Lord of the Harvest

Introduction

Video - Deaf Church in Wausau

Pray, Go, Rejoice

Jesus Sent out his disciples to preach to the lost sheep of Isreal

Sending out of the 12

Sending out of the 72

Jesus sends out the Church.

John 20:21 (ESV)

21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We the Church are disciples of Jesus Christ sent with an incredible message of what God has accomplished in Jesus.

Lets look at what Jesus said as he was sending out the 72. (Luke 10:1-12, 17-20)

Luke 10:1 (ESV)

1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.

Jesus appoints 72 and sends them into the towns ahead of them.

Lets learn from what Jesus said to them.

Pray (Luke 10:2)

Luke 10:2 (ESV)

2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

Realization

“The Harvest is Plentiful...”

“harvest - The gathering of mature crops from the land. The successful culmination of the agricultural year was evidence of God’s goodness and consequently marked with festivity. Harvest is also used widely in a metaphorical sense. (Manser, Martin H. Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies. London: Martin Manser, 2009. Print.)

Working at a dairy farm, going into field work now. Knowing when the Harvest is ready for the gathering. When it is ready, there is a sense of urgency to gather it in before it is lost.

“Harvest as Unbelievers — Unbelievers are conceptualized as a harvest of crops that are ripe for harvesting. (“The Lexham Figurative Language of the New Testament Dataset.” Lexham Figurative Language of the Bible Glossary. Ed. Joshua R. Westbury et al. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2016. Print.)

Jesus is using this illustration to point to the unbelievers. The Harvest is plentiful and ready to be harvested.

“Harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”

Pray

Luke 10:2 (ESV)

2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

Pray Earnestly

Pray - to ask for with urgency, with the implication of presumed need—‘to plead, to beg.’ (Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains 1996: 407. Print.)

Lord of the Harvest - owner of the field.

Send out Laborers

Send - to send out or away from, presumably for some purpose—‘to send, to send out, to send forth.’ (Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains 1996: 190. Print.)

Send out laborers to bring in the harvest.

Jesus’ first instructions to the 72 he was sending out was to Pray to the Lord about the harvest.

One of the core values of our church is “Prayer is our primary work.”

As a church, are we praying to the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into His Harvest Field?

Go (Luke 10:3-12)

Luke 10:3–12 (ESV)

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. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘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.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

I am sending you… (3a)

Go your way - to continue to move along—‘to move along, to go along.’ (Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains 1996: 183. Print.)

Sending you - to cause someone to depart for a particular purpose—‘to send.’ (Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains 1996: 190. Print.)

Jesus just told them to Pray for laborers to be sent out to harvest the field, Then sends them out.

Sheep among Wolves (3b-12)

Dangerous (3b)

Wolves kill and eat sheep.

“Their calling was a dangerous one. As they invaded enemy territory (Luke 10:17), they would be like “lambs among wolves” (Luke 10:3). But as long as they relied on the Lord, they would win the battle. “Any man who takes Jesus Christ seriously becomes the target of the devil,” Vance Havner often told audiences. “Most church members do not give Satan enough trouble to arouse his opposition.” (Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Vol. 1. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996. Print.)

House (4-7)

As they travel to a town, they would stay in someones house.

Come with a greeting of Peace. If it is reciprocated, stay with them. If it is not reciprocated move on to the next house. (5-6)

That house will be the center of your ministry as you minister to the town you are in and they will provide for you. (7)

“It would require discipline and faith for them to do the job (Luke 10:4–8). There was an urgency about the work, and the Lord did not want them to be overburdened with extra supplies or be delayed on the road by elaborate Eastern greetings. They had to trust God to provide homes and food for them, and they were not to be embarrassed to accept hospitality. After all, they were laboring for the Lord and bringing blessing into the home, and “the laborer is worthy of his hire” (Luke 10:7; see also 1 Cor. 9:14; 1 Tim. 5:18).” (Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Vol. 1. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996. Print.)

Town (8-12)

Welcoming Town (8-9)

Luke 10:8–9 (ESV)

8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

Unwelcoming Town (10-12)

Luke 10:10–12 (ESV)

10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘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.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

Jesus wanted them to know that they were being sent out to dangerous situations with the message of the Gospel. They will run into people that will receive them and their message and those who will reject them and the message.

Same with the Church.

Rejoice (Luke 10:17-20)

Luke 10:17–20 (ESV)

17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Rejoice (17)

Joy - a state of joy and gladness—‘joy, gladness, great happiness.’ (Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains 1996: 301. Print.)

They had authority over demons because of Jesus.

Matthew 28:18–19 (ESV)

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

They and the church has authority because Jesus has all authority. When we go in Jesus’ name, we are ministering under his authority.

Names in Heaven (18-20)

Luke 10:18–20 (ESV)

18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Jesus gives authority over spiritual enemies. (19)

“Serpent and Scorpion as Physical Dangers — Serpents and scorpions represent physical dangers. (“The Lexham Figurative Language of the New Testament Dataset.” Lexham Figurative Language of the Bible Glossary. Ed. Joshua R. Westbury et al. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2016. Print.)

Connecting the idea of serpents and scorpions with the spiritual enemies he adds, “over all the power of the enemy.” Enemy = Satan

Rejoice in our names written in Heaven. (20)

Names written in Heaven

Written - tn The verb here, a perfect tense, stresses a present reality of that which was a completed action, that is, their names were etched in the heavenly stone, as it were. (Biblical Studies Press. The NET Bible. Second Edition. Denmark: Thomas Nelson, 2019. Print.)

Being in relationship with Jesus and with God through Him.

Jesus is saying that we should rejoice more with our relationship with God than the authority we have over the enemy.

We should rejoice with our names written and desire to see others names written.

The Parable of the Lost Coin - Luke 15:10 “10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

There is great Joy in Heaven when people repent and turn to Jesus. The same in the church.

Application

Matthew 16:18 (ESV)

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Jesus is building His church, we are to seek Him to know what he is doing, partner with him, and be obedient witnesses for Him.

Jesus has the Plan, Power, Resources, and Desire to build His church. We should be obedient servants of the King.

Luke 10:2 (ESV)

2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

As obedient servants of the King, we need to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers.

We should be willing to be the ones sent.

If you are willing

Set an alarm on your phone for 10:02. and Spent time praying to God about the harvest. Pray that God would reveal to our church our part in the work of reaching Manitowoc county for Christ. Pray that God would show you your part in reaching Manitowoc county.

As a church, we will be starting our Sunday Morning services at 10:02 with prayer to God for the harvest in Manitowoc County.