Ordinary People, Extraordinary Mission | Sunday, April 12, 2026

Amen. Praise the Lord. Thank you, Anthony and team. Good morning, Cross Connection. It's so good to see you all here this morning. You can have a seat.

It is good to be reminded through the words of that song that we are children of God today. I was thinking, as we were singing about that in the first service, of Paul's opening in his letter to the church at Ephesus, where he says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will."

It made God happy to make you His child, to adopt you into His family, to forgive us of our sins—past, present, future, anything that we will do. It brings Him good pleasure to the praise of the glory of His grace by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace, which He made to abound towards us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will. What a wonderful reminder this morning! We are the children of God.

We're going to rejoice in that reality today by partaking of communion at the end of our service, along with some other great things that we have planned.

I had the privilege of attending a conference in San Jose, California, in the epicenter of all things artificial intelligence. It was called Missional AI. There were about 600 people in attendance—actually a little bit more than that. The room was filled with people in the technology industry, but it was also filled with people who were involved in Christian missions, especially those who were involved with Bible translation and reaching the unreached in the world.

It was filled with developers, entrepreneurs, engineers, and Christian missionaries serving in different places throughout the world. I didn't expect this, but it was also filled with a whole bunch of venture capitalists. I was amazed to find out that many of the people who were involved in the funding mechanisms of some of the biggest, most well-known companies in Silicon Valley are believers. God has placed these people in key positions, and God is doing some amazing things.

Everyone that was there in that room this week was considering a question that is kind of driving a lot of what's happening within the church as it relates to technology.

The question was basically something like this: What does this current moment in technology, especially in the area of artificial intelligence, mean for the mission and the kingdom of God? It was pretty cool to see the ways that different people are using these technologies for the mission and for the kingdom of God. We are at a phenomenal turning point as it relates to technology. We are on the verge of what many people recognize as a significant change that will affect nearly every segment of society, especially in the areas of industry and the economy.

These shifts come from time to time, and at each one of these major shifts, even in the last 2,000 years, we see how God uses these things for His mission purposes. For example, in the century leading up to the time of Jesus' great commission, when He said to His disciples, "Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations," there was a pretty phenomenal transformation taking place in the world. This transformation can be identified in many ways as not being great, particularly the move of the Roman Empire and the development and expanse of its control.

Through the Roman Empire, many people were brought under its control and subjugated. However, one of the amazing things that resulted from that was the establishment of the Roman roads and what is referred to, perhaps you remember studying this in grade school, as the Pax Romana or the Roman Peace. The Roman roads and the Roman Peace, this forced peace, made it possible for the disciples of Jesus to do just what He commanded them to do: go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.

Sometimes these technologies, like the Roman roads, may seem like something that is used for evil, and certainly, one could make that case in the first century. Yet, what the enemy intends for evil, God always uses for good.

Fast forward from that point to the 15th and 16th centuries. One of the most dominating features of the 15th century was the advancement of movable type through the Gutenberg Press. This period marked the beginning of the great missions movements of the Protestant Reformation. It was people like Martin Luther and others who used the advancements of that new technology with movable type to extend and expand the kingdom of God. Once again, we see God using the technologies of the time to reach more people.

The same thing happened when we reached the Industrial Revolution. What was the great output of the Industrial Revolution? Powered transportation. There was a time when, if you wanted to go somewhere in the world, it could take a very long time traveling by foot or by sea to get there. Today, you can get on a plane, even if you have to fight with TSA, and be on the other side of the world in hours, not months. It is a phenomenal advancement. The Industrial Revolution and powered transportation made it possible for the gospel to spread throughout the world.

In the last five decades, we have experienced the technological revolution and the advent of innovations like the Internet and devices that allow us to extend the message to other parts of the world instantaneously. Now, with artificial intelligence, some remarkable developments are occurring, especially in the area of translation. As you know, I have been serving as a board member with Enduring Word since the ministry started. In 2017, our board initiated a project to translate the Enduring Word Bible commentary into the ten most spoken languages in the world.

Just less than a decade ago, when we started this initiative, our only method of translation was the traditional approach, relying on human translators. One of the first languages we translated the four and a half million words of the commentary into was Arabic. It took us five years and about three-quarters of a million dollars to complete that translation. Now, with machine learning and machine translation, we can achieve the same result in under an hour for a fraction of the cost.

