The Ministry Marches On

Let's pray together. Lord Jesus, we thank you for the study of the gospel of Luke and the opportunity to see our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ up close, very personal. Today as we look at his ministry, Father, we pray that you'd encourage us in the ministry that you've entrusted to us, that we might be faithful to do those things, Lord, that you require of us.

We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Turn in your Bible, if you would, to Luke chapter 8. Luke chapter 8. In the first three verses of the 8th chapter, we have a summation of the ministry of Christ.

It's a summation that records no particular event, no particular sermon, but gives us the specifics of the ministry of our Lord, a ministry that is unlike any ministry we could ever imagine, a ministry that we would not think of. It's a ministry ordained in the mind of God. Our Lord had a plan. That plan was to send his son to a land called Israel, not a very big land there in the Mediterranean Sea, but he would send his son, born in this place called Israel, to a people who were living in apostasy, people who had turned their back on their God.

And our Lord was born in utter obscurity and he lived the first 30 years of his life that same way. And then as he began his ministry, it lasted only three years, maybe three and a half years at most. And then he died. And the ministry he had was unlike any ministry we would think one would need to have to make a significant impact. Think about it. He didn't go to the religious elite. He didn't go to those in political power. He didn't go to the influential individuals. No, he went to the downcast, the outcast, the prostitutes, the drunkards, the riffraff, the scum, those nobody was interested in.

That's who Jesus went to. And when he preached the sermon, he alienated almost everybody except just for a few. But that was his ministry. And then after those three and a half years of ministry, they crucified him. But because of that ministry and because of its impact, you and I have a ministry today, a ministry a lot like our Lord's. We're not going to die as he died for the sins of the world, but we understand sacrifice. We understand ministry as he has ordained it. But our Lord God had a plan and that plan included his son.

And in verses one to three of Luke chapter eight, it kind of bridges a gap. We've seen it several times in Luke. We saw it in chapter four, verses 14 and 15. We saw it again in chapter four, verse number 43. They are little summations of his ministry that kind of bridge the gaps between scenes and events that take place in the life of our Lord. In these three verses in Luke chapter eight, we're going to see how they bridge a gap that finalized the end of his Galilean ministry. It takes us all the way to chapter nine, verse number 50.

And then in verse 51 of chapter nine, he sets his heart and mind resolutely on Jerusalem. And so in Luke chapter nine, verse number 51, up toward Luke chapter 19, we're going to journey with Christ to Jerusalem. But right now in eight, chapter eight, chapter eight, verses one to three, up through chapter nine, verse number 50, this is the end of his Galilean ministry. And Luke kind of summarizes it for us. Let me read it to you.

And let's just look at what he says. Luke chapter eight, verse number one. And it came about soon afterwards that he began going about from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God and the 12 are with him. And also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses. Mary, who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out. And Joanna, the wife of Chusa, Herod Stewart, and Susannah, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

One simple paragraph that opens up to us a door that shows us the ministry of Christ. And looking at that ministry, it teaches us lessons about our ministry and how it is we glorify our Lord. The ministry of Christ continues to march on. It marches on to Jerusalem and there he will die. And even through his death, that ministry marches on even today through people like you and me. Let's look at that ministry and see, number one, how it marched on sovereignly.

How it marched on sovereignly. Look what the text says. It says, and it came about soon afterwards. We'll stop right there. Soon after what? Well, soon after the previous event. Oh, what was the previous event? He was in Simon's house, Simon the Pharisee. Remember that? And there, there was a woman who was a sinner. She was a prostitute and she would anoint his feet with the perfume that she had. And he talked about her great love for him because she had been forgiven in such a great and mighty way.

It was soon after that scene. We don't know how long it was. It could have been a day, could have been a week, could have been a month. Makes no difference. The point is that soon after that event, the text says he began going about from one city and village to another. It's important to note that Jesus never did anything unless it pleased his father. Jesus never went anywhere unless he was directed by his father. Why do you think he would always escape into the mountains to pray? Why do you think that he was always looking for times of solitude?

