1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:02,620 Now, whenever a person comes to faith in Christ, 2 00:00:02,620 –> 00:00:06,140 the spirit of Christ comes to live in that person. 3 00:00:07,480 –> 00:00:10,920 And if the spirit of Christ lives in you, 4 00:00:10,920 –> 00:00:13,160 then there will be some evidence 5 00:00:13,160 –> 00:00:17,299 of the attitude and action of Jesus in your life. 6 00:00:18,240 –> 00:00:19,520 Christ is our model. 7 00:00:19,520 –> 00:00:20,700 He is our example. 8 00:00:20,700 –> 00:00:22,660 He is our teacher. 9 00:00:22,660 –> 00:00:26,700 And he calls us by the power of his spirit 10 00:00:27,080 –> 00:00:30,540 to put into practice what he teaches. 11 00:00:31,580 –> 00:00:32,860 The problem with this, of course, 12 00:00:32,860 –> 00:00:36,040 is that it is profoundly challenging. 13 00:00:36,040 –> 00:00:38,520 If we are to put the teaching of Jesus into practice, 14 00:00:38,520 –> 00:00:41,820 it would mean that we live with an entirely different 15 00:00:41,820 –> 00:00:44,860 set of values from the world around us. 16 00:00:44,860 –> 00:00:46,580 And that is obviously costly, 17 00:00:46,580 –> 00:00:49,660 and it is at times very uncomfortable. 18 00:00:49,660 –> 00:00:54,180 So, it is more convenient to neglect the teachings of Jesus 19 00:00:54,180 –> 00:00:56,139 and to put in place a message 20 00:00:56,139 –> 00:00:57,660 that gives us a free right to heaven 21 00:00:57,660 –> 00:00:59,139 with no responsibility. 22 00:01:00,279 –> 00:01:02,380 And I think there’s a lot of that around. 23 00:01:03,459 –> 00:01:05,019 And that is why we are coming back 24 00:01:05,019 –> 00:01:06,379 to the teaching of Jesus, 25 00:01:06,379 –> 00:01:11,379 to see how Christ calls us, his followers, 26 00:01:11,540 –> 00:01:16,059 to a radically different lifestyle. 27 00:01:16,059 –> 00:01:20,080 And we began two weeks ago with Christ’s teaching 28 00:01:20,080 –> 00:01:22,559 on loving your enemies, love your enemies, 29 00:01:22,559 –> 00:01:25,660 and bless those who curse you. 30 00:01:25,660 –> 00:01:29,400 The world operates on the basis of getting even 31 00:01:29,400 –> 00:01:30,940 with those who hurt you. 32 00:01:30,940 –> 00:01:32,800 Jesus says, this is what I want you to do. 33 00:01:32,800 –> 00:01:37,580 I want you to bless those who hurt you. 34 00:01:37,580 –> 00:01:38,879 That is what Jesus did. 35 00:01:38,879 –> 00:01:40,860 And when we do what he did, 36 00:01:40,860 –> 00:01:44,059 then a window is opened for unbelieving people 37 00:01:44,059 –> 00:01:47,860 to see the likeness of Christ. 38 00:01:47,860 –> 00:01:49,900 Secondly, last week, we looked at the whole issue 39 00:01:49,900 –> 00:01:52,860 of raising a family, Mothers’ Day. 40 00:01:52,879 –> 00:01:56,500 Becoming a mother we saw is a wonderful blessing from God. 41 00:01:56,500 –> 00:02:00,839 But the mother who is truly blessed, Jesus says, 42 00:02:00,839 –> 00:02:04,139 is the one who hears the word of God and obeys it. 43 00:02:04,139 –> 00:02:08,020 In other words, if you want to be a blessed mother, 44 00:02:08,020 –> 00:02:09,979 if you want to be a blessed father, 45 00:02:11,360 –> 00:02:15,899 don’t create a schedule that leaves you no room 46 00:02:15,899 –> 00:02:18,259 to hear the word of God. 47 00:02:18,259 –> 00:02:20,059 It is so easy for us. 48 00:02:20,259 –> 00:02:22,979 Perhaps with the best intentions in the world 49 00:02:24,039 –> 00:02:26,820 to create a schedule that leaves mom and dad 50 00:02:26,820 –> 00:02:31,820 absolutely frazzled with no time nor space 51 00:02:32,259 –> 00:02:35,059 for any meaningful entrance of the word of God 52 00:02:35,059 –> 00:02:36,380 into your life. 53 00:02:36,380 –> 00:02:38,759 And as parents, we can do it thinking that 54 00:02:38,759 –> 00:02:41,199 that is in the best interest of our children. 55 00:02:42,220 –> 00:02:43,899 The reality is that too often it leads 56 00:02:43,899 –> 00:02:46,339 to the disintegration of family life. 57 00:02:46,339 –> 00:02:48,800 And from the scriptures I want to give this 58 00:02:48,800 –> 00:02:51,039 strong encouragement. 59 00:02:51,039 –> 00:02:55,759 For your children to be blessed, you need to be blessed. 60 00:02:55,759 –> 00:02:57,679 And the blessed mother and the blessed father 61 00:02:57,679 –> 00:03:00,479 is the one who has an entrance of the word of God 62 00:03:00,479 –> 00:03:04,279 into their life in a significant and a meaningful way 63 00:03:04,279 –> 00:03:05,800 who hears the word of God and obeys it. 64 00:03:05,800 –> 00:03:08,160 That’s what Jesus says is very different from the world 65 00:03:08,160 –> 00:03:10,020 and we have to make our choice. 66 00:03:11,720 –> 00:03:13,500 So we are seeing that the teaching of Jesus 67 00:03:13,500 –> 00:03:17,520 is very, very powerful, it is very, very practical. 68 00:03:17,600 –> 00:03:22,520 It goes to the corner issues of our lives today. 69 00:03:22,520 –> 00:03:25,860 And if we would follow Jesus just in these two areas 70 00:03:25,860 –> 00:03:28,600 that we’ve covered in the first two weeks of these series. 71 00:03:28,600 –> 00:03:31,119 I mean think about it, if we were to follow Jesus 72 00:03:31,119 –> 00:03:34,039 wholeheartedly in what it means to love and to forgive 73 00:03:34,039 –> 00:03:36,880 those who have hurt us and to take control of our schedules 74 00:03:36,880 –> 00:03:39,339 to give priority to the word of God, 75 00:03:39,339 –> 00:03:42,419 we would be changed, we really would. 76 00:03:43,360 –> 00:03:47,000 Now if these first two themes have the power 77 00:03:47,000 –> 00:03:50,820 to transform a home or an individual, a home or a family 78 00:03:50,820 –> 00:03:53,779 then the theme that we come to today honestly 79 00:03:53,779 –> 00:03:58,100 has the power to transform a whole church. 80 00:03:58,100 –> 00:04:01,940 I want us to look together at this subject of ministry 81 00:04:01,940 –> 00:04:04,320 and we’re going to look at the story of how Jesus 82 00:04:04,320 –> 00:04:08,619 sent out 72 people on a mission strip. 83 00:04:08,619 –> 00:04:11,460 Notice Luke 10 in verse one. 84 00:04:11,460 –> 00:04:15,479 After this, the Lord appointed 72 others 85 00:04:15,479 –> 00:04:18,059 and he sent them out two by two ahead of him 86 00:04:18,059 –> 00:04:22,100 to every town and place where he was about to go. 87 00:04:23,220 –> 00:04:24,959 Now, you may notice if you’re using 88 00:04:24,959 –> 00:04:26,940 the New American Standard version 89 00:04:26,940 –> 00:04:29,660 that the number there is 70 90 00:04:29,660 –> 00:04:31,820 and so you’ll officially have a question. 91 00:04:31,820 –> 00:04:34,019 The reason for this is in the footnote 92 00:04:34,019 –> 00:04:36,299 at least in the New International version 93 00:04:36,299 –> 00:04:39,399 where we’re told that some manuscripts say 70 94 00:04:39,399 –> 00:04:43,839 and other manuscripts of the New Testament say 72. 