"Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying 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. Go! Behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no money belt, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the way."
Good Morning beloved,
We welcome you to worship today in the name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We're so glad you're here. We are especially grateful for those of you who have faithfully continued to share the ministry website, and social media platforms with all of your family and friends. Your commitment to share God's Word with others had continued to produce amazing results. May God continue to bless your efforts. I have found through the experiences in my life, that Jesus Christ is truly the solution to every problem.
There is no salvation apart from the Gospel. In order to know and believe the Gospel, somebody must introduce and explain it to you by someone dedicated to this mission. The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans, where he poses a series of rhetorical questions highlighting the essential role of preaching and teaching: "How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? How shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? How shall they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim good news of good things!" That’s why I am so committed in preaching the Gospel to all people throughout the whole world. A sinner lacks the necessary moral virtue by which he can please God, there is no amount of good deeds or righteous works by which he can earn forgiveness, therefore, a sinner has absolutely no ability within himself to save himself. It's all about God’s sovereign work of redemption through the finished work of Christ, Who by becoming the penalty for sin, satisfied the requirements of justice that God's holiness demands. Emphasizing that salvation is an act of mercy, a gift bestowed upon the sinner by God, it is not something that can be achieved through human effort, illustrating the necessity for divine intervention to reconcile a sinful humanity with a holy and righteous God.
I believe that there is absolutely no question about the fact that the call to follow Jesus, is one of submission and obedience, a commitment is characterized by
profound love and unwavering adherence to the will of God, binding himself to the person of Jesus Christ, even unto death. That is the only message of discipleship Christ proclaimed. All throughout Scripture, there are a myriad of examples that clearly illustrate the necessity of this level of commitment and dedication is required to be Jesus' disciple, even when faced with persecution and martyrdom. That is what sets true disciples apart from those who aren’t committed and say, just believe and take the gift of salvation. I firmly believe according to what Scripture teaches, that every true Christian is a disciple, committed to following Jesus. Because God in His sovereign grace, transformed us from rebellious sinners into faithful followers. We are called to make disciples, of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that He has commanded. There is no place in Scripture where obedience is ever considered an option for a Christian, it's sort of non-negotiable. Obedience to God's will out of love, not legalism, is foundational to Christianity. It's a sign of our faithful to Christ. John 14:15, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
I’m amazed at how many people in the church, perhaps even some of you here, profess to love God, to love Christ but do not abide in Him or do what He says. Abiding in Christ and obedience to His commands are a few of the signs of salvation and not just pretending to be saved, going through the motions. Those living free from habitual sin will bring forth much fruit to the glory of God. Those who seek to fulfill their own will rather than God's demonstrate their lack of saving faith. They're merely going through the motions, continuing to sin at will, without giving it any thought, claiming grace. They take God's Word and twist it to justify doing whatever they want whenever the want. Christianity is just a way to make friends, not to know Christ, to become more like Him. 1 John 2:6, the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
2 John 1:6, And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.
This is a dangerous time we're living in, many today are religious impostors who are more concerned in being right with the pastor and church rather than Christ. I'm afraid is a paganized version of Christianity in which self and the church has become the focal point with a list of prescribed religious acts and activities by which to justify what kind of Christian you are instead of the Word of God. Today's Christianity, or what I like to call Christianity Lite or Easy Believism, is what is preventing people from listening to God’s Word and is sending more people to hell than it is sending to heaven. It's like Paul says in his letter to Titus in chapter 1, "They profess to know God, but by their works they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and unfit for any good work." They are disobedient and worthless counterfeits, detestable to God. There are many in the church today who are professing to serve God, that teaching things they should never be teaching, all for the sake of dishonest gain. They're nothing more than self-loving charlatans, religious phonies, full of pride and self-righteousness, seeking to please themselves rather than God.
It's becoming more and more difficult to identify them, because they’re everywhere, they appear to be saying all the right things, who are drifting along with prevailing trends, compromising the integrity of the church by incorporating heretical worship music that gives individuals a gratifying emotional experience, it makes "me" feel good. Many pastors and church leaders don’t even understand the nature of the spiritual warfare, they think those of us who are willing to stand firm on the Word with strong conviction, non-compromising warriors for the Truth, are religious fanatics, out of sync with the times. Make no mistake, many of so called Christian worship music artists have comprised with the world, and are more influenced by the emotional appeal of their music than by theological accuracy. They have even aligned themselves with false teachers like Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn in order to sell their music. In 1 John 2:15 tells us, "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." And, in 2 John 1:10, the Word of God commands we are to have nothing to do with false teachers or even give them a greeting! Jeremiah 23 says, "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!” declares Yahweh. Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who are shepherding My people: "You have scattered My flock and banished them and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds," declares Yahweh.
