Luke 9 -- Listen to Jesus

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9 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,

This is very interesting because in verse 40 the disciples were “not able to drive out the demon”. We have been given the power and the authority to cure diseases, so why is it that some can’t? Right now we are seeing a “cancel culture” attacking Christians who take a stand for righteousness. For example Goya came out in support of these values and AOC called for their being “cancelled”. Instead, sales doubled. We have the power and the authority to drive out this demon. Mike Lindell was attacked and they have worked to get him kicked out of all the big box stores. He has a powerful testimony of being saved, standing for Jesus, standing for helping other addicts recover (he was a former meth addict) and he was a very visible supporter of Donald Trump. The day he was kicked out of Bed, Bath and Beyond, Kohls and a bunch of other stores he went onto some of these platforms and told his story. As a result the online orders surged and the next day he said that they are busier than ever. We have the power and the authority to drive out this demon. If we stand together the big box stores that cancelled him will all go under, they are already on the brink of bankruptcy. Meanwhile his business will grow and soar, not merely because he is a Christian but also because the products are great.

2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

The Kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. I think there are many today that want to proclaim righteousness, peace and joy. I think there are many today that want to heal one form of sickness or another. How to heal climate change? How to heal the racial divide claimed by the Black Lives Matter movement? The Lord has sent us out to do this, inwardly we may have a burden to do this, so then, how do we do it?

3 He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt.

We need these things and there are ministries that are set up where many of those who are involved provide these things. They worry about logistics. There are other words in the New Testament that describe these functions. But this is giving you the first and most important thing you must do. Step one you are fully dependent on the Lord, trusting in Him, and walking by faith. Imagine you are just learning to drive a car. The first time you sit in the driver’s seat you now have the power and the authority. If I am teaching you and this is your first time driving the car I want to be sure you are not distracted with anything else but are fully focused on the task at hand and are giving me your full attention. In the same way Jesus is giving the disciples the wheel, but He is in the passenger seat, He wants them fully tuned into what they are doing and listening to Him. Don’t worry about all the other stuff right now, just focus on listening to the Lord. Let me share an experience. Our church had a softball game with all the young people and singles. Some of the singles were in their thirties, some in their twenties, we had a number of teenagers and we also had two young boys that were around ten, maybe younger. One of these kids was on my team and was having a terrible time trying to hit the ball. People were yelling all kinds of great advice: choke up on the bat, dig your feet in, widen your stance, etc. Finally I asked him if he wanted me to help him get a hit, he said yes. Then I told him I wanted him to watch the first two pitches to go by, don’t swing, just watch them go by. I asked if he could do that? Oh yeah, he could do that. But I emphasized I really wanted him to watch the pitches. The most important thing in hitting is to see the ball, when you first start hitting it can be overwhelming to think of all the other things, so I just wanted him to watch the ball. After the first pitch I yelled “good eye, good eye”. He gave me this look that said “what is that supposed to encourage me?” I ignored him. After the second pitch I yelled, “good eye, good eye”. This time he gave me this desperate look that said “now what am I supposed to do?” I got angry and then I yelled at the pitcher, “hey throw something he can swing at, what’s wrong with you anyway?” He yelled “I’m trying”. Immediately he understood. He started to dig his feet in, his stance widened a little, his hands inched up the bat a little. He coiled and he got a hit. The most important thing with ministry is the word, focus on that. Everything else will fall into place. This is what the Lord is telling them.

4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town.

