like to pray about, well have a team of people up here in the front who will be willing to pray with you. The first people I want to talk to are those who are here this morning and who have trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior-youve never prayed to receive Him and trust the care of your soul to Him. That needs to be Job #1 today. When we pray, I invite you to come forward today and pray with our volunteers in the front. They want to pray with you. They have a packet of materials they want to give you that will help you start a journey of your own, as God has called you to a journey too. They want to pray with you. Its not hard; its not painful. In fact, youll feel wonderful when youre through. Theyd like to lead you in prayer to receive Christ as your Lord and Savior. Secondly, if youre here and youre struggling with any of these areas and divine priorities, you need to get those right, make some different decisions. Maybe youve been dealing with some anxiety or fear because youve not been trusting in divine protection or provision. Maybe youve been trying to do it on your own, not entering into that divine partnership. They would like to pray with you about any of those concerns, so I invite you to just come forward. If youre here with somebody, they can wait a few minutes while you come up and allow somebody to pray with you and stand with you in faith. [Come forward] especially those this morning who have never started that journey. Let this be the moment; let this be the time when you start that journey today. Lets pray: Father, we thank You for this example that Youve given us. We dont know who these men were. We dont know what they ultimately decided to do, but for the purposes of Lukes Gospel, it wasnt important. What was important is that the message get there because His call is still going forward, and there are still people giving the same excuses. Youve said whoever puts their hand to the plow and turns back is not worthy of the call. My prayer is that we be found worthy today, that we would not look back. I pray for that one who has not yet started that journey, that they would come forward this morning and pray and receive You as their savior and as their Lord. Maybe theyre not trusting in baptism, not trusting in membership, not trusting in their goodness and their righteousness, but be trusting solely in the grace of God as its been revealed through Jesus Christ as their means of salvation and forgiveness. Then I also pray for those of us who have entered into that partnership as we encounter the wolves along the way. Lord, [I pray] that we would acknowledge You as our shepherd, that we need not fear the wolves that would devour. [We know] that those who have evil intent never take a day off, nor should we. Father, [I pray] that we come to the place as these Disciples [did]. Their trust was solely and completely in You, not in themselves, not in what theyd stacked up or saved up. They left with only the sandals on their feet and clothes on their backs, and You met their needs. We trust You to meet ours as well. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.