95 00:04:43,839 –> 00:04:47,160 So, it’s appropriate to acknowledge that fact. 96 00:04:47,160 –> 00:04:49,260 This is one of the few points 97 00:04:49,260 –> 00:04:53,040 in the New Testament where it is difficult 98 00:04:53,040 –> 00:04:56,320 to be absolutely certain about what the original was. 99 00:04:56,320 –> 00:04:58,480 That’s why in two excellent translations 100 00:04:58,480 –> 00:05:01,220 you have a different decision being made. 101 00:05:01,220 –> 00:05:02,899 The point I want to make is simply this, 102 00:05:02,899 –> 00:05:05,700 that it is a remarkable testimony 103 00:05:05,700 –> 00:05:07,760 to the overruling of God 104 00:05:07,779 –> 00:05:11,140 in the preservation of the New Testament texts 105 00:05:11,140 –> 00:05:15,820 that there are so few of these areas of uncertainty 106 00:05:15,820 –> 00:05:19,640 and that they are entirely insignificant. 107 00:05:20,660 –> 00:05:24,279 Nobody’s eternal destiny is going to hang 108 00:05:24,279 –> 00:05:28,059 on whether there were 70 or 72 sent out by Jesus, 109 00:05:28,059 –> 00:05:32,140 and so I’m not going to waste any more time on it either. 110 00:05:32,140 –> 00:05:35,200 The significant thing is that Christ commissions 111 00:05:35,200 –> 00:05:37,299 these people for ministry 112 00:05:37,359 –> 00:05:40,440 and I want you to grasp this point that is very significant. 113 00:05:40,440 –> 00:05:44,079 They were ordinary lay folk. 114 00:05:44,079 –> 00:05:45,700 I don’t really like that term 115 00:05:45,700 –> 00:05:49,540 because the distinction between clergy and laity 116 00:05:49,540 –> 00:05:53,700 is not one that is clear or is made in the Scriptures, 117 00:05:53,700 –> 00:05:54,980 but we use that term 118 00:05:54,980 –> 00:05:58,179 so I’m going to use it just for clarity’s sake 119 00:05:58,179 –> 00:05:59,519 for us to grasp the point. 120 00:05:59,519 –> 00:06:00,660 It is very significant. 121 00:06:00,660 –> 00:06:04,640 These are ordinary, we would say today, lay folk. 122 00:06:05,519 –> 00:06:09,600 And this reminds us that even in the New Testament, 123 00:06:09,600 –> 00:06:13,019 ministry is not limited to professionals. 124 00:06:13,019 –> 00:06:17,179 It is not the domain of the 12 Apostles 125 00:06:17,179 –> 00:06:21,880 to those who have given up everything to follow Christ. 126 00:06:21,880 –> 00:06:24,079 As you go through Luke and Acts, 127 00:06:24,079 –> 00:06:29,079 you find this expanding circle of an ever-widening ministry. 128 00:06:30,359 –> 00:06:32,720 It begins with the 12, 129 00:06:32,799 –> 00:06:37,619 but here in Luke chapter 10, it extends to the 72. 130 00:06:38,820 –> 00:06:40,399 Then on the day of Pentecost, 131 00:06:40,399 –> 00:06:44,519 you have 120 people gathered in the upper room. 132 00:06:44,519 –> 00:06:45,600 And the significant thing 133 00:06:45,600 –> 00:06:49,200 is that when the fire of the Holy Spirit falls, 134 00:06:49,200 –> 00:06:51,519 it falls not just on Peter, James, and John, 135 00:06:51,519 –> 00:06:53,040 the best known of the Apostles, 136 00:06:53,040 –> 00:06:56,779 not just of those who had been designated Apostles by Christ 137 00:06:56,779 –> 00:07:00,320 but it falls on every one of the 120 in the room. 138 00:07:00,320 –> 00:07:02,799 The Spirit falls on all of God’s people. 139 00:07:02,799 –> 00:07:05,899 And then the 120 become involved in ministry 140 00:07:05,899 –> 00:07:08,660 and out of that, there are 3,000 141 00:07:08,660 –> 00:07:11,880 on the day of Pentecost who repent and are baptized. 142 00:07:11,880 –> 00:07:13,880 They put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 143 00:07:13,880 –> 00:07:15,959 They also received the forgiveness of sins 144 00:07:15,959 –> 00:07:17,399 and the gift of the Holy Spirit, 145 00:07:17,399 –> 00:07:20,559 then they go back to all the cities from around the world 146 00:07:20,559 –> 00:07:22,320 from which they had come to Jerusalem 147 00:07:22,320 –> 00:07:24,480 and they then are the church planters 148 00:07:24,480 –> 00:07:28,000 who become involved in taking the frontier of the gospel 149 00:07:28,000 –> 00:07:31,000 to the place of their birth. 150 00:07:31,000 –> 00:07:32,700 So ministry is so important, 151 00:07:32,700 –> 00:07:35,380 it’s not limited to the 12 apostles. 152 00:07:35,380 –> 00:07:39,500 The Holy Spirit is given to everyone who is in Jesus Christ. 153 00:07:39,500 –> 00:07:44,500 We must never allow ourselves to professionalize ministry. 154 00:07:47,279 –> 00:07:50,480 It is easy to get the idea in today’s world 155 00:07:50,480 –> 00:07:53,100 and in our culture that ministry belongs 156 00:07:53,100 –> 00:07:55,839 to the trained professionals. 157 00:07:55,839 –> 00:07:59,440 That is utterly unbiblical. 158 00:07:59,440 –> 00:08:01,600 The idea that ministry belongs to people 159 00:08:01,600 –> 00:08:04,420 who’ve been to a seminary exclusively 160 00:08:04,420 –> 00:08:07,000 is nowhere to be found in the scripture. 161 00:08:07,899 –> 00:08:12,119 It’s not only unbiblical but it is totally impractical. 162 00:08:13,059 –> 00:08:16,559 Look at what Jesus says to the 72 laypeople. 163 00:08:16,559 –> 00:08:19,359 The harvest is plentiful, verse two, 164 00:08:20,239 –> 00:08:22,359 but the workers are few. 165 00:08:23,239 –> 00:08:25,880 Look what Jesus is saying to the layfolks. 166 00:08:25,880 –> 00:08:30,720 There are many who are there, ripe, 167 00:08:30,720 –> 00:08:34,979 ready to hear and receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. 168 00:08:34,979 –> 00:08:38,020 They’re like fields ripened for harvest 169 00:08:38,020 –> 00:08:42,599 but if we leave the task of harvesting to the 12 170 00:08:42,599 –> 00:08:47,059 or even to the 72 it’ll just never be brought in. 171 00:08:47,919 –> 00:08:50,299 That small group of people cannot do 172 00:08:50,299 –> 00:08:53,380 all that is involved in bringing in this harvest. 173 00:08:54,580 –> 00:08:57,900 So Jesus calls the 72 together, explains the point 174 00:08:57,900 –> 00:09:00,640 and then sends these layfolks out into ministry. 175 00:09:00,640 –> 00:09:03,119 Now, this is simply the reality of ministry 176 00:09:03,119 –> 00:09:05,039 speaks powerfully to us today. 177 00:09:06,099 –> 00:09:08,479 The opportunities are vast. 178 00:09:09,419 –> 00:09:14,380 The challenge is to find the people who will do the work. 179 00:09:16,500 –> 00:09:19,000 So says Jesus to the 72 laypeople, 180 00:09:19,320 –> 00:09:20,739 here’s what I want you to do. 181 00:09:22,559 –> 00:09:24,380 Verse two. 182 00:09:24,380 –> 00:09:28,679 Ask the Lord of the harvest therefore 183 00:09:28,679 –> 00:09:33,679 to send out workers into his harvest field. 