Complete your mission. I became a teacher working for NYC public school. I picked up the burden for inner city youths, primarily young men of color. By many different measures they were not being well served and my burden was to heal the situation. Statistically students at my school would score in the bottom 25% of NYC schools. I felt that if I could have my students perform as well as students at the highest rated high schools in the country, schools in the top 3% of NYC, then we would have healed that situation. It takes years. Be persistent. Stay until you accomplish that goal. Right now there are threats from the left to take those that supported Trump (basically conservative Christians who are pro life) and “reeducate” their children. The proper response to this is for these Christians to pull their kids from the public school. There are 75 million people who voted for Trump. So then how could they all pull their kids? Simple, you set up the one room school house at the church again. You need one adult from the church to supervise 20 kids. These kids need a laptop and the church needs wifi. That’s it. In the last year teachers all over this country have created online curriculum to teach their subject. Half of these teachers are Christians and can easily share this material with their church. Khan academy and a number of online platforms teach every subject with online material. I have a complete course in both Earth Science and Chemistry that is online. We share this with the Body of Christ. In addition you have libraries with books, tapes and documentary movies. Get a retired teacher to supervise and you are up and running in no time. If 50% of the kids in the public school walked out you would immediately send a message about who is in charge. We have an arm like God, we have a voice like God, it is time to use it.

 

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5 If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

Prior to teaching in NYC I was a stock broker in a firm on Wall Street. This firm was involved in illegal stock transactions, they dumped stock they held onto their unsuspecting clients knowing that news of their demise would be released soon, it is called a violation of the “chinese wall”. To get into the inner circle of that company you had to do things illegal so they could trust you (similar to the concept in “mutual assured destruction”). When it became clear that I would not do anything illegal they “did not welcome me”. However, as I left that firm the “dust from that firm tried to cling to me”. A person I worked with was being sued and I also was named in the suit. I shared my testimony with their attorney and they made me a witness instead of a plaintiff.

6 So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.

Everywhere. That includes the stock market, wall street, and the inner city public schools.

7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, 8 others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. 9 But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him.

What is going on? They killed Martin Luther King Jr., they killed Malcolm X, they killed Gandhi, so where did these guys come from in Black Lives Matter? You follow the Lord, you pray for wisdom, you trust fully in Him, and you do a work of faith. It may seem like a small thing, but when it is multiplied a million times over the leaders and rulers will be perplexed. I met with one church that had a meeting hall in a very dangerous part of Los Angeles. Soon after they began meeting there crime dropped. The police department was perplexed, they knew the crime had dropped, everyone knew it was because of this church, and so people came to investigate, to see what they were doing. Malcolm X talked about how they had a very effective drug rehabilitation program with his mosque. Very often the politicians will learn of these impacts and will want to see what is going on.

10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida,

Bethsaida means “house of the hunt”. The Lord has made us fishers of men. We need to share our stories with one another. For example, one of my favorite experiences was when I went up to the “Big Man on Campus” and asked him “hey Big man, do you want to know why God made you so big?” and then put down the tract “The Purpose of Man”. What you need to know is the night before we had had the Lord’s table meeting and this brother who was a construction worker, his name was Dvorak, got up and shared virtually the same experience he had. I learned this from him. We are both sharing our experiences after the hunt, hence “the house of the hunt”.

11 but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. 12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” 13 He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

The 12 apostles return from “everywhere” and report their testimonies to the Lord. These testimonies are “food” for the crowds. The Lord works with you, people want to know about it. How is it that the schools that fit the demographics of my school in Brooklyn score in the bottom 25% of NYC and my students score in the top 3%? People want to know. Christians from everywhere need to share their testimonies, it couldn’t be easier with the internet. This pandemic has caused the Lord and His disciples to withdraw to “the house of the hunt” and the purpose is for us to share our testimonies and feed the five thousand.
They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” 14 (About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. 16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. 17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

Our testimonies will feed people and they will have basketfuls of leftovers on top of that. To us, it seems very small. Visit my class and it is hard to see what is different. But, a very small difference on each day, multiplied by 180 days becomes a very great difference by the end of the year.

18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?” 19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” 20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

If you see that Jesus is the anointed one of God and that He has been given to you, then you will know that He has given you the power and the authority to cast out demons and heal the sick. That brokerage firm filled with demons, they were shut down within a year of my leaving. These inner city youths, primarily young men of color (80% of the school) with a very high poverty index, are performing on par with schools like Stuyvesant, Bronx HS of Science, and other high schools ranked as the best in the country. When you look at them based on improvement from one year to the next, they are easily the number one high school in the city (for the class I teach).