The question I always get is, how do we know the translation is good? For one, the companies behind these tools have a profit motive to ensure that the technology is effective. If it is not good, they will go out of business. Secondly, we have readers in other languages who review the translations and tell us that they are spot on and among the best translations they have seen. Our team translating the commentary into German has examined the machine translations we are producing and noted that they capture David's voice, his cadence, and the theology and teaching accurately. We can now complete these translations in hours.

Organizations like Wycliffe Bible Translators and The Seed Company are now utilizing this technology. Many different groups are beginning to develop the tools necessary for this work, and it is truly amazing to witness what is happening.

They're creating new tools for evangelism and outreach. I met with the head of innovation at the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention just a couple of days ago in San Jose. He was telling me how they're using AI technology to expand the reach of the work that the 4,500 missionaries of the International Mission Board are doing.

One of the tools they've been using is to help maintain the cover of these individuals who are serving in restricted countries. You may not know this, but we have missionaries that we support in places that are very difficult for Westerners to go, and especially difficult for Christian missionaries. They are using AI technology to help protect their cover in those restricted countries.

Here's one of the things that I think is worth recognizing and considering: the mission of the Kingdom of God can be aided by things like the Roman roads, movable type from the Gutenberg press, powered transportation from the Industrial Revolution, technology from the technological revolution, or artificial intelligence as it is being used today. However, at the end of the day, when all is said and done, we will always need people to reach people.

These tools should be seen as instruments to help us fulfill the commission mandate that God has given us, but we are still going to need people to reach people. This is exactly what the text we are going to look at today in Luke chapter 10 speaks to. It is also what we will be considering together in our service today, as we have people from our church who will be going out this year to reach people in the uttermost parts. We want to introduce you to them at the end of our service, pray for them, and ask you to be a part of that work.

Before we get to that, would you take out your Bible and open to the Gospel of Luke? Luke is in the last third of your Bible. Turn to about the center and start turning to the right. You will find the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke.

Let's stand together, and by God's grace, I hope to read this better than I did in the last service. For some reason, my brain was not functioning quite as well then; maybe the coffee had not kicked in quite so quickly.

Luke chapter 10, beginning at verse 1, records this: "After these things, the Lord appointed seventy others also, and he sent them two by two before his face into every city and place where he himself was about to go." Then he said to them, "The harvest is truly great, but the laborers are few."

Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you as lambs among wolves. Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals, and greet no one along the road.

But whatever house you enter, first say, "Peace to this house." If a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it. If not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house.

Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you, heal the sick, and say to them, "The kingdom of God has come near to you." But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, "The very dust of your city which clings to us, we wipe off against you." Nevertheless, know this: the kingdom of God has come near you.

Same message. But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in judgment than for you.

And you, Capernaum, you who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades. He who hears you hears me. He who rejects you rejects me. He who rejects me rejects Him who sent me.

God, I pray that this passage of Scripture would be opened to us today, that You would speak to us through it, that You would continue to transform our understanding, transform our minds, and then through that, would You transform our hearts and our lives. Make it so that we would be visible representations of Your kingdom in this world that we live in.

Lord, You have placed us here at this time for such a time as this. I pray that You would help us to recognize that, to see that You have called each and every one of us who believe to be a part of Your kingdom work and mission. May we see not only that You have called us to that, but also the doors that You have opened to us, the opportunities that You have given to us, and that we, by faith, would...

Step through them, trusting and relying upon You. God, do a work in us, we pray. We ask this today in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You may be seated.

You may remember Luke chapter 9. I know it took us like seven weeks to get through it, but at the beginning of Luke chapter 9, it started very similarly to what we have here in the opening words of Luke chapter 10. Turn just one page to the left and look at Luke chapter 9, verse 1. It says, "Then He, Jesus, called the twelve disciples together. He gave them power and authority over all demons to cure diseases, and He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick."

So, Luke chapter 9 was the calling, commissioning, and empowering of the twelve—the ones whose names we know: Peter, James, John, Bartholomew, Thomas, and so forth. He called the twelve disciples together, commissioned them, and sent them out, and they became apostles.

Then, in Luke chapter 10, we have basically the same exact thing happening, but now it extends out to another group. He started with the twelve, and now it extends out to another group identified as the seventy. I love this because there is a way in which we can fall into the trap of thinking that the work of the kingdom of God is only for a select few. It's only for the standouts, the super-spiritual ones whose names we know, whose names are recorded not only in the Bible but in history.

