JOIN US AS WE REMEMBER ALL THE GREAT THINGS GOD DID AS WE SHARE TESTIMONIES OF THE RECENT TRIP.

The Song of the Secure Sheep
Psalms 23
January 20, 2019

Well tonight we look at that famous 23rd Psalm.
• I don’t think there’s any debate that in the world, this one is the most famous.
• For many in church it was not only the first Psalm you ever memorized, but likely one of the first passages of Scripture you ever memorized.

In the sense of familiarity, it really doesn’t need an introduction.
Our culture is very familiar with it.
It is quoted many times at funerals.

The ironic thing about that is that it is not a song
That unbelievers really have any part in at all.

It is a song only for sheep who are following the true Shepherd.

Jesus made this pretty clear in John 10.
John 10:22-26 “At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.”

Jesus was pretty clear that non-believers are NOT His sheep,
And He is NOT their shepherd.

At the time of the judgment this reality will be made even more distinct.
Matthew 25:31-34, 41 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…(41) “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;”

Not all are His sheep.
• His sheep believe in Him.
• His sheep know Him.
• His sheep hear His voice.
• His sheep follow Him.

Those that don’t do those things, are not His.

• And reading Psalms 23 doesn’t change that.
• Memorizing Psalms 23 doesn’t change that.
• For honestly, a non-believer has no part in the realities that are spoken of here.

This song is for those who are following Christ.
This song is for those who have submitted their lives
To the authority and guidance of the Good Shepherd.
If that is not you, then you have no part in this song.

What we actually have here is a song
Sung by the most grateful sheep in the world.
And this sheep is grateful because its realizes the blessing
Of having the world’s greatest shepherd.

• This is the song of the secure sheep
• This is the song of the content sheep
• This is the song of the blessed sheep
• This is the song of the healthy and protected and guided sheep

Jesus said:
John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”

John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,”

John 10:27-28 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”

We are confronted there with a shepherd so good
• That He will do whatever it takes to care for His flock; even laying down His own life on their behalf.
• That He is intimately concerned with each and every sheep, and knows each one of them personally and by name.
• That He does whatever it takes to protect them from destruction and promises that no one is able to ever threaten the security of on His own.

That’s a good shepherd.
Psalms 23 is the song of that Shepherd’s flock.

And by the way, the analogy of God shepherding His flock
Is not an isolated analogy.

One of the first to make this analogy was actually Jacob.
Genesis 48:15 “He blessed Joseph, and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,”

During the Exodus God certainly functioned in this role for Israel.
Psalms 77:20 “You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron.”

Psalms 78:52 “But He led forth His own people like sheep And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;”

Asaph certainly alluded to the imagery.
Psalms 79:13 “So we Your people and the sheep of Your pasture Will give thanks to You forever; To all generations we will tell of Your praise.”

Psalms 80:1 “Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!”

Isaiah spoke of it.
Isaiah 40:11 “Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.”

Jeremiah referenced it:
Jeremiah 23:3 “Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply.”

Micah appealed to it.
Micah 5:4 “And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth.”

Micah 7:14 “Shepherd Your people with Your scepter, The flock of Your possession Which dwells by itself in the woodland, In the midst of a fruitful field. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead As in the days of old.”

Zechariah referenced it:
Zechariah 9:16 “And the LORD their God will save them in that day As the flock of His people; For they are as the stones of a crown, Sparkling in His land.”

This is clearly a favorite among those
Whom the Lord used to deliver His word to the people.

In fact, even one of the 8 covenantal names of God is: JEHOVAH ROHI
Which means “The Lord is my Shepherd”

It is an often used description of
The way God functions in the care of His own.

But to fully understand why this is such a fitting analogy,
And to fully understand the declaration of Psalms 23
We first need to grasp how IMPORTANT THE SHEPHERD is to the sheep.

You need to see how important a shepherd is to the flock
And what a profound effect a shepherd can have.

TURN TO: Ezekiel 34
The entire chapter of Ezekiel 34 deals with the nation of Israel and reveals that perhaps one of the main reasons for her judgment was because she had bad shepherds.

Look at (Verses 1-6).

He is referencing the spiritual leaders of the nation.
• It was those who functioned as “under shepherds”.
• It was those who were supposed to rule and lead with God’s authority.

They had obviously failed miserably,
And THE EFFECTS OF THEIR BLUNDERS are spelled out.

What we see clearly is:
A BAD SHEPHERD WAS DISASTROUS FOR THE SHEEP

Bad shepherds don’t:
• Strengthen the sick (spiritually weak)
• Heal the diseased (those in consequences of sin)
• Bind up the broken (guide the repentant back)
• Bring back the scattered (those out of fellowship)
• Seek for the lost (lost sheep yet unredeemed)

AND ULTIMATELY THE SHEEP SUFFER FOR IT.

And if you’ve ever worked with sheep at all then you quickly learn that SHEEP NEED A SHEPHERD.
• They are naïve to danger
• They will follow blindly
• They will eat anything
• They are mindless
• They are defenseless

If sheep are going to survive
They need someone to watch out for them continually.

In our day it has gotten somewhat easier with the institution of fences and pens and sheds, etc.

But in Bible times, they had none of those things.
It was the job of the shepherd to keep the sheep together,
To keep them fed, and to keep them safe.

A bad shepherd was disastrous for the sheep.

SHEEP NEED A SHEPHERD who will care for them 24/7
And devote his life and safety to their life and safety.

Do you remember David’s testimony about his own shepherding days?
1 Samuel 17:34-35 “But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him.”

Now that’s shepherding!
THE SHEPHERD MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE

Well, with that as a backdrop
Perhaps you now better understand David’s boast in verse 1.

“The LORD is my shepherd,”

How’s that for remarkable?
Talk about fortunate!

If you’ve ever read any books or listened to any interview from the old players from the Dallas Cowboys; those who played in the 60’s – 80’s.

