Join the Harvest Work!

The Lord calls us to worship with Psalm 3, 1 through 6. O Lord, how many are my foes!

Many are rising around me, many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God.

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the

Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. I lay down and slept. I woke again, for the

Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.

Please turn your hymnal to hymn number one, All People That on Earth Do Dwell. When you have that, you may stand for singing.

Hymn number one, and the hymnal in front of you. All people that on earth do dwell, come to him and rejoice.

The Lord, we know, is God indeed.

Without our aid he did us make.

We are his folk, he doth us feed.

And for his sheep he doth us take.

O enter then his gates with praise.

Approach with joy his courts unto.

Praise the Lord and bless his name always.

For it is seemly so to do.

For while the Lord our God is good,

His mercy is forever sure.

His truth at all times firmly stowed,

And shall from age to age endure.

Please turn to hymn number 492, Take My Life and Let It Be. 492.

Take my life and let it be,

Consecrated Lord to thee. Take my moments and my days,

Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands and let them move

At the impulse of thy love.

Take my feet and let them be Swift and beautiful for thee.

Take my voice and let me sing

Always, only for my King.

Take my lips and let them be Filled with messages from thee.

Take my silver and my gold,

Not a mite would I withhold. Take my intellect and use

Every power as thou shalt choose.

Take my will and make it thine, It shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart, it is thine own, It shall be thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour

At thy feet its treasure store.

Take myself and I will be

Ever, only, all for thee. Amen.

You may be seated. We have the privilege today of going to God in prayer.

Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity that we have to come to you in prayer by the blood of Jesus Christ, Him in our seating for us, so that our prayers are acceptable in your sight.

And with this opportunity, we ask the things that you have called us to ask for.

We ask that your name would be holy, that we be made holy in all the earth. We ask that your kingdom would advance, that you would be glorified.

We ask that you would supply us with our daily bread. We ask that you would keep us from temptation and help us to forgive others.

Lord, we ask these things, knowing that you are powerful and able to answer them and that you desire to answer them.

If a good father would give good gifts to his children, how much more would you give when we ask for the

Spirit? So we ask for the Spirit's work among us today. As we hear your word, we ask that you would work in us, that your word would transform us by the

Spirit's working, that we would be filled with a zeal to do your will, to honor you with the fruit of the

Spirit, that we would have love for each other, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self -control.

God, please grant us these things in great measure, that we would be joyful people who are following your will, who are treasuring what you treasure and building for ourselves treasures in heaven by your kindness to us.

Lord, we ask these things not for our own sake but for your sake as you are glorified in this work that you are doing in us.

We ask that you would provide healing for those who need healing. There are many in this congregation who are not well and need your healing.

And God, we ask that you would provide work for those who need work, that they would be able to use their hands, the gifts that you've given them, that they would be able to provide for themselves and for others.

And we ask that you would grant us these things and you would grant us a memory that we might remember what you have done for us.

There's so much you have done for us that we forget. There's so much you have done for us that we have not returned with thankfulness.

But we ask that you would forgive us for this forgetfulness, that you would forgive us for our sins, both great and small, and that you would grant us hearts that would be thankful for what you have done.

And we thank you now for all that you have given us and all that you continue to give us. We thank you for this opportunity we have today to hear your word, to sing to you, to pray to you.

And we ask that through these things that you would work in us to accomplish your purposes. In Jesus' name, amen.

Our scripture reading today begins in Exodus 39. So please turn to Exodus 39.

Exodus 39, beginning in verse 1. From the blue and purple and scarlet yarns they made finely woven garments for ministering in the holy place.

They made the holy garments for Aaron as the Lord had commanded Moses. He made the heath out of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen.

And they hammered out of gold leaf. And he cut it into threads and worked into the blue and purple and scarlet yarns and into the fine twined linen in skilled design.

They made for the ephod attaching shoulder pieces joined to it at its two edges.

And the skillfully woven band on it was of one piece with it. It made like it of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen as the

Lord had commanded Moses. They made the onyx stones enclosed in settings of gold filigree and engraved like the engravings of a signet according to the names of the sons of Israel.

And he set them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod to be stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel as the

Lord had commanded Moses. He made the breastpiece in skilled work and in the style of the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen.

It was square. They made the breastpiece doubled. It span a length and it span its breadth when doubled.

And they set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle was the first row.

And the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. And a third row, a jacinth, an agate, and amethyst.

And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold filigree.

There were 12 stones with their names according to each of the names of the sons of Israel. They were like signets, each engraved with its name for the 12 tribes.

And they made on the breastpiece twisted chains like cords of pure gold. And they made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece.

And they put the two cords of gold and the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. They attached the two ends of the two cords to the two settings of the filigree.

Thus they attached it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. Then they made two rings of gold and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece on its inside edge next to the ephod.

And they made two rings of gold and attached them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod.