It makes sense that the twelve would be the ambassadors, that they would be the apostles—Peter, James, John. I mean, those are the big names. John wrote the Gospel of John, three letters in the Bible, and recorded the book of Revelation. Peter likely has his Gospel representation given to us in the Gospel of Mark, with Mark probably writing down Peter's thoughts. But then also, Peter writes letters in the New Testament.

So, those are the standout ones, the ones we would assume are going to be used by God. But then here, Jesus calls the seventy, a group of people whose names we don't know. We could probably try to assume who some of these people were, but they are the unnamed ones, the ones who don't get a byline in the Bible or a note in the records of human history.

But they're still equally as important. The work of the kingdom of God is just too big for one man or one small group of twelve people. Yes, Jesus first called the twelve, and yes, He first empowered them and sent them out. But immediately after that, one chapter later, what do we see? He called together the seventy, those who were less well-known. He says, "I'm sending you to do the same task." The work that He gives them to do is the same mission.

Here, we're reminded of this essentially important truth for us who live two thousand years on the other side of this whole event. The mission of the kingdom of God is bigger than those whose names we know. It involves not just the big names like Billy Graham or Greg Laurie, but it also involves the lesser-known names like Miles DeBenedictus or your name. Maybe you feel like the unnamed person that no one will ever know who you are. Yet, God still has a work and a call for you because the kingdom mission is too big. It's too great for just one small group.

We have to guard against falling into the trap or the temptation of thinking, "Well, I guess I'm not called because I'm not known." That is not true. Nothing could be further from the truth. And here's the key that you cannot miss. Point number one, if you're taking notes: the harvest is great. I think you already know that, but here's the key: pray for more laborers. That's what we're going to do today. In just a few minutes, that's one of the things we're going to do. We're going to pray for more laborers.

We're going to pray for the laborers whose names we know. We know their names because we've been collecting them over the last several months and writing them down on lists. They are going to Paraguay, Peru, Africa, or wherever their name is. We know their names. They are going to be the ambassadors that we're going to pray for God to empower and help them go.

But there are some other names here in this room today whose names are not yet known. God is calling you. Why? Because the harvest is great. We just have to drill this into our hearts and minds continually. The harvest is great. Do you realize that here we are, twenty centuries after the Great Commission was given, and the job is not yet done? There are still languages today that do not have the Scriptures translated into them.

Here's the phenomenal thing: many of those languages have no digital technology or digital information available to train large language models on. So, there are groups going into these places, recording content, and turning that into resources.

Into large language models to translate new languages is phenomenal. However, there are still people who have not been reached. We call them the unreached and the unengaged. There are billions of people on the planet today who are still unreached with the gospel.

Nine-tenths of the people who call San Diego County their home are not touched by a gospel-preaching church. Think about that for a moment. We live in a place where the gospel is amply available, and yet only 10% of the people in San Diego County are connected in some way with a gospel-teaching church. There is a lot of work that remains to be done. The harvest is great.

So, what do we have to do? In light of the great harvest, we must pray for more laborers. That is what Jesus says right here in verse 2. He said to them, "The harvest is truly great, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest." This is a well-known verse. I can remember as a high school student reading this verse and hearing people teach on it. We need to pray for the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into the harvest.

I can recall praying that God would send forth laborers. I did not realize that as I was praying for the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers, I was praying for myself. We will look at that in just a moment. But before we do, you need to recognize that every missional endeavor, every work to fulfill the commissions of Jesus—go into all the world to preach the gospel to all creatures or make disciples of all nations—always begins first with what? Prayer. That is always the starting point.

Here is the hard part for us: that can seem like such an insignificant thing. "Oh, pray." Isn't that the answer that every Christian always gives to every situation? "Oh, have you prayed about it?" Yes, I've prayed about it. And yet, that's always the first answer. What is the first thing to do? The first step is always the first step on our knees. It may seem insignificant because the task seems great, right? The harvest is great. Our impulse, especially in our entrepreneurial culture here in the West and the United States, is to take action.

Is that we got to get to work. And Jesus says, "Nope, not yet." The first thing you're going to do is stop, pause, and pray. It seems to us to be insignificant, and yet it is the most important part of the puzzle. Paul, in Ephesians chapter 6, tells us that we are in a spiritual battle. He instructs us to put on the whole armor of God: the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, put on the belt of truth, take up the shield of faith with which we will quench the fiery darts of the wicked one, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And then what does he say? He says, "And praying always." We are fully equipped in the armor of the Lord. What is the first thing he says to do? He doesn't say to go out to battle; he says to pray. When Paul asks the church at Ephesus to pray, what does he ask them to pray for? In verse 19 of Ephesians 6, he says, "Pray for me that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak."

