Sermon - Luke 10 - Instructions to the 72 - Littleby Baptist Church - May 26, 2019

When we last opened our Bibles together, we took a look at the Twelve men that Jesus called and then sent out to care and share. We saw that He put them in a position that required them to trust that God would provide the most basic of necessities. In their missionary journey they also were learning to trust that God would work in them and through them.

As the Twelve headed out into the world, trusting in God, and caring and sharing wherever they went we saw that they successfully proclaimed the good news and healed people everywhere. We to have a job to do and need to trust in God so that we can do it. We need to trust in Him to guide and provide, and then we need to step out and care and share as missionaries to the people in our lives.  

This week we are going to continue in Luke.

Luke 10:1-4

“10 After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and he sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself was about to go. ² He told them, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest. ³ Now go; I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves. ⁴ Don’t carry a money-bag, traveling bag, or sandals; don’t greet anyone along the road.”

After the Twelve went out and came back, Jesus sent out another group of followers to the surrounding areas. They were told to go ahead of Jesus to heal the sick and declare that the kingdom of God has come. They were given the same instructions as the Twelve in regard to bringing nothing with them. They needed to trust in God to give them the words to speak, the power to heal, and to completely provide for their needs.

This time though Luke records Jesus providing some additional commentary.

Luke 10:2a

“² He told them, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few.”

I am probably one of the least qualified people in this room to comment on this, but harvesting crops is not easy work. John Deere, New Holland, and others have some nice, fancy harvesters that make it easier to harvest larger pieces of land, but it is still a lot of work.

In Jesus day they would walk the fields and harvest the crops manually. It was all day, out in the heat work. It was physically exhausting and the better the harvest the longer the days were and the more of them you would spend out in the field. The more help you had, the quicker the job got done.

Jesus was sending 72 guys out to harvest. Now 72 guys might be a good number to harvest a hand full of acres by hand. These guys were sent out in pairs, two guys sent out to minister to a town or even a group of towns. The task before them was monumental. It was not something they were going to be able to accomplish on their own or in their own power and strength.

There are a lot of things in our lives that we cannot accomplish on our own. Walking in this world as a follower of Jesus can be overwhelming. Especially if we do not have brothers and sisters in Christ to lean on. Then add carrying out the Great Commission, following the Greatest of the Commandments, or being a witness to our Judea, let alone the ends of the earth. When we are on our own, we cannot do these things. We do not have the strength, knowledge, wisdom, or even the time to accomplish these things without our brothers and sisters in Christ, and more importantly our Lord.

We need to trust in God, and we need each other if we are going to make a dent in the abundant harvest before us.

Luke 10:2b

“Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”

The workers who are out harvesting need to be praying for the Lord to send more workers. As the 72 went into the mission field they were to be praying for God to open the eyes and ears of others so that they would join in the harvest. While they were working, they need to pray that others would respond to the call. That others would come help.

If you are sitting here this morning and Jesus is your Lord, you are a worker. You have a job to do. You are to carry out the greatest of the commandments, the great commission, and to be a witness wherever you go. While you do these things, you need to be praying for the Lord to bring more workers. Here’s the thing, if you are praying for God to bring people into your path so that you can share the Good News with them, you are praying for more workers. As we pray for the lost, our family and friends, as we pray for an opportunity to share His love with them, as we pray for them to be open to hear what God is doing in their lives, we are also praying for more workers.

Every person who declares Jesus Christ as Lord becomes a worker. So not only pray that your lost loved one accepts Jesus, buy pray that they become a witness to the world for our Lord.

Think about that for a moment. If you are praying for someone to accept Jesus, don't stop there. Change your prayer to asking God to work in their lives so profoundly that they will have a powerful testimony to share and lead others to Christ.

Pray for workers to help with the abundant harvest. Pray that the changes in their lives reach the world. Pray that God is glorified as He draws workers to the harvest. 

Luke 10:3

“Now go; I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.”

Vance Havner was known to say, ‘Any man who takes Jesus Christ seriously becomes the target of the devil.”

If you truly believe what the Bible tells you. If you are doing your best living the Bible for the unbelievers in your life. If you are living for Jesus. If you are loving God, loving others, caring for the least of these, being a witness, and making disciples… you are a target of the devil. You are a lamb surrounded by the wolves.

Matthew 10:16

“Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.”

The task at hand is huge, the devil will be out to get us, and we are to ‘be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.’

We need to be shrewd or wise so that we can avoid the traps of the devil as he tries to trick us and trap in sin. We also need to be innocent or harmless so that we do not detract from the message of Jesus.

Philippians 2:14-15

“¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling and arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world”

With wisdom we avoid the traps, with innocence we put our best foot forward and are the first Bible that some people will read. With wisdom and innocence, we not only talk the talk, but we truly walk the walk.  

Flip back to Luke 10 and let’s jump down to verse 17.

Luke 10:17

“The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

Talk about being lambs surrounded by wolves. As followers of Christ our battle is not with the person who attacks us, it is with the devil and his demons.

Ephesians 6:12

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.”

We are not battling things we can see; we are battling pure evil. We need to trust in God, we need to pray for more workers who in turn will pray for more workers, who will pray for more workers. We need wisdom and innocence in order to stand with our Lord and be His workers as He collects the harvest.

Luke 10:18-20

“¹⁸ He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning. ¹⁹ Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing at all will harm you. ²⁰ However, don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

When someone goes from being lost to a co-worker in Christ, we celebrate. When we see someone break the chains of addiction, we celebrate. When we see God restore a broken marriage, we celebrate. When we see a life changed, we celebrate. When we see God at work, we celebrate… we are filled with Joy.

Jesus is telling the 72, that these things are all great, but they pale in comparison to the fact that if you are a follower of Jesus then, you name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Get excited about what happens when you faithfully trust in God and see Him work in those around you but remember that true unending joy comes from knowing that you are a child of God. Your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. You are going to spend an eternity with the Father.

The sending of the 72 was similar to the 12, but it also teaches us that we are lambs in this world. We are surrounded by wolves everywhere we go. Wolves that will only get bolder and more brazen in their attacks as we get closer to the second coming of our Lord. We must trust in our God, pray for more workers to be awoken, be shrewd as a serpent showing wisdom in our words and actions, be innocent as a dove so that people will continue to see Christ in us.

Pray for God to work in you so that you can be all these things. Pray for more workers, pray that you learn to truly trust in God, pray for wisdom, innocence, and the strength to stand when the devil attacks.

The most important thing to remember is that your true joy comes from your name being written in the Book of Life.

God Bless,

Robert