TREASURY OF SERMONS
"Shake Off The Dust"
By Rev (Dr) Jeffrey Khoo
(Preached at Calvary Pandan Sunset Gospel Hour, 7 Aug 1999)
Text: Mark 6:7-11
Introduction
This episode of sending the 12 out for
evangelism occurred during the 3rd preaching tour of Christ’s Great
Galilean ministry. This is about one and a half years into or
halfway through His public ministry.
Jesus by this time had already done quite a bit
of preaching. He has been teaching His disciples, and showing by
example how they ought to preach the gospel to the people. So enough
of theory, now for the practice. Like any good teacher would do,
Christ got His disciples to practice what they had learned by
sending them out for a hands-on experience in preaching the gospel.
And he sent them out 2 by 2.
Clearly, this passage has to do with evangelism.
What can we learn about evangelism in this passage? How can we
engage in effective evangelism? We learn from the Lord here that in
order to be effective in evangelism, we need to:
1. Be Called
In v7, we find Jesus calling His disciples unto
Him: "And he called unto him the twelve." This concept of calling is
important in evangelism. There are 2 aspects in the concept of God’s
calling.
First, God calls us to salvation. This is basic.
To be effective preachers of the gospel, we must first of all be
Christians—converted, regenerate, born again. We must be won to the
Gospel first before we can win others to the Gospel. Are you a
Christian? Are you saved? Have your sins be forgiven? Are you sure
you are on your way to heaven? These are important questions in
life. Are you miserable in life? Are you fearful of the future? Are
you plagued by the guilt of sin? The answers to all your questions
are found in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His Word. Jesus is the
only answer to life’s problems. Jesus is the only way to heaven.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh
unto the Father but by me." If you say, "Yes, I want God to forgive
me of my sins. I want to be saved from eternal condemnation in hell.
How much will it cost me?" Dear friends, it costs you nothing. The
price of salvation and the penalty of sin have all been taken care
by the Lord Jesus Christ. Forgiveness is free. The passage to heaven
is free. Salvation is free. You don’t have to pay a single cent. It
is God’s gift to you if you will accept it. Will you receive God’s
gift of salvation? If you would, it will cost you everything. You
must give yourself fully to Christ by trusting in Him fully. You
must say, "Yes Lord, I believe that there is no other God but You.
You alone are my Saviour. I am willing to submit myself to your Word
and follow you for the rest of my life." If you will believe in
Christ and surrender your life to Him, you will be saved.
2. Be Sent
After Jesus called His disciples, He sent them
out: v7: "and began to send them forth two by two." God not only
calls us to salvation, He also calls us to service. We are saved to
serve. We serve as His ambassadors. We are ambassadors for Christ.
We now bring the good news of salvation to others. Time is running
out for mankind. The world is not getting better and better, but
from bad to worse. The threat of WWIII is very real. There is war in
many parts of the world. We have read about the disputes between
North and South Korea, between India and Pakistan, between China and
Taiwan, between China and the United States, between Israel and the
Arabs, between Singapore and Malaysia, between Indonesians and
Indonesians (Bataks vs Flores in Batam) and the list goes on. God’s
judgment is drawing near. Jesus is coming soon. The world is looking
for peace, but their looking for it in all the wrong places. Peace
will come only when the Prince of peace—the Lord Jesus
Christ—returns. If you want peace, look to Him. We have a wonderful
message to the world—a message of peace in Jesus Christ. We are
bearers of this peace message. Let us help others find peace with
God in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
3. Be Dependent
In serving God, we are not alone. Jesus is with
us. In Matt 28:18-20, the Lord tells us that He has all power: "All
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and
teach (make disciples) of all nations, … teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you
alway, even unto the end of the world." Jesus promised, "I am with
you all the way." To be effective in evangelism, we need to depend
on God for help and strength.
The Lord wants us to learn depend on Him as we
serve Him. That is why in v8, He sends them out with only the barest
of necessities: "And commanded them that they should take nothing
for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money
in their purse: But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats."
They were to go only with what they were wearing—their coat and
sandals—and a walking stick. They were told to travel light, real
light. No scrip (ie, travelling bag, or hand-carry luggage), food,
and money.
Why? So that they will learn to depend on Him.
They would have be prayerful. They would have to ask the Lord for
their daily bread or makan. They would also experience the joy of
knowing that God is with them to provide for their every need each
step of the way. God will provide through those who are happy to
hear the Gospel. In v10, we read, "And he said unto them, In what
place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from
that place." The disciples were told to accept the hospitality
extended to them by those who welcome them into their homes.
Serving the Lord can be very exciting when we
learn to depend on Him for all our needs. Unpleasant situations God
can work out for our benefit when we are doing His work, and walking
in His will. Testimony: Trip to Melbourne last year June 30 to
preach at the Youth and Young Adults Camp of Bethel BPC. Flew
Malaysian Airlines (cheapest ticket). New KL International Airport
in Sepang. First day of operations. There was a: (1) Delay of about
2 hours. This was good because my plane will arrive later in the
morning just after breakfast instead of the wee hours. My hosts did
not have to wake up so early to fetch me. (2) Computer breakdown.
The seating plans were all mixed up. What a fiasco! So the airline
said, "Free seating." I thought I would end up with a bad seat. But
when I got into the plane, everyone was rushing to get their choice
seat, but when it came to my turn, the best seat in the house was
vacant—the one next to the door with a lot of leg space. I never
ever had a chance to sit at this place even when I checked in early.