They’ll all tell you that one of the reasons for their success, was that they always knew they had a chance to win, even when the game was going south.

Partly that confidence was in players like Staubach or Lilly or Pearson, etc.
But ultimately those players will tell you that they believed they would win because they knew they had the smartest coach on the planet.

THEIR GENERAL was just that much ahead of the curve…
THEIR MASTER just understood the game better than the rest…

It was the benefit of having the best leader available.

Well, in an infinitely greater sense,
That is the type of boast David is making here.

“The LORD is my shepherd”

You know…
• The LORD who created the universe in six days…
• The LORD who delivered His people from the iron furnace of Egypt…
• The LORD who parted the Red Sea…
• The LORD who rained manna from heaven and drew water from a rock…
• The LORD who made the sun stand still…

Yeah, that one…we’ll HE’S MY SHEPHERD!
He’s the one who is personally taking care of me.
He’s the one who is looking out for my best interest.

And that helps us better understand
Why David made that next statement.

“I shall not want”

It doesn’t mean that there will never be difficult or scary times,
BUT RATHER THAT REGARDLESS OF THOSE TIMES
IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO BE IN BETTER HANDS.

You’ve got the best of the best of the best.

That is what David says.
It is the song of this highly contented and secure sheep.

Well, the remainder of the song is to SUPPORT THAT BOAST.

It’s as if one sheep is boasting to another about how great his shepherd is, and then says, “Well, I can prove it.”

Here are some of the benefits of having my shepherd.

There are 5 of them.
#1 DOESN’T WANT FOR PROVISION
Psalms 23:2

Here David says:
“He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.”

Now you may already RECOGNIZE ONE DISCREPANCY with the video I showed you earlier regarding “green pastures”

• The video showed a shepherd who was leading his flock through the pastures.
• One step at a time, one mouthful at a time.
• And we understand that.

But remember, this sheep in Psalms 23
Is boasting of the greatness of his shepherd to the other sheep.

And he DOESN’T SAY that my shepherd leads me through green pastures, David says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures”

Here the sheep has been led through, has had plenty to eat,
And being full, has now laid down to rest.

IT IS A PICTURE OF FULL PROVISION.

He goes on to say, “He leads me beside quite waters.”
• Not stagnant waters
• Not rushing waters

But fresh and gentle water.

And taken together what you see there is a sheep that is boasting to other sheep that HIS SHEPHERD HAS NEVER LET HIM GO HUNGRY.
• He leads me to food, I always have enough.
• He leads me to water, there is always enough.
• My shepherd knows how to meet my needs.

Obviously as opposed to some false shepherd
Who starves the sheep and leaves them hungry.

And we are reminded of the PROMISES.
Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Or the sermon of Jesus
Matthew 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”

Matthew 6:31-32 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”

We have that type of Shepherd.
We don’t want for provision.
He cares for us.

And if we were to take the time tonight in the service,
I could let each and every person in here stand and you could all give multiple testimonies to the Lord’s provision in your lives.

• Times when you didn’t know how you’d make ends meet and God came
through…
• Times when you had more than enough because God had been overly
generous…
• Or maybe even the steady faithfulness of being able to look back over the
entire course of your life and seeing how God had always provided…

It is one of the easiest realities to see in our lives.
God has provided.
Always what we needed when we needed it.

And that’s what David boasts about.
I don’t want for provision because I have the LORD as my shepherd.

• He owns the cattle on a thousand hills…
• Every beast of the forest is His…
• He commands the rains to water the fields…
• He commands the seed to grow and sprout…
HE CAN CARE FOR HIS FLOCK.

Doesn’t want for provision
#2 DOESN’T WANT FOR DIRECTION
Psalms 23:3

When I was about 10 years old my family and grandparents were on a vacation to Red River, NM.
• On one day we decided to drive to Taos just to look around and on the way we stopped at a roadside park to eat a sandwich.
• We noticed a hiking trail leading up from the park and so my dad, and mom, and sister and I started up while my grandparents got the food out.
• About 6 hours later we found ourselves at a convenient store that was somewhere around 30 highway miles from where we had started begging a ride from the man in the store to take us back to where we started.

OBVIOUSLY WE GOT LOST

We had taken a trail without knowing any better and we found ourselves for most of the day in the middle of the wilderness with no clue where to go.

I still remember my grandpa getting mad at my day, not necessarily for getting lost, but for never having been in boy scouts as a kid and not even knowing which side of the tree moss grows on.

If you’ve ever found yourself lost in unfamiliar territory,
Then you understand the importance of a good guide.

Well a sheep is certainly at the mercy of its shepherd in that regard.
• A sheep is going everywhere with its head down looking for food.
• It’s just following the shepherd blindly.

And David here says that when it comes to direction,
Never has a flock had a better navigator than our shepherd.

“He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His names sake.”

That statement “He restores my soul” my be a little familiar to you.

Back in Psalms 19 when we talked about the benefits of God’s word, we read:
Psalms 19:7 “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”

You might remember that the word “restoring” there
Comes from a Hebrew word which means “to turn back”

We talked about it more like restoring a broken piece of furniture
Back to its intended condition.

Well that’s the same word David uses here
To describe the benefits of his shepherd.

He doesn’t just make sure I always know where to walk,
But when I misstep,
He is always there to turn me back to where I need to be.

He is watching out for me.
• We see this certainly in forms like discipline and correction and conviction.
• We gain it from His word which quickly tells us to turn around and quit walking in a certain direction.

DAVID ADDS that his shepherd also
“guides me in the paths of righteousness”

It’s NOT just paths of SAFETY, but paths of “righteousness”
He is always out to make me a better sheep.

He takes me where I need to go, not necessarily where I want to go.

And here David even says WHY.
NOT “for my well-being” though it certainly is.

David says that the LORD shepherds him like that,
“for His names sake”

ON ONE HAND we could just say that God does it for the sake of His reputation.