Satan loves targeting undiscerning believers who understand not the Word of God. Fighting for the Truth has always been vital to the life of the church, never more important than it is now. The church has been so seduced by this fallen world to the point that it looks exactly like world and nothing like the kingdom of God. And, the closer we get to the time of our Lord’s return, the worse Satan's influence is going to get. It's crucial to be careful who and what you are listening to!
Let's pray together
Heavenly Father,
Father, we come before You with humble hearts, so grateful for these simple Truths in Your Word. Lord, how we love Your Word, I pray that Your Spirit would bring conviction upon our hearts, that we might better understand the call to remain consistently faithful and we would be a people who honor Your Word. Help us so that we might not deceive ourselves by singing emotionally charged worship music from questionable sources, to fill the pews and thinking we are truly worshiping You. May we instead be faithful to truly worshiping You with our hearts, with doctrinal purity, pursuing the fulfillment of our passion with a reckless abandon that seeks only to glorify You. Remove the needless things from our lives, the sin that easily besets us so we can fight this spiritual battle the way it ought to be fought. Father, if there is anyone among us who has not come to Jesus, disrupt their peace and allow them no rest until Your work is accomplished in their hearts. Meet every need of every heart. We ask and pray this in order that You might be glorified and our Savior might be honored, we pray in His name.
Amen.
Today's Message: The Essential Kingdom Attitude
Because we live in a fast-paced digital world that literally dominates our minds, overwhelm our senses and cloud our judgment seeking to distract us from what is genuinely important with that which is nothing more than trivial. This diversion is especially evident in spiritual matters, particularly in our commitment and dedication to Christ, which is often blurred by superficial concerns. It seems to me, there are many Christians today who are sort of a cold wet blanket on every Christian who is consumed with fiery passion about Christianity that doesn’t create a comfortable fit somewhere into your current lifestyle. The church should be sort of a country club for the redeemed, a comfortable gathering place because anything the disrupts your lifestyle is not the norm in today's post-modern Christianity.
I do believe that it is imperative to maintain a certain passion, a fervent zeal in such an environment, rather than merely being content with an emotional response. If anything has become clear to me in the last several decades, it is that the Lord is concerned about the spiritual health of His body, He is concerned about the teaching of sound doctrine which produces healthy living. We must understand that anything that produces unsound living, produces an unhealthy church. There is a tendency in modern Christianity to resist anything that disrupts personal comfort. Many Christians, if not most, seem to prefer a version of Christianity that seamlessly integrates into our existing lifestyle. It's crucial to recognize that a life dedicated to Christ will not always fit neatly into our lives. In fact, it demands a willingness to step outside our comfort zones and embrace the transformative nature of true Christian living. The challenge lies in our reluctance to change, to let go of anything that is unprofitable and worthless, anything that results in unhealthy living.
Pastors and leaders have been given the assignment to work together to that end, in order that the church might be healthy and pure. This task is not merely a suggestion but a divine mandate. However, there is an ongoing effort in the church to silence those who boldly speak the truth, those who proclaim the truth, in order that the church might be all that God wants it to be, to give voice to those who seek to undermine the church's ability to become what God wants by succumbing to man desires of what he wants the church to be. Churches that embrace worldly standards often struggle with division and stagnation rather than the unity and spiritual growth God intended. Satan would like nothing more than for the church to make a deal, to compromise with the world, to teach things we shouldn't teach and to sing the songs we ought not to sing! Because Christianity has tolerated every wind of doctrine, tolerated ungodly living, the church has become so mixed up with the world, it is virtually indistinguishable from the world. The result is a church that is filled with false Christians who deny the Authenticity of Scripture in their theology, who deny Authority of Scripture in their living. The Bible is very clear in describing the world with great specificity, they are dead in their trespasses and sins, and they are children of wrath, emphasizing the inevitable consequences. I cannot imagine why the redeemed people of God would want to cling to a morally bankrupt society that is on a path of destruction, damned by it's heretical ideologies.
