Running To Win

Dave McAllister: Jesus never intended that we go it alone. Being his followers means being part of a group. He had his 12 disciples. In Luke 10, he sent out 70 men. In fact, Christ gives his people five distinct resources to enable them to be his witnesses. Today, we'll find out what they are. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, your focus today is the power of a united witness. And at bedrock for a Christian, that must mean being part of a local church.

Dr. Erwin Lutzer: Dave, I have met so many people, and I'm sure that you have also, who say something like this: "I don't go to church anymore, but I still have a relationship with Jesus. It's just Jesus and me." Well, that might actually sound spiritual, but I want to emphasize this: that is not a New Testament statement. Yes, indeed, we walk with Jesus individually, but we also do it collectively because we need one another. And that's why it is that belonging to a congregation is so critical if we're seriously going to walk with God.

Speaking of our relationship with God, at the end of this message, I have a resource that I think is going to be transforming. It's been transforming in my life. I trust that it's going to be transforming in yours as well. It has to do with prayer. And you've heard much about prayer, but I hope that you anticipate this resource that I think will be absolutely helpful even as you think about your prayer life. For now, let's listen.

One of the most profound truths that could ever come to our minds is the fact that when Jesus went up into heaven, he committed to those who were left behind his work and his ministry. And what Jesus in effect says to us today is, "You are my representatives. I am in heaven, but my work on earth continues, and it continues through you, my body."

Turn with me in your Bibles to the 10th chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Luke chapter 10, where Jesus sends out 70 disciples. I know that some translations say 72, it depends on the manuscript that you happen to be using and the Bible that you happen to have before you. But notice in Luke chapter 10, it says these words in verse 16. What an awesome thought: "The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects the one who sent me." What Jesus is saying to these disciples is, "You are the ones who stand in for me. You take over where I have left off. You are the ones who represent me in the world and people's response to you determines their response to me," says Jesus.

Now, I know that that's an awesome thought because perhaps you are here today as a Christian, but you are a defeated Christian. Down deep in your heart, though you wouldn't say it publicly, there may be emptiness and hollowness and sin that you are struggling with and you seem to be defeated, and today may be a day of disappointment and discouragement. Well, I have good news for you. I want you to understand today that Jesus Christ, in laying upon our shoulders this awesome responsibility, does not leave us helpless. He does not leave us to our own resources, but along with this kind of responsibility comes awesome resources that enable us to do what it is that he has laid upon our shoulders to do.

And I want you to look now at verse one. And as we go through this passage of scripture, I'm going to give you five resources that Jesus Christ gives to his people. Five resources that enable us to represent him in our communities, in our neighborhoods, among our friends, in our churches, and wherever it is that God may call us. God gives us the ability to do what he has commanded us to do. Now, as you go through this passage of scripture and I list the resources, they will come in five words and you might like to just take these words and write them in the margin of your Bible as I give them to you.

Do you know that there are some people in this church who do that with every message that I preach? They not only write down the outline in the margins, but they write the date that I preached the message, and that's why when I happen to preach the same message, maybe one that I preached four or five years ago, there's always one or two people that come up and say, "Did you know that you preached that in 1983 on November the 12th?" And I say, "Oh Lord, please help me to love those kinds of people." I can't even remember that I preached it. I thought it was new and they've got it there right in the margin of their Bibles.

Well, bless them. May we all be like that. So please write, please write. Number one: the first resource that we have is that we are commissioned, commissioned by God. Verse one: "Now after this the Lord appointed 70 others, and he sent them two and two, two by two ahead of them to every city and the place where he himself was going to come." Jesus said, "I am appointing you to be my representatives." In John 17, Christ said, "As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you." You are sent by me as I was sent by him.

Now, do you realize the importance of this? We cannot commission ourselves. We can't appoint ourselves to be Jesus Christ's representatives. A number of years ago in our capital, there was a man with a folding chair and a crown, and he brought it to the capitol in Washington and he crowned himself king of the United States. But he didn't have any authority. No one paid any attention to him except that the media had something to write about that day. Why? Because he appointed himself. We are not self-appointed, we are God-appointed. Think of the implications. What that means is that we have the right motive. We know who we are and what we are doing because Christ is the one who has commissioned us.

It influences our message. The Apostle Paul says, "We do not preach ourselves, but we preach Christ." Why? Because we are accountable to him. And do you realize that because we are appointed, he gives us the resources to fulfill the appointment? If my children go on their own initiative to the store to buy groceries, fine. The only problem is that after the groceries are picked out, they have to pay for them and they don't have the money to do that. But if I send my children to the store and say, "Buy these groceries," the first question they ask is, "Where is the money to pay for them?" So I say along with the command to do thus and so, I give you the money to do it.

That's why when Jesus said, "I am appointing you to represent me in the world," Christ is saying along with that appointment comes the resources and the spiritual and the moral strength to fulfill that which I have laid upon your shoulders. So we are appointed by God, we are appointed by him. And what a privilege that is. Some of you may be appointed by IBM. You work for IBM and you represent IBM, that great company that made my computer that has a problem that no one seems to be able to solve. You say, "I represent IBM. What an honor. Instant recognition around the world." But I'll tell you a greater honor is I represent God and he has commissioned me.