Prayer is a weapon. It's the first thing we're called to do. I have to be honest with you; so frequently, it's the last thing I think to do. And I'm a pastor. This is a bit of confession this morning. I have to sometimes be reminded by other people, "Well, maybe we should pray about this." Oh yes, we'll pray about it. And then it's like, do we actually pray about it? Lord, help me.

Prayer is the first step of evangelism. It's the first step of mission. It's the first thing we do as we're engaged in this spiritual battle. We think we need to go out and fight, but the best position for fighting in this work is on our knees in prayer. It is the tool by which God tears down strongholds, as Paul says in Corinthians. It breaks up the embattlements of the enemy through prayer. Every endeavor that's not begun in prayer is likely to fail.

But here's the big challenge. As I alluded to a moment ago, point number two: when you begin to pray for God's mission, you need to begin to prepare your heart to go. It has been said, and I think it's true, that prayer is not meant to move the heart and...

The will of God is not meant to be swayed by our prayers; rather, it is meant to move our hearts into alignment with His will. Sometimes, when we go to God in prayer, we act as if we are informing Him about something He did not know. He is omniscient; He knows all. We might think, "Well, I don't know if you noticed, Lord, but there are some people over there who haven't been reached with the gospel." He responds, "Yes, I noticed. I'm just starting to move you to pray."

Prayer is not intended to change the heart and will of God. Often, we pray as if we are trying to sway Him in our direction. Instead, what God is doing through prayer is moving our hearts into alignment with His will. We see this exemplified in Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane when He prayed, "Not my will, but Your will be done." That is the impulse in prayer.

When you begin to pray for workers to engage in God's kingdom work and mission, you must be prepared for the fact that He might be moving you into alignment with His will. I am not saying this to make you hesitant about praying, as I fear that could be a concern. I share this so that you are prepared for what will happen in your own heart.

I have never met a person who does not engage with God's work—whether serving at church as a small group leader, in children's ministry, or on the foreign field—who did not first begin with the impulse to pray for something. Then, all of a sudden, they started to see their heart moving in that direction. We start to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into the harvest, and in that very prayer is the movement of us into alignment with God's will to go and do the very thing we are praying about.

This is what moved Jesus to command His disciples in the Gospel of Matthew to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into the harvest. What was the impulse of that command? It is found in Matthew chapter 9, verses 35 and 36. When Jesus saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. He then said to His disciples, "The harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

What happened here? Jesus saw the lostness and brokenness of the multitudes, and He was moved by compassion.

From that place, He commands His disciples to pray. As they begin to pray, He prepares them to be the very laborers they are praying for.

See the flow here. If you have ever felt that this world is broken—anybody ever felt that? Raise your hand up high. You might say that this world seems broken and lost. Have you ever thought that? If you've had that thought and wished that the world would be different—anybody ever had that thought? Listen, I don't think that thought came from you. Why? Because you and I are, by nature, really selfish.

That feeling that the world is broken, or that a friend, coworker, or family member is lost, and wishing they were not so broken and lost, is not just a random thought. If you have ever had that thought, I guarantee you that it's the compassion of Christ welling up within you. It motivates us to pray, and when we begin to pray, our hearts start to move. God begins to align us with His will.

What is His will? He is not willing that any would perish, but that all would come to repentance. In Timothy, Paul says that God desires all people to be saved. Did you know that? He desires all people to be saved, and He starts to move our hearts with that same desire. When that happens, I want to encourage you to be prepared for what God might be doing in your heart—not only to pray, but to be prepared to go. This is a good thing. Actually, it's a God thing.

As you begin to move in that place and your heart starts to change, keep this in mind. Look at verse 3 of Luke chapter 10: "Go your way." Yes, you are going to go. "Behold, I send you as lambs among wolves." Now, wouldn't you have liked Him to say the opposite? "I send you as wolves among lambs." Yeah, I like that one. Yet, He doesn't say that at all. He says, "I send you as lambs among wolves."

You would think the very next thing He would say is, "Be prepared. Take a sword," or in our vernacular, "Bring an AR-15. You're going to need it." But He doesn't say that. He says, "Carry nothing."

Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals, and greet no one along the road. What on earth is going on here? I send you as lambs among wolves? That seems crazy to me. In Matthew's record of this same conversation, we read this in Matthew 10, verse 16: "Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves."

It's important to understand that the call of God does not diminish the danger. Let me say that again: the call of God does not lessen the risk. It is a broken world. It is a chaotic world. There are risks involved in going into the work that God calls us to, and He wants us to be sober-minded about it, to recognize that reality, to understand it. He doesn't gloss over the danger at all.

The reality of the danger requires our wisdom and reliance on God. That's what it pushes us toward. We see that we are being sent out as His ambassadors, as lambs amidst wolves, and the danger of that, which is real, drives us to be wise and to fully trust in Him. When Jesus says, "I send you as lambs among wolves," He is not saying there are dangers out there, so you shouldn't go. Rather, He is saying, as you go, be circumspect, be sober, be wise.

Again, Paul in Ephesians chapter 5, verse 15 says, "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil." Guess what? There are missionaries today, as there have been throughout the last 20 centuries, who are ambassadors for Christ in some of the most contested and conflicted places in the world. They don't shy away from the task because it's dangerous. They go into the dangerous locations with wisdom, being circumspect and aware of what's going on.

They go in as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves to be ambassadors in the places where the light needs to penetrate the most. I was talking with a gentleman this last week; he is the head of innovation for the International Mission Board. He told me that one of the first things they had to do a few weeks ago was to use artificial intelligence technology to ensure that their missionaries in Iran remained covert and that there were no links back to the work they do on behalf of Christ. They are in Iran at this moment as witnesses for the gospel, right in the midst of conflict zones.

They have been there when the wars were raging in Sudan. Some of our own missionaries were working in those regions. They are present in places like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran, as well as all the different stands. They recognize the danger. Yes, this could mean that I, or my family members, or my teammates might be caught, tortured, killed, imprisoned—whatever it may be—but they are still there, as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.

Now, understand that if you go to Peru or Paraguay, you are probably going to be just fine. In fact, some people refer to it as missional tourism. However, there are always risks and dangers involved. There are risks and dangers in driving on the 15 freeway, probably more than going to Paraguay. The reality of danger requires our wisdom and our reliance upon God. They are lambs among wolves, and therefore they should be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.

We are forced to rely not upon our resources. Notice that in verse four, it says to carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals. This requires that we be dependent upon and reliant upon God's provision, His power, and His protection. When Jesus tells His disciples not to carry a money bag, knapsack, or sandals, He is not saying that provisions are unspiritual or unnecessary; we still need those things. Rather, He is challenging us to rely completely upon His provision and His protection. The reality of danger requires our wisdom and reliance on God. This is so important. Jesus continues in Luke 10, verse five.

Now, whatever house you enter, first say, "Peace to this house." What does the ambassador of the Prince of Peace lead with as his ambassador? Shalom, peace. Peace to this house. If a son of peace is there in that house, your peace will rest upon it. If not, it will return to you.

If, when you say to someone, "Shalom, peace to you," they respond, "Welcome, peace to you," then Jesus says you have an open door; stay there. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give you, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. Stay with the house of peace. When they are open and receptive, stay there.

Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat such things as they set before you. Heal the sick and say to them, "Here’s the message: The kingdom of God has come near to you." The reliance upon God's provision and His protection means that we will trust Him wherever He leads. This is what it means to follow the Lord into the mission. We go through the doors that He opens, and as long as the door remains open, we remain there. When someone is welcoming and accepting of you and the message, then you remain with them until the Lord leads you to the next place.

These individuals, 2,000 years ago, were the forerunners for Jesus. They were the advanced team for Him. At the beginning of this passage, He said that you go before His face to every city and place where He Himself is about to go. The 70 individuals that Jesus sent out in Luke chapter 10 were the advanced members of the team, going and preparing the way for the coming of Jesus.

Here we are, 2,000 years later, and the task is still the same because, guess what? Jesus, 2,000 years ago, ascended into heaven saying, "I will come again." One day, the King is going to return again. What are we here for? We are His advanced team members, going and preparing the way for His coming. We are doing the same thing that they were doing in this passage: the forerunners preparing the pathway.

