From the July 11 sermon on Luke 9:1-9, preached by Ballard Campus Pastor Bill Clem:
Jesus shares his power and authority with his disciples as he commissions them to proclaim the kingdom of God. Each of us responds to Jesus out of a sense of disequilibrium as either a combatant, a consumer, or convinced. Jesus invites the convinced to be commission as his ambassadors proclaiming the kingdom of God.
What's interesting to me is how many people want to be polite combatants. Just, "It's okay for you, but it's not for me."
You know, there's no way you can politely reject the God of the universe. You can't simply say, "I'm sorry, God, I know you did a lot of work. I mean, just in and of itself, this is a miracle that you preserved something for so long, and made it so accurate, and fulfilled so many prophecies. That's really amazing, but I don't buy it. But can we still be friends, and like at the end, could you just kind of put all my good, and all my bad, and hope that I weigh out? Can we just go there?"
And God says, "No." God is saying, "You know, whether or not you're not gonna buy my story, it doesn't make it true or not. Just read the story and figure out where you fit, not read the story and figure out if it fits. To the extent that you figure out that it doesn't fit your life, you're a combatant."