Because he was seeking the will of his father in heaven. The ministry of our Lord was not about making people feel good. It was not about fulfilling a personal ambition that he might have. It was about fulfilling the plan his father ordained for him. It came about soon afterwards. What prompted him to move? What prompted him to leave Simon's house and go from city to village proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God? Simply this, he responded to the will of the father. Our Lord would follow the will of his father.

Luke doesn't tell us, but John does in John 4 verse number 34. Jesus said to them, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. The will of God was the daily food of our Lord. He wanted to do the will of his father. Over in chapter five, it says this in verse number 30, I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me. The Lord says, this is not about me. It's about my father who is in heaven. Verse 38, chapter six, for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

You see, our Lord lived under sovereign control. He lived fulfilling the will of his father, obeying the will of his father. And everything he did was according to precise timing. That's why in John's gospel, he would say seven times, my hour has not yet come. What hour is that? It was the hour of his crucifixion. Everything was set in motion for there to be a time in which he would die. He knew that time, he knew that he would follow precisely the plan of his father in heaven. And it wasn't until that time of the crucifixion that he would give his life away.

And that's why no one could take it from him. In fact, he even said, I lay my life down on my own initiative that no one would take it from me. But the plan of the father was that which enveloped his son. He did what his father said over in Matthew chapter 10. It says this in verse number five, these 12, Jesus sent out after instructing them saying, do not go in the way of the Gentiles and do not enter any city of the Samaritans, but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Why? That was the plan.

There was a sovereign ordained plan, not to go to Gentiles, not to go to Samaritans, but to go to the last sheep of the house of Israel. Why? Salvation is of the Jews. John four 23. Paul said in Romans chapter one, verse number 16, that he wasn't ashamed of the gospel for is the power of God unto salvation to the Jews first, then to the Greeks.

So when Christ came, he came to those in apostasy. He came to the Jewish people. He came unto his own and his own received him not. It doesn't mean that Gentile people didn't get saved. We've seen that already in the gospel of Luke. But the purpose of that ministry was to go specifically to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And over Luke chapter five, he says, I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. The sovereign plan of God was fulfilled in the life of a son to go to a specific people at a specific time and to teach them exactly what they needed to know about the truth.

He didn't go to the righteous people. He went to those living in sin. He didn't come to the Pharisee. He didn't come for the scribe. He didn't come for the rabbi. He didn't come for the priest. He came for those who recognized they were sinners. Those who didn't recognize they were sinners could not get saved. But those who did, those are the ones who would be born again. The point is this. He had an intense ministry. It was sovereignly focused. And that's exactly what he did. Why? Because his ministry, like your ministry, is under the divine discretion.

Our Lord sovereignly fulfilled the plan of his father. That's why soon afterwards, he could make his move because he always wanted to do the father's will. He wanted to do the father's will more than anything else on earth that consumed him. Folks, that's a message to you and me, isn't it? The will of the father should consume us. That should be our life sustenance. We wake up today. We want to do the will of the father. We live tomorrow. We go to work tomorrow. We want to do the will of the father.

Everything is about the will of the father. My food is to do the will of him who sent me. Christ said to the apostles in John 20, 21, as the father has sent me, so send I you. Well, how does the father send the son? He sends him to fulfill a sovereign purpose. Christ now says, I now am sending you to fulfill that same sovereign purpose. What is that? To do the will of my father in heaven. So you got to ask yourself when you wake up today, when you wake up tomorrow, when you go to work, when you are with your family, are you there to do the will of your father?

If you want your ministry to march on, to glorify the name of Christ, you must seek to do the will of your father in heaven. He did what his father wanted. Ask yourself, do you do what your father in heaven wants you to do? Now you say, well, not always, but is that your ambition? Is that your drive? When you know what God's will is and you don't do it, do you confess your sin? Do you repent from your ways and say, Lord, I want to do the right thing. Lord, help me to do those things you want me to do.

So his ministry marched on sovereignly. Number two, his ministry marched on geographically. This is interesting. Look at what it says.

