Lord of the Harvest
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1 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. 2 Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
3 Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.
5 But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.
7 And 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. 8 Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.
9 And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
I entitled my message the Lord of the Harvest
What makes missions difficult for many Christians is that they see it from their perspective.
Things that they have to give up:
Comfort
Time
Wages
Safety
People do not see it from God’s perspective. It is His mission.
When we go out on a mission, not only do we take up the mandate of His Great Commission, we embrace His vision and we share in His passion.
After all, He is the Lord of the harvest. God is the center of missionary work.
Background of Luke 10, compared to Matthew 10 (specialized ministry for the 12 apostles)
1 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.
Why 70? Some 72. Commentators say the number 70 is representative of the 70 nations that descended out of Noah. Gospel is universal. Jesus wants the message spread out to all nations.
As with all things in church and ministry, missions is not about us, it is about the Lord of the Harvest.
The Lord of the Harvest:
Sends the workers.
Protects and Funds the Work.
Leads to the Person of Peace.
Starts a Movement.
The Lord of the Harvest..
Sends the workers.
We the church send out and commission missionaries but ultimately, it is God who does the sending.
Talk: we are Christ’s ambassadors
2 Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
We are to pray, why? Because there is a disparity between the scope of the work (the harvest is great) and the number of laborers (few). This is a burden in the heart of God.
In other translations, “the harvest is plentiful” - more a sense of opportunity. It is like God is bullish for the souls of men and that these are low lying fruits ready for harvest.
The heart of Jesus.
35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!
We are sent out just as Jesus was sent to the world.
18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
The Lord of the Harvest:
2) Protects and Funds the work.
3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.
Irony - Jesus called Himself the good shepherd sends His lambs in the midst of wolves. Ever thought of this?
He lays down His life for His sheep.. they shall not perish and no one will snatch them out of My hands… Matthew 9 He was moved with compassion because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
Now why is He sending them as lambs in the midst of wolves.. what Jesus did not say is that you are on your own, He being the Good Shepherd goes with you.. Spiritual warfare but He is the one protecting us..
Carry no moneybag - Jesus’ model, carry no purse
Western missions — has to be fully funded, separated from the people
Jesus’ model for missions is incarnational with a strong dependence on God’s provision. Be completely dependent on God and the goodness of people you are being sent to.
A Theologian from Dallas Theological Seminary said this: Jesus knows what He is talking about - If we follow His model, we will reach the world faster and we save a lot of money.
“greet no one on the road” - distractions (examples), you have to be focused.. prayer (Vinh and Raymond)
The Lord of the Harvest:
3) Leads to the Person of Peace.
5 But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.
When we preach the gospel to a house, look for POP (not necessarily the Father of that home) - Person of Peace.
Two important things about the Person of Peace (POP):
The Person of Peace (POP) has:
a) Interest
b) Influence
So many examples in the Bible: Cornelius in Acts 10
The Lord of the Harvest:
4) Starts a Movement
7 And 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. 8 Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.
How does this start a movement?
Minister to that one house.
“Do not go from house to house”
What? Jesus does not want us to keep moving? JESUS WANTS THE GOSPEL TO KEEP MOVING.
We are so dependent on the missionary itself, but Jesus’ vision for missions is to start a movement.
Grassroots movement — explain.
Missions to countries that are already saturated by the Gospel — support and mobilize the churches there (Elder Vic and Sister Marge, they are doing it the right way) .. if Americans go to the unreached tribes themselves — what are the churches there doing? Feels good, it looks good on church bulletins, “another feather in the cap”, another lost tribe found..
Jesus said the “harvest indeed is plentiful but the laborers are few but IN a country already saturated with the gospel and has churches everywhere “the harvest may be plentiful and the laborers are also plentiful” but they do not reach out to their own.
We are to reach the unreached!
9 And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
Some believe that healing is a specialized ministry for those sent out during Jesus’ time but I believe it is not. There are stories of people getting healed in the nations..
MISSIONS IS A POWER MINISTRY
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
We continue to fulfill…
The GREAT COMMISSION
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
What is the most important part of the Great Commission?
“Go”, “Make Disciples”, “Baptizing”, Teaching”?
“All authority has been given to Me…. and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
The focus is on the Lord of the harvest, it is His work.
SLIDE WITH QUOTE HERE. At the heart of the Gospel is the realization that I am powerless to get even the smallest stain of sin out of my life.
Talk about the next Vision School.
Go for two weeks - when you go back you will serve the Lord like never before and He will set this place on fire for Him.
LET THE LORD OF THE HARVEST START A MOVEMENT!