Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus. the founder and perfecter of our faith. Jesus gave His followers five resources. These enable them to represent Him in the world. His people are commissioned, protected, instructed, and empowered.
In a few minutes, we'll learn about the fifth resource, perhaps the most important one. Stay with us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Wind with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, your focus again is the power of a united witness.
Why is it that some believers try to go it alone? Dave, I think the answer is very simple but very sad. Most believers who want to go it alone are people who have had a bad experience in the church. Perhaps they were misunderstood. Perhaps they felt that the church was not just.
They went through an experience where they were so disappointed they said to themselves, I'm finished with church. I'm going to go it alone. To all those who say that, I want to encourage them. To make sure that they find a congregation that is indeed accepting, but at the same time. don't expect to find a perfect congregation.
or you'll never go back to church. But the Bible emphasizes we should be part of a Christian community. Let me ask you a question. Have you been blessed as a result of the ministry of running to win? I hope that you answer yes, and if you do, It's because people just like you have made an investment in this ministry.
Would you consider something? I'm going to be giving you some contact info. In fact, I'll do it right now. Go to rtwoffer.com. When you are there, click on the Endurance Partner button.
Find out what it means to join hands with us, to become a part of the running to win family. As we seek to share the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. At the end of this message, I'll tell you more about it, but for now, let us listen. Uh I've not yet known a missionary. who went out knowing where all this was going to happen.
But they have gone out in faith, and God has been faithful to meet their needs. And so Jesus said, Go forth in a vulnerable way, but also go with sensitivity.
Now, there's a great principle here in witnessing. Jesus said, if you knock on somebody's door and that person is hostile and says, I don't want to hear anything about the kingdom of God. Jesus said, don't argue with him. Just leave. Because he says, as you go from door to door, you will eventually come to a man of peace, someone whose heart is hungry and open to the kingdom.
Jesus said, that's the person who, when he invites you in, stay with him.
Now that is true today too. Do you know that as you look across society and as you get to know different friends and people with whom you work, you find that there are some people who are totally closed to the grace of God? They have pulled the shades down. They say, I dare you to convert me. Have you ever met anyone like that?
They have hard, indifferent, angry, closed hearts. As a matter of fact, I'm convinced that there are some people who come into church with their minds welded shut. There's no possibility that the truth of God can get through to them. And then there are other people who say, Pastor, I have come to church because I am hungry for God. I do not know whether I know God personally, but I'd like to know.
Jesus said, those are the people that you invest some time with. Those are the people whose hearts are beginning to open to the truth. They are the ones who are receptive to the message. And so Jesus said, You go forth today and you be instructed. By the way, Don't become discouraged, therefore, if there are some people who have their hearts closed towards Christ.
This was true in his day as well. And Jesus did not say to the disciples, You were a failure when you get to a house like that. He never put that load of guilt upon them. He simply said, You go out, and when you meet a man of peace, you stay there, and don't be concerned about some of the other ones who are closing their hearts and their doors to the message. Thirdly, Jesus said, We are empowered.
Notice what he says in verse 9: And heal those who are in the house, and say to them, The kingdom of God has come to you. And look at verse 19, behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing. shall injure you.
Some people have interpreted passages of scriptures like this as if we can become snake handlers. Christ is not referring to that, he means that we have authority over satanic powers. Satan is represented as the serpent, and Jesus is saying, Regardless of who he is and his emissaries that work with him, I give you authority over all of those evil spirits. You say, well, do we have authority today to heal all diseases? I don't think that we do.
Because later on in the New Testament it says that if any person is sick, let him call for the elders of the church and anoint him with oil. But I do believe this, that the believing church today does have authority over satanic powers, and sometimes those powers may induce illness, but also those powers produce a tremendous amount of mental and spiritual anguish and debilitation. And Jesus says to the believing church today: Behold, I've given you authority. First chapter of Ephesians: Christ is ascended into heaven far above all principalities and all powers and every name that is named, both in this world and in the world to come. Ephesians chapter 2.
