“The Power and Authority to Proclaim”

Scripture Reference:  Mark 6:7-13

 

 

 

Sunday, August 24, 2008

 

Some years ago, while we were living in New Hampshire, I had the opportunity to coach a 10 year old all-star baseball team. Well, in our first tournament down in Connecticut, I noticed how nervous the boys were. For most of them this was their first experience in being on an all-star team and playing in a tournament far away from home. So, I tried to loosen them up with a silly joke. I asked them, “What does John the Baptist, Winnie the Pooh, and Smokey the Bear all have in common?” Of course the answer is their middle name, “the.”

 

Naturally, the kids thought it was a dumb joke. But one little guy looked confused. So I asked him if he understood the joke. “Sort of,” he said, “but who is John the Baptist?” “You’ve never heard of John the Baptist?” I asked. “Nope,” he said. Well, I was just about to tell him about John when one of his teammates jumped right in explained who John was, and how he baptized Jesus. Then he began to tell him about Jesus. Well, I just stood there in amazement over how this little 10 year old boy was talking so freely about Jesus.

 

In thinking back though, I don’t know why I was so surprised at this. You see, this is exactly what Scripture tells us we have the power and authority to do, even a little 10 year old boy. In fact, as people who believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, this is really one of the jobs our Lord has given us. And this is one of the main purposes we have here as a congregation. Again, going back to our mission statement, this is how we begin to build relationships in Christ with those people in our life, and in our neighborhood and in our community.

 

If you look at today’s Gospel reading from Mark, it tells us how Jesus called the 12 disciples together and gave them authority over evil spirits. Then he gave them instructions to go and tell others the Good News of the Gospel. Well, beginning with verse 12 it reads, “They went out and preached that the people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” In other words, these men, who were mostly uneducated, went out and they claimed and exercised that authority and power that Jesus gave to them.

 

Many of you are also familiar with the Great Commission that Jesus gave in Matthew’s Gospel, where He was but to you and me as well. In that Commission, Jesus said, “All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

 

Now, what I want you to understand here is that Jesus, who has all authority, all power, just as that passage says; He has passed that authority and power to His disciples, and on to His Church, and that means you and me. What this means it that we now have the authority, the power in Christ’s name to preach and teach the saving Gospel. In fact, we even have power and authority over evil spirits, just as Jesus gave to the twelve.

 

Let’s just look at this for a moment. If you recall from last week’s liturgy when we had that Baptism, I asked the question of all of you, “Do you renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways?” Do you remember that question? Well, in the early Christian Church this was not simply a question. Instead, it was a statement that went something like this, “Satan, you prince of liars, I command you to come out, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” You see, it was in fact an exorcism. It was words of authority and power spoken over those evil spirits. And folks, that authority, that power, has not diminished over the years.

 

Just think about this…we all know the hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.” Well, in that hymn, it says that one little word can fell Satan. Understand this is as true today as it was in Jesus’ day. We have this authority and power in Christ Jesus today. It is the authority, the power that comes from the cross of Christ.

 

You see, it was on the cross that Jesus freed us from all the forces of evil. He destroyed Satan’s power over us, as He destroyed sin’s power over us. We have been freed from all of this! And we have been forgiven for everything! We have been healed! We have been given life, all in Christ Jesus! And folks, Satan or any other force, cannot take from us what our Lord Jesus has given us. This is the message of the cross. And as Christians, our Lord has commissioned each one of us to bring this powerful message to others.

 

In fact, this is one of our main jobs, a main purpose that we have as His Church. But you know I believe that, at times, we just kind of let this slide, and we forget about this as a main purpose for us, we forget about what we are all about as Christ’s Church.

 

It’s kind of like that super salesman who sold a very complicated filing system to a thriving business. Three months later, this salesman paid the company a visit, “How’s the filing system working out?” he asked. “Just great!” the manager replied, “We had to give up our business to run the filing system.”

 

Well, I think that sometimes, that’s really the case with us. We spend so much time and energy with the filing system, instead of taking care of our main business of applying the powerful Gospel of forgiveness and life in Christ Jesus, to people’s lives and their needs.

 

Folks, we all know people who are without the Lord in their lives. There is emptiness, a void, in them. And I’m sure we can all understand this because, at one time or another, we were all there. We all know what it is like to experience that emptiness and the guilt and pain that sin brings. But, hopefully, we also know the love and forgiveness, the peace and the joy that Jesus has brought into our life. Hopefully, every one of us goes to the cross of Christ and to that empty tomb everyday to rejoice and celebrate the victory that Jesus won for us there. Hopefully, every one of us knows His presence and His power in our life, that power that has changed our life and given us life.

 

Well, now what we need to understand and take hold of is that we have been given the authority by Jesus Himself to bring this powerful message into peoples’ lives. Folks, this is not some awful task. I mean, Jesus didn’t command us to tell people to kill themselves because in their sins they are worthless scumbags. Instead, He has commanded us to invite them to leave behind their sin, their guilt, their brokenness, their emptiness, and come and be filled up and healed by their Lord and Savior, Jesus. It is only the Gospel of Jesus Christ that heals this brokenness. It is only the Gospel of Jesus Christ that breaks that power of sin, and offers wholeness, peace, and life. Believe me, I have experienced this time and time again in my own life, as I’m sure you have, as well.

 

Okay, so what you and I need to understand is that, even thought we may not feel worthy, Jesus has made us worthy by washing us clean in the blood that He shed on the cross. Even thought we may not feel qualified to share the Gospel, Jesus has made us more than qualified by bringing us salvation and life in Him. Even though we may feel that we don’t have the authority to share this message of love and forgiveness in Christ, Scripture shows us so clearly that Jesus, who has all authority, has given us all this authority just like He gave that little 10 year old boy the authority to share the Gospel with his teammate.

 

Folks, it really is time for us, as people who truly belong to Christ Jesus, to claim and exercise this authority and to really work on carrying out one of our main purposes here; to bring that message of love and forgiveness and life in Christ to the people in our life. And so that is my prayer for us today. Amen.

 

Pastor Keith E. Enko

Emmanuel Lutheran Church

Hermitage, Tennessee