And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.He sent them out to preach God’s Kingdom and to heal the sick.And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.And he sent them forth to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.
4 sermons cite this verse
… account, Jesus said, as you go, preach, saying, here's their message, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Luke chapter 9, he sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Now, I don't know about you, but when I read things like this, I wonder, okay, how did they do it exactly? When they first came to that town, how did they approach people to witness to them? Was it one-on-one? Did they go, excuse me, have you heard of the four spiritual laws? Or, you know God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Was it one-on-one? because, you know, that's how I used to do it. Not that I use that formula, but I would, when I dated my wife Lenya, we would go up to people on the Huntington Beach Pier and just have conversations with them and share the gospel with them. But I'm guessing the disciples, rather than one-on-one, probably did more like open-air preaching, like they would go to the gate of the city where the people would congregate and they would say what Jesus told them to say. …
… didn't just call them, he gave them access to drive out all demons and to cure diseases. And he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. So we start with giving ordinary, imperfect men the opportunity to minister and to be used by God. Now, if you and I were building a squad, like a world-changing dream team, this is not who we're going to pick. We wouldn't start with this group of misfits. They were, yes, imperfect, unexpected, impulsive, immature, in process, full of doubt, full of misunderstanding. And yes, they fail just like us. They failed. And yet Jesus not only chose them, he sent them anyway. And one of the first things in the Gospel of Luke shows us this, is that Jesus doesn't wait until people have figured everything out. He doesn't wait until their arrival. He uses them in process. He uses them on their way. And then we skip down a few verses, just a few verses later. …
… and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. All right? Right after this, he sends them out two by two into their hometowns to do ministry. Now go to verse 17 of chapter 10. Then the 70 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. We'll explain this story a bit more in a moment, but I want you to notice that Satan didn't fall like lightning when the 12 were sent. It was when the 70 were sent. we'll look at it in a moment. Jesus empowered them to go and do the work of the ministry. And you'll notice he never trained them, taught them how to pull down principalities. He never taught them how to destroy the demonic strongholds in heavenly places. What he taught them was how to use authority and power to bring healing and deliverance to individuals. …
… He's walking around with these guys. He's showing them how this mission looks with the way he's living. Then you get to Luke chapter 9, verse 1 and 2. And listen to what Jesus does. He pulls them together. And he says, Luke chapter 9, verse 1, When Jesus had called the twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Here he is sending them out, just as he had said he was going to do. Then you come back to John chapter 17. Go to John 20. Look at John chapter 20. I want you to look at verse 21. This is after Jesus has died on the cross. He rose from the grave. And He's speaking to His disciples. And what does He say? It says in John chapter 20, verse 21. He'd show them His hands and His side. It says in verse 21, Jesus said, Peace be with you. …