We hear passages like this in Ezekiel
(speaking of God’s redemption of Israel)

TURN TO: Ezekiel 36:22-32

• That is Ezekiel’s sermon on the coming New Covenant and certainly God makes it clear that His redemption of Israel is about His name no longer being profaned among the nations.

I think we can make this analogy here as well.
Certainly the health of the flock was a reflection on the shepherd.

• Several years ago when Leo and I went to the Shepherd’s Conference at John MacArthur’s church. We stayed over until Sunday, after having been through the conference all week.

• We had heard how they take roll, and how they have multiple shepherds and elders caring for and checking on each member of the flock. We heard how they led and ministered and guided the people.

• Then on Sunday, we attended and the work was apparent. What I saw was a contented and secure flock.

• And incidentally, realizing the work to be too much for one man, that’s we came back talking about elders, and I still pray that God will open that door here.

THE POINT was, the flock testified to the work of their shepherds.
Their contentment and security and faithfulness
Was a testimony to the hard work of the shepherds in that church.

And certainly that is part of it here.
God is glorified in His sheep,
When they are righteous and when they walk down the right path.

But I think there is even more here than that.

When we talk about God’s name
We are talking about the totality of all His attributes.
We are talking about who He is.

And I think David is including that too.
When I misstep, He brings me back.
He is always pushing me down the righteous path.

WHY?
BECAUSE THAT’S WHO HE IS!
• He just can’t watch His sheep fall into destruction, so He is always guiding and restoring and returning and directing.

Isn’t that our God?
He guides us.

Paul said:
Romans 8:14 “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

The Spirit of God leads His children.
That’s what He does.

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”

• That may include correction
• That may include discipline
• That may include conviction

But rest assured, God does not allow His sheep
To just wander aimlessly down a path of destruction.

I’m confident that just as you can testify to God’s provision in your life,
You can also testify to His direction.

We could all again stand and share stories of how the Lord
Has restored us or returned us or directed us in life.

We have a Good Shepherd.

Doesn’t want for Provision; Doesn’t want for Direction
#3 DOESN’T WANT FOR COMFORT
Psalms 23:4

First we recognize that David is NOT INSINUATING
That life is all cupcakes and tulips.

Even as the flock of God we face danger.
David here referred to it as “the valley of the shadow of death”

And David says, “I walk through” that valley.

It is danger and lethal danger.
And yet, even in the midst of that danger
We see once again the quiet confidence of the sheep.

“I fear no evil”

Instead of fear, I have confidence.
Why?

“for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

• “the rod” was the club that the shepherd used to beat off the predators.
• “the staff” was the one with the crook used to pull the sheep close.

If danger arises, my shepherd can handle it…he has a rod.
If I get too close to danger, my shepherd will pull me back…he has a staff.

Because of that I don’t fear.
I’m not worried about what’s coming.
My shepherd can handle it.

And even in this statement, notice the specific words that are used.

“through” as in the reality that my journey through death is not permanent, but temporary

“the valley” where certainly times can be hard, but we are also aware that the most fertile soil is in the valley and that is where the best fruit is produced.

“the shadow of death” not the full reality.
• No one has ever been killed by the shadow of a sword.
• No one has ever been run over by the shadow of a truck.

Indeed it may be a close call, and it may certainly feel spooky,
But there’s no need to fear for even in that close call,
The shepherd is with you.

As one preacher put it: “Christ never promised to get you out of all your trouble, but He did promise to get into all your trouble with you.”

He pulled Daniel out of the lion’s den,
But he jumped in the furnace with his friends.

And this is a confidence for us that
Our shepherd holds the keys of death and hades,
And because He lives we will live also.

We have comfort in knowing that.
Paul spoke of how he learned this comfort.
2 Corinthians 1:8-10 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,”

That is the “even though”
• Just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego said, “even if He doesn’t deliver us from the fire, we still aren’t bowing”

The Lord’s sheep have that kind of comfort.
He’ll either keep me from it, or lead me through it.
But either way, He will handle it.

#4 DOESN’T WANT FOR BLESSING
Psalms 23:5

Here there is more of a banquet theme than necessarily a shepherd one,
But the analogy is still a beautiful one.

It is a picture of a man
• Who has been harassed and attacked and maligned.
• But at the last, at the day of victory, he is utterly vindicated.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;”

• It is Mordecai being led through the streets in honor by the man Haman who wanted to hang him.
• It is Joseph seeing his brothers each kneeling before him.

God vindicates His own.
Revelation 3:9 “Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie — I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.”

We have a shepherd who will not stand
For His sheep to be wronged forever.
He will vindicate them.

Colossians 3:1-4 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

This is a promise to which every believer clings that we also
“will be revealed with Him in glory.”

God’s children get the last laugh.
And the glory poured upon them is lavish to say the least.

“You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows”

It is very simply an analogy of blessing.
• You have blessed me and blessed me and blessed me and blessed me.
• You have filled my cup beyond its capacity.

Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

It is just a picture of the Lord’s ability to bless His own.
Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”

That is the benefit of being one His sheep.

#5 DON’T WANT FOR HOPE
Psalms 23:6

This is the outlook for the LORD’S sheep.
They certainly aren’t pessimistic.

• sure, the pasture looks like rocks and there is no water in sight.
• sure, there are trails a plenty and we don’t know which way to go.
• sure, there is a valley there where we will face death.
• sure, we face persecution and maligning and distress from the goats.

But because we know our Shepherd,
We have nothing but utter confidence and hope in the future.

“Surely goodness and lovingkindness (CHECED) will follow me all the days of my life,”

And then when life is over:
“I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

It doesn’t matter what perils we face in this life, we have the best Shepherd ever seen. We have the LORD!
• We have His goodness
• We have His loyalty
• We have His promises

We smile at the future!

This was what Paul reminded Timothy of in that 2nd letter.
2 Timothy 1:8-12 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”

It is the believer’s hope that even after the shadow of death w
E will dwell with the Lord forever!

No wonder Paul could also say:
Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

He knew his Shepherd.

