Chapter 52

Are there any like these?

“Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them. And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.” (Luke 9:1-6)

            Along with the ministries of the evangelist, and the pastor/teacher, the New Testament speaks of the ministries of the prophet and the apostle. The prophetic office ceased with John the Baptist and the apostolic office ceased with the apostles. There are none today who have the supernatural gifts of either the prophets or the apostles. No matter what the charismatics claim to the contrary, there are none today who have a new or fuller word of revelation from God. There are none who have the gifts of performing miraculous works and/or speaking in tongues.

            Yet, in the sense that the apostles were men who had seen the Lord, men who were chosen, taught and sent out by Christ as his messengers, all true Gospel preachers are apostles, messengers of God to the souls of men.

            The ministry of a prophet is more difficult to grasp. It is very hard to find anything being said or written today that is worth hearing or reading about the work and ministry of a prophet. It is in many ways a mystery. The prophet’s ministry is known by all who hear his voice, but a ministry no one seems to have words to define.

            It has often been stated that “A prophet today is a forthteller rather than a foreteller.” We generally apply those words to preachers as spokesmen for God. But Ephesians 4 speaks of the prophet as a distinct gift of the risen Christ to his church. A pastor is God’s appointed teacher in the congregation he serves, God’s messenger to that assembly. A faithful pastor both instructs men and women in the Word of God, preaching the gospel to them, and does the work of an evangelist, seeking the salvation of men’s souls everywhere, and endeavors to establish gospel churches where none are found.

            There have never been many prophets. There are few today; but I have had the privilege of knowing, hearing and walking with two or three such men in my day. Someone, I do not know who, once described a prophet like this:

            “The prophet is a voice in the wilderness. It is his business to sound the trumpet, proclaim the ideal, not work on details or set up a program. He does not devise ways and means. Others are gifted along that line. He does not belong on boards and committees. He is a solitary soul and does his best work alone. He is no parrot, puppet or promoter. He is nothing but a prophet; and if he tries to be anything else he is an embarrassment to himself and to everybody else. He is not popular with politicians, either in the state or the church. He is not cowed by dignitaries, and will call Herod a fox if occasion demands. He is an unreconstructed rebel, an odd number in a day of regimentation. He has no more patience with mere religion than Isaiah had when he thundered or Amos when he called on Israel to come to Bethel. It is his business to say what others cannot, will not or at least do not say. The politician has his eye on the next election instead of the nation’s welfare. It is possible for a preacher to get his mind on promotion, the next rung of the ladder, a high seat in the synagogue and being called a rabbi. The prophet has no axe to grind. For him the grass is no greener in the next pasture, nor does he seek any man’s office.

We are looking for scholars, specialists, socializers, showmen. We need some seers who, like Isaiah, have seen God in his holiness, themselves in their sinfulness and the land in its uncleanness. The prophet does not pack the house, nor produce impressive statistics. He may get but poor response, but whether they hear or not, his listeners will know that a prophet has been among them. People do not crowd churches to hear prophets. An age of ear-itch seeks not troublers of Israel.

The prophet is not popular with the Pharisees. ‘Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?’ ‘Ye are the children of them that killed the prophets.’ So said the greatest of the prophets to the Pharisees of His day. From Abel to Zacharias, he said, prophets have been stoned while living and honored when dead. Be not misled by monuments; they may be the gesture of one generation to cover up the crimes of their fathers.

The prophet is not popular at home. In all four gospels we read our Lord’s pronouncement, “A prophet is not without honor save in his own country and in his own house.” Strange that any modern prophet should expect to fare better than his Lord.

But prophets do have their reward, and so do those who befriend them, even with a cup of cool water. God will not overlook the ‘prophet’s chamber,’ where his unpopular servants have been made to feel at home. There have not been many candidates for Elijah’s mantle. His path is not easy. There are many ways of getting rid of prophets. John the Baptist’s head is not brought in on a charger these days. There are smoother and more adroit ways of hushing up lone dissenters like Micaiah these days. Some can even be promoted into silence. Success has stopped some mouths when persecution failed.

Like John the Baptist the prophet is out to pull down the high places, build up low places and make a way for the Lord. His business is not interpretation but application. He does not lecture on mustard, he makes a mustard poultice and lays it next to the trouble. Others may comfort when afflicted, but he must afflict the comfortable. We are trying to accomplish now by pep, publicity, propaganda and promotion what once was done by preaching. The woods are full of trained personnel, but none of these things can save us if the prophets disappear.