You have been raised up with Jesus Christ and are seated with Him in heavenly places. I believe that as the occult continues in this day and age, and how it is continuing. I believe that there are more people into Satanism than we possibly know about. As we see people plunging headlong into what we call the New Age movement, involved with all sorts of occult associations. The believing church Is going to have to know how to exercise spiritual authority.
And there are people who are going to have to understand. The fact that that authority cannot be taken lightly nor assumed. In the preceding chapter, in the ninth chapter of Luke, we don't have time to look at the story, but a young boy was brought to Jesus and the disciples could not cast out the demon. And they said to the Lord Jesus, why couldn't we cast him out? And Jesus said, because of unbelief and because of lack of discipline, he said, there are some who cannot be cast out except through prayer and fasting.
It doesn't come easy. But it does come. Many years ago, you remember Peter, when he was walking to the temple in Acts chapter 3, said to a man who was there, he said, Silver and gold have I none? But he said to the cripple, Silver and gold have I none, but in the name of Jesus I command you to rise up and walk. And the man stood up and walked.
And he was leaping and running and rejoicing in the temple and giving praise to God. About 11 centuries later, the great theologian Thomas Aquinas was visiting the city of Rome and looking at the basilica that was standing already then, not the one that is there today, it was more recent. But there was a basilica in that place on that spot. And one of the popes showed him the basilica with all of the gold and all of the wealth that was in the churches. And the Pope said to Thomas, We cannot say as the first Pope did.
Silver and gold have I none. And Aquinas said, Yeah, that's right. And neither can you say, in the name of Jesus, rise up and walk. an erosion of authority.
So Jesus said to the disciples, as he says to us, You have authority today. I have given you that authority, he says. We are empowered by God. Fifthly, We are known by God. We are commissioned, we are protected, we are instructed, we are empowered, and we are known.
Notice this: the disciples come back and they are really excited. They say in verse 17, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. And he was saying, I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. I assume that Jesus saw that when the disciples were casting out spirits. Jesus actually saw Satan lose his authority in the midst of the disciples serving the people and casting out evil spirits.
But now notice, he says. Verse 20: Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you. But rejoice because your names are written in heaven. That's what should cause us joy. You know, it's easy to get excited and say, wow, we have spiritual power.
We speak to spirits and they dissipate and they leave. And Jesus said, don't rejoice over that. Rejoice in the fact that you are known. The Greek text says that your name stands written. in heaven.
Isn't that great? Your name and my name is not in the Encyclopædia Britannica. Our names are not in the newspapers. Our names are not in any place that's going to last a whole long time. But Jesus said, Rejoice, because your name stands written there.
Your known. in heaven. Did you know that your name is known in the spirit world? God knows it. But angels and demons also know who you are or who you are not.
I want you to turn with me to the 19th chapter of Acts just for a moment. as I share with you an amazing story that is recorded here. The Apostle Paul was casting out wicked spirits from people, and they were being delivered. And there were some unbelievers who thought they could do the same. They said, well, Paul is using the name of Jesus and look at the results.
We'll use the name of Jesus and we'll get the same results. Oh really? Acts 19, verse 13, and also some of the Jewish exorcists. Who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches. And seven sons of one called Skiva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
They were imitating Paul. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, I recognize Jesus and I know about Paul, but who are you? Wow. Verse 16, and the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them and subdued both of them and overpowered them so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. As the saying goes, that'll learn them.
What was their error? They thought that they could just use the name of Jesus like Paul did without any submission to his authority, without understanding that you can only exercise authority when you are under divine authority. They didn't know that. They thought that they could just use the name of Jesus as a magical charm, just like somebody throwing a verse of scripture at the devil and expecting the devil to leave. And then the devil doesn't, and they say, well, you see, there isn't power in the name of Jesus after all.
What they didn't understand was that there's no magic in the name of Jesus. When you use the name of Jesus, you yourself must be under his authority and under his power, and he must be totally Lord in your life. And then you can say to demons, I command you in the name of Jesus to leave, and then the demons tremble. But not just because you use the name. But isn't it interesting that the demons say, hey man, We know who Jesus is, we know who Paul is, but who in the world?
