So in the day in which that word was used, an apostle, or someone who was apostolic, or was sent, was commissioned to go and advance the kingdom of Rome in a new territory, and establish it's government in that area. So the people who were listening to this, when it says send you out, it has in mind they would immediately think of the Roman general going out conquering new territory, establishing the kingdom of Rome, or the laws of Rome and the governance of Rome, so when the Bible talks about you being apostolic or sent, it has in mind this; that in your own life, and in the community where you are, you would see yourself as advancing the kingdom of God, and bringing lives into order. Now obviously, that requires confrontation of the demonic realm, so if a Roman army went out to conquer territory, there was always someone occupied it, and were willing to fight to stop them getting in there.
When they sent out an army, they sent an army because it required power to displace the other armies and to conquer the territory, and then to establish governance in it, and the Romans were remarkable at it. They governed the whole world at the time of Jesus, the whole known world, and had built roads so that they can actually quickly move their troops everywhere. So in the day that Jesus first came, or when He came into this world, the whole area had be apostolic-ally shifted by the Roman army and the Roman governments, so now you've got Roman governance right through from the Middle East right through up into England. So that's the environment within which this happened, and that's what the thinking is; when they hear the word apostolic, they're not thinking of some highly anointed minister. They're thinking of: conquering territory, gaining ground for the kingdom of God.
So if someone's got demons, Jesus said: if I cast out demons, the kingdom is advanced. If someone's got sickness, and you heal the sick, the kingdom has advanced. If someone doesn't know Jesus, and you share with them the gospe,l and they come to Christ, the kingdom is advancing. If someone's got their finances in bondage, and they need to be healed and restored and realigned to get their finances right, the kingdom is advancing - so we need to understand when we're thinking about apostolic anointing in ministry, we're thinking about advancing the kingdom, bringing people, not just to receive Jesus as a saviour, but to move their lives, so they're now living out of kingdom principles. So that's the bigger picture. We're going to get right down to the deliverance or the practical side of it as we go through the next couple of days.
So apostolic people are sent by God on a mission, a unique assignment. It's helpful for you to understand this, is that every believer has an assignment from God, and that assignment is your own life. It also includes the place you live, where you work, your neighbourhood. That's your territory. That's the place God calls You to go. Now I may never go there and win people to Christ or pray for them or get them healed, but you can. The thing is to believe you can, and know what to do. That's what this is about, is helping you to know what to do. So you notice here He took twelve disciples with Him. Now if we have a look in Luke, Chapter 10: and so after these things, after He'd sent out the twelve - Verse 1 - after these things the Lord appointed another 70 also, and He sent them two by two before His face into every city and place He Himself was about to come. So the gospel never advances without someone going, and wherever you go, Jesus wants to come with you into that place, His presence touching lives by your life, and your ministry, and your witness for Him.