The Harvest & the Labourers
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Introduction
Introduction
Last week we looked at Philip sharing gospel with the Ethiopian Treasurer.
Today I wanted us to think about this a bit more by looking at one of the passages where Jesus sends out his followers and disciples to share gospel.
Now before this passage in Jesus had been in Samaria village where He’d been rejected, sorted out an argument amongst disciples about who’s the greatest, and then taught them it was going to cost them everything to follow him
Now before this passage in Luke Jesus had been in Samaria village where He’d been rejected, sorted out an argument amongst disciples about who’s the greatest, and then taught them it was going to cost them everything to follow him
This passage in Luke gives us a glimpse into how Jesus viewed mission and evangelism as well as how He wanted his followers to conduct themselves while approaching mission.
So we’re going to look at: The Harvest is God’s Responsibility, Called and Equipped for the Harvest; Proclaim and Serve in the Harvest (Slide)
The Harvest is God’s Responsibility
The Harvest is God’s Responsibility
First let’s consider Jesus metaphor he uses at beginning of this passage.
He often used metaphors or painted pictures using words to get spiritual ideas across to people he spoke to.
Most common picture he used was of farming because most of people outside of main cities survived through farming crops, animals, vineyards, olive groves etc.
So let’s read; (Slide)
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
So Jesus uses picture of harvesting grain in field, which was all done by hand.
Jesus is speaking to his followers that he’s about to send out into towns ahead of them between Samaria and Jerusalem.
So Jesus starts off by using picture of harvesting grain in field, which was all done by hand, using it as a way to describe what it’s going to be like going out into all these towns to tell them good news about Jesus coming.
He describe the world around them as harvest field - calling it plentiful.
There’s so much to harvest and not enough people to do the work
Jesus solution is he calls his followers to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to provide the labourers to help
So who is the Lord of the Harvest? Its God Almighty
That means it’s God’s harvest the followers of Jesus are about to enter - not theirs, not ours, but God’s.
God is in charge of the harvest, He’s responsible for the harvesting and supplying the workers - remember Jesus commanded his disciples to pray to God for more workers
How does God supply more workers to work in harvest? By people coming to faith & believing in Jesus - and who does brings people to faith? God does
When we pray to God for more labourers or workers, we’re praying for God to save people; we’re praying that God’s mission to save humanity is successful
So first thing we need to understand is everything to do with mission, evangelism, sharing the gospel - is God’s responsibility
God’s in charge so what we need to do is pray for the success of God’s plan, and that God would bring people to faith (Slide)
How many of you go out to dinner at a restaurant?
Char & I love going out to dinner - it means we don’t have to cook and we get to enjoy the efforts of someone else’s skill, talent, and experience in making food.
Its not often we go to a restaurant & think - “I can cook way better than this”
Imagine ordering something from the menu then getting up from your table, grabbing your own drinks, cutlery & plates, then go out to the kitchen & try to help the chef out with making your dinner??!
Then go out to the kitchen & trying to help the chef out with making your dinner??!
“Hang mate let me give you a hand cooking that steak” or “you cook my chicken & I’ll just mix up a salad, you’re obviously busy, I can do it faster, I’m pretty good at cooking!”
None of us would ever barge into a chef’s Kitchen to help him out - we’d get shouted at! Chef knows way more than we do & its his kitchen & business!
The same principle applies to mission - its God’s business
Paul understood this when writing to Corinthian Church when arguing over which leader they were going to follow
Paul uses similar concept of planting & growing crops (Slide)
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
So you can see that we’re called to do only what God tells us to do because he’s in charge of who gets saved, when, & how
So before we think about doing any evangelism, mission, sharing our faith - we’re to pray that God’s plan to save people is successful, so that there will be more labourers or more believers to help with evangelism, mission, sharing of our faith
But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’
Luke 10:
That leads us to the next to the next bit (slide)
Called & Equiped for the Harvest
Called & Equiped for the Harvest
Now I want you to understand that at this point in Jesus story there were already 12 disciples appointed
But notice what He does in first verse; (slide)
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.
Jesus picks out 72 people, which probably included the 12 disciples but it wasn’t exclusive to the professionals
He sent a whole bunch of people of different skills, different abilities, different backgrounds, different experiences
In other words He probably sent out whole group of his followers - everyone with him, to share gospel
And he sends them out in pairs - they have company, support, and from a Jewish perspective that was important (Slide)
One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
Now don’t worry I’m not trying to link people witnessing murders and evangelism - that’s a little extreme
But I’m highlighting a biblical principe that appears all over OT and in NT
What this is saying is if there’s 2 of you together then you have a backup, a safety net - someone who can act as a witness or testimony
Someone who can watch out for you, to support you, & encourage you
Next we read in next verses (slide)
Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
There’s a lot in these verses
What I want you to notice is that Jesus first say “I’m sending you out as very vulnerable people amongst those who could viciously come against you - even attack you”
If that wasn’t enough to put you off he then tells them to not take any provisions - no money, no spare change of clothes or shoes
So what Jesus was telling them was they had to rely on God to provide for all their needs - for protection & provision
In reality Jesus tells them that those people who believe or are followers of Jesus will welcome you - they’re the ones who will help you (slide)
Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
So Jesus shows us that God uses the Church / His people to help supply resources needed for ministry & mission in particular
Nothing is going to hinder mission more than a Church or Christians who refuse to offer support, assistance, resources to mission and outreach
But there was also a last thing Jesus put on the end of vs 4 (slide)
Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
Greet no one on the road - saying hello to someone on the road in those days could be a long involved process
Remember there were no emails, computers, telephones, so if you did happen to meet someone on the road, you probably had a lot of catching up to do
But Jesus says - don’t do that. In other words he doesn’t want us to become distracted or lose focus on the task at hand.