184 00:09:33,799 –> 00:09:37,200 Notice whose field it is. 185 00:09:37,200 –> 00:09:39,520 And the word that is translated sent out 186 00:09:39,520 –> 00:09:40,820 there is really a very strong word. 187 00:09:40,820 –> 00:09:43,340 It means, thrust out 188 00:09:43,340 –> 00:09:47,239 almost catapulted, forced out. 189 00:09:47,260 –> 00:09:51,440 Pray that God will drive people out into ministry, 190 00:09:51,440 –> 00:09:53,919 that he will place such a compulsion 191 00:09:53,919 –> 00:09:56,719 upon the heart of men and women 192 00:09:56,719 –> 00:10:00,440 that many people will feel I have to get involved in this. 193 00:10:00,440 –> 00:10:04,739 I can’t stand by while there is a ripe harvest field. 194 00:10:04,739 –> 00:10:09,059 And if time and opportunity are missed. 195 00:10:09,059 –> 00:10:12,880 We don’t seize that and we don’t go to work with it, 196 00:10:12,880 –> 00:10:13,760 then we’re going to fail 197 00:10:13,760 –> 00:10:17,960 in a God-given responsibility and opportunity. 198 00:10:17,960 –> 00:10:21,479 Notice, by the way, that you will discover your calling 199 00:10:22,539 –> 00:10:24,219 as you pray for the world, 200 00:10:24,219 –> 00:10:26,200 one of the very important principles, 201 00:10:26,200 –> 00:10:27,039 not the only one, 202 00:10:27,039 –> 00:10:31,239 but a very important one in discovering our calling. 203 00:10:31,239 –> 00:10:34,179 When you begin to pray for the world, 204 00:10:35,039 –> 00:10:37,419 you will discover your calling. 205 00:10:37,419 –> 00:10:42,419 You will find that God thrusts you out into something. 206 00:10:43,359 –> 00:10:46,679 And I want to suggest that one of the reasons 207 00:10:46,679 –> 00:10:49,619 why some people don’t discover their calling in life 208 00:10:49,619 –> 00:10:52,099 is that we don’t pray for the world as we should. 209 00:10:53,020 –> 00:10:55,700 As you begin to pray about the harvest, 210 00:10:56,640 –> 00:10:59,940 as you begin to engage in serious prayer 211 00:10:59,940 –> 00:11:04,280 about what it means for a gathering in to take place 212 00:11:04,280 –> 00:11:06,760 of people to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, 213 00:11:06,760 –> 00:11:09,280 you will inevitably by the Holy Spirit 214 00:11:10,239 –> 00:11:12,159 be moved to a position where you’re saying, 215 00:11:12,780 –> 00:11:14,239 okay now what can I do? 216 00:11:14,239 –> 00:11:16,679 What role can I play in this? 217 00:11:17,619 –> 00:11:20,640 And you will begin to see because the Spirit leads 218 00:11:20,640 –> 00:11:23,119 and the sheep know the shepherd’s voice. 219 00:11:24,880 –> 00:11:26,979 You may need some help with this, 220 00:11:26,979 –> 00:11:28,679 but God will lead you. 221 00:11:28,679 –> 00:11:29,520 And that’s the most important thing 222 00:11:29,520 –> 00:11:32,119 that God places a passion upon a person’s heart. 223 00:11:33,219 –> 00:11:34,419 You may find that you see 224 00:11:35,299 –> 00:11:37,299 you know what I can do here is release money. 225 00:11:38,340 –> 00:11:39,919 You may come to the place of saying 226 00:11:39,979 –> 00:11:42,559 you know what I can do here is serve children. 227 00:11:43,659 –> 00:11:45,000 You may come to the place of saying 228 00:11:45,000 –> 00:11:47,780 what I can do here is get into Cook County jail 229 00:11:47,780 –> 00:11:49,500 and minister to prisoners. 230 00:11:50,719 –> 00:11:52,479 Maybe it will be a specific country 231 00:11:52,479 –> 00:11:54,039 that God lays upon your heart 232 00:11:54,039 –> 00:11:56,719 but it’s not going to happen until we get serious 233 00:11:56,719 –> 00:11:59,619 about praying for the world. 234 00:11:59,619 –> 00:12:01,580 But here is what will happen this is the pattern 235 00:12:01,580 –> 00:12:03,659 as you begin to pray about the harvest 236 00:12:03,659 –> 00:12:05,760 you will find that God gives you more and more 237 00:12:05,760 –> 00:12:08,359 an inner compulsion that drives you, 238 00:12:09,359 –> 00:12:10,479 you doing that. 239 00:12:10,479 –> 00:12:14,099 Let me ask this question, are we doing that? 240 00:12:15,520 –> 00:12:17,479 Are we as a congregation 241 00:12:18,719 –> 00:12:19,820 praying 242 00:12:21,159 –> 00:12:24,719 about the harvest opportunity 243 00:12:24,719 –> 00:12:28,320 that is clearly out there before us? 244 00:12:30,080 –> 00:12:31,960 Does that burden us? 245 00:12:32,919 –> 00:12:35,520 Are we exercised about that? 246 00:12:35,520 –> 00:12:38,320 Does it matter to us? 247 00:12:38,320 –> 00:12:42,000 If the wheat that is in the field 248 00:12:42,000 –> 00:12:45,200 and is ripe goes to rot, do we care? 249 00:12:46,440 –> 00:12:48,640 Do we feel a sense of urgency 250 00:12:48,640 –> 00:12:51,840 about doing all that is within us? 251 00:12:51,840 –> 00:12:56,559 Because there is a plentiful harvest 252 00:12:56,559 –> 00:13:00,239 that is evident, and the days of opportunity 253 00:13:00,239 –> 00:13:03,200 are not forever, they come and they go. 254 00:13:03,200 –> 00:13:06,840 There are seasons, even in the life of a church. 255 00:13:07,840 –> 00:13:09,159 And it’s harvest time. 256 00:13:11,059 –> 00:13:13,859 And the compulsion to serve and the vision 257 00:13:13,859 –> 00:13:16,320 for what this involves begins 258 00:13:17,400 –> 00:13:21,440 as God’s people get a burden to pray about it. 259 00:13:23,880 –> 00:13:27,940 Now as we walk through this passage this morning, 260 00:13:29,799 –> 00:13:32,520 I want to offer, very simply, 261 00:13:32,520 –> 00:13:36,760 a profile of the people God uses. 262 00:13:37,119 –> 00:13:40,859 Seven parts of a profile of the people God uses. 263 00:13:40,859 –> 00:13:43,320 And I want us to try and apply this 264 00:13:43,320 –> 00:13:44,719 as we’re going through in two ways 265 00:13:44,719 –> 00:13:47,359 if you’ll try and walk this way with me. 266 00:13:48,320 –> 00:13:50,619 First, let’s ask the question, 267 00:13:50,619 –> 00:13:55,619 what will it take for me to be fruitful in the harvest? 268 00:13:57,099 –> 00:13:59,719 And then, I also want us to ask the question, 269 00:13:59,719 –> 00:14:03,119 what will it take for us as a congregation? 270 00:14:03,119 –> 00:14:05,020 For us as a community of God’s people? 271 00:14:05,059 –> 00:14:10,059 For us as a body to be fruitful in the harvest? 272 00:14:11,659 –> 00:14:12,619 What will it take? 273 00:14:13,580 –> 00:14:17,099 And I have just been deeply, deeply struck 274 00:14:17,099 –> 00:14:19,619 coming to this passage as to how powerfully 275 00:14:19,619 –> 00:14:24,619 it speaks to me and how powerfully it speaks to us. 276 00:14:25,299 –> 00:14:28,340 So, here we go then, a profile of the person God uses. 277 00:14:28,340 –> 00:14:32,219 What does the person or the community, 278 00:14:32,219 –> 00:14:36,559 what do the people who God uses in significant ways 279 00:14:36,559 –> 00:14:39,020 look like, what can we say about them? 280 00:14:39,020 –> 00:14:44,020 Number one, they work hard, verse two. 281 00:14:45,059 –> 00:14:49,059 Ask the Lord of the harvest therefore to send out 282 00:14:49,059 –> 00:14:52,979 workers into his harvest field. 