And they bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue so that it should lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod and that the breastpiece should not come loose from the ephod as the

Lord had commanded Moses. He also made the robe of the ephod woven all of blue and the opening of the robe in it was like the opening in a garment with a binding around the opening so that it might not tear.

On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen.

They also made bells of pure gold and put the bells between the pomegranates all around the hem of the robe between the pomegranates, a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate around the hem of the robe for ministering as the

Lord had commanded Moses. They also made the coats woven of fine linen for Aaron and his sons and the turban of fine linen and the caps of fine linen and the linen undergarments of fine twined linen and the sash of fine twined linen and of blue and purple and scarlet yarns embroidered with needlework as the

Lord had commanded Moses. They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold and wrote on it an inscription like the engraving of a signet holy to the

Lord and they tied to it a cord of blue to fasten it on the turban above as the

Lord had commanded Moses. Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished and the people of Israel did according to all that the

Lord had commanded Moses so they did. Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses the tent and all its utensils its hooks, its frames, its bars its pillars and its bases the covering of tanned ram skins and goat skins and the veil of the screen the ark of the testimony with its poles and the mercy seat and the table with all its utensils and the bread of the presence the lampstand of pure gold and its lamps with the lamps set and all its utensils and all the oil for the light the golden altar the anointing oil and the fragrant incense and the screen for the entrance of the tent the bronze altar and its grating of bronze its poles and all its utensils the basin and its stand the hangings of the court its pillars and its bases and the screen for the gate of the court its cords and its pegs and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle for the tent of meeting the finely worked garments for ministering and the holy place the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons for their service as priests according to all that the

Lord had commanded Moses so the people of Israel had done all the work and Moses saw all the work and behold they had done it as the

Lord had commanded so they had done it then Moses blessed them so speaking primarily of the garments that the priests would wear now as we've been pointing out the

New Testament has much to say about the priesthood it has much to say about the priesthood much to say about the tabernacle and about New Testament fulfillment of these things that Israel was called to do that in the

New Testament the Bible speaks of the church as being the temple of God where God dwells it also speaks of Christ as being our great high priest and so we should be asking ourselves if Christ is a high priest and God illustrated the priesthood with these various garments what do they mean?

now it would take a lot of time to go in detail and it is a difficult thing and often filled with a lot of speculation and I think some of the speculation

God has actually called us to to understand what it is that these things represent and among these things you see that the priest wears an ephod an ephod of four rows of three stones each three different kinds of stones and whenever you see the number 12 used in a symbolic context it pretty much always represents the number of the people of God now there are times where there might be 12 of something and it's not used in a symbolic context but here where the idea is clearly to symbolize something what are we to understand?

we are to understand that the priest bears the people of God he represents the people of God to God as he pleads for them and this is what

Christ does for us us as in a sense 12 -fold people he represents us to God and he intercedes for us calling for the mercies of God and this is how we are able to stand before him to continue dwelling as a people as the people in Israel were to live long in the land how we will be able to live long in God's land having eternal life in the new creation that God has provided how will we be able to do this?

by the representation of Christ our great high priest and us being his people please turn to Mark 9 we will read from the

New Testament Mark 9 beginning in verse 1 Mark 9 verse 1 and he said to them truly

I say to you there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power and after six days

Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves and he was transfigured before them and his clothes became radiant intensely white as no one on earth could bleach them and there appeared to them

Elijah with Moses and they were talking with Jesus and Peter said to Jesus Rabbi it is good that we are here let us make three tents one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah for he did not know what to say for they were terrified and a cloud overshadowed them and a voice came out of the cloud this is my beloved son listen to him and suddenly looking around they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only and as they were coming down the mountain he charged them to tell no one what they had seen until the son of man had risen from the dead so they kept the matter to themselves questioning what this rising from the dead might mean and they asked him why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come and he said to them

Elijah does come first to restore all things and how is it written of the son of man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt but I tell you that Elijah has come and they did to him whatever they pleased as it is written of him so in this transfiguration the disciples are given this vision sees deeper into the realities of what are taking place and Jesus follows this up by saying that the son of man will be treated with contempt this stands in stark contrast with what you see at the cross where he is covered in shame but here he is shown as glorious and so this is how we as his disciples must see him, we must see him as glorious though the world may see him as shameful said in the beginning truly

I say to you there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power these disciples, they saw this power of Jesus and we as disciples must see as well we must see it week after week as we come to read his word and to hear of his power we must see it working in the world as hearts and lives are changed by the gospel and we must have this great confidence and those who don't fall away, but by the spirit we can have that confidence by which we will persevere to the end please turn in your hymnal to number 684 684 a song that speaks of the the need for salvation and the importance of sharing the gospel with the world what is the shepherd's voice

I hear out in the desert dark and drear calling the sheep who've gone astray far from the shepherd's fold away bring them in, bring them in bring them in from the fields of sin bring them in, bring them in bring the wandering ones to Jesus oh go and help this shepherd kind help him the wandering ones to find oh bring the lost ones to the fold where they'll be sheltered from the cold bring them in, bring them in bring them in from the fields of sin bring them in, bring them in bring the wandering ones to Jesus out in the desert hear their cry out on the mountains wild and high art is the master speaks to thee go find my sheep where 'er they be bring them in, bring them in bring them in from the fields of sin bring them in, bring them in bring the wandering ones to Jesus Good morning church.