That is the work we have to do. Our task is to prepare the places we enter for the return of the King and the arrival of His kingdom. As we go, we need to remain with those who are receptive. But here's the challenge: Not every place we go will be open, and not every person will be receptive.

Look at the next passage, verse 10. But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, "The very dust of your city which clings to us, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless, know this: the kingdom of God has come near to you." The message is the same. The same message was given to those who are receptive: the kingdom of God has come near to you.

Now, to those who are not receptive, who reject, they wipe the dust off. What a very visible and striking image, right? This feels a little confrontational and aggressive, don't you think? If someone is not receptive, you say to them, "Well, I wipe off the dust as a sign to you." Why? Because in the day of judgment, it will be better for them than for the most wicked cities of all antiquity. It will be better for them than for you.

Sodom, maybe you remember that name from Genesis chapter 19, was destroyed because of its wickedness. Jesus says here it will be better for them in the day of judgment than for you who reject the message of peace of the kingdom. So, you wipe the dust off and let them know that.

Now, you might be thinking, "I would never say that. I'm a good Californian. We don't say really offensive, hard things like that." We say, "Well, God bless you. May the Lord reveal Himself to you. I'm so sorry. You don't want to hear what I have to say." No, He says, "Woe to you. You will be judged."

Some of you are thinking, "I would never say that." Well, that's what Jesus tells us to say, but that's challenging. Yes, it's intended to be challenging. It's intended to shake someone out of their slumber.

Jesus names three towns here in this passage: Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. Why are these three towns important in the Gospels? These were the epicenter of Jesus's ministry. They saw more of His miracles and heard more of His message than any other group of people. Yet, at this point, they were still not receptive to His kingdom ministry. How is that possible?

He says, "If the deeds done in you were done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented," referring to two wicked cities of ancient times. If they had seen what you see, they would have repented. The implication here is that these three towns, which saw more of Jesus's miracles and heard more of His message, had still been hesitant to repent.

So, what does He say? "You need to wake up, and if you don't, woe to you; judgment is coming." You see, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum were like the man who lived next door to the...

The fire station provided a sense of security and safety due to its proximity to the rescuers. I live right next door to the fire station. However, as he lived there, he grew accustomed to and somewhat deaf to the sound of the sirens. One night, when his house was on fire, he did not wake up because he had become desensitized to the sirens. Tragically, he perished in the fire. This is why Jesus says we need to shake people out of their stupor.

Why? Point number four: the kingdom is coming. The message is urgent, and the stakes are eternal. Do you believe that? This belief is the impulse for mission. What compels us to engage with the Great Commission? The kingdom is coming, the message is urgent, and the stakes are eternal. Do you really believe that? Do you believe that those who reject the message of the gospel have their eternal future at stake? If you believe that, then you will understand that the message you have is urgent because a day of judgment is coming.

This is why Jesus says to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. At the beginning of 2024, I started the year by telling the church that we want to re-engage in missions. I encourage you to pray about how you might be involved, and I also encourage you to get a passport. Those are the two things I emphasized at the beginning of 2024: pray and get a passport, because you can't really go if you don't have a passport.

I mentioned the same thing at the beginning of last year and again at the start of this year. In 2024, only a few people prayed and got their passports, and they went on trips. The following year, a few more people prayed, got their passports, and went on some trips. Now, we have more than 30 people preparing to go. I invite them all to come stand up here now. Come on up, all of you who are going on these trips this summer or preparing to go on these trips this summer. For most of these people, one of the scariest things they've ever done is to say, "I want to go."

To go on a trip, come on in tight. Come up on this step up here too. Get in here. Get thee behind me, Chad. For some of these people, the scariest thing they've ever done is to say, "Here am I. Send me." Even now, they're still kind of worried about it. But every step of faith involves some hesitation and fear. Why? Because we walk by faith and not by sight.

These are just the named ones that we know. However, there are some of you among the seventy. There's still room to go; there's still opportunity. God might move your heart to be a part of it, and it always begins with prayer. So we're going to pray for them. I'm going to ask you to stand, and we're going to lift up our hands to the Lord. We will pray for God to go before them and to use them for the work that He is calling them to.

I also ask you to pray about how you might be involved in this. Maybe it's not going, but it could be helping them to go. That might mean supporting them financially. They will be out in the patio area after the service, and I encourage you to connect with them. You can also visit cchurch.com slash missions. There is a website there. These servants do not have all the provisions yet; they are completely trusting in the Lord to supply their needs to go.

