Here is the strange story of a "Farmer" sending out His workers. He told them before they went that there would be a shortage of workers, and that they would face great dangers and have few belongings!
Let's find out why anyone would want to work for this "Farmer"!
Jesus was sending out "seventy-two others two by two ahead of Him to every town and place where He was about to go." He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse..."
1*.
These messengers of Jesus were to speak about the wonderful Saviour God had sent into the world. Sinners must believe in Jesus to be saved! If people are to believe in Him they must first hear about Him, "and how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent."
2*.
There are some things that people who are already very religious do not want to hear about God!
- They don't want to be told that the sin in their lives is not excused by God, and that their prayers are unacceptable to Him because of their sin!
3*.
- They don't want to be told that their religious devotions will never make them pleasing to God.
4*.
- They don't want to hear that no one but Jesus was able to make a suitable offering to God for their sin, and that He alone can forgive their sins! Only by the death of Jesus for our sins and His resurrection was He able to make this possible!
5*.
When religious people are told these things they are liable to respond like "wolves" against the preacher. They will be vicious in their defence of the priests and the sacraments they have chosen to put their trust in. They will not want anything or anyone to upset their strange mixture of religion and sinful living.
6*.
The seventy-two messengers of Jesus would also meet with some who would welcome them. They were sent out "without purse or bag or sandals" and they were to rely on the kindness of those who would receive them with their message about Jesus Christ.
Jesus told them, "He who listens to you listens to Me; he who rejects you rejects Me; but he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me."
7*.
Woe to those who would refuse to believe the message that Jesus alone could forgive and save them.
8*.
Beware! Not everyone who preaches in Jesus' name is saying what Jesus would want them to say! It is very important that you check up what you hear about Jesus with the message He has carefully preserved for us in His Word, the Holy Bible.
9*.
It has never been easy to live and work for Jesus among very religious people. But "the seventy-two returned with joy" because of the wonderful things they had seen done among the people in Jesus' name. Jesus told them they had an even greater reason to rejoice and to serve God - "Rejoice that your names are written in Heaven," He said. You see, only those whose names are in Heaven's roll book will get into Heaven!
10*. They are the ones who trust Jesus to save them!
Read in Luke's Gospel chapter 10, verses 1-20 of Jesus encouraging His true followers with these words.
Bye for now,
John Nixon, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland. P31HD98. Contact: jnixonj@gmail.com
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Bible quotations from N.I.V.