And I remind you of yours again too.
John 10:11-15 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. “He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”

John 10:27-28 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”

Now, can I remind you of one more thing?
• David boasted about the goodness of His shepherd to the world!
• He understood that He was a good shepherd “for His name’s sake”

David didn’t wine…
David didn’t complain…
David didn’t lament…
He rejoiced in the great journey he was on with his shepherd.

Remember that when you go out into the world.
The behavior and attitude of the sheep
Is a direct reflection on the sufficiency of their shepherd.

Don’t sing about what a pitiful shepherd you have to the world.
Don’t sing as a neglected sheep (for you most certainly are not!)
• Sing as a secure sheep!
• Sing as a contented sheep!
• Sing as a protected sheep!
• Sing as a guided sheep!

SING:
Great is Thy faithfulness O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changest not Thy compassions they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever will be

Pardon for sin And a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer And to guide
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside

Great is Thy faithfulness Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
And all I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me

Laborers In The Harvest – Part 2
Luke 10:1-20 (3-12)
January 20, 2019

As you are aware we are currently in our MISSION’S MONTH
And that has perfectly coincided with our study of Luke’s gospel
Since we are also examining the instruction of our Lord as He sent the 70.

We have started this new section which encompasses Luke 10
And one which we have labeled “The Necessity of Jesus”

• After learning who Jesus is and what He came to do.
• And after we have heard His mandate for following.
• Now we understand that that mandate is not optional.

Submitting to Jesus is necessary.
And that theme begins here with the record of Jesus sending the 70.

Here we learn that Jesus is so necessary that
He is actually sending laborers into the fields before the harvest
To make sure everyone knows who He is.

Now we started this section last time.
There are 5 points
#1 THE SOVEREIGN APPOINTMENT
Luke 10:1

Very simply put we recognized here that
The 70’s involvement in this mission was ultimately a matter of obedience

“the Lord appointed” them.
• As their Lord and sovereign King He has every right to appoint who He will and to send them where He will for whatever purpose He deems best.

And here He appointed the 70 to go
“to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.”

They in effect would be 70 John the Baptists;
70 forerunners who would go and prepare a city for the arrival of the King.

Often times we talk about mission work in FARMING TERMS.
• We understand that to produce a crop the field must be plowed
• We understand that the seed must be planted
• We understand that the weeds must be contained
• We understand that at times the plant must be pruned
• And ultimately the crop will be harvested

No doubt these laborers have been sent out to plow the fields
To get them ready for the seed which the Lord is bringing.

AND THEIR PRESENCE ONLY REINFORCES
JUST HOW IMPORTANT AND NECESSARY CHRIST IS.

He is so necessary that He even sends 70 delegates ahead of Him
To make sure the people don’t miss Him when He passes through.

And if you are curious as to THE EFFECTS of their ministry.
Consider stories like that of Zaccheus.

Luke 19:1-3 “He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature.”

• That was simply the day in which Jesus was passing through Jericho.
• You already see that a crowd was aware of it.
• You are also confronted with a tax collector who knew he needed Jesus.

Why?

Well obviously someone had gone before Jesus to Jericho
And had spread the word of Christ and His ability to save
And you have a man like Zaccheus who now wants to see Him.

That’s the type of impact they are expected to have.

And we are reminded that THE LORD STILL APPOINTS HIS FOLLOWERS
To go and tell the world how necessary He is.

#2 THE SPIRITUAL ASSESSMENT
Luke 10:2a

This is where Jesus enlightened us to a spiritual reality.
THE REALITY WAS THIS;
Namely that “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”

And we spoke of what that meant.
• That more than anything the harvest is an illustration of judgment.
• There is coming a day in which the Lord will bring the harvest.
• The wheat will be gathered into His barn but the chaff will be destroyed by fire.

The harvest is real, and it is “plentiful”
Or perhaps more accurately, it is GREAT.
It will encompass the whole world.

In explaining the parable of the wheat and the tares Jesus said:
Matthew 13:36-40 “Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.”

There is a great harvest coming, BUT THERE IS A PROBLEM.
“the laborers are few”

He does NOT say the reapers are few, but rather the laborers.
There are not enough people working the fields
To prepare it for the harvest.

There are not enough missionaries in the world
Preparing people for the judgment.

It is the greatest human need on our planet.
• Not for clean water
• Not for renewable energy
• Not for a cure to AIDS
• Not for harmony amongst Republicans and Democrats

What our world needs is Jesus
And therefore it desperately needs more missionaries.

The field of the world needs more workers.
That is the spiritual assessment that Jesus offers.

The Sovereign Appointment, The Spiritual Assessment
#3 THE SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENT
Luke 10:2b-12

In light of the need, what is the Lord asking for?

We saw the first specific last time and that was that we PRAY.

But perhaps the prayer request caught you by surprise.
• For the Lord did not say to pray for the lost.
• And the Lord did not say to pray for current missionaries

THE FIRST PRAYER REQUEST our Lord gave
In regard to the need for missionaries was this:

“therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (literally beg Him for more workers)

The first way that any of us get involved in missions
Is to pray that God will raise up missionaries.

We beg God to send workers into the fields!
And we talked about that last time.

THIS MORNING we move to a second specific assignment from the Lord.
We see it in verse 3, and it’s real simple:
(3) “Go;”

This command we should have expected.
After all, if you’re begging for people to go it only stands to reason that this would be the Lord’s next command.

It is so clear…
It is so often discussed…
And yet it seems to be so easily disregarded by the church.

LAST SUNDAY WE HAD THE MEETING
For anyone interested in going to Malawi this summer,

My main goal for that meeting was to help people
(especially those who have never done something like this before)
Discern if God was calling them.

And I’ll share a portion of that with you.
One of the things I commonly hear when it comes time for mission involvement is people make a statement something like, “I’m just not sure the Lord is calling me. I don’t want to go if He’s not calling me to go.”