Secondly, we are protected. Notice what it says in verse 3. It says that Jesus said, "Go your way. Behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves." Lambs in the midst of wolves. You see, when we go out under Christ's strength, we are indeed as lambs in the midst of wolves. And I think the wolves that Jesus is referring to are satanic authorities and powers. What Jesus was saying is as you preach the gospel, there is going to be resistance. People are going to hate you. There are some people who are not going to like being made uncomfortable. And Jesus said that as you go into those homes and you proclaim that the kingdom is near, there is going to be resistance. And eventually, some people are going to want to destroy you. And you are like a lamb in the midst of wolves. But Jesus is saying, "I'm going to be with you to protect you."

And you know how lambs are protected when there are wolves? They are protected when those lambs stay very close to the shepherd. As a matter of fact, when the lamb looks at all of the wolves, if he were to do that, the heart of a lamb would fail for fear and rightly so. But when he looks into the eyes of the shepherd and stays close to the shepherd, he knows that he is under the shepherd's protection and he can be there no matter how many wolves there are. Jesus said, "I am sending you into the world, but I am accompanying you. I am protecting you because of my grace and power."

And how does he protect us? We are protected by the truth of God from satanic authorities. You show me a person who is demonized, show me a person who is distraught, a person who is addicted to some sin and he cannot overcome that sin, and I'll show you a person who is either believing a lie or living a lie. Truth dissipates the power of Satan. It is the truth that he cannot stand. Jesus said that Satan is a liar from the beginning and the prince of lies. We are protected by the truth of God. We are protected by the spirit of God and Jesus said you can go forth in triumph. Now, I want to ask you today, some of you may be working in an office and in the midst of that office there is hostility and there is anger and there is conflict. I want you to know that Jesus is in that office with you. You may indeed be like a lamb in the midst of the wolves, but Christ says the situation isn't hopeless because I'm the shepherd and I am there with you.

Now, I think that when Jesus said that, he did not mean that the disciples would always be physically protected. Sometimes there are people who have given their life for the cause of Christ. The enemies of Jesus have killed them. But Christ is saying that there is an inner spiritual protection where the enemy cannot get to you. And even though the blows may sometimes fall upon our backs, those blows of the world do not fall upon our souls that are protected by the grace and the might and the power of God. Jesus said you are commissioned and you are protected.

Thirdly, he says you are instructed. This is verses 4 to 11. He tells them exactly how they are to represent him. He says, "Carry no purse, no bag, no shoes. Greet no one on the way. Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house.' And if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him, but if not, it will return to you." And then Jesus said, "Stay right in that house, the first house you go into where you are received, even if somebody offers you a better place, stay there until your time there is over."

Now, when Jesus said that they were to be instructed as to how they were to represent him, first of all, he's saying go forth in a vulnerable way. No shoes, no extra pair of shoes, no purse, no money. I don't think that that particular cultural command applies universally. Certainly, if everyone lived that way, they would have no homes to go into to stay. But what Jesus is saying is that when we do represent him, the same kind of commitment and faith for him to meet our needs certainly should be in our hearts.

I've not yet known a missionary who went out knowing where all this was going to happen, but they have gone out in faith and God has been faithful to meet their needs. And so Jesus said go forth in a vulnerable way, but also go with sensitivity. Now, there's a great principle here in witnessing. Jesus said if you knock on somebody's door and that person is hostile and says, "I don't want to hear anything about the kingdom of God," Jesus said don't argue with him, just leave. Because he says as you go from door to door, you will eventually come to a man of peace, someone whose heart is hungry and open to the kingdom. Jesus said that's the person who, when he invites you in, stay with him.

Now, that is true today too. Do you know that as you look across society and as you get to know different friends and people with whom you work, you find that there are some people who are totally closed to the grace of God? They have pulled the shades down. They say, "I dare you to convert me." Have you ever met anyone like that? They have hard, indifferent, angry, closed hearts. As a matter of fact, I'm convinced that there are some people who come into church with their minds welded shut. There's no possibility that the truth of God can get through to them. And then there are other people who say, "Pastor, I have come to church because I am hungry for God. I do not know whether I know God personally, but I'd like to know." Jesus said those are the people that you invest some time with. Those are the people whose hearts are beginning to open to the truth. They are the ones who are receptive to the message.

So Jesus said you go forth today and you be instructed. By the way, don't become discouraged therefore if there are some people who have their hearts closed towards Christ. This was true in his day as well. And Jesus did not say to the disciples, "You are a failure when you get to a house like that." He never put that load of guilt upon them. He simply said you go out and when you meet a man of peace, you stay there and don't be concerned about some of the other ones who are closing their hearts and their doors to the message.