And it came about soon afterwards that he began going about from one city and village to another. Now, why did he do that? He went from one city to one village, to one city to one village. That's what he did. Some had suggested that he didn't go to the synagogues in those cities because he had been banned from the synagogues, maybe that was the case. Having read already what's taken place in the gospel of Luke, we can see why he would be banned from the synagogues. But you realize that everywhere he went, there were a multitude of people.

Look what it says in verse number four. And when a great multitude were coming together and those from the various cities were journeying to him, there was a great multitude always following our Lord. It says in verse number 40, and as Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed him. Verse number 45, Master, the multitudes are crowding and pressing upon you. You see, it's unique about our Lord. As he went from place to place, as he went through the valleys, as he went through the streets, as he went to the villages, as he went to the cities, the people became the place of his pulpit.

Everywhere there were people, he would preach. He would preach because that's where the people were. And he would go where he was directed to go. But he only went in the land of Israel. Isn't it interesting that here our Lord confined himself, limited himself to the land of Israel. And basically a 60 to 80 mile radius around Jerusalem. So that's where he stayed. Now think about that. You're going to come and you're going to reach the world with the gospel. Where do you go? Jerusalem or Rome? Hmm.

West Covina or Washington DC? Where do you go to reach the world? You see, we think that if we go to the right place geographically, where the most people are, where the higher powers that be reside, then we can reach the world. Not the case. All you have to do is watch the ministry of Christ. He didn't do that. In fact, his ministry wasn't even based in Jerusalem. It was based in Capernaum. And it was a ministry that geographically took him in one area, one local region. And that's where he concentrated his ministry.

That amazes me that our Lord knew exactly the best way to reach the entire world. The entire world. I think of Paul, his missionary journeys. You know, Paul took three missionary journeys and basically went back to the same place all three times. You ever think about that? He just extended a little further out, but he kept going back to the same place, back to the same place, back to the same place. You know what? When God calls you to a ministry and God calls you to a place to be used of him, don't move until he moves you.

Don't do that. You know, I always find it ironic that people are looking to reach more people and looking for avenues to reach more people. Jesus never did that. He wasn't looking for a broader based ministry. He wasn't looking for a bigger radio program. He wasn't looking for a bigger book deal. He wasn't looking for a better TV offer. He wasn't looking for a better area. He was looking for the area God in his sovereignty had called him to minister. Folks, this is so important for us. I can recall when I started early on in the ministry and I was a college pastor.

I did a lot of traveling, speaking to retreats and camps and churches and all that kind of stuff. And soon after about five or 10 years, I realized after all that preaching and all that traveling, I never saw the impact of that message. Now, I know the word of Lord, when it goes forth, it doesn't return void. I know that. But I began to realize that all that traveling, all that speaking, I never was able to see the impact that word had on the lives of people. So I committed to base my ministry solely in the local church.

Solely. Not looking for a opportunities, but to always be at Christ's community church. So when you come on Sunday, you know, I'm going to be here. Like I have a guest speaker, you know, let's not go on vacation, but I only go on vacation because my wife makes me. That's the truth. I don't go on vacation. If it wasn't for my wife, I'd never go on vacation. I'd always be here. But you see, I think it's important to realize that when God calls you to a place, you concentrate all your ministry efforts right there.

Why? Because then you see the long lasting impact of that ministry over time. That is so important. But our Lord, he would move from village to village from city to city, but he'd only do it in a certain location to the area, to the geographical location that he had been called to minister to, because that's where his father had placed him. And that was going to be the way in which he would find the people to train, that once they heard the truth, obeyed the truth, would turn the world upside down.

And the Lord had a great plan. So his ministry marches on sovereignly. His ministry marches on geographically. His ministry marches on theologically. Look what it says. It says, and it came about soon afterwards that he began going about from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. Proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. Proclaiming from Keruso, which means to make a public statement, a public herald in the marketplace. Proclaiming and preaching, Euangelizo, which is where we get our English word to evangelize.

He would evangelize through preaching and proclaiming the kingdom of God. He had one message. His message was not, let me help your marriage.

His message was not, let me help you build better friendships. His message was not, let me tell you how it is to win over the political constituency.