That statement assumes that it would be a grave mistake
To take the gospel of Christ to a non-believer
Apart from God’s specific calling to do so.

And I do understand in part where that comes from, since we all want to be in God’s will.

But the bizarre part to me is that
While I routinely hear of people who are afraid to participate if it’s not God’s will,
I very rarely hear of someone who is afraid not to participate.

It’s almost like people make it out to a bigger sin to go than it is to stay.

But here’s what every believer must first know.
God has made the call to go abundantly clear.

The most famous is clearly:
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Or we could look at:
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

John 15:16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”

John 20:21 “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

Mark 16:15 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

Is it not clear that God’s word has already given the command to go?

Any other command in the Bible
We would readily assume was for us,
Yet we almost always demand secondary confirmation for this one.

We read the Lord commanding us not to commit adultery,
But we don’t hear people say, “I’m just not sure if God is calling me commit adultery or not”

We read the Lord commanding us to forgive our enemies,
But people don’t say, “I’m seeking God as to whether or not I should forgive that person.”

We read the Lord commanding husbands to love their wives,
But what husband would actually say, “Let me pray about it and see if it’s God’s will that I love my wife or not.”

And yet, that’s exactly how we treat God’s command
To go and take the gospel.
We demand some sort of secondary affirmation.

Beloved, can I make it clear? YOU ARE CALLED TO GO.

In all my life I’ve never heard of a person whom God chastised
For going to the lost and proclaiming the good news.

Now I’m NOT SAYING everyone in here should go to Malawi,
I don’t even want that happen.
I just want you to understand that whether it’s Malawi or somewhere else,
You are most definitely called to go.

And the explanation is so clear.
TURN TO: Romans 10

This is of course that infamous chapter regarding how a person will hear without a preacher, but let me give you a little more of the info to perhaps make the need more evident.

The chapter begins in verse 1
• With Paul expressing his desire that the lost be saved.
• Here the lost are specifically Israel.
• He desires for them to be saved, and he prays to God that they will be saved.

In verses 2-3 he explains why they are lost.
• Their problem is clear. They have a zeal for God, but it is misguided zeal.
• Their problem is a knowledge problem.

This last Wednesday night we talked to the youth about worship.
There are 3 kinds, 1 is true, 2 are false.

1 type of false worship is IDOLATRY – which is to worship the right way, but to worship the wrong god.

Another type of false worship is HYPOCRISY – which is to worship the right God, but to worship Him in the wrong way.

This is what Israel did.
They had the right God, and they had zeal, but their facts where off.
They had a knowledge problem.

Specifically in verse 3,
• They thought the way to please God was through works of the Law,
• When in reality it was through faith in Christ.

According to verse 4
• It is Christ who makes us righteous before God,
• Therefore that is the chief aim of God that all men submit to Christ.

BUT THE JEWS DIDN’T UNDERSTAND THAT.
Paul goes on to explain the truth they had failed to grasp in verses 5-13.

(Verses 5-8) He reveals that righteousness comes by faith, not Law.
• There is not some mystical or even literal journey which must be made to obtain God’s favor.
• What is required is faith whereby God grants righteousness.

(Verses 9-10) reveals that the specific faith God requires is faith in Christ.
• And that faith should ultimately lead to a confession of Him as Lord.

(Verses 11-13) reveals that anyone who confesses Christ will be saved.

That’s the truth, but the problem was that the Jews didn’t know that.
They had a knowledge problem.
They had been told wrong in regard to how to please God.

So THE SOLUTION then is for someone to teach them correctly.
• The solution is for someone to go and tell them the truth about what God wants.
• The solution is to correct their ignorance.
It is very simply a knowledge issue.

But at the same time Paul also noticed A PROBLEM.
In fact, he lists a series of problems.

(14-15) “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”

In short,
• Men are never going to call on Jesus, if they don’t believe in Him.
• Men are never going to believe in Him if they never hear the truth about Him.
• And they will never hear the truth about Him if no one ever goes and tells them.
• And no one will ever go if they are never sent.

So again, do you understand the necessity of going?
And do you understand God’s mandate for you to do that?

THEN GO!
Quit debating it, quit rationalizing it, by all means quit spiritualizing it;
God has commanded us to go and teach the truth.

And here Jesus specifically commands the 70 to do just that.
• They could not work in the fields from the comfort of their living room.
• They had to go to the fields.

But THERE IS MORE HERE regarding their going that is important.
In fact, I want to give you 3 realities with regard to Jesus’ command for them to go.

1) JESUS IS AWARE OF THE DANGER AND SENDS THEM ANWAY (3)

“Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.”

So there is a command to go
Immediately followed by a brief description of the mission.

You are going as “lambs in the midst of wolves”

Matthew’s gospel expounds on that statement:
Matthew 10:16-18; 21-22 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. “But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles…”Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”

Jesus is speaking about intense hatred.
Jesus is talking about serious and lethal danger.
“lambs in the midst of wolves”

Sheep are DEFENSELESS
• Sheep don’t even have teeth on the top, and so the best it can really do to an enemy is give it a good pinch.

Wolves on the other hand are RUTHLESS.
• They kill, at times even for sport or pleasure.

And Jesus chose this analogy to explain missions.
We are sheep in the midst of wolves.

Psalms 44:22 “But for Your sake we are killed all day long; We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

Paul even quoted that verse to speak of Christian suffering in Romans 8.
It is a fact that God’s people suffer at the hands of the world.

Just look at the book of Acts
• It was in Acts 4 when Peter and John were first arrested for preaching.
• In Acts 5 they were arrested again and this time also flogged.

Acts 5:40 “They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them.”

• In Acts 7 Stephen was stoned to death.
• In Acts 8 a young zealot named Saul started pursuing any and all Christians;
putting them in prison; and even calling for their execution.
• In Acts 12 James was killed.

Acts 12:1-3 “Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread.”

• In Acts 14 Paul was threatened, and plotted against, and by verse 19 he was
even stoned.