283 00:14:52,979 –> 00:14:56,299 And the word that’s in the NIV, translated workers, 284 00:14:56,299 –> 00:14:58,820 it’s probably better translated laborers 285 00:14:58,820 –> 00:15:01,500 because it has that sense about it. 286 00:15:01,539 –> 00:15:06,179 Anyone, of course, who has ever done harvesting by hand 287 00:15:06,179 –> 00:15:09,299 knows that it is back breaking work. 288 00:15:09,299 –> 00:15:12,179 When Jesus talks about the harvest 2000 years ago, 289 00:15:12,179 –> 00:15:14,500 he’s not talking about a guy sitting on top 290 00:15:14,500 –> 00:15:17,500 of a combine harvester with the radio playing 291 00:15:17,500 –> 00:15:19,159 through headphones in his ears. 292 00:15:19,159 –> 00:15:21,340 I have a brother-in-law who’s done that for many years, 293 00:15:21,340 –> 00:15:23,380 always looked like great fun, he assured me it was 294 00:15:23,380 –> 00:15:25,979 hard work, I believe that it is, but not half as hard 295 00:15:25,979 –> 00:15:29,539 as the kind of harvesting that has to be done by hand. 296 00:15:29,619 –> 00:15:32,400 But that’s the picture of ministry that Jesus gives. 297 00:15:33,380 –> 00:15:35,739 So if you’re into the combine harvester kind of thing, 298 00:15:35,739 –> 00:15:38,039 you won’t last in ministry for long. 299 00:15:39,039 –> 00:15:41,900 Jesus uses the picture of laborers harvesting 300 00:15:41,900 –> 00:15:43,960 wheat by hand. 301 00:15:45,659 –> 00:15:50,119 The harvest is plentiful, what we need 302 00:15:51,820 –> 00:15:55,739 is people who are ready to do a bit of backbreaking work. 303 00:15:57,099 –> 00:15:58,500 That’s what Jesus is saying. 304 00:16:00,539 –> 00:16:04,099 Bringing in the harvest is hard work. 305 00:16:06,000 –> 00:16:08,159 Ask anyone who’s been involved in it. 306 00:16:09,940 –> 00:16:12,340 Now, there are plenty of folks around church world 307 00:16:12,340 –> 00:16:14,440 who want to try their hand at ministry. 308 00:16:16,039 –> 00:16:19,799 There are not so many who are ready to give themselves 309 00:16:19,799 –> 00:16:23,159 to hour after hour after hour of hard work, 310 00:16:23,159 –> 00:16:24,640 and we live in a culture, of course, 311 00:16:24,640 –> 00:16:28,419 when our secular employers are taking more 312 00:16:28,539 –> 00:16:30,059 and more and more of our time 313 00:16:30,059 –> 00:16:32,179 in placing more and more demands on us. 314 00:16:34,460 –> 00:16:38,099 And that means the challenge of doing ministry 315 00:16:39,179 –> 00:16:40,340 becomes ever greater. 316 00:16:42,739 –> 00:16:44,340 Think about the picture, though. 317 00:16:45,479 –> 00:16:47,700 There’s a vast harvest, 318 00:16:49,020 –> 00:16:52,179 and there are a limited number of workers. 319 00:16:53,580 –> 00:16:55,599 So here you are, here I am, 320 00:16:55,599 –> 00:16:57,419 and we’ve got our place in the field, 321 00:16:57,419 –> 00:16:59,559 and we’re surrounded by this wheat 322 00:16:59,559 –> 00:17:01,539 that needs to be harvested and we’re working, 323 00:17:01,539 –> 00:17:02,979 we’re working, we’re sweating, 324 00:17:02,979 –> 00:17:04,959 and we’re feeling the peace. 325 00:17:07,400 –> 00:17:09,300 And something within us says, 326 00:17:09,300 –> 00:17:11,680 oh man, we’ll never get all of this in anyway, 327 00:17:11,680 –> 00:17:12,739 why are we bothering? 328 00:17:15,380 –> 00:17:17,219 There’s something else within us that says, 329 00:17:17,219 –> 00:17:21,800 I can’t walk away and leave this harvest to rot. 330 00:17:22,780 –> 00:17:27,780 Lord, enable me to do everything that I can 331 00:17:29,880 –> 00:17:31,619 that as much of this harvest 332 00:17:31,619 –> 00:17:36,319 as can possibly be gathered, will be brought in. 333 00:17:37,739 –> 00:17:38,859 Let me tell you this, 334 00:17:38,859 –> 00:17:41,859 and it seems to me a fair application of this principle, 335 00:17:41,859 –> 00:17:43,540 it’s certainly true in my experience. 336 00:17:43,540 –> 00:17:47,619 If you throw yourself into Christian ministry, 337 00:17:48,619 –> 00:17:52,699 you will soon feel completely overwhelmed by the work. 338 00:17:52,699 –> 00:17:53,520 That’s normal. 339 00:17:53,520 –> 00:17:54,420 I’ve never met a missionary, 340 00:17:54,420 –> 00:17:55,380 I’ve never met a pastor, 341 00:17:55,380 –> 00:17:58,079 never met a Christian leader who did not experience it. 342 00:17:59,219 –> 00:18:01,540 And that’s quite honestly when you find out 343 00:18:01,540 –> 00:18:03,060 the difference between the person 344 00:18:03,060 –> 00:18:04,699 who’s trying their hand at ministry, 345 00:18:04,699 –> 00:18:06,800 who says oh this is far too much, I’m gone, 346 00:18:07,719 –> 00:18:10,979 and the one who is thrust out by God, 347 00:18:10,979 –> 00:18:12,599 which is what we’re praying for. 348 00:18:14,199 –> 00:18:16,099 It’s hard work to run a ministry. 349 00:18:17,680 –> 00:18:20,319 It’s hard work to take in a foster child. 350 00:18:21,540 –> 00:18:24,079 Hard work to teach a Sunday school class. 351 00:18:25,439 –> 00:18:26,560 It’s hard work to do it the second, 352 00:18:26,560 –> 00:18:28,420 the third, the 10th, the 11th year. 353 00:18:30,680 –> 00:18:32,479 Once you get into ministry, 354 00:18:32,479 –> 00:18:35,500 you will quickly feel overwhelmed by the work, 355 00:18:36,680 –> 00:18:40,760 and if the agenda of our lives is convenience and comfort, 356 00:18:40,760 –> 00:18:42,900 we will not last the pace. 357 00:18:44,920 –> 00:18:47,040 That is why so many pastors resign. 358 00:18:48,619 –> 00:18:51,479 That is why there is such short termism in ministry. 359 00:18:52,300 –> 00:18:55,479 That is why 50% of all missionaries that we send overseas, 360 00:18:55,479 –> 00:18:57,119 I’m talking nationally as a country, 361 00:18:57,119 –> 00:18:59,219 50% of everyone we send overseas 362 00:18:59,219 –> 00:19:02,500 returns within or at the end of the first term. 363 00:19:02,500 –> 00:19:04,319 It’s hard work. 364 00:19:05,380 –> 00:19:08,180 And if we’re just looking for a fulfilling experience 365 00:19:08,180 –> 00:19:10,900 somewhere else in the world, we never last the pace. 366 00:19:11,900 –> 00:19:13,839 We’ll not last it here either. 367 00:19:14,939 –> 00:19:16,819 You can’t bring in the harvest 368 00:19:16,880 –> 00:19:17,839 with that kind of spirit. 369 00:19:17,839 –> 00:19:20,239 That’s why Jesus says we’re gonna have to pray 370 00:19:20,239 –> 00:19:23,000 for people who have a deeper compulsion than that, 371 00:19:25,459 –> 00:19:26,520 they’re thrust out. 372 00:19:29,959 –> 00:19:34,180 And I say this because it’s right to give this application 373 00:19:34,180 –> 00:19:38,140 to all of us who are involved in full-time ministry 374 00:19:38,140 –> 00:19:40,839 or have an aspiration so many in this congregation 375 00:19:40,839 –> 00:19:43,839 in different spheres of Christian ministry, 376 00:19:43,839 –> 00:19:47,000 many in full-time capacities, many training for that. 377 00:19:47,000 –> 00:19:48,760 Listen to this from GC Ryle, 378 00:19:48,760 –> 00:19:50,839 who’s becoming an ever-closer friend to me 379 00:19:50,839 –> 00:19:54,040 in this series, his book on the Gospel of Luke. 380 00:19:54,040 –> 00:19:55,040 He says this, 381 00:19:55,040 –> 00:19:57,079 “‘Colleges may educate men, 382 00:19:58,079 –> 00:19:59,839 “‘bishops may ordain them, 383 00:20:00,680 –> 00:20:03,260 “‘churches may call them, 384 00:20:03,260 –> 00:20:07,439 “‘but God alone can raise up and send out laborers 385 00:20:09,660 –> 00:20:13,760 “‘who will do the work among souls.’” 