You would be so kind as to turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke 10.

We're going to be examining verses 1 -12 this morning. And when you have that, please do stand for the reading of God's Word again.

Luke 10 starting in verse 1. Hear ye this morning the word of the

Lord. After this the Lord appointed 72 others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town and place where he himself was about to go.

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. Go your way. Behold, I'm sending you as lambs in the midst of wolves.

Carry no money bag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say,

Peace be to this house. The Son of Peace is there. Your peace will rest upon him.

But if not, it will return to you. 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. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you.

Heal the sick in it. And say to them, The kingdom of God has come near to you.

But whenever you enter a town and do not receive you, go into its streets and say,

Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we will wipe off against you.

Nevertheless, know this, the kingdom of God has come near. And I tell you, you will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. Join me in prayer.

Father, we do come before you grateful for your provision, for your grace, for the abundance of your mercy towards us, that despite all of the challenges and the wear of this world that we've encountered over the last week, you have found us and you have brought us to this place to hear this word, that it may edify our hearts, that it may go and penetrate the heart, and that,

Lord, it may motivate us to holy action. Father, we pray that you would now give us the grace that would allow us to put aside every earthly care and worry and help us to listen intently and carefully to this word so that we too may join this harvest work and be blessed by being a blessing to the nations.

And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. So here we join

Jesus on his journey as he's again going from town to town, house to house, declaring the majesty and the greatness of this kingdom.

Again, I've said this to you many times, but underlining the theme of Luke's Gospel is

God's message of penetrating the world through his kingdom, that God's kingdom was coming into the world through Jesus Christ.

And this is evident in the preaching of Jesus and his disciples.

What was the focus? What is the center point of Christ's Gospel? The word

Gospel clearly meaning good news. What was the good news that Jesus preached?

I can tell you what it wasn't. The good news that he preached wasn't, folks,

I've got a wonderful plan for your life. Folks, I've got a beautiful story to tell you that if you just receive me in your hearts, then when you die, you'll go to heaven.

That's not what Jesus preached. Why then is that the common message that emanates from most pulpits?

You know what it's missing from most pulpits in America today? It's the kingdom of God.

We talk about an individualistic Gospel, but the Gospel that Jesus preached was a collective

Gospel. It was a Gospel that centered around his kingdom, his rule, his reign.

It is individualistic in this that it centers around Jesus and his kingdom.

But it's also collective in that we are included in this kingdom. You see, what

Jesus does is that he penetrates the world with this kingdom message. I had someone ask me last week as I was preaching about the

Gospel, someone after the service asked me, what is the kingdom? Simply put, it's not as many people would assume it is as something, again, individualistic.

People often take the verse of Scripture that says the kingdom of God is in you. The proper translation of that would more likely be the kingdom of God is in your midst, and people try to individualize the kingdom as something that's personal.

It's something that's just me and God, one on one. But no, the kingdom is a government. God's kingdom is

God's government. God's kingdom is God's rule over his people and over his creation.

So when we talk about God's kingdom, we're talking about his government, his rulership over all that he has commanded, over all that he has made, and over all that he has ordained.

God's kingdom is breaking into the world, and this is good news, amen?

This is good news back in that time. Why? Well, consider the context for a moment.

In the time that Jesus was alive, you have the nation of Israel kind of scattered and broken and under the rule of a

Gentile foreign power, namely the Roman Empire. And the Jews that were living in this time period were eager for the rule of the

Romans to be kicked out, to be no more. They were eagerly expecting a savior, a messiah, a political figure who would come and conquer the

Roman Gentiles who were ruling over God's holy land. That's not what they find exactly in Jesus.

Jesus is indeed a revolutionary. Jesus is indeed the Lord who is to come.

But he comes into this context and he preaches about God's kingdom.

And God's kingdom was going to be the kingdom that would overcome the Romans, but not in the way that most people expected.

You see, in prophecy, in Daniel chapter two, verse 44, it points to God's kingdom as the agent, as the final kingdom of all these succeeding kingdoms that will stand at the end of history.

All other kingdoms will be brought to an end and only one kingdom shall stand.

And it's God's kingdom. It's the kingdom that Jesus is here preaching. If you would examine again with me in Luke chapter 10, look at verse one with me.

It says, After this the Lord appointed the 72 others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.

You came in this morning. Someone gave you hopefully a bulletin. Inside that bulletin there's an insert. I'd like for you to follow along in today's teaching.