Acts 14:19-22 “But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe. After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”

And realities like that no doubt let to statements like:
2 Corinthians 4:7-11 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”

The darkness has always hated the light.
Sinful men do not like having their deeds exposed or confronted.

But I think we fully get that proclaiming the gospel is dangerous.
• I think that is in part an explanation for why so few believers are willing to do it.
• We know it’s dangerous.

But can I make one point here about that danger?
JESUS KNEW IT WAS DANGEROUS AND SENT THEM ANYWAY.

John 15:18-21 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.”

You DON’T find there a Jesus who is naïve to the reality of suffering.
• You have a Jesus who knew without a doubt what He was sending His followers into and yet He sent them anyway.

NOW THAT PRODUCES AN IMPORTANT QUESTION:
Why would Jesus knowingly endanger His own followers?

BECAUSE THE TRUTH REGARDING HIM
AND REGARDING HIS SALVATION IS NECESSARY!

It would be great if the world loved what we do,
But the fact that they don’t doesn’t change the necessity.

A lot of men died on the beaches of Normandy,
But the necessity of the mission outweighed the cost.

So we are faced with AN IMPORTANT REALITY.
The mission is more important than safety or comfort.

Does everyone see that?
(If safety and comfort are more important to us than the mission
Then there is something spiritually wrong)
Jesus, aware of the danger sends them anyway.

Let me give you a second reality.
2) JESUS IS AWARE OF THE LOGISTICS BUT TELLS THEM NOT TO CONCERN THEMSELVES WITH IT (4-8)

When we speak of logistics we are talking about things like
Supplies, and cost of travel, and lodging, etc.

He plainly tells the 70 NOT to concern themselves with those things.
“Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way.”

(that is don’t take extra supplies and don’t make visits to solicit funds)

Now, for fairness sake,
You need to know that this specific command was temporary.

Luke 22:35-37 “And He said to them, “When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” They said, “No, nothing.” And He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one. “For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me, ‘AND HE WAS NUMBERED WITH TRANSGRESSORS’; for that which refers to Me has its fulfillment.”

We have no problem now with missionaries who plan their logistics or who solicit funds to go. Jesus made that clear.

But Jesus specifically forbid these from doing that
Because He was making a point to them about their ministry.

Namely that THEIR WORK WAS VALUABLE

(5-8) “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ “If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. “Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. “Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you;”

NOW FIRST WE SEE THAT
When they enter a house they do so with the promise of something.
• They enter with a promise of “Peace”
• They say, “Peace be to this house”

That is to say, they enter a house with A PROPOSAL,
That if you will house me and meet my physical needs,
Then you should know that I am here with an offer of peace.

Now that DIDN’T mean peace with me.
I am offering you peace with God.

Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

This is what we are talking about.
They are coming with a message
Of how a man can have peace with God.

And of course we know the answer:
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

The implication here is that this knowledge is extremely valuable!

And “If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not it will return to you.”

Which is just Jesus way of saying that
A man who values that peace will accept you, but some men won’t value it and won’t allow you to stay. That’s just reality.

But for those who do value your ministry:

Jesus says to take full advantage of it.
(7) “Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you”
• Don’t feel like a burden…
• Don’t fell unworthy…

And Jesus says why you should make yourself at home.
“for the laborer is worthy of his wages.”

You are providing an invaluable service to these people,
And they most certainly should compensate you for it.

Paul wrote:
1 Corinthians 9:4-7 “Do we not have a right to eat and drink? Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working? Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock?”

You are going (amidst great peril) to explain how to have peace with God. Don’t feel bad if they have to feed you for a month or two.

He went on to say, “Do not keep moving from house to house.”
• Don’t even worry if your visit is extended.
• What you are doing is valuable!

And (8) “Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you.”
• When they offer you care out of gratitude for your service,
• Don’t feel bad about taking it.

That’s just Jesus way of reminding the 70
That they are performing a necessary service.

Now, I think also implied here is a REMINDER OF CONTENTMENT
And to remember that the goal is spiritual.

One could see Jesus command to “not keep moving from house to house”
As a warning not to use your ministry as a means of milking it for all it’s worth.

We know about false prophets who were in it only for money.
Micah 3:5 “Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray; When they have something to bite with their teeth, They cry, “Peace,” But against him who puts nothing in their mouths They declare holy war.”

Jesus is at the same time warning these 70
About using their ministries for the purpose of gain.

HERE’S THE POINT: LOGISTICS ARE NOT YOUR CONCERN

• So Jesus is aware of the danger and sends them anyway.
• And Jesus is aware of the logistics but reminds that this is not the concern.

One more
3) JESUS IS ADAMANT ABOUT THE PURPOSE OF THE MISSION (9-12)

Of course we see here the command to “heal those in it who are sick”

As we have said, that had to do with credibility with regard to their preaching.
• These were the signs that their message was true.
• And as we have said, we don’t need that now because we have the New Testament.

But the point of their healing was clear.
USE THE MIRACLE AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET YOUR MESSAGE OUT.

And what is the message?
“The kingdom of God has come near to you.”

THAT’S THE POINT. Make sure you preach that.
Heal the sick so that you will have an opportunity to preach that, but preach it.

Well, what if they don’t listen?
That’s simple – preach it anyway.

(10-12) “But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ “I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.”

Their listening has no bearing on your preaching.
You preach the message whether they accept you or not.

Similar to what God told to Ezekiel
Ezekiel 3:10-11 “Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, take into your heart all My words which I will speak to you and listen closely. “Go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or not, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.'”

Or Paul to Timothy
2 Timothy 4:1-5 “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

You go and tell these people that the kingdom is near!
Even if they don’t listen.
DON’T GET PRAGMATIC HERE.
Don’t let their response dictate your faithfulness to the message.

You just preach “that the kingdom of God has come near”

What does that mean?
(As we said, it’s similar to the ministry of John the Baptist; preparing people for the King)

Listen to the prophecy regarding John:
Isaiah 40:3-11 “A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. “Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” A voice says, “Call out.” Then he answered, “What shall I call out?” All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever. Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, Lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” Behold, the Lord GOD will come with might, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him And His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.”

