Luke 10: 1-22
Eads and Haswell UMC
July 8, 2001
“The Workers Are Few”
There is true and old story told about a man by the name of Ali Facid.
He had a small farm and a family.
One day, the story goes, a Buddhist priest came by and said to Ali:
You know, there are valuable stones called diamonds,
and if you find one of these you could be a wealthy man."
Ali Facid went to bed that night,
but the words of the old priest haunted him.
He was so obsessed that he felt that he must find one of these diamonds
so that he could become rich.
He sold his farm, put his family out to neighbors and went out to find his acres of diamonds.
Months passed. He was broken in body and spirit.
His funds were gone.
And at the Bay of Barcelona, he threw himself into the sea,
never to walk this earth again.
Meanwhile, the man who bought his farm bent over one day and picked up a little stone.
He laid it on the mantle that night not knowing what it was.
A few days later the old Buddhist priest came by and saw it and exclaimed:
Ali Facid must be back from his search.
No, came the response.
Then where did that diamond come from?
The farmer replied: I was out plowing in the garden and found it there.
And from that very garden,
came the jewels and diamonds that today adorn the crown heads of Europe and Russia.
In Ali Facid’s own back yard there were acres of diamonds and he knew it not.
He threw his life away in search of that which was
under his nose the whole time.
How often do we miss the very treasure that
God has put right before us because we are unwilling to open our eyes and see
His mighty blessing?
This morning’s Gospel lesson is a story about a hidden treasure.
A treasure that is not only under our noses,
But all around us.
Sadly, many people go through their entire lives,
And die, sad, broken, and beaten, because, much like this character Ali,
they were not willing to see the treasure all around them.
Today’s Gospel lesson is a story about hidden treasure.
It is a story about a treasure more valuable than money, gold, or diamonds
That is all around us all the time.
And, sadly, it is a treasure that many people never open their eyes to see.’
Am I talking about people just outside the church?
No, I am talking about us…
Right here, right now, in this beautiful house of God.
What is this treasure I am talking about?
Jesus said it plainly to his disciples…
The Kingdom of God is near!
The Kingdom of God is near!
Now, you may be wondering just exactly what I am talking about at this point.
The very next 3 verses are nothing but condemnation.
Here, Jesus is talking about those who will not receive the Good News…
We get the sense that the Kingdom of God he is talking about
Is the end of the age…
The end of the world, or so it may seem.
They, like us, were thinking of the Kingdom as a far away place.
Where God’s reign is established.
And, this in fact is part of what Jesus was talking about.
But the part they missed,
Is that the beginning of that Kingdom was breathing, standing, walking, and talking
Right next to them.
The Kingdom had come to earth
In God’s own Son Jesus Christ.
And here he was speaking to them
The treasure was right there.
Many heard him speak,
But few dared to follow.
That is the bad news this morning.
Few were willing to see and hear the Kingdom.
Few were willing to see the treasure before them
Few were willing to work for the harvest that God had in mind.
The Harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
But the bad news this morning is also the good news.
A few did listen.
In this mornings story,
We hear that the number was 72.
72 people were willing to hear the good news of the Kingdom.
72 were willing to obey.
72 were willing to go into the field’s of the Kingdom
and bring forth a harvest.
72.
Now, I should tell you that this number is not an accident.
It is not the first time that we have seen this number in Scripture.
We see it for the first time in Numbers 11: 16-25.
The number seventy-two or seventy in some manuscripts,
probably symbolized all the nations of the world.
It is a number that also reminds us of Moses’ gathering seventy men,
Plus two more, Eldad and Medad, were left behind in the camp.
That, of course is 72 total.
These men were given God’s spirit,
to lead the people when Moses was absent.
And now, we see this same number again as Jesus imparts his spirit to them
When he is to be absent.
These 72 have the power of Christ to heal,
Evangelize, and cast out demons that the Kingdom
Of God may be established here on earth.
What a statement of divinity!
Do not misunderstand this people.
This was not just, “I give you my blessing,”
But I give you my power…
I give you my authority…
I give you my Spirit.
And that will be enough.
Go forth!
Take nothing with you.
I will see to it that you are provided for.
And for those that reject you,
They reject me.
And those that reject me,
Reject my Father in heaven.
Now, if that is not a statement of authority,
I don’t know what is!
And what is the result?
What is the result of those who do what it is that they are told?
“Even the demons submit to us in your name!”
Even the forces of darkness are no match for your authority.
To those who believe that Jesus was just a great teacher or a moral man,
And deny his divinity, I ask you,
From where does that kind of authority come?
Verse 18 reads…
“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven…”
Now, let’s stop there for a minute…
How could Jesus have seen Satan fall from heaven?
Jesus had not even been born yet.
This incident he is describing would have happened
Well before the existence of Adam and Eve.
Not only had Jesus not been born, but the human race as we know
It did not exist.
Also notice, Jesus does not say “it is written” as he usually does when he is quoting Scripture.
He says… I saw Satan fall from heaven.
How did he see it?
He was there.
His authority lies in the fact that he is timeless,
Eternal, and begotten of his Father in heaven.
He is of the same substance of God the father.