I ask you to prayerfully consider how you will help with that, beyond what you give to this church, specifically for the mission endeavors they are undertaking. They are ambassadors. Why? Because the mission is not done yet. There remains much more work to be done.

So let's pray. God, we come before You today as Your church. You have given us this little lot, this little plot of ground here in North County, to be a light and a witness to this community. But You have called us to not just stay here, but to go. For the last twenty centuries, Your people and Your church have been going to fulfill the mission You gave us: to go into all the world, to preach the gospel to every creature, and to make disciples of all nations.

This group here is going to places like Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, and Africa. Lord, would You pour out Your Spirit upon them? I know there are fears and concerns, and there are things they don't know—answers to questions they don't yet have. But God, You will supply their needs by Your riches and Your grace. You will guide, direct, and show Yourself faithful, because that's what You have done for two thousand years and will continue to do until You come back again.

And Lord, I pray for us here who are standing and will stay here. Help us to remember them in prayer and to support them as they go. God, thank you for the work that we get to be a part of here at Cross Connection Church. It's not just what happens here at 1675 Seven Oaks Road, but the work that you want to do through us to the ends of the earth. We get to be partnered with you in the mission and with the larger body of Christ. God, thank you. Bless this group. Pour out upon them and use them as witnesses of your grace. While they're on the trip, and also while they're preparing to go, standing in line at TSA, sitting next to a stranger on an airplane, or whatever it may be, getting their bags at the checkout place, use them as ambassadors.

But Lord, help us, all the rest of us, to see that we are ambassadors here and now in this place, to be lights to those who are in darkness. Help us to shine brightly with your light, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." Praise the Lord. God is so good.

Okay, you guys can have a seat because we're not done yet. We're going to partake today of communion, which is something we do here at Cross Connection every seventh Sunday. Why do we do it every seventh Sunday? Because that's just what we do. There's no major amazing position paper on it. Jesus said, "As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." Last week, we celebrated the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. This week, we're going to remember his death until he comes. Jesus will come again, and when he comes, we want him to find many others who are waiting for him because we have been doing the work he called us to do as ambassadors.

Right now, our ushers are coming to give the elements for communion. Anthony is going to lead us in a song as we worship the Lord, and then we're going to partake together of communion, the broken body and the shed blood of Jesus, to remind us that we proclaim his death until he comes again. Amen. Lord, we thank you. Ready our hearts for communion, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Lord, we thank you for the fact that we don't have to wonder about whether or not our sins have been forgiven. We don't have to wonder whether or not we've done enough because there's not enough that...

We could do. When You paid it all, we considered last week. You said, "It is finished; it is paid in full." You died in our place on the cross. The night before You were crucified, You took bread, broke it, gave thanks, and said, "This is My body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of Me."

So we hold in our hands this little wafer of bread as a reminder of the greatness of Your sacrifice. Our position in standing before You today as holy and blameless is not because of all the good things that we have done or the bad things that we've rejected, but because of Your finished work and Your broken body. We partake, rejoicing in and remembering You. Let's partake together.

In the same manner, after they had eaten, He took the cup and said, "This is the cup of the new covenant in My blood. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of Me." The book of Hebrews says that without the shedding of blood, there is no removal or remission of sins. All the sacrifices of the old covenant could only cover sin; they could not take it away. But Christ, by one sacrifice, has made us righteous. Let's partake together.

Lord, we do proclaim Your death on our behalf. But Lord, we rejoice that You are not still in a tomb; You are alive because You rose again and ascended on high. One day, You've promised to return, but until You return, You have given us a mission to go into all the world, to preach the gospel to every creature, to be a light to those who are in darkness.

God, thank You. We praise You. We rejoice in You. You're a good, good God. I pray that You'd help us to proclaim the goodness of Your grace to all those here in this community, but also to those in the outermost parts. Thank You for those here this morning who have said, "I want to go. Here am I. Send me." We pray, God, that You would provide for them, not just the financial needs, but Lord, You'd provide for them the strength physically, mentally, and emotionally. Provide for them in every way, even as they step out into things that feel unknown and scary. Lord, we rejoice.

In the fact that we follow You and depend upon You, help us to do just that. As we trust in You, leaning not on our own understanding, in all our ways acknowledging You, may You direct our paths. We rejoice in You and praise You, Jesus.

Would you stand with me as we close today?

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May He lift up His countenance upon you and give you His peace. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.