The Lord sent out the 72 to go by how many? Twos. Maybe you've seen people in your neighborhood nicely dressed, maybe young boys, 18 to 20, or a mix of young and old, and they knock on your door, two by twos, and they'll say, hello, my name is

Elder so and so and I'm from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints. Or even worse, they might say to you, hello, my name is so and so and I'm one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

And they'll come to you, two by twos, and they'll share their message with you. And this is a hallmark of Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons.

But if you've been a part of this church long enough, you know that starting last year, there were another group of people out there knocking on doors in this neighborhood.

And they weren't Mormons and they weren't Jehovah's Witnesses. They were you and I, Baptists, Christians, believers who love our neighbors who went out, two by two, to declare to our neighbors the kingdom of God.

Amen? You see, going two by two is a distinguishing mark of God's people.

And particularly, Jesus sends out his disciples, the 72 that he is sending out, by two into every town he was about to go in in order to ready the people for his arrival.

And why is it that he went in twos? Why did he send them out in twos? One is because of what the scripture commands beforehand in Deuteronomy chapter 19, verse 5, where it says, but it is two or more witnesses by which every matter is established.

You see, Jesus gives us insight into early Christian missiology. That word might be new to you.

Missiology just means the study of Christian missions and their methods and purposes.

You see, the faith of the early disciples of Jesus Christ, including the 72, this early faith of disciples was a pioneer faith.

It was a missionary faith. It was not static or stationary.

But rather, the early movement of Jesus was revolutionary in that it is a sending faith.

Ours is a sending faith. Maybe you've heard in the news there was an election down in Argentina and a new president,

Javier Mele, was elected. Fascinating guy, really liked the guy. One of the things I found really fascinating was his stance on Israel.

And one of the reasons why he's very pro -Israel is that he has recently converted from Roman Catholicism to Judaism.

Now that's fascinating because most people don't convert to Judaism. And when you talk to a

Jew, they'll usually tell you this. They're like, we're not here to make conference. We're Jews and you're

Gentile, but if you wanna be a Jew, great, we'll bring you in. But theirs is not a sending or missionary faith.

They are a faith that, well, we're here and if you wanna be part of us, great. If not, that's okay. Unfortunately, many

Christians have taken that same approach. Theirs is a stationary faith where they say, well, we're here and if you wanna be part of us, great.

If not, it's not the end of the world. Friends, is that the approach that Jesus took?

Is that the approach that the early church, the early disciples took? By no means. Why? Because in a sense, it is the end of the world.

Because apart from Christ, we preach a very straight gospel message that apart from Christ, there is no salvation.

There is no other means. There is no other way. God in the fullness of time sent forth his son Jesus to be born of the

Virgin to live the life that we could not live, holy, perfect, blameless. Died a death that we all deserved. Was put in a tomb.

On the third day, he rose again. If this story be true, it changes everything. There is no static or passive response to this.

You must choose who you will serve today. If this gospel be true, then it changes everything.

Therefore, ours cannot afford to be a static faith. It cannot afford to be a pew -filled service or church or movement where there is no movement outside of the pews.

Ours is a faith. Ours is a message that beckons us to leave the comfort of our buildings, to leave the comfort of our pews, to go and reach a dying world.

Amen? That's Christianity. That's Christianity 101, in fact.

You see, the practice of sending out two believers comes straight out of the Old Testament. Two witnesses were necessary to convict or validate a matter according to Deuteronomy chapter 19.

And when Christ sends out the disciples in twos as a witness against them for their sins, but also as a witness for their salvation through the

Messiah, God is sending out his witnesses. And it's you and I. You guys know, many of you, if you've known me long enough,

I grew up as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. I am not one now, amen? But every time

I approach a Jehovah's Witness, I still tell them, hey, I'm a Jehovah's Witness too. I'm a JW. I'm just a different kind of JW.

You see, I'm a JW, but I'm a Jesus Witness. I'm a witness of Jesus because Jesus did say in Acts chapter 1, verse 8, you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

And so yeah, I'm a witness. I'm a witness that Jesus has changed me, that Jesus loves me, that Jesus died for me, and that he died for you as well.

And so we preach this message that God's kingdom has come into the world through Jesus. And we take this message with us everywhere.

And so we're all witnesses. We're all called to testify of the grandeur of our

Savior, but also to convict the world of sin through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Notice what

Jesus says about this work, that he's about to send the 72 in, in verse 2 of chapter 10.

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 the harvest.

So friends, if you're following the notes, the harvest is what? Plentiful. The harvest is plentiful.

Jesus often uses language and imagery of farming, of agriculture, in order to reach the hearts and minds of those to whom he was speaking to.

So the individuals at this time would have clearly understood the context, the use of the language here, the connotation being that there is a work to be done.

You see, if you're a farmer and you plant seeds, and the time comes for you to reap it, you don't stay home.

There is a work that has to be done. Because if you don't go into the fields and reap the reward of the harvest, then it will just go there and wither and die and not be useful for anything.