 

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21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.

I have been strictly warned not to say one thing about Jesus being the Messiah at my school. At the school it is all about the curriculum. At home it is all about praying for wisdom.

22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

He must be killed. Pr 22:3 The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. Jesus saw the danger, was He prudent? Did He take refuge, did He advise the disciples to hide themselves? Jesus continued to keep going to Jerusalem and the cross, so was He simple? Did He pay the penalty? Was He a ransom for our sin? He must be raised to life. There are many out there who will try every possible way to avoid having Jesus as Lord. They will go so far as to crucify Him. They are conceited, they are envious, they would rather fail than have Jesus be Lord. Pr 22:4 Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life. Clearly the Lord was not simple, He saw the danger, but He humbled Himself to be a servant, to fear the Lord. There are people who do see the danger approaching from this pandemic, from climate change, and from these protests. They see the schools shutting down, they see visions of armed riots, and they see the collapse of the economy. So what do we do, are we afraid of Herod the Tetrarch who goes around chopping heads off, or do we fear the Lord who has set His face to go to Jerusalem? Are you going to run and hide yourself, or are you going to proclaim the kingdom? Did you really think you would cast out demons without a fight? Pr 21:12 The Righteous One takes note of the house of the wicked and brings the wicked to ruin. That is why it must be this way. The Lord is prudent, He does see the danger, and He fears God. Man’s sin is going to be judged, that is the danger, so He became a ransom for us to pay the price for us. Pr 21:22 One who is wise can go up against the city of the mighty and pull down the stronghold in which they trust. Think of the public school system. For inner city youths, for young men of color, for the poor it is not too much to say they have been a failure. The United States generally scores 28th on international exams comparing school systems. However, we spend far more per student than the countries scoring at the top of these exams. When you consider how we do for the money we are far worse than 28th. This is because the Son of Man was rejected by the elders. The first year they did one of these international exams Finland scored first. All the reporters ran to the political leaders to ask them what they did. They were confused, they hadn’t done anything. They had simply told the educators to figure out the best way to educate and the politicians had basically kept their hands off. In the US controlling funding for the school system is very big money, no way the political leaders, the “chief priests and rulers” will keep their hands off. That is why we have one of the worst education systems “for the money”. On the one hand the death and resurrection of Jesus demonstrated that He was the one chosen by God, just like Aaron’s budded rod did. Pr 21:15 When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers. On the other hand Jesus' crucifixion becomes a judgement on the elders and chief priests who rejected Him and sentenced Him to die.

23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

This chapter is written to those who want to be the Lord’s disciple. Pr 20:6 Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find? You want to be able to heal the sick, cast out demons, and proclaim the kingdom. The Lord is faithful, are you? For two thousand years there have been many Christians in the church meetings claiming to have unfailing love for the Lord. But, during the tribulation will the Lord be able to find any that are truly faithful?

24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

These words are written for our admonition. The Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection was a very big day in human history, but the 2nd coming of the Lord is also a very big day in human history.

28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. 31 They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.

This word “departure” is a direct reference to the Exodus. Jesus was sacrificed as our Passover, His death and resurrection was His exodus, and He opened the way for all of us to cross the Red Sea and follow Him. Likewise at the end of the age there will be a transfiguration, and some of us will see the Lord in glory on the mountain top. The firstfruits will be raptured to the Lord. At that time we will see Moses and Elijah, the two witnesses. So look at this chapter as a word to us at this moment in time. The tribulation and the great tribulation will be a trial on this earth that has never been seen before. As we head into that storm you have to focus on the word, don’t worry about anything else. Don’t worry about your job, don’t worry about your money, just focus on the word. Proclaim the kingdom. Whatever church, whatever house you are in, remain until the Lord comes. Feed one another with your testimonies. The crowds, social media, and the news will have all kinds of ideas about what is going on. You need to pray that the Lord open your eyes to see that this is the Lord’s doing, it is His return. Second thing we need to see is that we must suffer many things. The things that the chief priests and rulers do are the sins that they will be judged for, God is not going to judge them until they have committed the sins. We must suffer these things, we must take up our cross and follow Him. I listened to a youtube video of a Pastor who had a prophetic dream. His dream saw the catastrophe we would have in March and in June, he saw the Lord pointing to these months. He saw the riots and protests. He saw that this would get worse in September and then He saw that in November it would be catastrophic. He saw vultures and armed riots and economic collapse. But then he gave his advice on what people should do and it was all about trying to save your life. He talked about buying a gun, converting your cash to gold. Whoever wants to save their life will lose it. You have been proclaiming your love and faith in the Lord for years in the meetings, now let’s see if the Lord can find faith when He returns. He also said there are some here that will not taste death until they see the Kingdom of God. Jesus is our salvation (not guns, not gold) and there are some of us that will be raptured to the Lord before they taste death.