That wasn't his message. His message was always the same. His message focused in on the kingdom of God. Folks, we have people today preaching all kinds of messages, but they're not the same message that Jesus preached. It wasn't about the kingdom of God. It wasn't about how you get into the kingdom. It wasn't about the riches of the kingdom. We talk a lot today from pulpits about many things that just don't matter. Only one thing matters, the king and his kingdom. That's really all that matters. And we need to understand that.

And we need to stay focused on that. He went around preaching the kingdom of God is at hand. In Matthew chapter four, it says in verse number 17, I believe it is, that after he was baptized, he went forth preaching, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Now you will note that Matthew distinctly uses the phrase kingdom of heaven. 32 times Matthew uses the phrase kingdom of heaven. Here it says kingdom of God, but Matthew uses the phrase kingdom of heaven. The reason he did is because when Matthew was writing, he wrote to Jews and Jews wouldn't mention the name Yahweh.

They wouldn't pronounce the tetragrammaton. We use, we Gentiles say Jehovah. Uh, the four Hebrew consonants can best be translated or pronounced Yahweh. Okay. But a Jew won't mention the name of God. They'll either call him the name or heaven would be a substitute for God. And so when Matthew wrote, he wrote about the kingdom of heaven and there's a lot of discrepancy about, well, what's the kingdom of heaven and what is the kingdom of God? When I was in seminary, all these books are written about the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven and what entails what they entail and which is which, you know, and funny one day I read Matthew chapter 19 and they answered all my questions.

Matthew chapter 19 says in verse 23, and Jesus said to his disciples, surely I say to you, this hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again, I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. And I realized that all the books that I read could be summed up in just two short verses. The kingdom of heaven is the kingdom of God and the kingdom of God is the kingdom of heaven. They are the one in the same because Jesus uses them interchangeably when it comes to salvation because the kingdom of God and or the kingdom of heaven are about the saving grace of God.

How do we know that? Read on in the text. It's interesting that the Bible always gives you the answer and the Bible always translate the Bible for you. Let's know what it says. And when the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said that who can be saved. So they know that entrance into the kingdom is about salvation. So we realize that Jesus went about soon afterwards from village to city proclaiming and preaching the message of salvation. The message of salvation is about entrance into the kingdom of God.

The message of salvation is about a king. In fact, the whole Bible is a saga story about a king and his coming kingdom. So when Christ came, he said, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It's right before you. The kingdom is a sphere of the monarch's rule. That's the kingdom. And that king came to rule. And one day we know that there will be a literal earthly kingdom on this earth. Right now there is a spiritual kingdom. We understand the universal kingdom of God, but there's going to be a literal kingdom of God.

Right now there is a spiritual kingdom. That is there's a king that rules in your life, in my life, and we are subject to his rulership. That's why he never understood people who said, well, you know, you can't tell people to submit to the Lordship of Christ because that's just a work and they've just got to believe to be saved. And then maybe later on they can submit to the Lordship of Christ. How do you come up with that idea? If salvation is about the kingdom of God and salvation is entering the kingdom where the king rules and he is a sole ruler and you must submit to that king.

You see, we misunderstand salvation and what it entails. But boy, when we go through our study of the book of Luke, you're going to see salvation unveiled to you as you've never seen it before, especially when you get to Luke chapter 9. You're going to see the demands that Christ puts on people when it comes to salvation. He never made salvation easy for anybody. He made salvation so difficult, so hard that unless you were called, you weren't coming. And we'll see that in Luke chapter 9 and how it is our Lord would preach the gospel and make us rethink how it is we preach the modern day gospel.

But he went around preaching about the kingdom of God. So everything he gave, the parables he gave are about the kingdom and the rulership of the king. Let me give you an example back over in Matthew chapter 22.

Matthew 22 verse number one. And Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables saying, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. Here's the kingdom of heaven. This is what it's like. And he goes on and talks about how he invites all the wedding guests, but the wedding guests refuse to come. So he says, go into the highways and go into the byways and compel anybody off the streets to come in. And they arrived in to the wedding feast. Why? Because the king gave them the garments to enter the king's feast.