386 00:20:14,579 –> 00:20:19,579 The calling to work hard 387 00:20:21,400 –> 00:20:26,400 is at the foundation of effective ministry. 388 00:20:26,819 –> 00:20:28,099 There are no shortcuts. 389 00:20:29,619 –> 00:20:34,619 I read a phrase 30 years ago that has never left me. 390 00:20:38,180 –> 00:20:43,180 A lazy minister is an offence to the gospel. 391 00:20:44,199 –> 00:20:47,839 But that’s really true of a lazy Christian. 392 00:20:51,319 –> 00:20:52,140 Got one life, 393 00:20:54,859 –> 00:20:57,280 there’s a ripe harvest field out there. 394 00:21:00,020 –> 00:21:05,020 And either we work hard or a lot of it over ripens 395 00:21:07,239 –> 00:21:08,439 and is never brought in. 396 00:21:09,280 –> 00:21:10,959 Secondly, they take risks. 397 00:21:16,199 –> 00:21:19,199 You know, you guys come here on Sunday morning 398 00:21:19,199 –> 00:21:22,880 and may feel, boy, this is challenging to listen to this. 399 00:21:22,880 –> 00:21:25,800 I ought to pray this stuff through all week. 400 00:21:25,800 –> 00:21:29,300 Teaching of Jesus is profoundly challenging. 401 00:21:30,579 –> 00:21:31,780 They take risks. 402 00:21:31,780 –> 00:21:32,880 Looking at verse three. 403 00:21:34,040 –> 00:21:35,439 See if you think that the heading, 404 00:21:35,439 –> 00:21:37,439 they take risks, is a reasonable summary 405 00:21:37,439 –> 00:21:38,819 of what Jesus is saying. 406 00:21:38,819 –> 00:21:43,819 I am sending you out, He says, like lambs among wolves. 407 00:21:44,040 –> 00:21:45,280 Now, think about that picture. 408 00:21:45,280 –> 00:21:48,319 I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves. 409 00:21:48,319 –> 00:21:51,920 What chance does a lamb have in the company of wolves? 410 00:21:51,920 –> 00:21:53,599 Of all the pictures I’ve seen of Jesus 411 00:21:53,599 –> 00:21:55,839 the gentle shepherd cuddling all these sheep, 412 00:21:55,839 –> 00:21:57,640 I’ve never yet seen a picture of Jesus 413 00:21:57,640 –> 00:22:00,400 sending the lambs out among the wolves. 414 00:22:00,400 –> 00:22:02,520 But that’s the picture that he uses here. 415 00:22:03,479 –> 00:22:05,979 Those who have achieved great things for Christ 416 00:22:06,479 –> 00:22:10,119 and for the Gospel have always been ready to take risks. 417 00:22:10,119 –> 00:22:12,180 They have always said there is an urgency 418 00:22:12,180 –> 00:22:13,599 about this situation. 419 00:22:13,599 –> 00:22:16,800 I cannot simply go for the easiest option. 420 00:22:19,219 –> 00:22:23,099 I think about my friend Peter McClure and his wife Sally. 421 00:22:23,099 –> 00:22:24,780 Peter was one of the elders of the church 422 00:22:24,780 –> 00:22:28,119 that I pastored in London, a lay person. 423 00:22:29,459 –> 00:22:31,619 Called to missions, he’s gone out to Chad, 424 00:22:31,619 –> 00:22:34,619 I had the privilege of visiting him in Najima, 425 00:22:34,939 –> 00:22:35,780 the capital of Chad. 426 00:22:35,780 –> 00:22:38,420 It’s a city divided between the north and the south, 427 00:22:38,420 –> 00:22:40,739 Muslims in the north, Christians in the south, 428 00:22:40,739 –> 00:22:42,420 whole bunch of missionaries in the south, 429 00:22:42,420 –> 00:22:43,819 a handful in the north. 430 00:22:43,819 –> 00:22:45,479 Because it’s risky. 431 00:22:45,479 –> 00:22:47,760 Peter and Sally living in the north. 432 00:22:47,760 –> 00:22:49,859 They have a man, I saw him. 433 00:22:49,859 –> 00:22:52,660 He sits outside of their home 434 00:22:52,660 –> 00:22:54,900 every day, every day, all day, 435 00:22:56,599 –> 00:22:58,400 just beneath their window listening. 436 00:22:59,520 –> 00:23:01,219 He watches everyone who comes in, 437 00:23:01,219 –> 00:23:03,660 everyone who goes out, reports them to the mosque. 438 00:23:05,439 –> 00:23:10,439 Sometime ago, four armed men raided the home. 439 00:23:12,599 –> 00:23:14,119 Beat up the guard. 440 00:23:16,420 –> 00:23:18,479 Held Sally at knife point. 441 00:23:20,540 –> 00:23:23,439 Robbed them of most of what was there including some money. 442 00:23:24,900 –> 00:23:26,819 And all the neighbors came out afterwards, 443 00:23:26,819 –> 00:23:28,219 a number of the neighbors came out and said, 444 00:23:28,219 –> 00:23:29,619 I expect you’ll be going now. 445 00:23:30,540 –> 00:23:33,719 That was two years ago, they’re still there. 446 00:23:34,939 –> 00:23:35,780 Why? 447 00:23:36,880 –> 00:23:38,420 Because they’ve seen a harvest. 448 00:23:40,140 –> 00:23:44,739 And they’re serious about bringing it in. 449 00:23:46,439 –> 00:23:48,579 For most of us, of course, it will be less dramatic 450 00:23:48,579 –> 00:23:50,439 though the sacrifices I’m called to make 451 00:23:50,439 –> 00:23:52,260 seem very, very small in comparison. 452 00:23:54,099 –> 00:23:56,219 But those who are unwilling to take risks 453 00:23:56,219 –> 00:23:59,260 will never accomplish much for the kingdom of God. 454 00:23:59,260 –> 00:24:03,900 There’s an old saying, nothing ventured, nothing gained. 455 00:24:04,040 –> 00:24:06,560 And the church of Jesus Christ desperately needs 456 00:24:06,560 –> 00:24:09,699 the entrepreneurial spirit. 457 00:24:09,699 –> 00:24:13,619 The entrepreneur is ready to take significant risks 458 00:24:13,619 –> 00:24:16,099 in order to make money. 459 00:24:16,099 –> 00:24:19,339 We have to be ready to take significant risks 460 00:24:19,339 –> 00:24:23,459 for a much better end to bring in the harvest. 461 00:24:24,660 –> 00:24:27,280 Third, they travel light. 462 00:24:27,280 –> 00:24:28,540 Look at what Jesus says. 463 00:24:28,540 –> 00:24:31,819 Do not take a purse or a bag or sandals. 464 00:24:32,739 –> 00:24:34,660 This takes us of course to the important issue 465 00:24:34,660 –> 00:24:37,939 of how ministry gets financed. 466 00:24:37,939 –> 00:24:41,060 First, there are those who receive support from others. 467 00:24:41,060 –> 00:24:44,099 Here are the 72, they’re sent out without purse, 468 00:24:44,099 –> 00:24:46,060 without bag, without sandals. 469 00:24:46,060 –> 00:24:47,920 I don’t think, by the way, that means they’re barefoot. 470 00:24:47,920 –> 00:24:48,939 I think it means that they don’t 471 00:24:48,939 –> 00:24:50,900 take spare sandals with them. 472 00:24:50,900 –> 00:24:53,420 Most of the commentators go down that line. 473 00:24:53,420 –> 00:24:55,680 But what it does mean obviously is that without money, 474 00:24:55,680 –> 00:24:59,219 they are dependent on others for their food and lodging. 475 00:25:00,219 –> 00:25:02,819 So the first way in which ministry happened here 476 00:25:02,819 –> 00:25:06,439 was that some people were sent out supported by others. 