Thirdly, Jesus said we are empowered. Notice what he says in verse 9: "And heal those who are in the house and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come to you.'" And look at verse 19: "Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall injure you." Some people have interpreted passages of scriptures like this as if we can become snake handlers. Christ is not referring to that. He means that we have authority over satanic powers. Satan is represented as the serpent, and Jesus is saying regardless of who he is and his emissaries that work with him, I give you authority over all of those evil spirits.

Say well, do we have authority today to heal all diseases? I don't think that we do because later on in the New Testament, it says that if any person is sick, let him call for the elders of the church and anoint him with oil. But I do believe this: that the believing church today does have authority over satanic powers, and sometimes those powers may induce illness, but also those powers produce a tremendous amount of mental and spiritual anguish and debilitation. And Jesus says to the believing church today, "Behold, I've given you authority." First chapter of Ephesians, Christ is ascended into heaven far above all principalities and all powers and every name that is named, both in this world and in the world to come. Ephesians chapter two, you have been raised up with Jesus Christ and are seated with him in heavenly places.

I believe that as the occult continues in this day and age, and how it is continuing, I believe that there are more people into Satanism than we possibly know about. As we see people plunging headlong into what we call the New Age movement involved with all sorts of occult association, the believing church is going to have to know how to exercise spiritual authority. And there are people who are going to have to understand the fact that that authority cannot be taken lightly nor assumed.

In the preceding chapter, in the ninth chapter of Luke, we don't have time to look at the story, but a young boy was brought to Jesus and the disciples could not cast out the demon. And they said to the Lord Jesus, "Why couldn't we cast him out?" And Jesus said because of unbelief and because of lack of discipline. He said there are some who cannot be cast out except through prayer and fasting. It doesn't come easy, but it does come.

About 11 centuries later, the great theologian Thomas Aquinas was visiting the city of Rome and looking at the Basilica that was standing all ready then. Not the one that is there today, it was more recent, but there was a Basilica in that place on that spot. And one of the popes showed him the Basilica with all of the gold and all of the wealth that was in the churches. And the pope said to Thomas, "We cannot say as the first pope did, silver and gold have I none." And Aquinas said, "Yeah, that's right. And neither can you say, 'In the name of Jesus rise up and walk.'" An erosion of authority.

Dr. Erwin Lutzer: Well, my friend, this is Pastor Lutzer. I'm not entirely sure that the story I have just shared is true, but at the same time, it has a tremendous lesson for us, doesn't it? The simple fact is that it's easy for us to say that we believe in Christ, but we don't have faith. We oftentimes are unable to help people. And now let me be very candid with you. If I were to speak to you personally, here's what I would like to ask you: how is your prayer life?

We have a resource that we are making available for you that will be transforming. And I assure you, it will be indeed transforming. How do I know? Because it is a resource that has transformed my prayer life many years ago. I won't go into the details right now, except to say this: learning to pray scripture changes everything.

For a gift of any amount, we're making available for you a book by Donald Whitney entitled Praying the Bible. The reason that this will change your prayer life is because rather than simply repeating the same phrases over and over again, it will give you a fresh perspective on prayer every single day. Go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. May I give you that contact info again? Go to rtwoffer.com. The title of the book, Praying the Bible. I assure you it will be of help in your spiritual journey.

Dave McAllister: It's time again for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Sometimes the language we use in evangelism is hard to find anywhere in the Bible. This is bothering Lionel, who asks: "I've heard many preachers say 'Ask Jesus into your heart' or 'Ask Jesus into your life.' Is this biblical? If so, where is this found in the Bible? If it's not found in the Bible, what should we say instead?"

Dr. Erwin Lutzer: Well, good question there because no, it's not found in the Bible. And sometimes when we tell people to accept Jesus into their heart, if you're talking to children, I think that's unwise because children sometimes take it literally. In fact, I remember a little child asking, "Well, if Jesus comes into my heart, doesn't he get blood on him?" Furthermore, the Bible doesn't talk about asking Jesus into our life. And the reason that the Bible doesn't is because that's not really the essence of salvation. Now, it's true that people have prayed prayers like that and they've been saved, so I don't want to be too critical.

But the best way to explain the gospel, it seems to me, is to explain what Jesus Christ did on the cross and the resurrection, and then speak about a transfer of trust. If you look at the Gospel of John, for example, the word that is used over and over and over again is believe in. To believe in Jesus. So I like to speak of a transfer of trust. Then you can talk about Jesus bearing our sin, Jesus being punished for us, taking the judgment that belonged to us, himself doing it. And I think that's a better way to get at the heart of the gospel. Now, you can use the word "received" because it does say that in the Gospel of John chapter 1 verse 12: "as many as received him." And we can use that kind of language, but the way in which you described it, you're right, it's not found in the Bible and it might not be the best way to explain the terms of the gospel.

Dave McAllister: Thank you, Lionel, for that very perceptive question. Thank you, Dr. Lutzer, for answering it. If you'd like to hear your question answered, go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer or call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Running to Win is all about helping you find God's roadmap for your race of life.

We're not left without resources in our mission to follow Christ. We've heard about the first few of these, and next time on Running to Win, we'll hear about the rest. Join us to learn more about the power of a united witness. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.