Do you hear the message?
• The Lord is coming!
• Make the road smooth (John’s message of repentance)
• God’s glory will soon be seen.
• Tell the people how transient they are (i.e. like grass)
• And God’s judgment is coming
• But tell them God’s word is eternal and can save them
• And tell them the King is on His way and He is coming to save
• He is a gentle Shepherd who will care for them

That was the message.
Jesus told these 70 to go and preach it, whether they listen or not.

So we get the main command, it is to GO
But the realities we also see.
• The mission is more important than personal safety
• The mission is more important than preoccupation with a salary
• The mission is more important than practical success

This is the Lord’s command.

He sees the spiritual reality that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. SO…
• Pray for more workers
• Go to work

Clear enough?

John Piper said, “There are only 3 kinds of Christians when it comes to missions. Zealous goers; zealous senders; and disobedient.”

PRAY FOR WORKERS
OBEY GOD’S CALLING TO GO

The Original Gospel Song
Psalms 22
January 13, 2019

Many of you are familiar with the song we sing from Sovereign Grace Music, written in 2002, which is called “The Gospel Song”

It’s a short chorus which says:
“Holy God in love became, perfect man to bear my blame.
On the cross he took my sin, by His death I live again.”
https://sovereigngracemusic.org/music/songs/the-gospel-song/

It is a song which simply looks back at the work
Which Christ accomplished on the cross and sings of that great reality.

It is a great song, but it is not the original.
The original gospel song was written by David around 3,000 years earlier.

The early church actually referred to it as “The Fifth Gospel”
You and I simply know it as Psalms 22.

AND IT IS REALLY REMARKABLE.
In fact it is so remarkable that it has even led “so called” scholars to question it altogether.

Because you believe in a literal translation of the Bible, you don’t have a problem recognizing the clear pictures of the crucifixion in this Psalm.
But that’s not true for everyone.

I actually had an Old Testament professor during my time at Seminary
Who emphatically stated that Psalms 22 was in no way about the cross.

According to him, it was just a Psalm which
Recounted David’s suffering and faith in God and nothing more.

Why did he reach this conclusion?
• Because the cross as a method of execution wasn’t even invented until at least the 6th century BC.
• It didn’t even become used heavily until Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC
• And since David reigned in the 9th century BC he pre-dated any notion of the crucifixion by at least 300 years if not more.

Based on that fact our Old Testament professor stated that
There is no way David could have known about crucifixion
And so there is no way that he is writing about it here.

I MIGHT REMIND YOU HOWEVER that David wrote under inspiration of the Holy Spirit who most certainly did know what crucifixion was.

Limited exposure has never harnessed Biblical prophecy.
• It didn’t stop Isaiah from calling the earth round long before Columbus set sale for the Americas.
• It also didn’t stop Isaiah from naming Cyrus by name before Persia was even world powerhouse.
• It didn’t stop Daniel from listing in detail the events of the Greek rise and fall from power.

Just because David had no knowledge of it
Doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit didn’t.

But one thing we can agree on,
For a man who had never even heard of a crucifixion,
It is remarkable that he could write such an accurate song about it.

It is clear that the gospel writers saw this Psalm as a favorite.
For they were certain to make sure that we saw its lyrics being demonstrated by our Lord during His death.
• This is the original gospel song.
• This is the song written about the atoning death of our Lord before anyone even fully understood how it would happen.

Now certainly this song had immediate applications to David’s life.
• Certainly there was an accuracy here to this song which fit David’s
circumstances.
• And certainly there is an application here for us all regarding how to handle our
own adversity.

That is clearly portrayed.

But ultimately this song is NOT about the first David nor is it about you.
Ultimately this song is about Jesus and His suffering.

So this song affords us again the opportunity
To examine the suffering and death and salvation
Which our Lord purchased for us.

AND THIS IS EXTREMELY REWARDING
• We never grow tired of examining the cross.
• We never grow tired of singing about the cross.

Tonight we learn that even the Old Testament saints sang about it
Before they even fully understood what they were singing.
So tonight we examine their song, which is also ours.

We’re going to break it down into 3 main points.
#1 HIS SUFFERING
Psalms 22:1-21

I know that is a rather lengthy section,
So we’re going to break that down a little further.
His suffering is actually revealed in 3 main ways.
1) HE WAS FORSAKEN (1-5)

The real indicator as to the SETTING OF THIS PSALM
Is clearly depicted in verse 1.

“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”

I always liked Adrian Rodgers explanation of this verse.
“On the cross Jesus wasn’t quoting David. Rather, in Psalms 22 David was looking forward and quoting Jesus.”

Acts 2 made it clear that David was a prophet,

And we’ve already seen him in that role
In such Psalms as Psalms 16 and even recently in Psalms 21.

DAVID IS TALKING ABOUT JESUS
• And all doubt is cast aside, when see our Lord on the cross in the gospels and
hear Him cry:
Matthew 27:46 “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”

This is about Christ.

And here we are reminded that
On the cross, Christ was forsaken.

The reality, as we have many times discussed, is a horrendous one.

Now we know He was forsaken of men:
Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

He was indeed forsaken by men,
But here we are reminded that it was not just by men,
But ultimately BY THE FATHER.

Remember the account?
Matthew 27:45-46 “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”

We have talked about this.
• The “darkness” that fell there was a picture of God’s wrath.
• Throughout the Old Testament the Day of the LORD is pictured as a day of deep darkness.
• For 3 hours God’s wrath fell upon Christ.
• He was bearing judgment.
And we know it was not the judgment of man here,
We know it was the judgment of God
Because of the cry Christ makes from the cross.

He DOESN’T cry out, “My God, My God, why do THEY all hate Me so much?”

He is feeling the wrath of God.

