Bible Lesson: Miracles Of The Holy Spirit: Empowered Disciples, Work The Works Of Christ.
Bible Location: In Galilee.
Bible Text: Mark 6:7-13 KJV (Matthew 10:1, 9-11,14 Matthew 11:1/ Luke 9:1-3-6)
7 And He called unto Him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;
8 And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:
9 But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.
10 And He said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.
11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
Mark 6:7 KJV
And He called unto Him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;
The time had come, the disciples, must travel from that of apprentice to that of journey-man.
And who our Lord God calls, He so mercifully equips, “...and gave them power over unclean spirits;”
If this were “not,” an observance to be forever perpetuated by God's called ones, what a conundrum!
Our Lord went on later to also call the seventy and “all” His followers.
Luke 10:1,17 KJV
1 After these things the LORD appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come.
17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
Mark 16:15-18 KJV
15 And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Oh how the weak of mind and heart, love to make silly these precious words of our Lord and Master.
The Serpent our Lord refers to here, is none other than Satan, and all his deadly poisons (the enemy), as our Lord was metaphorically speaking.
Luke 10:19 KJV
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
When our Master said these words, He hardly was giving license to showmanship for religious charlatans.
And our Lord explicitly told Satan, three times (Matthew 4:1-11) He "did not,"perform miracles for works of show.
Mark 16:18 also speaks of divine protection from evil things, that can come upon one, such as the Apostle Paul's experience at the island of Melita (Acts 28:1-6).
God empowers His people, for the work of God, and not only that, He, Himself, never leaves nor forsakes them.
Mark 6:8,9 KJV
8 And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:
9 But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.
If you were to use the above verse as a guide, how many religious television programs do you think you would continue to watch?
Jesus, the Son of God, could have had riches untold, yet claimed nothing for Himself.
Matthew 8:20 KJV
And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head.
Jesus, never made merchandise of His message.
Homily:
Acts 3:6 KJV
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
It has been well said, that the church today, cannot say “silver and gold have I none,” but neither can it say “rise up and walk.”
We live in a world, undreamt of by the early disciples. Ministers oft are millionaires and some, yes billionaires. Private jets (plural), yachts, homes across Europe and the far east, etc. etc.
Owners from diamond mines in Africa, and who knows what all else.
I Timothy 6:10 KJV
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Read again the dear words our Saviour spoken to His men.
And yes it is true….
Luke 10:7 KJV
And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
But how far afield we have gone from those words.
One of the best litmus tests of the church is, are those who are “called of God,” prepared to perform their ministry, for nothing, if they are indeed, called of God.
This hardly is the basis for some niggardly old church tightwads to try and starve some poor pastor and his family. But any one “called of God,” should be willing, indeed to face hardships for the love of the Saviour, while making Him alone, their Lord and Master.
The Roman Church, at one time, had a gathering of priests, who were of the “vow of poverty,” sect.
This one facet can be appreciated, and perhaps taken up by others.
If there is one thing the church of the Lord Jesus Christ needs to be cleansed of today, it is the terrible sin of hypocrisy.
And needless to say, this may not only be a sin of the officiary but of the pew as well.
Who is our God? Who is our Lord and Master? A good question to research at the altar.
Mark 6:10,11 KJV
10 And He said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.
11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
As monstrously evil as the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were, yet they will receive less punishment in judgment, than any city that has had the gospel preached in it, and which without any resignation refuses to hear or obey its message.
Shaking the city's dust off their feet was a symbolic gesture, of the day, God will forever cast them from His mercy.
Hebrews 10:31 KJV
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Mark 6:12, 13 KJV
12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
The first message of the church must always be the message of repentance of sin and faith in the finished work of Christ the Saviour.
Acts 4:10-12 KJV
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here before you whole.
11 This is the Stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the Head of the Corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
In our Lord's day, there were those who were desperate and in need. Did that day end with the disciples, how ludicrous.
If, indeed we have no longer need for prayer for the sick, what of salvation?
Yes, there are those who would say-both are past. Certainly to deny one is to deny the other.
No, the day of salvation is “not,” over, and by means of association, if by none other, neither is the work of praying for those in need.
What is the end of the matter?
Acts 2:38-47 KJV (Peter)
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