477 00:25:07,780 –> 00:25:09,380 And notice that where this is the case, 478 00:25:09,380 –> 00:25:11,439 their expectations were modest. 479 00:25:12,420 –> 00:25:14,839 Those of us who depend on others to support us, 480 00:25:14,839 –> 00:25:18,780 whether here or overseas, should not expect too much. 481 00:25:18,780 –> 00:25:20,239 We are in the privileged position 482 00:25:20,239 –> 00:25:22,739 of being freed from the need to earn a wage 483 00:25:22,739 –> 00:25:24,640 in order to give ourselves full time 484 00:25:24,640 –> 00:25:26,219 to bringing in the harvest. 485 00:25:26,219 –> 00:25:28,180 That is the calling of every Christian. 486 00:25:29,420 –> 00:25:33,859 Simply that some people are recognized by others 487 00:25:33,859 –> 00:25:37,079 to be released from the need to earn 488 00:25:37,079 –> 00:25:38,760 in order to give themselves full time 489 00:25:38,760 –> 00:25:40,339 to what all of us are called to. 490 00:25:42,780 –> 00:25:45,780 But that leads to the second alternative, 491 00:25:45,780 –> 00:25:48,459 which is that where that is not possible, 492 00:25:48,459 –> 00:25:51,260 it is done by persons supporting themselves. 493 00:25:51,260 –> 00:25:53,339 And you might like just to flip over 494 00:25:53,339 –> 00:25:56,699 to Luke 22 in verse 35, 495 00:25:56,699 –> 00:25:58,660 where you will see there that Jesus refers 496 00:25:59,579 –> 00:26:00,939 back to this occasion about the time 497 00:26:00,939 –> 00:26:02,260 when he did give an instruction 498 00:26:02,260 –> 00:26:03,619 about going out without the person 499 00:26:03,619 –> 00:26:05,140 and without the bag and without the sandals. 500 00:26:05,140 –> 00:26:06,540 And he said, did you like anything? 501 00:26:06,540 –> 00:26:08,339 No, they said, we didn’t like anything. 502 00:26:08,339 –> 00:26:10,260 Other folks evidently provided. 503 00:26:10,260 –> 00:26:11,280 And then he said to them, 504 00:26:11,280 –> 00:26:14,420 but now if you have a purse, take it, 505 00:26:14,420 –> 00:26:16,119 and if you have a bag, take it. 506 00:26:16,979 –> 00:26:19,979 So clearly the situation now has changed. 507 00:26:19,979 –> 00:26:22,479 Evidently there were people who would give support 508 00:26:22,479 –> 00:26:24,140 to the 72 and receive them 509 00:26:24,140 –> 00:26:26,760 in these villages where they went, 510 00:26:26,780 –> 00:26:28,619 but Jesus now coming to the Cross 511 00:26:28,619 –> 00:26:30,319 recognizes that this kind of support 512 00:26:30,319 –> 00:26:31,160 will not be forthcoming. 513 00:26:31,160 –> 00:26:33,119 There will not be a hospitality, 514 00:26:33,119 –> 00:26:35,199 there will be too much hostility. 515 00:26:35,199 –> 00:26:37,359 There won’t be support available. 516 00:26:37,359 –> 00:26:38,839 And so they will have to support themselves. 517 00:26:38,839 –> 00:26:40,800 Take your own purse, take your own bag. 518 00:26:42,719 –> 00:26:47,719 Now, the surest way to stifle a ministry 519 00:26:50,000 –> 00:26:53,420 is to make a megalist of what you need before you do it. 520 00:26:54,300 –> 00:26:57,239 And the principle here is very simple. 521 00:26:57,239 –> 00:27:01,619 You do ministry with whatever resources are available. 522 00:27:03,040 –> 00:27:05,260 If there’s support, you use the support. 523 00:27:06,739 –> 00:27:09,640 If there’s not support, you find a way of doing it anyway. 524 00:27:10,660 –> 00:27:13,300 But the calling and the urgency of ministry is such 525 00:27:13,300 –> 00:27:14,920 that the principle for the people of God 526 00:27:14,920 –> 00:27:18,579 is we have to do what we can do with what we’ve got. 527 00:27:18,579 –> 00:27:21,660 We can’t live in a kind of futurist world 528 00:27:21,699 –> 00:27:24,020 that says, well, if we had this and this and this, 529 00:27:24,020 –> 00:27:25,619 we could do great things for God. 530 00:27:25,619 –> 00:27:28,339 That is never the spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ. 531 00:27:29,599 –> 00:27:30,540 We work with what we’ve got. 532 00:27:30,540 –> 00:27:33,579 This is the great blessing of traveling in the third world 533 00:27:33,579 –> 00:27:35859 and seeing how ministry multiplies 534 00:27:35,859 –> 00:27:37,660 among people who have almost nothing. 535 00:27:40,020 –> 00:27:42,579 So, folks who achieve great things 536 00:27:42,579 –> 00:27:43,819 in bringing in the harvest, 537 00:27:43,819 –> 00:27:48,459 they work hard, they take risks, they travel light. 538 00:27:50,060 –> 00:27:50,900 Fourth, 539 00:27:52,020 –> 00:27:54,180 they stick around. 540 00:27:54,180 –> 00:27:55,020 They stick around. 541 00:27:55,020 –> 00:27:56,780 The principle of perseverance. 542 00:27:57,800 –> 00:27:59,579 When you enter a house, verse seven, 543 00:27:59,579 –> 00:28:01,520 first say peace to this house. 544 00:28:01,520 –> 00:28:03,459 And if a man of peace is there, 545 00:28:03,459 –> 00:28:04,699 your peace will rest on him. 546 00:28:04,699 –> 00:28:06,619 And if not, it will return to you. 547 00:28:06,619 –> 00:28:10,540 But then He says, stay in that house. 548 00:28:10,540 –> 00:28:12,880 Eating and drinking whatever they give you, 549 00:28:12,880 –> 00:28:14,880 for the worker deserves his wages. 550 00:28:14,880 –> 00:28:18,660 Do not move around from house to house. 551 00:28:19,719 –> 00:28:21,199 Now, it’s not hard to picture 552 00:28:21,199 –> 00:28:23,520 what Jesus is speaking of here. 553 00:28:23,520 –> 00:28:25,420 Here’s a missionary who arrives in town 554 00:28:25,420 –> 00:28:28,359 or in a village, and someone gives them hospitality 555 00:28:28,359 –> 00:28:30,560 and he sets up a ministry base there. 556 00:28:31,760 –> 00:28:33,660 After a few days He begins to think 557 00:28:33,660 –> 00:28:37,959 to Himself, well, the ministry’s going quite well here. 558 00:28:37,959 –> 00:28:40,420 I wonder if there’s a better place I could go. 559 00:28:40,420 –> 00:28:41,599 I wonder if there’s another house 560 00:28:41,599 –> 00:28:42,800 that’s a bit nicer, a bit bigger 561 00:28:42,800 –> 00:28:44,040 on the other side of town. 562 00:28:44,040 –> 00:28:46,079 Maybe I could base my ministry there. 563 00:28:46,079 –> 00:28:48,339 I wonder if there’s a place where they would cook me 564 00:28:48,339 –> 00:28:51,160 a little bit better food than I have here. 565 00:28:51,920 –> 00:28:54,000 Jesus says, don’t go down that road. 566 00:28:54,000 –> 00:28:55,520 That’s the kind of spirit of restlessness 567 00:28:55,520 –> 00:28:57,680 and discontent that leads a person 568 00:28:57,680 –> 00:29:00,040 to bounce around from one area of ministry 569 00:29:00,040 –> 00:29:01,760 to another and never achieve anything 570 00:29:01,760 –> 00:29:03,280 of very great significance. 571 00:29:04,420 –> 00:29:06,199 The person is always looking as to 572 00:29:06,199 –> 00:29:08,380 what I could do in some other place 573 00:29:08,380 –> 00:29:13,380 that will never be a really significant harvest. 