Are you? Let me ask you something. Do you think that your name is known by wicked spirits? If you're a believer and you are trying to follow Christ, I will say to you, most assuredly, you are known to evil spirits. They have your number.
They would like to discourage you. They would like to cause all kinds of confusion about the gospel in your mind. They would like to close your mind off to the spiritual truth that is even being preached here this morning. That's what they'd like to do. And so Jesus said to these disciples, Don't you understand that you have enough resources to represent me?
You may think that you are defeated. You may think that you are indeed a lamb in the midst of wolves, and that's exactly what you are.
So the question is not how strong are the wolves and how strong are you. The question is how strong is the shepherd who stands in the midst. How strong is the one who has commissioned us? Christ says, you stand today commissioned. You stand protected.
You are instructed by me, you are empowered by me, and you are known by me. Your names are written in heaven. Heaven. I was thinking about this just yesterday afternoon as I was preparing this message. And I thought, wouldn't it be great to go to heaven and look through all the roster and I look under the D's and I say, yeah, sure enough, Daryl Worley.
He is there. That's great. Not that I had any doubts at all, let me tell you. Wouldn't it just be great to go to heaven and to find your name in a place? that is gonna last forever.
And Jesus said, rejoice. Your names. are written In heaven.
Now, you know, they returned and they had to give an account to Christ for the way in which they had ministered. And all of us are going to have to do that. Jesus said, I have commissioned you to represent me, but someday I'm going to call you into account, and you are going to have to tell me exactly how you spent the money that I gave you, how you used the talents that I gave you, how you used the time that I gave you, how you were committed to the church that I brought into your life. You're going to give an account for all those things based on the resources that you had to carry them out, and I'm going to evaluate you. and see how well You've done.
And that's exactly what we are. I want you to know today that it does not matter what your vocation is. Whether you work in a factory or an office. Or some kind of a business, or you're an accountant or a banker, it makes absolutely no difference. If you know Christ as your Savior, you have been commissioned by God to represent Him right where you are.
You say, well, I'm a quiet representative. I belong to the Secret Service.
Well, that's too bad. That's too bad because That's the only representative that Christ has in that office, very probably. It's all up to you. You say, well, I am an unfaithful representative. Yes, you may be an unfaithful representative, but a representative you are.
Period. This is it. Christ has no other backup plan to carry out his work on earth except through you and me, those whom he has commissioned and chosen and empowered. to carry his name. We say that we want to see God change this community, and we certainly do.
But you know how God is going to do it? He's going to do it through you and through me. There is no other way. And that's why I like to tell that story about the Kaiser Wilhelm Church that my wife and I saw in Berlin in the early 70s when we were visiting East Germany. Because in that church during the war, there was a statue of Christ that was bombed, and the arms were broken off, and they rebuilt the church and decided to redo the statue.
And then they thought, no, we won't. We'll leave it there the way it is. Statue of Christ with no arms. As a reminder of the fact that We are his arms. That's all he's got.
I want to ask you something today. Will you, for a brief moment, realize that Jesus Christ has given to us the resources to adequately represent him? You say, well, I'm terrified in my office, or I'm terrified to speak a word about Jesus Christ. I don't want to make people feel uncomfortable. None of us wants to do that.
Yet God may ask us to make people feel uncomfortable.
Sometimes I've landed at O'Hare Airport tired, and you know, you walk through all the people, and there's a member there of the Hare Krishna trying to shove some literature into my hand and soliciting a dollar or two. I think, my goodness, have you got nothing better to do? I'm not in a good mood.
Sometimes I've had enough time to discuss religion with them, and that usually becomes very interesting. But I say, why do these people make all of us feel so uncomfortable? We don't want to be bothered with all this stuff. But let me ask you something. What if Christ calls you and me?
to make people uncomfortable. You may have to do that. That's what representing Christ is all about. These people made some others feel so uncomfortable that they got doors slammed in their faces. But isn't that what representing Jesus is all about?