Any young Elisha in line for Elijah’s mantle will need the mind of a scholar, the heart of a child and the hide of a rhinoceros. He may irk those who like to preserve the status quo, for he is a disturber of Israel, but no one else can take his place in the divine economy. There is not much prospect as to pay, promotion or prestige. But there has always been “yet one man” who will scorn the hatred of Ahab and seek the honor of God.”

      Never was the need of such prophets greater and the supply smaller than it is in our day. Here in Luke 9:1-6 the Lord Jesus Christ sent out his twelve disciples, the twelve apostles, as God’s messengers to eternity bound men and women, to do the work of prophets. He sent them forth to preach the gospel. These twelve men were the first men to be sent forth in this gospel age as God’s messengers to men. The instructions our Lord gave to these men tell us plainly what the work of the ministry is and what is expected of any man God puts into the work. In these six verses the Son of God tells those men he sends forth what those men who speak to men in God’s stead must be and do.

Divine Authority

            Those men who are sent of God to preach the gospel are men who possess a God given authority to do their work. — “Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases” (v. 1). The power and authority with which God’s messengers are endued is not trumped up authority and power, demagoguery or religious showmanship. Our Lord gives his messengers power and authority, power and authority by which they prevail over Satan, the influence of hell and the havoc of sin in the lives of men. What is this power and authority? The Word of God gives us, very clear answers to that question.

1. The power and authority Christ gives his servants is the power and authority of the gospel we preach (1 Thessalonians 1:2-5; Romans 1:15-16; Hebrews 4:12; John 12:32).

2.    It is the power and authority of the anointing and unction of God the Holy Spirit upon the man by whom he speaks (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).

3. The power and authority by which God’s servants preach is the power and authority that arises from confident faith (Galatians 1:11-12; 2 Timothy 1:9-12).
4. This power and authority, which only God himself can give to a man, is the power and authority of true meekness (2 Timothy 2:25).

            The meekness which gives God’s servants the power and authority to do the work to which they are called is not the pretense of meekness that men display and pretend to admire, but the meekness of Noah in his generation, the meekness of Moses before Pharaoh, the meekness of Elijah on Mt. Carmel, the meekness of John the Baptist before Herod, the meekness of Peter before the Sanhedrim, and the meekness of Paul at Jerusalem. Meekness is not an outward show of weakness and humility, but a humbling awareness that we are God’s, that we belong to and serve the living God, a humbling awareness that we have a mandate from God himself. That gives a man power and authority. It is something only God can give.

Prophet’s Work

            God’s prophets are men who know their work and stick to it. — “And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick” (v. 2). I am a preacher, nothing else, just a preacher. I do not pretend to know anything at all about any other man’s work. I do not make any claim or pretense of being a man of learning, a theologian or historian. But I do know exactly what God has called me to do. I know exactly what my work and responsibilities are as a pastor and preacher. “The glorious gospel of the blessed God has been committed to my trust” (1 Timothy 1:11). It is a trust for which I am responsible. Therefore, I am determined, for the glory of God and the sake of the gospel, to let nothing and no one turn me aside from this great work. It is all-consuming. Basically, it is a work that demands three things.

1. Study – Incessant Study! — A man cannot preach who does not study. Let every man who calls himself a preacher addict himself to the study of Holy Scripture, ever seeking the message of God for his people.

2. Prayer – Fervent Prayer! — Preachers, true preachers, are men of prayer. They do not talk much about prayer, because they are ashamed of themselves in this area. While others talk piously about their “prayer lives,” men of prayer ever beg the Lord to teach them to pray. Yet, they live in unceasing awareness of their utter dependence upon God, seeking grace to honor him, honor his Word and serve his people.

3. Preaching – Gospel Preaching! — Preachers preach. I know this will offend, but it must be said: — God called men are preachers, not social workers, not counselors, not promoters, not entertainers, but preachers! Sadly, many who pretend to be preachers really want to be priests. So they spend the bulk of their time visiting and counseling. Their offices are large confession booths in which they hear confessions of sin and prescribe deeds of penance. That is what people call “pastoral work.” Not so! Pastoral work is study, prayer and preaching. The very reason the Lord gave his church deacons (Acts 16) to take care of mundane affairs was that the preachers might give themselves relentlessly to study, prayer and preaching.

Pastoral Care

            Those men who are called and sent of God to the great work of preaching the gospel are men who care for men. These twelve men went about serving both the bodies and the souls of men, preaching the gospel to them and healing them. They made the needs of others their own. They hurt for those who hurt. They wept for those who wept. They carried in their hearts the burdens of those to whom they preached. If I am God’s servant, if I am God’s messenger to the souls of men, I do and I will care for them, their families and their needs, both spiritual needs and carnal needs (Romans 9:1-3; 10:1; 16:1-27).