There is work associated with this harvest. And Jesus is saying the harvest, the fruit that's coming out of the soil, the things that are coming out of the ground, this work is plentiful.

But what is in short supply are the laborers. The laborers are what?

Few. Few. Therefore, as the

Scripture says, pray to the Lord of the harvest to do what exactly? Pray to the

Lord of the harvest to send out laborers.

You see, the harvest work represents Christian missions, both local and globally.

Jesus indicates that the harvest of souls, or rather those ready to receive the kingdom good news, is indeed plentiful.

But the laborers, the workers, are that which are in short supply.

You see, I want you to know this today. The Christian church is not in shortage of souls to evangelize and save.

Amen? There is no shortage of lost people in this world. That is in full supply and full demand.

What is missing are faithful, committed, Gospel -centered,

Gospel -called Christians who will go and do the work. Church, sometimes when

I preach on this topic, I don't know if you catch the urgency. There are people outside of these walls that are dying.

And they're dying apart from a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Sometimes when I consider this, and I look at the enormous work and the task that's ahead of us, and what's at stake here,

I ask myself, why aren't we doing more? Why am I not doing more?

I have to be introspective about this and say, what are we missing as a people, as a church, as individuals?

Why are we not more motivated on this? Do we not truly love our neighbor?

Even more importantly, do we not truly love our God who has called us to do such a work for such a time as this?

There's such an enormous call, brothers and sisters. And sometimes I'm overwhelmed by it, as you may be.

But I want you to take heart. Indeed, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

Therefore, we are called to pray. That's where we start. How can we possibly tackle this impossible task of evangelizing the nations?

The Lord answers it by where we are to start, and that's to pray. Pray to the

Lord of the harvest. We are called to pray to the Lord of the harvest in order to inspire the shortage of believers, the shortage of laborers to be obedient disciples of Jesus who need to be engaged in this life -saving work.

This is, indeed, life -saving work. If you've ever worked with first responders, you understand the urgency that comes along with that type of work.

There are times in which a disaster strikes and a first responder might be off at home, but once they hear that call, they immediately put on their suits, they immediately put on their uniform, and they go and they spring forth into action because they know the severity of the call.

Brothers and sisters, there's a severity to this call. Are you ready to spring forth into action to be obedient kingdom disciples as the disciples were in Jesus' day, the 72 whom

He sent out two by two to declare the kingdom of God? I want you to consider this for a moment.

There's something that Jesus says in John 4 that I think will help us put some things in perspective.

In verse 35, Jesus says this. He says, Do not say, There are yet four months, then comes the harvest.

So Jesus is referring to a physical, actual harvest. In Jesus' day, He says, There's four months to the harvest.

He says, Don't say to yourself, Hey, there's four months to the harvest. In other words, Hey, there's time. We've got time.

But instead, He goes on to say, Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest.

In other words, don't say to yourself, There's time. Rather, lift up your eyes and see that the time is now.

The harvest, that the fields are white and ready for harvest today.

And so Jesus says, Don't be contemplative and think about, Well, this is something that can be done another time.

This is the work that needs to be done now. This is what our Lord is calling us to. This life of obedience.

Remember, in the previous chapter, the cost of discipleship came up. The cost of following Jesus.

And Jesus wasn't being hyperbolic when He said, It will cost you everything. It will cost you everything to be a disciple of Jesus.

And so I want you to know and understand this, beloved, that the harvest is the great commission work of the

Lord Jesus Christ. In our Sunday school, we focus on that text from Matthew 28 quite a bit, where Jesus says,

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, as a result of His sovereign rulership, of His sovereign decree over all things,

He says, Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you and behold,

I am with you always, even until the end of the age. This is the call of the great commission.

And this is exactly what Jesus was referring to here in regard to this harvest work.

This is the great commission work of the Lord Jesus Christ. But I think we've gone wrong in our missiology as a 21st century church.

Our missiology, I think, is all wrong because it is a church -centered model.

Essentially, what a church -centered model looks like is what we find in most churches. There's a people who build a building and the building is the center.

And so everything centers around what we do in here. But that's not the focus of the early

Christians. Their missiology wasn't focused so much on what we do in here, but rather what we do out there, out there.

You see, this is a base. Think of the church as a home base. We come in here, we receive instruction, we receive marching orders for us to then go and take it out there.

The world is your mission field, not this building. Therefore, whatever mission field

God has called you to, whether it be at work, as an electrician, as a nurse, as a stay -at -home mom, whatever mission field you are in, the instruction you receive here is meant to be then applied wherever it is

God has called you to out there. And more than that, there is an actual call and a mission for us collectively as a church, not just individualistically in each sphere of influence that we live in, but also collectively to go out there as representatives of God's kingdom, as representatives of the local church and say

God's kingdom is here. You see, that's the one difference between the message that Jesus preached and the one that we preached.

