Laborers for the Harvest

Luke 10:2: Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

Luke 10:16: He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

Luke 10:17: And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

Luke 10:19-20: Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

1. The Lord appointed other seventy also (Luke 10:1).
1. The word other  means that these people were different from the twelve that the Lord appointed
2. In John 1:29-51 we see some of the twelve accept Jesus as their savior and start a personal relationship with Him.
3. In Matthew 4:18-19; Mark 1:16-17; Luke 5:2-10 we see Jesus tell the twelve follow me.  This is a command to become a true disciple with an ongoing personal relationship whereby the person learns to walk and live like Jesus.
1. It requires daily personally starting with prayer for daily direction, protection and provision and personal Bible Study.
2. It requires being aware of God's working and other spiritual things throughout the day.
3. It requires ending every day with a review of how God worked through that day and thanking God for all that He did.
4. It requires our spirit to discipline us when we fail to do our duty during any given day.
5. Jesus said that He would make them fishers of men.  This requires learning the spiritual lessons which God provides through the personal Bible study and prayer.
6. Becoming a fisher of men  requires doing what we are taught and learning through personal experience.
7. Becoming a fisher of men  requires becoming a soul winner.  This is the basic symbolic meaning taught by everyone.
8. Becoming a fisher of men  also requires becoming a teacher of spiritual maturity (catch full-time workers for ministry).  Please r notice that Peter's two epistles are not dealing with how to convert the lost into saved people.  Those epistles are teaching spiritual maturity so that the saved will continue to serve, and reach and teach others, regardless of circumstances.
4. In Matthew 10, Mark 3:14-19 and Luke 6:13-16 we read that Jesus ordained  the twelve and sent them out to do the work of the ministry in towns where He would go.  This is their call  and ordination  to be missionaries.
1. This was not just a call  but included an ordination  which is a legal appointment with certain legal rights and responsibilities.  Their call  was to follow.  Their ordination  was to go.  This not only was different from their call  but followed their call  and testing which proved that they were ready for greater responsibilities and rewards.
5. In Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 18:18 we read that Jesus said: And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.  This was their further appointment as apostles.
1. This was not said to all disciples but to only the twelve after Jesus made sure that He was alone with them.  This is their appointment as future apostles.  Judas Iscariot lost this power and position when he betrayed Jesus.
2. An apostle is greater than an ambassador in that an ambassador represents an earthly government while an apostle represents the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
3. An ambassador has the power to commit his government to war or peace.  This is why an ambassador can only be appointed in a face-to-face meeting with the head of his government.
4. If the reader sees what Jesus actually said in our Bible references, it should be obvious that Jesus made the same commitment to the twelve.  This is one reason why a true apostle can only be appointed by our Lord Jesus Christ and only in a face-to-face meeting whereby the apostle meets Jesus in the flesh.  Anyone who claims to be an apostle today can only represent the government of Satan.  The job of the Apostles was completed when John finished the New Testament by writing the book of Revelation.
6. Notice that we have several phases in the lives of the twelve.  First they were saved and started a personal relationship with Jesus whereby they learned of Him.  Then they became disciples where they learned to walk and live like Him.  Then they became missionaries where they went out to represent Him to this world.  Finally, they became apostles where they made decisions which bound His kingdom.
7. In our initial reference of Luke 10, we see that there were other seventy also.  This means that they were in addition to the twelve.  They had to go through the same phases and levels of spiritual growth as the twelve.  The only thing that the twelve received, which was denied to these other seventy also,  was becoming apostles.
2. The Lord Specified their job (Luke 10:2-7)
1. Their main job was to be labourers in the harvest  (Luke 10:2).
2. They were to accept persecution and hardship (Luke 10:3).
3. They were to depend upon the provision of God that came through the people they ministered to (Luke 10:4).
4. They were to bring God's peace to where it was not (Luke 10:5; Psalms 23:6).
5. They were to let God do miracles through them, and other acts of the ministry, so that the people they were giving God's message to were convinced that the message was truly from God (Luke 10:9).
6. They were to leave the judgment, of anyone who rejected them, to God (Luke 10:10-12).
3. The Lord Specified their provision and protection (Luke 10:8-12)
1. They were to accept whatever provision that God provided through the people that they ministered to (Luke 10:8).
2. They were to let God do His work, including miracles, through them (Luke 10:9).  Most people don't attack someone whom God works through to do miracles.
3. They were to witness to the people that God had changed their lives and character (The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you)  and that God wanted to do the same for them (Luke 10:9).  Again, most people are hesitant to attack someone who is a messenger from God.
4. If they were rejected, they were to testify against that city but leave the judgment of that city to God (Luke 10:10).
5. They were to warn the people that they were actually rejecting God and that God would judge them.  (Luke 10:11-12, Luke 10:16).
4. The Lord Specified their production (Luke 10:16-17)
1. God backed their message (Luke 10:16)
2. God worked through them (Luke 10:17, Luke 10:19)
3. God gave them joy (Luke 10:17)
4. They were promised eternal rewards (Luke 10:20)

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