Live by the Gospel

            Men who are called, gifted, and sent of God to preach the gospel must live for the gospel and live by the gospel. — “And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece” (v. 3). Our Lord here specifically forbids his servants to provide a living for themselves (1 Corinthians 9:7-14). There is no scarcity of material in the Book of God regarding the financial support of the gospel ministry. It is a subject which appears again and again throughout the Bible. This is the universal doctrine of Scripture.

Under the Mosaic economy of the Old Testament those who ministered about the holy things of divine service lived upon the things of the temple. Those who served the altar were partakers of the altar (1 Corinthians 9:13). God prescribed by law that the priesthood, the children of Levi, should receive a tenth of all the possessions of the children of Israel, a tenth of their money, property, crops and herds, for their service in the tabernacle of the congregation. The Jews were required to pay a tithe to be used exclusively for the financial support of the ministry of the Levitical priesthood (Numbers 18:21). Failure to do so, for any reason, was regarded as robbing God himself (Malachi 3:8-9).

However, we are not under the law today. God’s people are no more required to pay a tithe in this gospel age than we are required to keep the sabbath day or observe the Passover (Colossians 2:16-23). We are free from the law. A. D. Muse, the late pastor of Hearts Harbor Tabernacle in Louisville, Kentucky, used to say, “If you tithe, you’re under the law; and if you don’t tithe you’re an outlaw.” In other words, the person who just pays his tithe is a mere legalist; and anyone who does not do that much is an antinomian. Anyone who uses his freedom from the law as an excuse for being a niggardly miser and selfishly refuses to give of his means for the support of the gospel of Christ is, I fear, without grace. God’s people give. They give generously; and they give cheerfully.

The instructions given in the New Testament regarding the financial support of the gospel ministry are unmistakably clear. Those men and women who believe the gospel of the grace of God are expected to support generously those who preach it. Not only is this expected, among God’s saints it is practiced. God’s children are not miserly, self-centered worldlings. They are stewards who use what God has put in their hands for the cause of Christ. They need only to be instructed from the Word of God, and they gladly submit to it.

Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us plainly and repeatedly that those who preach the gospel are to live by the gospel (Matthew 10:9-10; Luke 10:4-7; 1 Timothy 5:17-18). Those men who faithfully preach the gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace in Christ are to be supported and maintained by the people to whom and for whom they labor in the Word. Faithful missionaries should be as fully and generously supported by the churches that send them out as the pastors of those local churches.

There were times when Paul and his companions were required to make tents to support themselves in the work of the gospel. It was an honorable thing for them to do so. Paul tells us that his goal was not to enrich himself, but to avoid being a burden to young churches (1 Thessalonians 2:9), and to avoid causing an offence to young, weak believers (1 Corinthians 9:15-19). But the fact that God’s messenger had to spend his time and efforts making tents was a shameful reproach upon the churches. Those churches that were established in the gospel should have assumed the responsibility of supplying Paul’s needs and the needs of his companions, as they travelled from place to place preaching the gospel. The New Testament clearly makes it the responsibility of every local church to provide for the financial, material support of those who preach the gospel of Christ.

Separated to God

            God’s messengers are men who care not for the world. They are separated unto God and separated unto the gospel. — “And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart” (v. 4). They are separated unto the gospel. They seek nothing for themselves: They seek neither their place of service, nor personal property, nor positions of prominence, nor recognition and fame. God’s servants seek neither the approval of the world, nor the riches of the world. A prophet is content to serve God wherever God sends him. He is content to live and labor without recognition. A prophet is content to live in this world as a stranger and pilgrim, passing through for only a brief time (Philippians 4:12-13).

Undaunted Men

            Prophets are men undaunted by men. — “And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them” (v. 5). They seek to please God, not men. If their work appears to be in vain, they go on, knowing that their labor is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58). They go on sowing the good seed, planting and watering as God enables them, knowing that it is God alone who gives the increase. They cast their bread upon the waters, knowing that it will return in due season. They preach the gospel faithfully, knowing that God’s Word will not return to him void (Isaiah 55:11).

Used of God

            There are really only two kinds of preachers: those who use and those who are used. False prophets are preachers who use men for their own advantage. True prophets are preachers who are used of God for the benefit of his elect. — “And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where” (v. 6). The Lord Jesus sent these men to preach the gospel; and they preached it everywhere. The Master sent them out to heal the sick; and they healed them. The Son of God sent these twelve men out to be a blessing to the world; and what a blessing they have been! May the Lord God give such men to his church again, for Christ’s sake (2 Corinthians 4:1-7).

Don Fortner

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