Jesus told His disciples, preached unto them, to say the kingdom of God has come near. We declare the kingdom of God is here because through the death, burial, resurrection, the ascension of our

Lord Jesus Christ, He rules today as King of kings and Lord of lords. All authority in heaven and on earth is

His now, today. Therefore, we go and make disciples. Amen? That's the call.

That's the mission. Notice what the Lord Jesus then says in the next verse, in verse 3.

He says, go your way. Behold, I'm sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

What a fascinating thing to say. Once you were following the notes, those sent out were what?

Lambs. In the midst of what exactly? Wolves.

Demonstrating that the work is not for the faint of heart. You see, church, this is not an easy work.

The call to be a Christian disciple of Jesus is not for the faint of heart. We are lambs walking among wolves.

Lambs don't have any intrinsic strength in order to ward off wolves.

It is dependent on, one, working together as a unit collectively.

There's lots of sheep, therefore there's a large number. It's harder for predators to come in and to destroy the whole lot.

And they also depend on something else. They depend on a shepherd to protect them, to lead them, to guide them.

We are indeed lambs in the midst of wolves. And this is indeed the very nature of ministry.

Just ask any pastor. Ask any pastor. I've been a pastor for about eight years now.

In my time as a minister, I've seen many pastors come and go. In fact, during the pandemic, it was the largest exodus of pastors out of the ministry because it was one of the most hardest times in history, in modern history at least, to be a pastor of a church.

Have you watched anything from the Barner Group? The Barner Group is an agency that collects data, particularly in the realm of Christian influence and religious spheres.

And they found that there are two professions that are the most despised in America.

Can you guess what the first one was? First was car salesmen. You ever tried buying a car?

It's not a fun process. And people tend not to trust a car salesman. For better or for worse, the imagery of the sleazy car salesman.

But you know what was right next to it, number two? Pastors. This is a despised profession.

And because it really isn't a profession, it's a calling. And the world doesn't trust pastors.

Sometimes for good reasons, sometimes for bad. But if you ask any pastor, they'll tell you this is a hard work.

This is a difficult work. But ours isn't just, this isn't just something unique to pastors, this is something unique to all

Christians who take the responsibility of being kingdom proclaimers seriously. Those who take the lead in preaching and teaching and the teaching work see the reality of this statement up close and personal.

We truly are at times lambs in the midst of wolves. One of the difficulties that pastors have to deal with and face often in ministry is just people's expectations for better or for worse.

Sometimes the lambs bite. And sometimes the bite of a lamb hurts. And sometimes we have to ward off wolves.

And sometimes the sheep doesn't understand or comprehend what's happening. I saw a video once on YouTube where there's a lamb that was stuck in a divot and the shepherd is there and he's pulling it and he pulls it right out and the lamb leaps a couple times and goes right back into the divot.

And that's life, that's ministry sometimes. And dealing with that is not always easy.

It's a difficult call, it's a difficult life. But brothers and sisters that's all of us collectively together.

We are indeed lambs in the midst of wolves. But take heart.

The scripture says in Psalm 31, to take courage and to take heart for the

Lord is with you. The Lord is truly our shepherd.

Again, if you find if you spend enough time in ministry you will find and encounter various wolves, whether it be false teachers or the like.

So what hope is there for little old lambs like us? We find safety.

We find security in our great shepherd, Jesus Christ. He is indeed that good shepherd of the sheep of whom it is said that he will protect his sheep.

So much so that not one will be lost. Safety and security is found in Jesus Christ.

In his sovereign and benevolent hand he is a good shepherd. And he knows you. He sees your struggles.

He knows what's in your heart. He knows what challenges you face. Yield yourself and your life to this great and awesome shepherd,

Jesus Christ. In the same call in verse 3 when he says to go your way, behold

I'm sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves, he says in verse 4 carry no money bag, no knapsack, no sandals and greet no one on the road.

What a fascinating call Jesus makes here. He says you are lambs and here's what

I want you to do. Don't take anything with you on your travels.

Don't take protection. Don't bring provision. Don't bring anything. Literally disarming them.

He says go then into these towns, go into the world and carry no money bag, no knapsack, no sandals and greet no one on the road.

What a fascinating instruction. Why is this? I think it's because Christ when he sent them out without basic necessities,

I want you to write this in the notes, Christ sent them out without basic necessities so they could fully trust and rely on God and their missions.

See again why the disciples were told not to bring what seems like essential items to the ministry, why?

Because missions is where the rubber meets the road for the Christian. You understand?

This is where the rubber meets the road for the Christian. There is no room for self reliance or selfish pride in Christian ministry.

When Jesus earlier talks about the cost of discipleship, that it would cost us everything, he wasn't being hyperbolic.

You see effective ministry is when the believer fully puts all faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

And so he disarms them, he disarms the disciples, he says, don't take anything, rely on me for every sustenance.