And the king, it says, verse 11, when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw there a man not dressed in wedding clothes. And he said to him, friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes? Notice again what Jesus says.

He says, friend, we told you that greater love hath no man than this, that a man laid in his life for his friends. Jesus called Judas his friend on the night of the betrayal. Here in the parable, he calls a man who's at the wedding, who's not dressed in wedding garments, friend. And this friend of Jesus is cast into a place where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth. Look what it says. It says, friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes? And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, bind him hand and foot, cast him into the out of darkness.

In that place, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth for many are called, but few are chosen. You see, the kingdom of heaven is made available to those who respond to the invitation of the king. So when Christ came, he came preaching the kingdom of heaven is at hand. When John the Baptist preached, he preached repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It's about entering the kingdom of God. That's why the invitation is given, but there needs to be repentance. That's why over in Mark chapter one, Mark chapter one, verse number 15, it says these words, verse 14.

And after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel. So when the kingdom is presented, it's presented to all who desire to come. And those who desire to come must repent of their sins in order to enter the kingdom. This is the message of the king. This is the message that Jesus preached. He preached proclaiming the kingdom of God. He preached an invitation to those who would willingly repent of their sins and give their lives to Christ.

Over in Mark chapter 12, it talks about when those come into the kingdom, they come because they love the Lord God more than anything else. And one of the scribes came verse 28 of Mark 12 and heard them arguing and recognizing that he had answered them. Well, asked him what commandment is the foremost of all Jesus answered. The foremost is hero. Israel, the Lord, our God is one Lord and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.

The second is this. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said to him, right teacher, you have truly stated that he is one and there is no one else besides him and to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength and to love one's neighbor as himself is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he'd answered intelligently, he said to him, you are not far from what?

The kingdom of God. And after that, no one ventured to ask him any more questions. You see, when you preach the kingdom of God as Jesus preached and you spell out the demands of the kingdom based on the commands of the king, people are not so ready to ask you any more questions. They didn't ask him any more questions after this sermon, because you see, when you preach the kingdom of God, you offer the invitation to all, but only those who repent can get in. And those who repent are those who demonstrate that they love the Lord, their God with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their mind, with all the strength.

See, you love him fully. You love him totally. That's the kingdom of God. And then the Bible says over in Luke chapter nine, Luke chapter nine, there were, there were three would be disciples that asked Christ a question, or two of them ask him a question.

And one, he asks a question about following him. Three would be disciples, three people who are among the crowd, who are among the multitude that Christ puts the demands of the kingdom upon. He says this in verse number 61. And another also said, I will follow you, Lord, but first permit me to say goodbye to those at home.

Lord, I want to follow you, but I got to go home and say goodbye to the family first. But Jesus said to him, no one after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for what? The kingdom of God. Listen, you want to follow me? You want to be a part of the kingdom? You want to be subject to the rulership of the king? Then you must leave all to follow me because I'm the king. I'm the ruler. And what I say goes in my kingdom. See, that's important. And so Christ would go from village to village preaching about the kingdom of God.

In Matthew five, six, and seven, blessed are those poured spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He begins a sermon on the mount saying, look, here's the sermon. Here's the essence of the ministry. It's about the kingdom of heaven. It's about the kingdom of God. It's about how you enter the king's domain. You see, you're under the domain of Satan to be saved means you are transferred into the kingdom of his dear son. Right now you're in Satan's kingdom to be saved is to be in God's kingdom. To be an unbeliever is to be under the authority and domain of Satan to be a believer is to be under the authority and domain of the savior.

And so Jesus comes and says, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He would go on to say in verse 20 of chapter five, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you'll never enter the kingdom of heaven. Well, what does that mean? Well, you can't get into the kingdom. If you want to base it on your own righteousness, if you want to base it on your own moral standing and own moral virtues, no, you must have a divine righteousness given to you by me.