574 00:29:15,280 –> 00:29:17,079 So Jesus warns us against this kind 575 00:29:17,079 –> 00:29:20,339 of restless spirit that is always looking 576 00:29:20,359 –> 00:29:23,060 for a better place to do ministry. 577 00:29:23,060 –> 00:29:24,500 The kind of spirit that’s always looking 578 00:29:24,500 –> 00:29:28,500 for the ideal home, the ideal church, 579 00:29:28,500 –> 00:29:30,579 the ideal ministry setting. 580 00:29:30,579 –> 00:29:34,199 This will never lead to great significance for Christ. 581 00:29:35,459 –> 00:29:37,099 Obviously this needs to be balanced 582 00:29:37,099 –> 00:29:38,420 by the command that they are to move 583 00:29:38,420 –> 00:29:40,540 from one town to another, 584 00:29:40,540 –> 00:29:42,380 but Jesus is clearly warning us 585 00:29:42,380 –> 00:29:46,420 about the kind of discontent that arises 586 00:29:46,420 –> 00:29:48,739 from a fundamental spirit that’s always looking 587 00:29:48,780 –> 00:29:51,280 for a better situation for me. 588 00:29:53,339 –> 00:29:55,380 That’s why so many people keep moving on. 589 00:29:57,400 –> 00:30:00,060 So let’s receive this as a principle of ministry. 590 00:30:00,060 –> 00:30:02,619 If you want to achieve something of significance, 591 00:30:02,619 –> 00:30:06,680 stick around, stick around. 592 00:30:08,040 –> 00:30:09,420 Stick in an area of ministry 593 00:30:09,420 –> 00:30:11,239 where God has gifted you and called you 594 00:30:11,239 –> 00:30:12,619 and do it for a long time. 595 00:30:12,619 –> 00:30:14,640 Eugene Peterson has a great phrase 596 00:30:14,640 –> 00:30:16,060 to describe the Christian life. 597 00:30:16,099 –> 00:30:19,359 He says it’s about a long obedience 598 00:30:19,359 –> 00:30:21,939 in the same direction. 599 00:30:23,839 –> 00:30:27,719 Number five, they have a sense of urgency. 600 00:30:27,719 –> 00:30:29,979 This runs right throughout the passage. 601 00:30:31,640 –> 00:30:34,180 Verse four, don’t greet anyone on the road 602 00:30:34,180 –> 00:30:37,060 which is not, by the way, a recipe for rudeness. 603 00:30:37,060 –> 00:30:38,979 It’s just saying, you gotta get to that town 604 00:30:38,979 –> 00:30:41,979 because there’s an urgency about this ministry. 605 00:30:41,979 –> 00:30:43,260 We don’t have time to waste 606 00:30:43,260 –> 00:30:45,599 with a whole lot of pleasantries on the road. 607 00:30:46,579 –> 00:30:48,660 The kingdom of God, verse nine, is near. 608 00:30:48,660 –> 00:30:50,339 There is a limited amount of time. 609 00:30:50,339 –> 00:30:53,319 There is an opportunity of God drawing near. 610 00:30:53,319 –> 00:30:55,959 This is the time for people to be gathered in. 611 00:30:57,020 –> 00:30:58,479 So, we are to take the good news 612 00:30:58,479 –> 00:31:00,060 to those who need to hear it. 613 00:31:00,060 –> 00:31:01,839 And if you go to a place where you’re not welcomed, 614 00:31:01,839 –> 00:31:03,859 then at that point, verse 10, move on 615 00:31:03,859 –> 00:31:05,459 because there are other places 616 00:31:05,459 –> 00:31:06,979 that need to hear the good news. 617 00:31:06,979 –> 00:31:09,380 It’s not enough to say, well, we’ve got these people 618 00:31:09,380 –> 00:31:10,560 and we’ve heard the good news. 619 00:31:10,560 –> 00:31:12,939 There are others who need to hear the good news 620 00:31:12,939 –> 00:31:14,739 and there’s urgency about it. 621 00:31:16,239 –> 00:31:19,359 Sixth, they speak with authority. 622 00:31:19,359 –> 00:31:24,359 Verse 16, Jesus says, he who listens to you listens to me. 623 00:31:27,819 –> 00:31:29,060 This is very interesting. 624 00:31:30,420 –> 00:31:33,099 If Jesus had said that to the 12 625 00:31:33,099 –> 00:31:35,540 and had spoken just about apostolic authority, 626 00:31:35,540 –> 00:31:36,800 then we would have passed over it 627 00:31:36,800 –> 00:31:39,619 but remember he said this to the 72. 628 00:31:39,619 –> 00:31:41,760 He says this to the laypeople. 629 00:31:41,800 –> 00:31:45,739 If you speak clearly about Jesus, 630 00:31:45,739 –> 00:31:48,439 then as you do Jesus speaks to the person 631 00:31:48,439 –> 00:31:51,160 who hears you, through you. 632 00:31:51,160 –> 00:31:52,560 It’s a wonderful principle. 633 00:31:54,739 –> 00:31:59,739 You speak about Jesus, Jesus speaks through you. 634 00:32:02,760 –> 00:32:05,520 And so the power of a parent, 635 00:32:05,520 –> 00:32:08,959 the Sunday school teacher, the youth leader, 636 00:32:09,920 –> 00:32:13,339 speaking clearly about the claims of Jesus Christ 637 00:32:13,339 –> 00:32:15,900 should never be underestimated. 638 00:32:15,900 –> 00:32:17,979 He who hears you hears me. 639 00:32:17,979 –> 00:32:19,400 Think about that as you prepare 640 00:32:19,400 –> 00:32:20,780 for your Sunday school class, 641 00:32:20,780 –> 00:32:23,020 as you teach it, make the event count. 642 00:32:23,020 –> 00:32:26,219 There is to be a sense of urgency about this. 643 00:32:26,219 –> 00:32:28,780 We speak in the name of Christ. 644 00:32:30,500 –> 00:32:32,099 Then here’s the very last thing. 645 00:32:33,339 –> 00:32:36,260 Those who are truly effective in bringing in the harvest 646 00:32:36,260 –> 00:32:41,260 are those who find joy in their relationship with Jesus. 647 00:32:41,380 –> 00:32:44,260 I want you to notice this last thing, it’s so important. 648 00:32:44,260 –> 00:32:45,939 They come back, and they’re full of joy 649 00:32:45,939 –> 00:32:49,020 about all that they’ve accomplished in their ministry. 650 00:32:49,020 –> 00:32:51,260 And Jesus gives them this strange reply. 651 00:32:51,260 –> 00:32:52,599 He says to them, 652 00:32:53,439 –> 00:32:58,439 I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven, verse 18. 653 00:33:01,219 –> 00:33:03,579 Now what did Jesus mean in that strange phrase? 654 00:33:03,579 –> 00:33:06,219 It could mean that he was just rejoicing 655 00:33:06,239 –> 00:33:09,400 in the way in which Satan’s kingdom was pushed back 656 00:33:09,400 –> 00:33:12,260 as a result of this evangelistic initiative, 657 00:33:12,260 –> 00:33:14,760 and that Jesus was sharing the joy of the 72. 658 00:33:15,880 –> 00:33:17,900 The other possibility, of course, is that it could be 659 00:33:17,900 –> 00:33:21,280 that Jesus is referring to Satan’s original expulsion 660 00:33:21,280 –> 00:33:22,260 from heaven. 661 00:33:22,260 –> 00:33:25,000 Remember, he rose with pride, 662 00:33:25,000 –> 00:33:28,979 and as a result, he was cast out of heaven. 663 00:33:28,979 –> 00:33:31,920 And if that is the case, and I think that it is, 664 00:33:31,920 –> 00:33:35,199 then Jesus’ words about the dangers of pride 665 00:33:35,199 –> 00:33:38,099 coming to those of us who are engaged in ministry 666 00:33:38,099 –> 00:33:41,280 that sees God’s blessing, are very powerful indeed. 667 00:33:41,280 –> 00:33:44,060 Listen to what Jesus is saying on that understanding. 668 00:33:44,060 –> 00:33:48,739 Satan became full of himself and his ministry, 669 00:33:49,719 –> 00:33:51,500 and that led to his fall. 670 00:33:51,500 –> 00:33:55,239 Like lightning, I saw it happen, said Jesus. 