Now it may seem easier for us to trust Jesus theoretically, maybe even theologically because what do we do?

We believe that Christ can save us from our sins and we believe that, we sing of that, we proclaim that, but what about what

Jesus causes us to rely on him, not just for spiritual sustenance, not just for spiritual salvation, but for physical sustenance and physical salvation.

When we're called to go out into the world as lambs in the midst of wolves, it is not an easy thing to do because we are so self reliant.

You see we're to put trust in Jesus, not just for the spiritual salvation and blessings, but for the earthly blessings as well.

Jesus calls the disciples to bring nothing because he wants them to fully trust and rely upon him.

And that's the call for you this morning. It's not to necessarily mean that you have to forsake all earthly comforts, forsake all things that God has blessed you with and equipped you with, but that even if it should come to that, would you do it?

Would you be obedient if he took away some of the earthly comforts?

Would we still meet together and be a church and be faithful if we didn't have the modern comforts of this sanctuary?

Would we still do the work that is commissioned of us if it wasn't so easy? This is at the heart of what

Christ is calling his people to. In verse 5 through 8, in Luke chapter 10, he says, whatever house you enter, first say, peace be to this house.

And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.

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. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you.

If you're following the notes, I want you to write this as well. Jesus instructed them to find people of what?

Peace. Finding people of peace. Meaning those who are meek and not against us.

Jesus says in Matthew chapter 5 verse 5 in the Great Sermon of the Mount, he says that the meek shall inherit the earth.

The meek shall inherit the earth. Who are those who Christ is calling to?

He's calling to all those who are meek, lowly, humble. In our ministry, we look for such people.

For people of peace. Right hearted individuals who are ready to be harvested onto salvation.

There are people who God, these are people who God has been working on before we ever even get to meet them.

Over the past several weeks and over the last several months of our

Christian ministry here, we have seen this. Where we meet individuals either in our personal lives in ministry or in our door -to -door ministry who are in need of a message like ours.

Oftentimes, it's been true in my personal experience where I meet with someone and it wasn't an appointment but it was a divine appointment and they said

I've been praying, I've been asking God to answer this question or for God to send someone to me and there you are.

And that's the reality of our missions. That's the reality of our work. Is that God is working in the lives of people before we even get to their doorstep.

We want to seek out such people of peace in our ministry. Whether it be at school, in our work, or in the streets.

And when we find people of peace, we stay with them. We invest in them.

This is the process of discipleship. This is what Jesus is getting at here when he says, when you find such people of peace, enter their home, say to them, peace be to this house and if they will have you, stay with them.

Invest in them. Disciple them. This is what discipleship looks like.

It's not just this one -off evangelism that I see practiced often amongst some circles.

If you find, if you Google evangelism on YouTube, you'll find that there's lots of different individuals.

Todd White is an individual that comes to mind where he comes around and he just heals people and he makes their leg a little bit longer.

My chiropractor does that every week for me as well. And his mission is to just reach as many people as possible and spread this notion of healing.

But I don't think that's what Jesus is getting at here. He said when you find such people who hear and who respond, you stick with them.

You invest in them so that they can receive the full blessing of the kingdom of God.

This is where quality discipleship is a true investment in those individuals.

Again, we encounter in our life, in our ministries, we often encounter difficult or stiff necked people.

And when we find such individuals who don't respond well to our gospel and our message, have this assurance.

Our peace and blessing will return and we keep on moving on to the next.

We don't just cast our pearls before swine, but instead we recognize that there are going to be those who will not respond favorably to our gospel message, who might even persecute us for the message and the things that we stand upon.

But we have the assurance of our peace and our blessing returning to us and we return to the next and we go move on to the next.

And notice what this fascinating piece of scripture says here in chapter 10, verse 9. Jesus then goes on to say, heal the sick in it and say to them, the kingdom of God has come near to you.

I want you as kingdom proclaimers to know that in Christ we have authority to heal,

I want you to write this in the notes, and preach the kingdom of God. Don't freak out now.

I know what some of you guys are thinking. Aren't we cessationists? Aren't we? No, we're not

Pentecostals. We don't go around healing people. Can I tell you? Yes, you do. Our gospel is a healing message.

It's a healing message. Because you know what it heals? More fundamentally than anything, it heals the broken condition of the human soul.

It heals from the inside out. Now whether God in His sovereignty decides to heal people physically,

I'll leave that up to Him because He's the sovereign God and He will do all that He pleases.

But I have this knowledge and assurance that this gospel, this message, this kingdom, surely brings healings.

It brings healing to you in our lives, in our sin. It brings healing in our marriages. It brings healing in our homes.

It brings healing to our children. It brings healing to all those who are willing to repent and trust in Jesus.

This is a healing message, beloved. So again, some of you may be wondering, how can

I partake in this harvest work? The good news is this, beloved, that if you are a

Christian, God has given you the Holy Spirit as a deposit of our eternal glory and an anointing gift to use for Christian ministry.