See, and then he would say, uh, toward the end of that message, you got to pray this way that God's kingdom will come to earth. And then he concludes a sermon by saying, you know what to get into the kingdom. It's a very, very narrow, narrow avenue. Broad is the road that leads to destruction, but narrow is the way into the kingdom of heaven. And when Jesus died and rose again in Acts chapter one, verse number three, he spent 40 days with his apostles doing what teaching them things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

You see, we need to understand the kingdom. We need to understand the king first because the king has the kingdom that he wants his people to serve him in.

And so when we present the gospel, we are presenting the kingdom of heaven. We are presenting the kingdom of God. We are presenting a gospel that's open to all people. Only those who repent and believe ever get into that kingdom. And they are determined by how they love the Lord, their God with all their heart, with all their soul and with all their mind. And they're the ones who are determined not to look back because they put their hand forward and are moving forward with the Lord Jesus. That's salvation.

That's the gospel that Jesus preached. He had one message. One message. Had nothing to do with your marriage. Had nothing to do with child rearing. Had nothing to do with parental responsibility. Had everything to do with your eternal destiny. Because you see, none of those things make a difference if you're not saved. They don't. You've got to be saved. You've got to be born again. Because how are you going to impact your family with the gospel? How are you going to impact your marriage with the gospel?

How are you going to impact people with the truth unless you yourself know and believe the truth? First things first.

When you're saved, what are you saved from? Are there only a few being saved? What are you saved from? You're saved from God. That's who you're saved from. You're saved from God. Salvation is being saved from the wrath of God. That's what salvation is. Salvation is about your eternal destiny. Christ is the consummate preacher, the consummate evangelist. He came in to seek and to save that which was lost. That's what his ministry was all about. His ministry marched on successfully because theologically he had one message and it dealt with the eternal destiny of man's soul.

It dealt with the sin issue. That's what salvation is. It deals with the sin issue. The thing that separates you from God. You see, we're so busy about getting relationships together with one another that we forget about the ultimate relationship between me and my God. That's the number one thing.

Sin is that what separates me from God. And so Christ came to deal with that one element of our lives that keeps us from his father in heaven. That is sin. So his ministry marched on sovereignly. It marched on geographically. It marched on theologically. And number four, it marched on strategically. Strategically. Look what it says. And it came about soon afterwards that he began going about from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. And the twelve were what?

With him. This was his strategy. This was his strategy. The twelve were with him. Remember back in Luke chapter six? He went off into a mountain to pray and chose twelve men that they might be with him. He chose the ordinary man. He chose no rabbi. He chose no priest. He chose no scribe. He chose no synagogue ruler. He chose no one of earthly prominence. We think today, well, if we can get somebody in the political realm safe, just think, if we got a president who was saved. Don't have one yet. Haven't had one either.

But if we get a president who's saved, just think how better the world will be. And folks, if that was the way it should have been done, Jesus would have saved all the scribes and Pharisees and all the political rules of his day. That's not the way it's done. See, we think that's the way it happens. It's not the way it happens. Would it be good for the president to be saved? Oh yeah, sure would. Would it be good for those in politics to be saved? Yeah. It's good for anybody to be saved. But don't think for one moment that if you say the person who is the elite person, that everything now will be different because it won't be.

Jesus chose 12 obscure individuals, 12 men that nobody else would have ever chosen because he chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. He didn't choose the rich things. He chose the poor things. Read first Corinthians chapter one, verses 29 and following.

See, we're all messed up today. We, we think that if a certain person, because of their influence, gets saved, everything changes. Just let me give you just a little hint here.

If somebody who was influential gets saved, everything about them changes. It doesn't stay the same. It doesn't stay the same because they're following Christ the king. They serve a new ruler. They serve a new master and everything about them changes because they are committed to following Christ no matter what it will cost them politically, financially, or any other category because they are sold out to Christ. And if they're not sold out to Christ, they probably weren't saved to begin with. Let's just call it like it is.

Let's just spill it out there because that's the way Jesus did it. And all you got to do is examine the Bible, read the scriptures, see who was saved. The apostle Paul, he was a murderer. He got saved. Everything changed. Everybody hated him, right? Everybody hated him. Even the Christians hated him at first.

