“Working with Jesus”
Luke 10:1-9
Think of your favorite writer, or perhaps your favorite musician or artist.
Or how about your favorite historical figure.
Perhaps it is one of our founding fathers.
Or imagine the President of the United States…
Anyone of position…
And this person walks up to you, greets you heartily, and asks you to work with him or her on their latest novel, c-d, concert tour, or even to help shape the course of history.
That would be some invitation, wouldn’t it?
To co-labor with a President, or a writer of the Constitution, or a great artist!
Just imagine!!!
But, alas, most of us will, more than likely, stand un-commissioned in this kind of endeavor.
There is in my life and yours, however, a genuine commissioning that, if you think about it, far outshines any other possible call!!!
It is Jesus’ call to “GO!”
It is Jesus’ call to work with Him and for Him in order to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world!!!
God has called each and every one of us to work together with God to create a new people for God’s Kingdom!!!
There is a lost world right outside our doors.
Persons are struggling under the chains of depression, hopelessness, heartache and pain and anger.
They are harassed and helpless.
But they are loved, and many of them do not even know it.
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
“Go! I am sending you….”
Not only are we to pray for others to go, we are to become harvesters ourselves!!!!
And it is an important and urgent task.
There is nothing which supersedes it!!!
One of the things we noticed, a week ago, when we delivered cantaloupes to persons in the homes immediately surrounding this church is that, amazingly…
…the majority of the folks we spoke with do not attend a church!!!
These are the homes that encircle our church building.
These are homes filled with families with children, and older folks as well.
This church—You and I—we exist in this community for them!
And we are all called to “Go!”
As most of you know, we have some awesome opportunities coming up to reach out to this community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!!
We are collecting school supplies in order to give them away to cash-strapped parents on July 31st in the Family Life Center.
But in order for this to be a success, we must all “Go!”
There is a box in the hall to place the supplies…
…and there isn’t much in there right now.
Jesus says, “Go!”
Vacation Bible School is coming up in a couple weeks.
What a privilege and opportunity to bring new families into this transforming community of faith!!!
Invite people to come…
Jesus says, “Go!”
We will have a block party next Spring.
This is a chance for all of us to come to know one another, to have fun, and to invite our community to come to know the Savior of the world.
We will have many Evangelistic outreach projects throughout every month of the year.
This is what it means to labor in the harvest field!!!
Every Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. we meet to plan and brainstorm for these events.
And every one of us are invited by Christ Himself to be a part!!!
If you haven’t been to one of these meetings, or the evangelism events, Jesus says, “Go!”
This is the mission of the church!
It’s urgent, it’s serious, and most importantly it is a command of Christ—that we work together with Him for the salvation of the world!!!
Wow!!!
There is nothing more exciting than this!!!
Our passage for this morning indicates that the workers are few.
Shall we do our part in changing that?
This really is an amazing passage of Scripture.
Jesus appointed seventy-two persons, along with the disciples and sent them ahead of Him “to every town and place he was about to go.”
Then He gave them a number of instructions.
He told them, “do not take a purse or bag or sandals…”
Now, why in the world would He say that?
Could it be that, as Christian co-workers we are not to be cluttered up with material things?
It’s so easy to get entangled with the things of this life.
Is this not one of the main reasons that the laborers in the harvest field are so few?
We get distracted by financial pressures.
Many of us buy things we can’t afford.
We live above our means.
And as a result, we are in debt to the banks and mortgage companies…
…and that debt can take precedence over our debt to God and our freedom to do God’s will.
When we become too busy with the things of the world; we often have little or no time for the things which truly matter most.
By telling the laborers in the harvest field of this world to carry no money or extra possessions, Jesus is giving them incredibly sound spiritual and financial advice.
They are to place their dependence and trust in God—not in money and things.
Jesus tells us that we cannot serve both God and money.
It just doesn’t work!
A man, after seeing a great castle, and all the furnishings, remarked grimly, “These are the things that make it difficult to die.”
Is there anything in our lives which make it difficult to die to self and live for God?
The things of this earth must never blot out heaven if we are to be co-workers with God in God’s harvest field.
Jesus goes on in our passage to say, “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’”
At the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the message of peace!
The people in Jesus’ world were, for the most part, not wanting peace—peace with their enemies the Samaritans, or peace with the feared and hated Romans.
They wanted an all-out war that would bring God’s justice swiftly and get rid of their enemies once and for all!
But Jesus’ vision of God’s Kingdom goes in the opposite direction.
There is no such thing as fighting evil with evil in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!!
Earlier this week, I read an article posted on CNN’s website.
It was addressing how Christians are using the internet, Facebook in particular to bash persons who hold differing political views.
Is this a good witness?
A friend recently mentioned, “It’s impossible to log onto Facebook without being confronted with political diatribes mixed with Christian statements.”
And I see them all the time as well.
Christian persons from both sides of the political and ideological spectrum call persons who hold different views, morons, idiots, and downright evil.
Jesus’ message is a message of peace.
When we lose that focus, we are doing great damage to the Kingdom of God.
God is generous, loving, patient, kind…
…God does not hold our sins against us.
God does not force God’s will upon us.
And as God’s co-labors, Jesus asks no less from us.
We are saved by grace.
Thanks be to God that we are not saved by the Law!!!
None of us would measure up!
“Peace, I leave with you. Peace I give to you,” Jesus proclaims.
And this kind of peace comes from a personal relationship with the Loving, Forgiving God!!!
Peace we are given, peace we are to offer and give back.
Jesus goes on to advise His laborers to stay in the house where they are welcome, “eating and drinking whatever they give you…do not move from house to house…When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’”
We are not to be engaged in this work with God thinking about what we can get out of it, but we are to eat whatever is offered and not think about moving from house to house in search of better and more comfortable quarters.
That is not what the mission is about.
It’s about love for God and love for our neighbors!
As Christ’s Church located here in this corner of East Ridge, we are called to deepen our relationship with our surrounding community.
We are to reach out—graciously…
…loving, respecting and accepting those persons living in this harvest field.
And as relationships with our neighbors are forged, well, the possibilities for the growing of God’s Kingdom are endless!!!
If we were to read on to verse 17 we would see that the seventy-two laborers “returned with joy”!
They were exhilarated!!!
Working with Jesus is the most exciting and rewarding thing we can ever do!
It is worth more than any and all the treasure in the world!
Nothing else compares!
For when we answer Jesus’ call to “Go!” we become part of God’s unfolding plan for history.
We become a port in the storm for persons who are drowning in the minutia of pain, misery, and darkness.
And when we leave everything that hinders in order to work with God in the great harvest field, we are set free to be truly human, and find ourselves filled with such love for our fellow human beings that we can hardly contain it nor comprehend it!!!
We may never be asked by a famous musician to help him or her with their score.
The President will probably never come and knock on our door asking us for advice.
But Jesus Christ…
…the One through Whom and for Whom this world exists comes to us.
He tells us that “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few….”
….and then He entrusts us with the Pearl of Great Price, the Treasure of the Universe as He declares, “Go! I am sending you…”
How could we not?
How could we ever say “No”?