When I request for it, they usually ask, "Have you sat in that place
before?" I have to say no. They would say, "Sorry we can’t let you
have it because you have never sat there before." Well looks like I
will never get to sit in that place until I get to sit there for the
first time which will never come because I have never sat in that
place before. Well, now when they ask that question, "I can say
Yes." Thanks to the KL Airport. (3) Lost luggage. When I arrived in
Melbourne. My luggage did not arrive with me. It was still in KL. I
checked out without my luggage. The luggage was delivered to my
doorstep the following day. Everything worked out pretty well.
Another reason is offered by Calvin, "He tells
them to take no luggage, which would delay the speed of their
progress." Without the burden of all their "barang barang" they can
move faster, and execute their mission with haste. The principle
taught here is: We must not waste time in preaching the gospel. We
must spare no effort to accelerate missions. There is no speed limit
in the Gospel Highway. The faster the better.
One principle we can learn here is that when
serving the Lord, we must serve Him without conditions. Note that
the disciples when told that they could not bring all those things
did not tell the Lord, "I am not going. And I won’t go until you
fulfill all these conditions: 1,2,3,4,5…" "Give me a house, give me
a car, give me a 4-figure salary, give me my vacation time, don’t
bother me after office hours, etc, or I will not serve." Testimony:
A college-mate, after he graduated was asked by a young church to be
its pastor. He said, "I cannot afford to be your pastor if you do
not give me this amount of pay." Is this the way to serve the Lord?
As far as I am concerned, this church is better off without him as
their pastor. He is a hireling and not a shepherd. The disciples set
an example for us. They asked no questions. They obeyed the Lord,
and went. And the Lord blessed them richly.
4. Be Wise
V11 says, "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."
In witnessing for Christ, we must not be gung
ho. Be enthusiastic, yes; but do not be foolishly enthusiastic. Be
wise! Jesus says, "Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of
wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless and doves"
(Matt 10:16).
When we do door-to-door evangelism, please do
not put your foot into the house and use it as a door stop. This is
not only rude on your part, you may get badly hurt if the slams the
door at you. Don’t say, "I am willing to suffer for Christ. So if my
foot gets crushed, praise the Lord, my reward is in heaven." Don’t
think you are doing the Lord a favour. You are not. The Lord has
told us to be wise not foolish.
If a person rejects our efforts to share the
gospel with him, what must we do? It is very clear from this verse
that we are to reject this person also. Sometimes we think that in
evangelism, we must keep pressing on. Yes we need to press on in our
preaching of the gospel, but there are times also that we need to
pull back. When a person does not welcome you, leave him alone. You
have done your part. God will do His part. The Lord will hold
unbelievers accountable for their actions. God will judge them on
that day.
Jesus told His disciples that if a place will
not welcome them or listen to them, then they ought to leave shaking
the dust from the soles of their feet for a testimony against them.
In those days, the Jews after travelling through heathen territory
had a custom of shaking the dust off their sandals before
re-entering the Holy Land. They would literally take off their
sandals, shake them vigorously or slap them together to get rid of
all the dust that came from unclean soil. Jesus gave the reason for
such an action: "for a testimony against them." By so shaking the
dust from off their feet they were acting out a message of judgment.
Sometimes action is louder than words. Sometimes drama is more
impressive than speech. Such an acted prophetic ministry is common
in the OT. In Jer. 13 for example, God told Jeremiah to preach to
the Jews wearing only his underwear. It was a dramatised message of
condemnation to the people of Judah. It sought to grab their
attention, and jolt them into realising the seriousness of their
sins.
There is no need to practise this literally
today. Even if you do it, people will think you are mad. The
significance of such an act is lost. People today do not understand
the meaning of such an act. So keep your shoes or sandals on. The
principle is this: When a person or a house rejects your efforts to
share the gospel with them, leave immediately and quietly. Don’t
even put a tract under the door or leave a tract behind. By
rejecting you and the gospel, they have rejected the Lord. God will
hold them accountable for their rejection of His gospel. He will
judge. If you feel that you have to leave a tract behind, then leave
one that says "God will judge you!"
Another thing we need to take note of is this.
We need to understand that the gospel is something very precious and
valuable. In our efforts to preach the gospel, do not cheapen it by
presenting it in such a way that makes man the good guy and God the
bad guy. Do not present the gospel in such a way where man is
promoted and God is demoted. The sinner must not be made to feel or
think that he is doing God a favour by believing in the gospel. When
preaching the gospel, we are trying to reconcile sinful man to a
holy God. Man needs to be reconciled to God, and not the other way
round. Man is in the wrong, not God. Man has to say sorry, not God.
It is a one way reconciliation, not two. The gospel is the pearl of
great price, and is offered free of charge. If sinful man shows
contempt for it, that is the end of him? Do not cast pearls to
swines, the Bible says. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked" (Gal
6:7).
Conclusion
Preaching the good news of salvation in Christ
is a duty every believer must perform. God has called us and has
sent us to do this important work of witnessing for Him. And as we
do it, let us depend on Him for help and strength. He will provide
for our every need. And when people reject the gospel, leave them
alone. God will judge them in due course. Let us pray.
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