See, classic example. His power, his rulership among those in authority, they hated him now because everything about his life changed because he was sold out the following Christ. And Christ had a strategy. That was to choose 12 men that they might be with him. And they were only with him for three, three and a half years. It wasn't very long, but they went to school every day. I mean, they lived in the schoolroom of adversity. They lived in the schoolroom on the sea. They lived in the schoolroom there on the hillsides in Galilee, learning and listening to the Savior as he would preach from day to day, from village to village, from city to city.

Did they disappoint him? Oh, yes. Yes. Did they deny him? Oh, yes. Did they doubt him? Oh, yes. Did they desert him? You bet. You bet. But they were the ones who turned the world upside down because they were the ones who committed their life to following the Savior. Listen, you invest your life in a few people and you will turn your community, your workplace, your church upside down. Just a few people. We don't have to reach multitudes. All you can do is reach one or two or three or four. All you gotta do is invest your life in one person.

That's it. Jesus invested in 12 because he knew that that would be the avenue whereby the world would be changed. And so that's what he did. That was his strategy. What's your strategy for your ministry? Is there one person you're investing in into or two people or three people that you are pouring your life into because you know that when you're dead and gone, that ministry will be multiplied over and over again because you invested into that one person. That's what Jesus did. This thing I want you to notice is that his ministry marched on personally.

Look what it says. Verse two, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses, Mary, who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out and Joanna, the wife of Chusa, Herod, Stuart, and Susanna. Wow. He had a personal ministry with women. That was unique because the rabbis didn't believe that women could learn. Did you know that? If you're a woman in the days of Christ, you were considered ignorant and dumb and you couldn't learn anything. So they never taught you.

They never taught you. But Jesus did because he had a personal ministry with all people. And these people had been delivered. Mary Magdalene, by the way, she's not a prostitute. She's just a woman who had seven demons in her. Nowhere does the Bible ever say that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. That's only a modern television shows in modern movies. That's not what the Bible says.

She was a woman who had seven demons in her, but she'd been delivered by our Lord. Okay. And because of that deliverance, she owed her life to her God. Now think about this. Jesus would spend time in personal ministry with people that the religious elite rejected. Women were the lowest on the totem pole. And yet Jesus would teach them and train them because they've been delivered from their sicknesses. They've been delivered from their diseases and they owed their life to their God. Mary of Magdala.

When we journey out of Tiberias along the Eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, we go through a little town called Migdal. It's modern days. Migdal used to be Magdala. And that's where Mary Magdalene is from. Mary of Migdal. And there are so many Marys in the Bible. They had to associate them with the place of birth or their place of residency so that you would know which Mary they were talking about. But this Mary of Magdala had been delivered by seven demons and she knew how much her Lord had done for her.

As you recall, she was at the cross of our Lord. Joanna was there as well. She was at the anointing of the body of Jesus. She was there at the resurrection of Jesus. She was committed to her Lord. She loved Jesus Christ. She gave her life for the one who saved her from her sin. She gave her life for the one who gave his life for her. There was Joanna. The Bible says that Joanna was the wife of Chuza.

That means he was Herod's steward. That means he was in Herod's household. So this woman was kind of way up there from that standpoint. And Chuza's wife, Joanna, had given her life to the Lord. She'd been delivered from some disease, some sickness, and she followed our Lord wherever he went to minister to him. And the Bible says, and Susanna.

Thought about that for a moment. You know, she's nowhere else mentioned in the Bible. We have no idea who Susanna is. No idea. The Lord does though. That's really all that matters, isn't it? I began thinking about Susanna and thinking about, you know, so many times we just want to be known by who we associate with. We just want to be known for who we are. We want people to recognize us. Here was Susanna, you know, and we know nothing about her. She's written down in the pages of scripture to show us that there were people that we know nothing about that were committed to serving our God.

Think of the 70 that were sent out. We'll talk about them in Luke chapter 10. There are 70 that sent out. We don't even know their names. Christ sent out the 12, right? And then he sent out another 70, but none of their names are mentioned. And yet they went out with great power to do many apostolic things. They went out to preach the gospel. We don't know who their names are. Because you see, the ministry is not about you. It's about the Lord Jesus. Very few people ever get that. I hope that you get it.