If we are in Christ, we share priestly and kingdom authority to advance the kingdom of God.

That's our call. So we have the authority to heal and preach the kingdom of God has come near.

That's our message. That's what we've been called to do. That's part of the Great Commission work, is to go ye therefore and preach, teach, obedience unto the nations, baptizing them in the name of the one true and triune

God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The purpose of our spiritual gifting and the anointing of the

Holy Ghost is the same. The edification of the church and the fulfillment of the

Great Commission. So we do have this priestly and kingly work and authority to heal and preach the kingdom of God, because God's kingdom has come near to us in Jesus Christ.

Now there's a message here that, as I close in this message, there is a stern warning here from the

Lord Jesus. He says in verse 10, But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its street and say, even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you.

So this is how we are to respond to those who do not receive favorably this kingdom message.

Nevertheless, know this, the kingdom of God has come near, and I tell you it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

Let's break this down for a moment. Part of what Jesus is alluding to here and what he's saying is that if a people does not receive this kingdom message, why?

Because we all are aligned to a kingdom. We're all aligned.

Either it be God's kingdom or it be Satan's kingdom in its various forms, whether it be through the kingdoms of this world or the kingdoms that we establish in our own lives are opposed and detriment to God.

Because any kingdom, any rule, any ruler that is not of God, that is not of Christ, is of the

Antichrist. It's of the enemy. And therefore, God's rule will ultimately prevail against every other so -called ruler and kingdom.

And therefore, there is a judgment that shall come against all rules opposed to God.

We see this throughout the narrative of Holy Scripture. One of the verses and prophecies that come to mind is in Psalm 2 where it talks about kissing the

Son lest He be angry. Because what is His rule? He shall be the one who shall rule with a rod of iron and He shall dash to pieces all the nations that do not obey

Him. Which is why it could be said of Jesus that to Him every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess on earth and heaven, underneath the earth and in the sea and all that is in them that Jesus Christ is

Lord to the glory of God the Father. I tell you this, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess.

There shall be no tongue or knee that shall not confess or bow to Jesus.

The only question is will it be willingly? The Bible says of God's people that they shall willingly give themselves on that day.

Or will it be by the glorious strength and the might of this conquering

King who shall dash to pieces the knees of His enemies? Which path do you choose today?

Will you choose today to willingly bend the knee and to confess of your mouth the grandeur of the

Lord Jesus? Or shall you on that day be found to be an enemy? An enemy who shall still confess the grandeur of His conqueror, even

Jesus Christ? This is a heavy word and it has serious implication for us as Christians.

You see when the Gospel is rejected, wipe the dust from off your feet, beloved.

For they, those who reject I want you to write this in your notes are storing wrath on the day of His judgment.

You see the Christian has one awesome responsibility and it's to be a laborer in the harvest by preaching the good news of Jesus Christ.

Our job is to proclaim the kingdom. We're not responsible for their rejection and consequent judgment.

The only time actually that we will be held responsible for the nation's unbelief is if we do not do our duty to warn them.

It says this and this is my closing verse for us in Ezekiel chapter 3 verse 18 to 21.

It says if I say to the wicked you shall surely die and you give him no warning nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity but hear this his blood

I will require at your hand. Terrifying verse. Goes on to say in verse 19 but if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way he shall die for his iniquity but you will have delivered your soul.

Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice and I lay a stumbling block before him he shall die because you have not warned him he shall die for his sin and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered but his blood

I will require at your hand but if you warn the righteous person not to sin and he does not sin he shall surely live because he took warning and you have delivered your soul.

What an awesome responsibility the Christian has to be a watchman to be a declarer of salvation of faith and repentance in Jesus Christ.

So I close this with you this morning this afternoon I call you today to join the greatest work under heaven today the harvest of the last days the harvest of the great commission work of Jesus Christ and you can share in this work by doing three things number one come under the lordship of Jesus Christ meaning that today if you are not a believer in this gospel you are an enemy and we call you this morning to faith and repentance in Jesus Christ be born again trust in Jesus turn away from sin the second thing we ask you to do is submit to the local church for biblical education training and discipleship church is not optional for the

Christian this is where the work is prepared and done for this harvest work and three be willing to be sent out into this great harvest work so believe in the lord

Jesus Christ trust in him submit to the local church and it's godly pastors and elders and then just be willing to be sent out as lambs among wolves for the glory of the great shepherd

Jesus Christ let's pray lord what a joy it is to know you to be found in you to be heralders of this kingdom message that Jesus Christ reigns that Jesus Christ lives and lord as we're entering into this

Christmas season this secular but also set apart time we ask lord that the reign of Jesus would be richly in our hearts and our minds lord help us to make much of this season as the world turns its attention to this

Christmas season a unique time lord where we can walk into a secular space and we hear songs of joy songs centered around Jesus such as words in which we hear and some of the great hymns of the faith that sing and say