If we’re going to reach people with the gospel then we need to be focused, determined, & not distracted by others or anything this world might want to wave in front of us.
So Jesus calls everyone to share gospel, He calls us to do it with others & not on our own, He calls us to rely on God to provide for all our needs, and he calls us to stay focused & not be distracted.
Who here has done any running? Char has actually taken part in a couple of half marathons in her time.
It’s actually surprising how many people take part in these sorts of events, and in fact all sorts of people take part
In Auckland Char was involved in encouraging people with serious mental health issues to take part in half marathon as a team - which they did!
This picture if from the Auckland marathon which is growing each year & people of all ages & backgrounds, with all sorts of fitness levels take part.
Some even just walk the whole course which is great.
But can you imagine yourself doing a marathon or even a half marathon?
Obviously some of you probably aren’t up for running a marathon but often times we can view mission as though it was like a running marathon - just too difficult, tiring, and energy sapping!
We can think about mission - “I don’t have energy, I don’t have the right training, I don’t have enough resources, I don’t have enough courage etc”
But we need to realise God is one who does the saving, not us & God’s the one who’s going to provide all we need to do what He’s called us to do
God’s the one who
So that is actually pretty encouraging, isn’t it!
And when Jesus sent out the 72, he didn’t choose the fittest, best looking, eloquent people - he just said - hey you lot, in twos, away you go!
So you may now be thinking - well if God’s sending us out into the harvest, and he’s promised to equip us to do the job, what are we supposed to do?
So if God’s sending us out into the harvest - how
We’ll I’m glad you asked! That’s our third & final section (slide)
Proclaim & Serve in the Harvest
Proclaim & Serve in the Harvest
You see it’s the same message as we’ve been talking about in previous weeks - its about helping& conversing with people
Let’s look at first couple of verses (Slide)
Luke 10:
“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.
The first thing we offer people is God’s peace
Now they have the option to receive it or not - but regardless of whether we think they’ll receive it or not we give it anyway
But what does it mean to give God’s peace to someone?
We’ll firstly we want to bring God’s peace with us as we meet people & visit with them
That means we come in kindness & humility not looking for an argument or a fight but wanting only good things for those who we come in contact with
We then see further aspects later in the passage;
“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’
Luke 10:
Jesus wanted his followers to accept whatever opportunity God put before them
So regardless of who opens their door to us, we’re to accept their hospitality, give them God’s peace, & receive their welcome
That applies regardless of how poor they are, what ethnicity they are, what religious background they come from, their age, sexuality, doesn’t matter - if God opens the door for us, we’re to walk through it
Note the next thing we’re to do - it isn’t to preach at them, its to give them something - an act of service, kindness, generosity
God wants us to serve them in same way to meet their needs in some way -
In Jesus day they were empowered by the Spirit to supernaturally heal the sick - we may not have that gift today but we can still do acts of kindness towards others.
Its only after we’ve offered someone God’s peace, accepted their welcome, served them in someway that we then speak to them, share with them our faith & the good news of Jesus
Notice all this conversation, serving, blessing is done around the dinner table, around food - what a wonderful way to share our faith with others, eating together around dinner table! (Slide)
Take a look at this photo I like the feel of what’s going on here
You can see happiness in their faces, joy, a comfortableness with each others company
There’s conversation going on & people are relaxed enjoying this moment of fellowship (Slide)
Now have a look at this painting - I get the same feel from this picture too
People are in conversation, people are enjoying the food, but there’s also something else
Jesus is there breaking bread with them, his presence is felt at the table
There’s a sense of wonder on people’s faces, sense of love, of peace
The colours of the painting are dynamic, bright, exciting, but there’s also warmth there too
This painting for me gives me a visual image of what Jesus was talking about
That were to bring him with us to where ever he leads us
We bring his love, his compassion, his humility, his peace and give it to those God brings us to
Its not a matter of having lots of bible knowledge & the right words - although those are important
What’s more important is you bring Jesus with you
Through Jesus we bring peace, love, humility, grace, and acts of service to others houses, to their tables in fellowship
It’s through those things people learn about Jesus and eventually they get to meet Jesus (Slide)
It’s through those things people learn about Jesus and eventually they meet Jesus, l
So the Lord of the harvest is calling all of us (old & young) to join Him out in the harvest field, to pray for success of the harvesting, to trust our God will provide all we need, and for us to be willing to humbly share God’s peace, love, grace with others
Question I want to leave with you is this;
Question I want to leave with you is this;
Are you willing to say yes to the Lord of the harvest?