PENTECOST 8
July 26/27, 2009
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Mark 6:7-13

“WORRY FREE WITNESSING!”
1. You’re using Jesus’ authority.
2. God will provide.
3. It’s nothing personal.

Mark 6:7-13 (NIV) “Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. 8These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. 10Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them." 12They went out and preached that people should repent. 13They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.”

Witnessing. Talking about Jesus. Telling others what you believe. It’s not always the easiest thing to do, is it? Why is that? Well we know the real reason. The Devil doesn’t want people to be saved. He wants people to suffer the same penalty he has received for rebelling against God. He wants them in Hell. Forever. But God in His love sent Jesus who ransomed the souls of all people, paying for their sins. He is the way, the only way, to heaven. Whoever trusts in Jesus for forgiveness is saved. The Devil can’t undo that. So he tries to stop the message from spreading. I’m sure you felt his influence to try to silence your tongue. We worry. “What will they think of me? Is it really my place to say something? I don’t know what to say. What if I say the wrong thing? What if it doesn’t work?” All kinds of worries. All of them met and soothed by the same wonderful Jesus who takes away all our sins and soothes all our worries and fears. Let’s see from God’s Word how our Lord Jesus provides us with worry free witnessing.
We can see that in a lesson he taught to some future witnesses for the Church, the Twelve Disciples, later known as the Apostles. “Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. As Jesus carried out His work as the Savior He prepared the disciples for theirs. This was like early field training for them. Two by two they were sent out to be Jesus’ witnesses. Then did you notice something? He gave them His authority. They did not need to worry about what people would think or if it was any of their business. They were simply doing what Jesus told them to do. They were using His authority.
Brothers, sisters, you too have Jesus’ authority to be His witnesses. When the Holy Spirit brought you into the family of faith, when He enabled you to say “Jesus is Lord,” the authority of Jesus Himself was given to you to be His witnesses throughout the world. Personally for you that means whatever portion of God’ great earth you happen to be occupying at the moment. So when the lunchroom conversation turns to matters of problems, fears, guilt, impending death and the Devil tries to still your tongue with his usual, “It’s none of my business,” don’t worry, be a witness. You have Jesus’ authority. When you find yourself with a friend or a friend of a friend, an acquaintance, a relative and they are in distress over finances, health, whatever it may be you have every right to point them to your own source of comfort, your source of strength to go on, your Savior. Don’t worry, just witness.
But what will I say? What if they ask a question I don’t know how to answer? The Lord will provide. That’s another lesson Jesus graciously taught the Twelve. “These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. 10Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town.” Talk about crazy instructions! They don’t make sense. Take no provisions for themselves. They didn’t know people where they were going. Take no money. When’s the last time you took a trip with no money, no credit cards for an emergency? This didn’t make sense. Except this was lesson learning time. What they needed to learn was the Lord would provide for them. He would provide through his people, believers in those towns. He would provide what they needed whether that was food for their bellies or a place to sleep. Now don’t make a mistake here. The Lord is not giving lasting instructions for us to never plan. He’s not telling believers not to have jobs. Later in fact when Jesus spoke with His disciples shortly before His death He told them to take provisions with them. Most importantly though they were to take with them the lesson learned. The Lord will provide.
That same truth applies to us. It applies physically to be sure. If you or your family are in financial distress right now, you can set aside your worry if you wish for the Lord will provide for you. Not everything you want, but He will take care of your needs. He has promised. But let’s also apply this truth to being what we are, witnesses for Jesus. Do you worry about what to say if you get into a spiritual conversation? Do you worry about giving a wrong answer or not having all the answers? Don’t worry, just witness! The Lord will provide. Talk from your heart about what the Lord has done for you and has promised for all people. Remember that the Lord has provided others to help you. If you don’t know an answer to a question, say so. Tell them you’ll get back to them. Call or e-mail your pastors, we’ll help you. You could also plan ahead. You could follow through on that desire you’ve had to be a daily Bible reader. You could use the People’s Bibles available in our library. Through your congregation the Lord has provided you with opportunities to grow in the Word. Once September hits you will have three different Bible Class options on Sunday morning, another on Tuesday morning, one on Wednesday evening, another Thursday morning and still another Thursday evening. The Lord has provided. Don’t worry, just witness.
But what if they don’t like what I have to say? What if my witnessing doesn’t work, they don’t listen, they don’t believe, or worse, they reject me? Don’t worry, just witness. It’s nothing personal. Jesus went on to tell the Twelve, ”And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them." When it comes to being witnesses for Jesus, it’s nothing personal. When the Twelve went out they were to stay with and teach those who would listen and leave when they were rejected. The dust of their feet would serve as a testimony. A testimony to what? A testimony that they rejected God’s one and only Son Jesus. You see, it wasn’t about the disciples at all. It was about Jesus.
It is about Jesus. If you testify to God’s truth, when you serve as witness, it’s not about you. It’s nothing personal. It’s Jesus. When someone believes it’s about Jesus. They believe in Him, not you. If someone rejects, they aren’t rejecting you, it’s Jesus. Certainly that still makes us sad, but I don’t have to worry about what people will think of me. It’s not about me. It’s nothing personal. It’s about Jesus. What if they don’t believe? What if they don’t like what I say? Don’t worry, just witness. It’s nothing personal.
And it’s not all on you. Have you ever been in group that has kind of a pyramid structure to it? You know where someone recruits you and you have to recruit two or three more and kind of a pyramid builds from it? If you have you know how it changes the way you view people. They’re not just people any more, they are potential recruits. There can be a lot of pressure there so you don’t stay on the bottom of the pyramid. The privilege of witnessing has no pressure pyramid. Let’s see what happened with the Twelve disciples. “They went out and preached that people should repent. 13They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” Did you notice the Holy Spirit’s emphasis here? It is on what the Twelve did, not the people’s response! The Twelve were successful because they did what their Savior bid them do. Now do you see how this applies to worry free witnessing? There is no pressure on you to convert or convince anyone. That’s God’s work. Your place in God’s kingdom is not dependent on how many you convert. You can’t convert even one. But you can witness. So don’t worry, just witness. You have Jesus’ authority. The Lord will provide. It’s nothing personal. Amen.