Making our neighbors feel uncomfortable because we share Christ with them, making Friends in the office feel uncomfortable? I don't think you should go out of your way to make them uncomfortable. And when they feel uncomfortable, may it be because of Christ and not because of your lack of tact and your insensitivity. But representing Christ is not always an experience that is positive and ends up well. Ask these disciples.
And yet Jesus said, You are my representatives. You are my hands. Let me ask you another question today. Do you know Christ is your Savior? There may be some of you here who have never believed on Him.
You do not know Him personally. To you, God is an idea, and Christ is a historical figure. And you may have come to be here today, and you say, I'm a man of peace, I'm a woman of peace, I'm open. I'm glad. Why don't you open your life all the way?
If you've opened it a crack, open it the rest of the way and say, Lord Jesus, I thank you that you died for me, that you represented me on the cross, and I receive the forgiveness that you can offer to sinners because of your death. You see, when Jesus asked the disciples to go, He said, communicate messages of peace. And the message of peace is that God is not at war with you, you are at war with God, and Christ's death on the cross. Reconciles God and man if you're willing to admit your need and your helplessness and transfer your trust to Him alone. for salvation.
Are you ready to do that today? You can do it even where you are seated. And then you can become one of Christ's representatives. Join me as we pray. Our Father, we want to thank you that in this blessed moment, You have given us a privilege that is awesome.
To think that where we go, whether it's on the CTA, or the expressway or the office. the neighborhood. To think that you have called us to represent you in our communities. Not alone. but together with others as the disciples here.
And you are looking down from heaven and you're saying, this is all that I have. It's up to you with My resources. Lord. Oh, we pray, make us good representatives. Make us faithful representatives.
Make us fearless representatives. all the way along the line. For we are standing in for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. May we be able to wear the badge and to wear our colours. without embarrassment.
knowing who we represent. and knowing how We are supported spiritually by him. And now, if you're here today and you've never received Christ as your Savior. Why don't you just pray to him right where you are and say, Lord Jesus, I want to be yours. I want to be a man of peace.
I don't want to close my heart. I want to open it. And I want to trust you as my own. Would you do that in this moment? Thank you, Father, for hearing us, we pray.
In Jesus' name. Amen. Um My friend, this is Pastor Lutzer. You've just heard my heart. My heart connecting with your heart.
If you've never savingly believed on Jesus Christ, I trust that you will do that right now. Wherever you are, wherever you have listened to this message, Let it transform your heart as you come to Jesus Christ. For forgiveness and hope. The message of running to win basically is all about Christ, it's about the gospel, and I'm holding in my hands a letter from someone who listens in Turkey.
Now you may ask the question why Turkey?
Well, running to win is heard around the world in fifty different countries in seven different languages. But this person goes on to say that there is a great need in his country for inner healing, for the love and the power of God and then he says, I am amazed by the work of God. as I listen to your programmes. You shed such a special and powerful light on the darkest, most secret, and rotten areas of society. And then it goes on to say the continuing blessing of the ministry and how it is spreading.
My friends, we can do that because of people just like you. I hope that you have a pen or pencil ready, because I want you to investigate what it means to become an endurance partner, someone who supports us regularly with their prayers and their gifts. Here's what you do. You go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com and when you're there you click on the endurance partner button.
Or perhaps you want to call us. at one eight eight eight 218. 9337. I like to think of our endurance partners as those who join the running to win family to help us get the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. Once again.
Go to rtwoffer.com. When you're there, click on the Endurance Partner button. Or call us at 1-888-1. Mm-hmm. 9337.
Thank you so much for your prayers, for your gifts. Together, we are making a difference. You can write to us at Running2Win 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Anything that defiles us shuts off our ability to follow Christ almost immediately. Sin is corrosive.
It prevents us from having any kind of effective witness.
Next time, join us as Pastor Lutzer talks about giving Christ a clean home. Thanks for listening. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.
