Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Luke 10:1-2: Sermon at FBC Stanleyville



Good Morning!
My name is T Welch, wife: Julia, daughter: Piper. We have enjoyed meeting each of you this weekend and look forward to partnering with you to reach youth and Winston Salem for Christ.
Turn in your Bible to Luke 10:1-2
 As you are turning in your Bibles allow me to walk you through the first 9 chapters of Luke. Luke 1-3 records the Christmas story or the birth of Jesus Christ. Luke 4-6, tells the story of John the Baptist, the calling out of the first disciples and the attitudes a follower of Christ should possess. Luke 7-9, records Jesus teachings on love and forgiveness, as well as his prediction of His own death for the very first time. Luke 10 opens up with the sending out of seventy individuals. Luke 10:1-2 records the sending out of the seventy into the villages and cities in which Jesus is about to go. The sending of the seventy is important because this is the first time the Lord appoints missionaries. MacArthur writes, “Jesus first appoints the highest rank of spiritual service, the Apostles, down to the next level. And here we find what everybody else was commissioned to do and that was to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ. They are set apart to be the first Kingdom missionaries.” Today, we are going to walk through two verses and ask ourselves four questions, “Who is the Lord of the Harvest, Who are His laborers, where are the fields and what are are we to do?
Please stand for the reading of God’s word: Luke 10:1-2
Who is the Lord of the harvest?
The Lord of the harvest is none other than Jesus Himself. The same person who sends the seventy out and the same person who sends us out is also Lord over the harvest! We must remember that the Lord of the harvest is the same God who created everything. God spoke and the world came into existence. The Lord of the harvest is a God of diversity, creativity, and sophistication which He has put on display in the universe, on earth and in our bodies. The Bible says that the Heavens display the glory of God… God is SHOUTING at us with blue skies, He is SHOUTING at us in the humidity of summer, He is SHOUTING with brilliant sunsets and sunrises. Through it all, He is SHOUTING, worship me, trust me, and surrender your life to me.
The Lord of the harvest is not only creator but He also never changes. He has no birthday. No time when He came into being, He has always existed and He will always exist. He was the living God when the Universe was created and He will be the living God 10,000 years from now when every building on this campus has crumbled to the ground. The Lord of the harvest is all-knowing.  He knows our thoughts before we think them, our actions before we commit them; He knows our lying down and our getting up. God knows all. God is holy and because of His holiness He cannot look upon sin. Man is sinful and cannot get to God; however, thanks be to God because He has made a way. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. Who is the Lord of the harvest? The lord of the harvest is none other than the eternal creator, the all-knowing, all sufficient, everywhere, never changing, creative, and holy but loving God!
Who are His laborers? (Vs. 2b)
In the immediate context these are the seventy elders who are going out and as they are going they are told to pray that God would raise up more men and women to go and share about Christ. A Pastor in Philadelphia writes, “The extraordinary thing about the seventy which Jesus sent out is there ordinariness. There lack of extraordinary abilities.” We should take great comfort in this quote. Let me read it again, “The extraordinary thing about the seventy which Jesus sent out is there ordinariness. There lack of extraordinary abilities.” God’s workers, God’s laborers are ordinary men and women who have fallen in love with an extraordinary God. Do you feel ordinary this morning? Do you feel inadequate? PERFECT! You are just the man or woman God desires to use. God uses ordinary people to proclaim His extraordinary love! Every one of you can change the world. Every one of you young or old can impact your family, your school, your church, your neighborhood, your city, your state, your nations, and yes, even the world! Who are these workers? They are ordinary men and women who have fallen in love with an extraordinary.
Where is the harvest? (2b)
Jesus sends out the seventy into every city and place where He is about to go. Now; the harvest obviously is a lot bigger and includes the whole world. Did you know that there are 7 billion (with a b), 7 billion people on this planet and sadly over half of the world’s population has little access to the Gospel. Where is the harvest? The harvest is in every corner of every city in the United States. Did you know that in Winston Salem alone there are 20,000 individuals who don’t claim a religion? 12% of the population has no religion. Think about where you live. Do your neighbors know Jesus? Do your co-workers know Jesus? Do your classmates know Jesus? What about your family members? The harvest is not only in America but the harvest is in Africa where there are 300,000 tribal animistic religions completely devoid of God. The harvest is in East Asia; where there are 350 million Buddhists. The harvest is in South Asia; where there are 950 million Hindus worshiping more gods than you or I could even imagine. The harvest is in communist nations such as North Korea, China, and Cuba where individuals have grown up in an atheistic philosophy that completely denies the existence of God. The harvest is in the Middle East where there are 1.3 billion Muslims fasting, giving alms, making pilgrimages to Mecca and praying five times a day to a false god. Where is the harvest? The harvest is on every corner of planet Earth.
What will be our response?
There are only three responses to today’s sermon: go, send or disobey.
GO:
I believe God has been working in someone’s heart this morning and He is placing a burden on your heart to reach the nations. We need individuals to go! We need men and women to go to every corner of every city in the United States because there are hundreds of millions of people who are going to a Christ less eternity and we should long to see them worship God. We need men and women to go to Africa and tell the tribes that there is a God and He is worthy of every single one of their praise. We need workers in East Asia and South Asia because Buddha is not worthy of worship, Jesus Christ is! Hindu worshipers must be told that there is ONLY one God and He is the way the truth and the life. We need workers in the Middle East working with Muslims because Allah is not worthy of praise, NO, only Jehovah is worthy of their praise. Will you take the Gospel to the Nations both at home and abroad?
SEND:
The second option is to send. Senders are those who for whatever reasons are unable to go to the mission field but God is going to use these individuals through another avenue. This avenue is sending. Look at verse two; look at what the senders are commanded to do: we are commanded to pray. We are commanded to pray for the nations. While you watch the news take time to pray over the nations. Pray that God would open the eyes of those whom the enemy has blinded. Pray that God would send missionaries to the unreached peoples of the world. Pray that God would encourage missionaries serving overseas. Pray and ask God what your role will be in taking the Gospel to the nations. Second, partner with other missionaries which your church sends out. Do you know the missionaries which your church supports? Talk with your WMU, GA, deacons and pastors for information about missionaries and then send the missionaries a word of encouragement. Third, send money. Every little bit helps. Did you know that if you make $25,000 per year you are in the top 10% of the world’s wealthiest people? Please, use what God has given you in order to send out more missionaries.
3) Disobedient:
The seventy elders could have chosen not to go when Jesus sent them out. They could have chosen to stay at home, enjoy time with their families rather than listen to their king, but instead they went. The same is true for you; you may choose to open your mouth and share the Gospel or you may choose to remain be disobedient and remain silent. 
Conclusion:
In closing, after this sermon church will end and your church will be called into council to vote on whether or not you will call myself as Associate Pastor/Minister of Students. My wife and I are excited about the possibility of serving God with each of you in the coming years. While the vote after church is important there is a more important vote going on today and that is the vote which will take place in each of your hearts. Every day we have the vote to either join Christ on mission to take the Gospel to the world or to be disobedient and remain silent. How will you vote on that question? Will you vote yes to take the Gospel to the Nations or will you vote no? Will you vote yes to prayerfully supporting missionaries or will you vote no? Will you vote yes to sharing the Gospel with your neighbors, co-workers and class mates or will you vote no? How will you vote?

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