32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

It is time for us to wake up. The festival of trumpets is designed to wake us all up.

 

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33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.) 34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”

Instead of making fun of Peter, let’s all admit we are about to enter into a terrifying time, none of us knows what to do or what to say. So then, once again, forget everything else, just focus on one thing Jesus is the Son of God, the one that God has chosen, listen to Him.

36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.

The Lord’s first coming was somewhat private, only the disciples saw Him, the second coming will be public, in glory, and at that time every knee will bow.

37 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 38 A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39 A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him.

What a wonderful picture of the Black Lives Matter protests. The looting, the rioting, the anti semitic comments, the vandalism against various statues, it is like an epileptic boy having convulsions that throw him into the fire and try to destroy him. These things damage the movement, they damage the community, they damage the people involved. His father is there, men that were involved in the Civil Rights Movement in the sixties, and they are praying someone will help their children, someone will cast this demon out of them.

40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.” 41 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

Why is the Black Lives Movement like this? Two reasons, they are unbelieving, it seems to them there has not been any progress, they don’t believe their parents know what they are doing. The second reason is this is a perverse generation. The looters are perverse, the rioters are perverse, racists slurs are perverse. There are athletes that used to be millionaires, but have lost everything and they blame “the Jews”. Be a man, take responsibility for your own actions, your own perverseness. That is why you are now broke.

42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, 44 “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” 45 But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

The situation is about to get very bad. The only way to prepare yourself is the word of God. We are going to be delivered into the hands of men, do not lean to your own understanding, hold fast to Jesus.

46 An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.47 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48 Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”

I saw something, protesters tore down a statue in the UK and replaced it with a statue of one of the leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement. It is a fork in the road, and trying to boost your own ego is the wrong way to go. The reason they provoke others by attacking George Washington and Abraham Lincoln is because they are conceited and they are envious.

49 “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.” 50 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”

This is another error I have seen them make. They are telling everyone who is protesting what they have to stand for. Some people are concerned about climate change, some people are concerned about the ethical treatment of animals, and some are concerned about racism. None of them are against you, they are all for righteousness. They are all for the Kingdom. Do not stop them, if they aren’t against you they are for you.

51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 Then he and his disciples went to another village.

The Lord has appointed us to proclaim the kingdom, to cast out demons and to heal the sick. He hasn’t appointed us as Judge and executioner. Jesus is Lord. We proclaim the kingdom, He will do the rest.

57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

Many people think they need a budget, they want committees to raise money for the work. The Lord has turned the entire age and He didn’t have any of that. What you need is the Lord. If you don’t have the Lord all of that is a waste, and if you do have the Lord none of that will make any difference.

 

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59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”


There was no social security in those days, instead there were familial responsibilities. We still have familial responsibilities, Paul said that if we don’t take care of our family we are worse than an infidel. But, you can’t use this as an excuse to not follow the Lord. Examine yourself and examine your heart.


61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”


It sounds reasonable, but the Lord’s picture translates what they are really saying. They are plowing the field and yet are looking back from where they came from. It is like the Israelites in the wilderness complaining that in Egypt they had onions and tasty food to eat. If you want to follow the Lord you have to be all in.