Growth Hour Study Spiritual Warfare 3 Luke 10:1-24; Ephesians 6:10-20 Sept
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Growth Hour Study Spiritual Warfare 3 Luke 10:1-24; Ephesians 6:10-20 Sept. 8, 2019 ENGAGE This week we are looking at Luke 10:1-24 and Ephesians 6:10-20 The 72 are sent out, just as you and I are sent out, and Jesus speaks about authority and identity. My focus on Sunday will be that our authority is found in our identity with Christ. The armor of God is a picture of our identity in Christ as we face the enemy through life. The study below has many questions. My suggestion is to go through the questions and highlight one or two from each segment of the Luke passage that you will ask on Sunday. I have given you information for the Ephesians passage for your benefit. I will be preaching mostly from the Ephesians passage. If you focus on the sending of the 72 (all of us) and the authority we have in our identity in Christ, that should be beneficial for the Body as they come into worship service. Blessings to you all. EXAMINE Luke 10:1-24 A. Instructing the seventy disciples at their departure. 1. (Luke 10:1-3) Seventy disciples are appointed and sent out. After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves." a. After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also: Jesus knew that the time was short before His crucifixion, and that there were still many villages that had not yet heard His message. So, Jesus needs help getting the message out, and He turns to the larger group of His disciples. i. The harvest is great: This is still true. If we believe that it is but a short time until Jesus comes back, we should make the principles of Jesus' commission to the seventy our own. b. The laborers are few: This means not only that there needs to be more workers, but that we have to be about our work for the Lord. When there is a lot of work and few workers, you have to get busy. c. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest: Jesus commands them to pray; the work in front of them is great and cannot be accomplished without much prayer. Sources Workingpreacher.com Blueletterbible.com Cabotbible.com Growth Hour Study Spiritual Warfare 3 Luke 10:1-24; Ephesians 6:10-20 Sept. 8, 2019 d. Go your way: Jesus commands them to go, because God will use them to answer their own prayers. e. I send you out as lambs among wolves: Jesus commands them to go with a certain kind of heart, that trusts in God and doesn't seek to abuse and manipulate people. Going as lambs among wolves doesn't sound very attractive to us! Yet, it is exactly as Jesus was sent, and how the power of God worked through Him mightily. 2. (Luke 10:4-8) Specific guidelines for their ministry. "Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road. But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.' And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you." a. After Jesus got them praying, after He got them going; and after He put their hearts in the right place, He next gives them specific instructions for ministry. They were not to be distracted either by material concerns (Carry neither money bag, sack, nor sandals) or by tedious ceremonies of etiquette (greet no one along the road). b. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give: They were to trust that God would provide for them through the generosity of others, and they were to thankfully receive what was offered to them. i. For the laborer is worthy of his wages: Jesus told His disciples to not regard the support given to them as charity, but as justified payment for their work on behalf of God's kingdom. 3. (Luke 10:9) What Jesus wanted the seventy to do: to heal and to preach. "And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'" a. And heal the sick: The healing was important because it showed that though the Kingdom of God was coming with power (as everyone expected it would), and the power would be shown in acts of mercy and kindness (which was not expected). b. Say to them, "The kingdom of God has come near to you": this means that the healing was a part of their preaching; they would then describe what the kingdom of God was all about, from what Jesus had taught and shown them. Sources Workingpreacher.com Blueletterbible.com Cabotbible.com Growth Hour Study Spiritual Warfare 3 Luke 10:1-24; Ephesians 6:10-20 Sept. 8, 2019 4. (Luke 10:10-16) What would happen to those who would reject the message of the seventy. "But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 'The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.' But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades. He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me." a. The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you: When we truly preach Jesus' message, and do what Jesus did, we can trust that if we are rejected, it is because they reject the message of Jesus instead of rejecting us. i. Unfortunately, sometimes through our own obnoxious manner or lack of love, people reject Jesus because of us. This should never be the case. b. Sodom … Tyre and Sidon: These were each notoriously sinful cities. Jesus says that the cities that reject His message are in more trouble before God, because they have seen a greater work of God than any of those sinful cities did, yet they still reject Him. i. The more we hear God's truth, and the more we see Him move, the more we are accountable for. Since the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida and Capernaum had received such convincing signs, they are held to greater account for what they have seen. ii. The Bible never specifically mentions Jesus' miracles in Chorazin. This is an indication that the gospels are sketches of Jesus' life, not full biographies. The Apostle John admitted this, saying it would be impossible to recount everything Jesus did (John 21:25). B. Joy at the return of the Seventy. 1. (Luke 10:17-20) The joy of the seventy and Jesus' warning. Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." Sources Workingpreacher.com Blueletterbible.com Cabotbible.com Growth Hour Study Spiritual Warfare 3 Luke 10:1-24; Ephesians 6:10-20 Sept. 8, 2019 a. Even the demons are subject to us in Your name: When we look carefully at the commission Jesus gave these seventy (Luke 10:9), we see that Jesus had not originally commissioned them to cast out demons (as He did the twelve disciples in Luke 9:1-2). Therefore, this was an unexpected blessing of their ministry. i. When we step out and do what Jesus tells us to do, we should expect that He would bless us with even more than He told us to expect. b. I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven: What is Jesus talking about? The Bible actually mentions four falls of Satan. i. From glorified to profane (Ezekiel 28:14-16). ii. From having access to heaven (Job 1:12, 1 Kings 22:21, Zechariah 3:1) to restriction to the earth (Revelation 12:9). iii. From the earth to bondage in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-3).