Take out your Bibles and open them with me to the Gospel of Luke chapter 10. Today, we have the great privilege of studying Luke 10:1-4. I would like to encourage you to follow along with me as I read to set the text in our minds. Luke 10:1-4. Luke’s Gospel account is the only one that tells us of the sending out of the seventy. This is a very straightforward and concise text, saying what needs to be said without unnecessary words but it is loaded with some very practical applications. There have always been people in the church unwilling to deny themselves and take up their cross to follow Christ on His terms. Christianity is not about self-fulfillment. On the other hand, there are some who are true disciples, who recognize their depravity, and will gladly do whatever it takes to follow Jesus, even if it means death. Today, we're going to meet seventy-seven self-denying, cross-bearing genuine followers, who were not apostles but they are still "apostello" or sent messengers willing to abandon everything to represent the Lord sharing the good news. We are all given the same assignment, some will go great distances, others will share with family, friends and neighbors, but we're all called to do something.
"Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying 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. Go! Behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no money belt, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the way."
Let's look at verse 1, "Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come." I'm sure most of you have an appreciation for the Scripture as I do, because the word pours truth into the mind and the life into the soul. That's why we constantly thank God for the Word which we have received. The Word of God which is able to bring salvation, bring conviction, it can also bring sanctification and spiritual growth. The word "this," in the Greek is the word "tauta" pronounced tow'-tah appears some 250 times in the New Testament, which actually means these things. It is to say Now after these things that went on in chapter 9, the calling and commissioning of the twelve, after the feeding of the five thousand, after Peter confesses Jesus The Christ of God, after the Transfiguration and after the argument among the disciples about who was the greatest, after these things the Lord appointed seventy others, some manuscripts say seventy-two. We have no way of being sure of which is correct, but whether it's seventy or seventy-two is certainly nothing to be concerned about.
The word "appointed" appears only two times in the New Testament, once here in Luke 10 and in Acts 1, when the Lord chose Matthias as the replacement of Judas. It is the Greek verb "anadeiknumi," means to show forth or publicly declare, a formal process where individuals were publicly recognized or appointed to positions of authority or responsibility. He selected these seventy men to send out "in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come." He wanted them to go out and announce to the various towns and villages that He was coming, so they could be prepared for Him when He arrived. The principle behind going out in pairs of two, is so they can provide strength, support, encouragement and assistance to one another. I'm sure you've heard the old well-known saying "two's better than one." Well, you may not know that saying originates from Ecclesiastes 4:9, which says, "Two are better than one because they have good wages for their labor." This principle is further elaborated in verse 12 in that "if one can overpower him who is alone, two can withstand them, and a threefold cord is not quickly broken." More than that, the Old Testament Law in Deuteronomy 19:15 says, "A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; at the mouth of two or three witnesses a matter shall be established." The point is when they go ahead of Him to announce the Messiah is coming, there are two witnesses to confirm that it is true. By the way, this is our responsibility today as well, it's the reason we're here, to announce to the world that the Lord and Savior has already come, and He is imminently coming again soon to Judge the World. Now is the time to get our lives in order and prepare for His arrival. Are you ready? Do you even know Him? More importantly, does He know you?
Verse 2, "And He was saying 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." There is no reason for us to assume that this is all He said, because John 21:25, tells us, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written one after the other, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." We can assume that also applies to the things He said, we know that Jesus didn't preach a sermon that went from early in the morning to late in the evening in fifteen minute. (Matthew 14:13-21) So, we're only getting portions of those sermons,, but not all that He said. We know that in Acts 20, Paul preached so long that a guy named Eutychus who sitting on the third floor windowsill fell asleep, falling out of the window and died, and Paul went down and fell upon him, raised him from the dead so he could hear the rest of the message.
The harvest is plentiful was a familiar phrase, the Old Testament prophets talked about a great harvest, the Jews would have known about a harvest. Joel 3:13 says,
"Send in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for their evil is great." This is not the same imagery we often think of when we imagine there's too much work to do in God’s mission field. This is talking about a massive harvest of unredeemed, deceived people and left destitute by their false religious leaders all heading towards a worldwide divine harvest of wrath, not the souls that need to be harvested for the Gospel. Beloved, this is a grave reminder that there will only be few that find the narrow way. It grieves my heart horribly that the masses of humanity are on the broad road heading toward eternal destruction because of false teachers. I suppose that's why there's an entire highway to hell and only a stairway to heaven, because only a few find the narrow way. In Matthew 13:24-30, the Lord Himself told the parable of Tares Among Wheat.