The ministry that God entrusts to you is not about you. The church that you serve in is not about you. It's all about the glory of God. And these people knew it. They came because there was a Lord who had personally ministered to their lives. And they gave their life in the service of the King. Next, materially. His ministry marched on materially or economically. The Bible says this, "...and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means." Who are those people?

We do not know. But how is it the Lord made it from day to day? When he died, he had nothing but the clothes on his back. He told one person, if you follow me, you know, foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. So if you want to follow me, realize it's not going to be a very comfortable ride. He didn't have much. So there are people who would contribute to the ministry of Christ that would support that ministry because they had been taught by the Lord.

You know what the Bible says in Galatians 6, verse number 6? It says, "...and let the one who has taught the word share all good things with him who teaches." Isn't that a good verse? If you're a teacher, it's a good verse. You see, because people give to those who instruct them because they're growing, they're learning, they've come to know their God. And that's exactly what was happening right here in the ministry of Christ. There are many other people who would contribute to the ministry of Christ because they had been taught by him and they wanted to show their love and appreciation so they would give out of their private means.

Notice, we don't know who gave and we don't know what they gave because that's how giving is to be accomplished today.

Do you want people to know how much you give? Do you want to be recognized for what it is you give? That's just the wrong thing. These people gave out of a heart that was committed to serving their God. They'd receive forgiveness and they wanted to serve their master. They wanted to give to him because, you see, folks, when you're saved, you want to contribute to the ministry of Christ. You just do. Why? Because you want others to experience what you've experienced. You want them to hear the same message you heard.

You want them to know about the same God you serve. So how is it my giving will enable that ministry to accomplish great things for the kingdom of God? And that's what was happening in the ministry of Christ. And lastly, number seven, the ministry marches on ultimately. Ultimately and finally to people like you and me.

We're here today because of this ministry of Christ. We're here today because he invested his life in a few men who then in turn would preach the gospel and turn the world upside down. And now we have heard the gospel and we have responded in faith to the truth of God's holy word. And ultimately that ministry continues on in you and me. And it's our responsibility now to pass that ministry on to others so they in turn will hear the truth. I shared with you on Wednesday night that we have been bought for a purpose, right?

First Corinthians 6, you've been bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your bodies. God purchased you. God bought you for his purposes. He didn't buy you for your purposes. He bought you for his purposes. And what are his purposes? That you might do the will of the Father in heaven. That you might serve the Lord your God. That you might sovereignly submit yourself to the will of almighty God and say, Lord, whatever your will is, that's what I will do. And I will do it, Lord, in that geographical location in which you called me to live out my spiritual existence.

I'm not looking for a better ministry. I'm not looking for a bigger ministry. I'm not looking for a bigger house or a better house. I'm looking, Lord, for a ministry that you've given to me in the place that you have designed me to live for your glory and for your honor. And Lord, as I live there, I will preach the kingdom of heaven. I will preach the kingdom of God. I will tell people how to respond to the invitation that you need to repent and believe the gospel and help people understand that they need to love the Lord their God with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their mind, with all their strength, and having put their hand to the plow, never to look back again, because they've sold everything for Christ.

And I will do it by investing my life in just a few people, just a few, just a few. One, two, three, four. If you're a parent, it's your family, it's your children. You begin there. Don't neglect that and go someplace else to invest. Invest there first and then branch out and invest other places.

And that ministry, very strategically, then will enable me to have a very personal ministry in the lives of people that God brings my way and trust God to support me as I serve him so that others will hear the truth. That's the ministry of Christ. It marched on. It's marching on even today through you and me. And may God give us the grace to continue the great ministry of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for today and the opportunity you give us to serve your great and glorious name.

What a joy, what a privilege that we have been called ministers of reconciliation, that, Lord, you have chosen us to be a part of your great and glorious kingdom. I pray, Father, that the ministry of Christ will continue marching on through those at Christ's Community Church so others will hear and know the truth of Jesus Christ, our Lord. We pray in your name. Amen.