671 00:33:55,239 –> 00:33:57,000 Make sure it doesn’t happen to you. 672 00:33:58,280 –> 00:34:00,380 And then he goes on to confirm, verse 20, 673 00:34:00,380 –> 00:34:03,500 that he does give them power and authority over the enemy, 674 00:34:04,439 –> 00:34:07,239 but then he says this very, very powerfully. 675 00:34:08,959 –> 00:34:11,879 However, verse 20, do not rejoice 676 00:34:11,879 –> 00:34:13,840 that the spirits are subject to you, 677 00:34:15,239 –> 00:34:19,919 but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. 678 00:34:21,280 –> 00:34:24,879 One of the greatest dangers for any person in ministry 679 00:34:26,159 –> 00:34:28,919 is that we take the ministry God has given us 680 00:34:28,919 –> 00:34:31,560 and put it in the place of God himself, 681 00:34:32,419 –> 00:34:36,020 that we make an idol of ministry. 682 00:34:37,879 –> 00:34:41,760 I speak personally, I love what I am privileged to do. 683 00:34:43,139 –> 00:34:45,820 My danger is to love it more than Christ, 684 00:34:47,080 –> 00:34:49,320 to put it in the place of Christ. 685 00:34:50,419 –> 00:34:51,979 That is the danger for every person 686 00:34:51,979 –> 00:34:53,300 who sees blessing in ministry, 687 00:34:53,300 –> 00:34:55,760 to love this more than Christ, 688 00:34:55,760 –> 00:34:59,219 to love my role more than his Kingdom. 689 00:34:59,939 –> 00:35:03,620 I’ve often spoken of the influence of Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, 690 00:35:03,620 –> 00:35:05,719 spoken of the influence of Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones 691 00:35:05,719 –> 00:35:06,780 in my own life. 692 00:35:06,780 –> 00:35:08,419 He had a remarkable ministry, 693 00:35:08,419 –> 00:35:11,639 probably the greatest Evangelical preacher in England 694 00:35:11,639 –> 00:35:13,300 in the twentieth century. 695 00:35:13,300 –> 00:35:14,459 And at the end of his life, 696 00:35:14,459 –> 00:35:16,419 he was confined to one room 697 00:35:16,419 –> 00:35:20,820 and unable to write or to engage in any kind of ministry. 698 00:35:20,820 –> 00:35:24,080 And someone visited him at the age of 80 699 00:35:24,080 –> 00:35:25,979 and said, doctor, after all these years 700 00:35:25,979 –> 00:35:28,500 on every platform around the world, 701 00:35:28,600 –> 00:35:30,360 what is it like for you now 702 00:35:31,340 –> 00:35:36,139 that you cannot engage in any kind of ministry whatsoever? 703 00:35:36,139 –> 00:35:37,439 And Lloyd-Jones said this, 704 00:35:38,520 –> 00:35:42,199 do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you 705 00:35:43,399 –> 00:35:46,379 but that your names are written in heaven. 706 00:35:47,300 –> 00:35:48,719 In other words, if you put all your joy 707 00:35:48,719 –> 00:35:51,080 into your ministry rather than into Christ, 708 00:35:51,080 –> 00:35:53,600 if you put all your joy into anything in this world, 709 00:35:53,600 –> 00:35:55,600 there may come a time when it’s taken from you. 710 00:35:55,600 –> 00:35:58,199 Don’t make ministry an idol 711 00:35:58,760 –> 00:36:00,739 that will puff us up. 712 00:36:02,239 –> 00:36:03,239 We’re in ministry 713 00:36:04,399 –> 00:36:07,580 because we love Christ. 714 00:36:09,159 –> 00:36:10,899 So there we have it, 715 00:36:10,899 –> 00:36:12,820 a profile of the person 716 00:36:12,820 –> 00:36:15,080 or of the community that God uses. 717 00:36:16,139 –> 00:36:18,820 In this last second, I just want to close the question, 718 00:36:18,820 –> 00:36:20,780 are these things true of you 719 00:36:22,659 –> 00:36:24,840 or are they true of us? 720 00:36:25,840 –> 00:36:30,020 If we are to bring in the harvest, 721 00:36:30,020 –> 00:36:31,739 these are the critical issues. 722 00:36:33,919 –> 00:36:38,919 Are we ready to renew our commitment to hard work? 723 00:36:38,979 –> 00:36:42,620 So many in this congregation work so hard, 724 00:36:44,439 –> 00:36:46,100 we need more who will do the same. 725 00:36:48,979 –> 00:36:51,780 Will we work hard or will we stay in our comfort zones? 726 00:36:52,659 –> 00:36:55,959 Are we ready to take some risks for the gospel 727 00:36:55,959 –> 00:36:57,260 or are we the kind of community 728 00:36:57,260 –> 00:36:58,939 that just wants to play it safe? 729 00:37:00,820 –> 00:37:04,300 Will we travel light or will we limit ourselves 730 00:37:04,300 –> 00:37:07,100 by a long list of impossible needs 731 00:37:07,100 –> 00:37:08,979 before we ever step out in faith? 732 00:37:10,459 –> 00:37:13,159 Are we ready to commit to the long haul of ministry 733 00:37:13,159 –> 00:37:16,620 or will we become unsettled if things don’t produce fruit 734 00:37:16,620 –> 00:37:19,239 within a few weeks, or a few days, or a few months? 735 00:37:20,239 –> 00:37:23,379 Do we have a sense of urgency in reaching the lost 736 00:37:23,379 –> 00:37:25,459 or are we happy with the status quo? 737 00:37:26,439 –> 00:37:28,800 Will we speak the word of God with clarity 738 00:37:28,800 –> 00:37:31,959 or will we shape the message to what people want to hear? 739 00:37:33,080 –> 00:37:35,260 Will we become proud of our achievements 740 00:37:35,260 –> 00:37:39,000 in our own ministry or will we humble ourselves 741 00:37:39,000 –> 00:37:41,080 knowing that it is not our own 742 00:37:41,080 –> 00:37:45,459 and that it is only by the grace of God 743 00:37:45,459 –> 00:37:49,780 that our names are written in the Book of Life. 744 00:37:50,820 –> 00:37:54,360 That’s a choice, that’s a challenge, 745 00:37:56,419 –> 00:37:57,939 that’s the teaching of Jesus. 746 00:37:59,679 –> 00:38:02,139 Let’s not neglect it, shall we pray together? 747 00:38:06,260 –> 00:38:07,340 I’m going to ask that we stand 748 00:38:07,340 –> 00:38:08,840 and we’ll make this a closing prayer 749 00:38:08,840 –> 00:38:09,959 for the end of the service. 750 00:38:09,959 –> 00:38:11,139 Shall we stand together? 751 00:38:15,979 –> 00:38:16,899 Let’s stand. 752 00:38:18,899 –> 00:38:21,899 Lord, as we stand in your presence, 753 00:38:23,020 –> 00:38:25,780 so many of us are deeply grateful for that knowledge 754 00:38:25,780 –> 00:38:27,659 that our names are written in heaven, 755 00:38:29,260 –> 00:38:32,300 that your spirit truly dwells within us, 756 00:38:33,699 –> 00:38:36,260 that our great calling is to walk in your ways. 757 00:38:38,459 –> 00:38:42,379 Sometimes that is profoundly challenging for us, 758 00:38:42,860 –> 00:38:46,300 and yet, because your spirit lives within us, 759 00:38:48,340 –> 00:38:50,179 we want to rise to that challenge. 760 00:38:51,939 –> 00:38:53,739 Do within us whatever you need to do 761 00:38:53,739 –> 00:38:57,139 to make us individually and together 762 00:38:57,139 –> 00:39:02,139 the kind of people who will see and bring in the harvest. 763 00:39:05,100 –> 00:39:08,620 For your glory, we ask these things 764 00:39:09,459 –> 00:39:12,520 through Jesus Christ our Lord, 765 00:39:12,520 –> 00:39:15,760 and God’s people said together, Amen.