Sermon - Luke 9 - Trust, Care, and Share - Littleby Baptist Church - May 19, 2019

Last week we saw how Jesus was trying to get people to look past the here and now and focus on eternity. The crowd was hungry for more of the barley loaves and fish used to feed the 5,000, but Jesus was telling them about His amazing gift. They wanted to see so they could believe, but the Bible tells us that if we believe we will see. Believe and our eyes will be opened to all that God is doing.

If you have your Bible, please open them to Luke 6 as we continue our series on the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus.

Luke 6:12-16

“¹² During those days he went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God. ¹³ When daylight came, he summoned his disciples, and he chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵ Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; ¹⁶ Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.”

Jesus selected the Twelve. He was going to pour Himself into these Twelve. These men were going to hear Jesus break down the parables. They were going to see the public and private miracles, and most of them were going to be the leaders of the early church when Jesus ascended into heaven.

These Twelve guys had first person access to Jesus. They heard all He had to share. He taught them to love their enemies, talked about how you can judge a person by the fruit in their life, they witnessed a boy being raised from the dead, saw that Jesus healed a gentile boy from a distance, heard Him forgive sins, cast out demons, and calm the wind and the waves. These guys were blessed to dine with Jesus and pray with our Lord. Then one day, Jesus called them together and gave them a job to do.

Flip forward to Luke 9.

Luke 9:1-2

“9 Summoning the Twelve, he gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. ² Then he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.”

He called the twelve together and told them to go out and ‘proclaim the Kingdom of God and heal the sick’. They were to go out and share the message that Jesus had been teaching and to meet the needs of the people they minister to.

In order to do this task, Jesus had to give them the power and authority to do it. The Holy Spirit had yet to come so Jesus gave them the power and authority that they would receive later on Pentecost.

Jesus gave them the power to accomplish the task before them. He gave them the authority to do it. He gave them the power to heal, the authority to cast out demons, and the power and authority to spread the amazing message of salvation.

We too have been given things to do while here on earth. We are to love God and love others, we are to be witnesses that make disciples, and we are to meet the needs of the people around us. Each of us have been given the power and authority to complete the tasks before us. We have been given the authority to share God’s love with others. We have the authority to share the gospel message wherever we go. We all have the ability to give to others in one form or another. It may be our time, money, a listening ear, or anything else the Holy Spirit has gifted us with.

Jesus gave the twelve the power and authority to work in His name and to proclaim the kingdom of God, and you have that same power and authority at work in you. As a follower of Christ, you have been given the power and authority to minister to the needs of others. You are uniquely gifted to help others, to show His love, and to share His message.

This is true no matter who you are. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you have been granted the power and authority to be His messenger.  

Luke 9:3-4

“³ “Take nothing for the road,” he told them, “no staff, no traveling bag, no bread, no money; and don’t take an extra shirt. ⁴ Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there.”

Take nothing… do not pack before you go… do not carry those spare coins in case of an emergency… do not book that hotel… do not plan out your meals… simply trust that God will provide.

Noah trusted God and built an ark.

Abraham trusted that God when he climbed up the mountain with Isaac.  

Moses trusted God and returned to Egypt.

Joshua trusted God as they entered the promised land and fought battle after battle.

Gideon trusted God when he had 300 men against an army of 135,000.

Daniel trusted God while in the lion’s den.

Mary trusted God when she agreed to be Jesus’ mother.

Psalm 37:3-6

“³ Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely. ⁴ Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. ⁵ Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act, ⁶ making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday.”

We need to trust in our Lord as we go about His business. If we are doing what He has commanded us to do, He will take care of us. When we step out in faith … committing our way to the Lord, trusting in Him, He will be there guiding us every step of the way.

You have been given the Power and Authority to be a witness, to make disciples, to share God’s Love, and to care for the least of these. God will take your acts of faith and give it the power to touch lives. When you commit to sharing the Good News, He will be with you.

The Bible gives us example after example of God providing, but we also have examples of God providing today.

We recently gave to the Annie Armstrong Easter offering. This offering helps to provide for 5,097 missionaries and their families. These are people who stepped out in faith and though you and many others God is providing.

The SBC International Mission Board is another way that we know that God provides for those who step out in faith. The IMB supports missionaries who are in countries that are flat out hostile to the Gospel. Some of these men and women put their life in God’s hands every time they mention the name Jesus. Talk about trusting in God!

Trust in God. Some 2,000 years ago the Twelve had to trust for God to provide. Missionaries around this country and the world are trusting in God. We need to be trusting in God.

We may not be missionaries in a faraway land or the inner city, but everyone one of us has been called to care and share. We are to love others, share the Gospel message, and provide for the least of these. In doing so we need to trust that God will provide.

Go about God’s business and trust in Him.

Luke 9:5

“⁵ If they do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”

The verses in Matthew provide a little more insight.

Matthew 10:11-15

“¹¹ When you enter any town or village, find out who is worthy, and stay there until you leave. ¹² Greet a household when you enter it, ¹³ and if the household is worthy, let your peace be on it; but if it is unworthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ If anyone does not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that house or town. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.”

Might seem harsh, but we are looking from the perspective of those who have already received God’s gift of mercy and grace.

John 3:18

“Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.”

That is a fact, we are lost without Jesus so if we reject the gift of grace offered to us the judgement will be terrible. It will be filled with weeping and gnashing. Those who rejected the message the Twelve were sharing were condemned before they heard the message and would remain condemned if they rejected the message. The only way to avoid condemnation is though hearing and believing that Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins.

Luke 9:6

“⁶ So they went out and traveled from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing everywhere.”

The Twelve were given a job to do and they trusted that God would provide. Each one of us have a job to do. We are all called to do something that spreads God’s message, His Love, or Both and we need to trust in Our God to guide and provide. Trust in God and then go out to the world and Care and Share.

This week I want to encourage you to pray. Ask God what you are supposed to be doing and then ask Him to help you trust in Him to make it happen.

Answer God’s call, trust in Him, and go care and share.


May the Lord Bless you abundantly!

Robert