"He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn."
Then, in Revelation 14:13-16, "And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’" "Yes," says the Spirit, "so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them." Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the sanctuary, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sits on the cloud, "Put in Your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe. Then He who sits on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped."
We need to realize that the urgency of the message we carry, we can no longer afford to be content to say nothing! God will not hold us guiltless for remaining silent in these last days. Praying for the salvation of others is essential, but it's not enough to just sit back and pray for the salvation of people, we must say something, we have to do something. Our faith compels us to take action, we must get on our knees pray and keep on beseeching the Lord to send more and more laborers to proclaim the message of salvation, so that the Lord of the harvest will save more from His wrath. That's I'm willing to literally beg those I engage with who are heading into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, to repent and believe the Gospel. It is Jesus Who hears our prayers, it is Jesus that saves those who are perishing, and it is also Jesus Who is Executioner. In John 5:22-24,, He says "For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life." They can't hear the Gospel without a preacher; pray ask the Lord to raise up more faithful messengers because He said to do it, we can assume He'll answer. I do not believe it is possible to pray, I mean earnestly pray, for the Lord to send more laborers and not make ourselves available. Who is willing to say, "Lord, use me in reaching the lost!"?
Verse 3, "Go! Behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves." Here we see the essential kingdom attitude, the call to depart is immediate with a sense of urgency. Go! The Greek verb "hupagó" is employed here to illustrate the act of departing with the intention of fulfilling a duty or mission, without reference to time, until the Son of Man comes. The present imperative adds a sense of continuing action, implying this is a continuous command. In other words, "Go now, and keep going, spread the Word. Tell the world the Lord is coming! The time is short." If you are a Christian, you possess enough knowledge to guide others towards salvation. "Behold," an exclamation calling attention, highlighting the gravity of the statement, "I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves." I want you to understand this mission is not going to be easy, not everyone will be receptive to the message you bring, you may be hated for it. And, as we draw nearer to the end, things are only going to get worse and the challenges you'll face are going to escalate. So be ready, there might be instances where you will be brought before courts, you may face persecution or even death because of their love of sin and their hatred of Christ, so be prepared to take up your cross, they might even kill you. It may not happen, it doesn't happen to everybody, but it could, so keep your eyes open for it. There's nothing wrong with being mentally and spiritually prepared for persecution and hostility. Just remember, you have no strength in yourself. I love that Jesus underscores the weight of the mission at hand, and the potential risks involved. Never once did He lower the standard. I believe many preachers today could certainly take a page out of Jesus' book on evangelism and the kind of commitment required to fulfill one's spiritual duties. "Deny yourself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me."
That brings us to verse 4, "Carry no money belt, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the way." The message is simple, you're going to have to trust Jesus for everything, in every aspect of your life, including your most fundamental needs. If you are never placed in a position where you have to trust God through real-life experiences, how will you ever know that you can trust Him? I can tell you from my own personal experiences, this is how you learn trust the Lord to supply your every need. It's like Christian Boot Camp, where faith is not just a concept but a reality to be lived. Never once have I lacked ever anything, not even a single meal. It's just like the ole Gospel hymn says, "All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided." Scripture is filled with numerous stories of great faith like David, a young shepherd boy, bravely faced Goliath, a Philistine giant, armed only with unwavering faith and a sling, defeating him with a stone. Similarly, the Israelites journey through the wilderness, lasting forty years after fleeing from Egypt, is a testament to God's provision and reliability, during which time God provided them with manna from heaven, except on the Sabbath, when a double portion was given the day before to ensure they had enough to eat without laboring on their day of rest. Incidentally, the manna stopped falling once the Israelites entered the Promised Land. I've learned the profound lesson of not relying on people you know to support you, even those who are willing will eventually find their resources depleted, but God is always going to be there to sustain you, when you have nothing and remarkably, He often works through people you don't even know! In my own experiences, I've witnessed how God consistently has proven Himself to be trustworthy, faithful in ways that are beyond my understanding time and time again, no matter the situation.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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