Jesus Christ is Lord and fully God.
That is how the 72 had authority of the forces of darkness when
They called on his name.
The Kingdom of God had arrived.
The treasure of heaven,
The Kingdom of God,
Was walking and talking among his people.
People of God,
That is my message to you this morning as well.
The Kingdom of God is here.
The Kingdom of God is near you.
It is right under your nose.
For those of you who know Christ as your savior and lord,
And have been filled by the Holy Spirit,
I would say to you that the Kingdom of God is not only near you,
It is in you.
What a revelation!
That God would not only make his home among people…
But make his dwelling place within the hearts of his faithful.
God’s Kingdom has broken into this earth.
That is something to rejoice in!
Take a look at what Jesus says to the 72 when they return successful from their mission.
“Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you,
but rejoice that your names are written in heaven!”
People of God,
Rejoice that your name is written in heaven!
The Kingdom of God is here.
The forces of darkness submit to his name.
Our names are written in heaven because Jesus is with us.
This is something to rejoice about.
This is also a message that cannot remain hidden under our noses
if we are going to continue to build the kingdom down here.
One of the problems that I have had is with people who are eager to rejoice about their
Name being in heaven, but are unwilling to go to the field and work
For their master.
Yes, I want to go to heaven to,
But before I do, I want to get some of the hell off this earth.
Listen again to Jesus words… vs 10:1-2
Luke 10:1-2
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2 He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. (NRSV)
I want you to notice two things in this reading.
First… Yes, the Kingdom of God was here in Jesus,
But God has asked us to work with Him in building the harvest.
What is the harvest?
The harvest is the people redeemed by God,
Who are called by his name.
The harvest is those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of Life
Who will spend eternity with the host of heaven..
The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
Why?
Well, ask yourself this question…
When is the last time you shared your faith with someone?
When is the last time you told someone what God is doing in your life?
When is the last time you told someone of the good news that
Jesus Christ came to redeem the lost from their sins?
The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
Tell me something…
For those of you who are farmers or gardeners…
If you applied the same standards of sowing and reaping to your farm fields
That you have lived out in your spiritual life…
What kind of crop would you have?
Would you have amber waves of grain,
Or mountains of bind weed and sand burs?
The harvest of the Kingdom also requires workers.
It requires that we tend the land and the grain.
That means the people who we live close to
And spend our lives with.
An executive hirer, a "head-hunter" who goes out and hires corporation
executives for other firms, once told Josh McDowell,
"When I get an executive that I’m trying to hire for someone else,
I like to disarm him.
I offer him a drink, take my coat off, then my vest, undo my tie,
throw up my feet and talk about baseball, football, family, whatever,
until he’s all relaxed.
Then, when I think I’ve got him relaxed,
I lean over, look him square in the eye and say,
"What’s your purpose in life?"
It’s amazing how top executives fall apart at that question.
"Well, I was interviewing this fellow the other day, had him all disarmed,
with my feet up on his desk, talking about football.
Then I leaned up and said, ’What’s your purpose in life, Bob?’
And he said, without blinking an eye,
’To go to heaven and take as many people with me as I can.’
For the first time in my career I was speechless."
People of God,
What is your purpose in life?
The final harvest of God’s Kingdom comes closer every day.
Are you willing to be a worker?
Are you willing to not only look toward heaven,
But look at the earth you are on and work
To get some of the hell out of this place?
I think that most people in their hearts when they hear such a question would say,
Well sure!
But, what is it that I am supposed to do?
I mean with a field of grain, harvesting is fairly straightforward.
You wait till the wheat is ready…
Hop in the John Deere,
And go pick it up.
What do you do with people?
Mowing them down with the combine is not really what you are asking me to do,
Is it?
Do you remember when I told you that there were two points
To verses 10:1-2 that I wanted to make?
Here is the other one…
Listen to these words…
I believe that they are key to what I am trying to say…
[Jesus] sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and
place where he himself intended to go.
Jesus did not send these people off alone.
He himself showed up.
People of God,
2000 years later, he still shows up.
He asks us to go on ahead of him where he intends on showing up.
How do we know where that is?
Get on your knees and ask God where he wants you to go.
I guarantee you,
If you seek to build God’s Kingdom,
He will provide you plenty of opportunities to minister and bring people
Into his fold.
Like I told you last week,
God does not seek competency first,
He seeks people who are obedient and willing to listen.
Folks, I hadn’t been saved 5 minutes when I led someone else to Christ.
My roomate walked in 5 minutes after my salvation experience
Looked at my face and wanted to know what happened.
When we are willing to speak for Christ,
He will give us the words and the power of his Spirit
To bring forth the harvest.
All he needs from us is our willingness to serve
And our obedience to do as he tells us.
God’s Kingdom is right under our noses.
The harvest is plentiful,
But the workers are few.
Who among us is willing to work for the kingdom?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, I want to work to build your kingdom.
I want to be a disciple, not just another complacent follower.
Holy Spirit, lead someone to me this week that I might share my faith.
Overcome my resistance and fear
And teach me what to say.
I want to be faithful to you.
I want to be a worker in your kingdom Lord.
Increase your harvest through me.
Amen.