And the point we have often made, which is so important,
Is that on the cross Jesus is actually bearing God’s wrath.

There is nothing potential going on there.
It is actual.

And this is why we believe in what is called “Limited Atonement”
Or the belief that Christ died only for the elect.

And we say that because what He did there was so actual in nature
That had He died for all men at that point
Then no one would ever go to hell.

He actually bore our sin.
John’s gospel reminds that He finished it.

On the cross He was forsaken by the Father.
WHY?

It’s the beautiful picture of imputation.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

On the cross God looked at Christ and saw you,
So that now He looks at you and sees Christ.

On the cross Jesus felt the rejection and punishment that you deserve.
HE WAS FORSAKEN.

And it didn’t matter what He said.

In fact, look at His desperation here.
(1b) “Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.”

That is to say, “It doesn’t matter what I say, or how I beg, nothing changes my circumstance.”
(He is feeling the inescapable wrath of God on sinners.
Even at the judgment, there will be nothing sinners can say to alleviate the suffering.)

He elaborates:
(2) “O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest.”
Those are the words of a man who has been forsaken.
• On the cross He felt our shame…
• On the cross He felt our separation…
• On the cross He felt God’s displeasure toward our sin…

And for Him it was absolutely shocking and disorienting.
It was a disapproval that He had never experienced from all eternity.
He bore God’s absolute hatred and disdain and fury, and He was forsaken.

Now, the interesting part is HOW HE HANDLED that rejection form God.
He handled it in faith.
HE WAS FORSAKEN, but He trusted God’s reputation.

(3-5) “Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You delivered them. To You they cried out and were delivered; In You they trusted and were not disappointed.”

This is remarkable!

He knew God had forsaken Him,
And yet His first declaration was, “Yet You are holy”

That is to say, “You have forsaken Me, but You were right to do so.”

Christ understood the atoning work that was occurring
And why God’s fury was so perfect.

Paul said:
Romans 3:25-26 “[Christ] whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

The cross demonstrated God’s justice, God’s holiness.
Because He dealt fully and totally with sin there.

Jesus says the same.
You have proven Yourself holy in that You have forsaken Me.

And yet, despite this holy act by the Father,
Christ also trusted in God’s reputation to deliver His people.

Look at what He says next.
“O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You delivered them. To You they cried out and were delivered; In You they trusted and were not disappointed.”

• Even though Christ understands that His suffering and being forsaken of God is a holy act,
• He also understands that God is faithful and God is merciful and that He has never failed to respond to the cry of His afflicted.

The entire Bible is one sense a testimony
To God’s faithful deliverance of His people.

You can’t find a time when He failed them.
• And so even though Christ is at the moment forsaken, He is not failing to trust that His Father will deliver.

And we see that on the cross don’t we?
For on one hand He is crying out about being forsaken.
But on the other hand we hear this statement:

Luke 23:43
“And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

He knew where He was headed.

But the suffering was real. It was seen in that He was Forsaken
2) HE WAS DESPISED (6-10)

Do you want to see a really interesting verse?
“But I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people.”

Certainly there we understand the simple application.
• He’s saying that I am considered as lowly.
• I’m considered as valuable as a worm.
• The people despise me.

Again, Isaiah said the same thing.
Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

He would go on to say:
“All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, “Commit yourself to the LORD; let Him deliver him; let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”

That was obviously a statement of sarcasm,
Indicating the crowds belief in something
Similar to the prosperity gospel.

“If you were so pleasing to God then why isn’t God delivering you?”

And if you will remember, the crowds said this verbatim to Jesus.
Matthew 27:43 “HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE DELIGHTS IN HIM; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.'”

Luke 23:35 “And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.”

Not only was He forsaken by the Father, but He was also despised by the people.
• They mocked Him
• They despised Him
• They sneered at Him

But do you want to see the interesting almost hidden fact?

In verse 6 He says, “But I am a worm and not a man,”

The Hebrew word for “worm” there is TOWLA’A

And often times it is translated worm.
But you know how else it is translated? “Crimson”

Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.”

Or 5 times in Leviticus 14 it is translated “scarlet”
Leviticus 14:4 “then the priest shall give orders to take two live clean birds and cedar wood and a scarlet string and hyssop for the one who is to be cleansed.”

Well that’s weird.
It doesn’t seem like those two words have anything in common at all.

The mystery is resolved in God’s creation.
Go home and google “The Scarlet Worm” or “The Crimson Worm”

Here’s one description about it.
“The Crimson worm [coccus ilicis] is a very special worm that looks more like a grub than a worm. When it is time for the female or mother Crimson worm to have babies (which she does only one time in her life), she finds the trunk of a tree, a wooden fencepost or a stick. She then attaches her body to that wood and makes a hard crimson shell. She is so strongly and permanently stuck to the wood that the shell can never be removed without tearing her body completely apart and killing her.
The Crimson worm then lays her eggs under her body and the protective shell. When the baby worms (or larvae) hatch, they stay under the shell. Not only does the mother’s body give protection for her babies, but it also provides them with food – the babies feed on the LIVING body of the mother!
After just a few days, when the young worms grow to the point that they are able to take care of themselves, the mother dies. As the mother Crimson worm dies, she oozes a crimson or scarlet red dye which not only stains the wood she is attached to, but also her young children. They are colored scarlet red for the rest of their lives.
After three days, the dead mother Crimson worm’s body loses its crimson color and turns into a white wax which falls to the ground like snow.”
https://www.discovercreation.org/blog/2011/11/20/the-crimson-or-scarlet-worm/

If you study it more you’ll find that they actually use the pigment form the worm as a fabric dye.

That’s just a little interesting tidbit from God’s amazing creation there.

Christ was working in similar fashion as that worm.
Fastened to a tree and facing death
He was giving His life for those who were despising Him.

And yet, regardless of the fact that He was DESPISED,
He still trusted God’s purposes.

His faith remains evident.
(9-10) “Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts. Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother’s womb.”

What is He saying there?
• I am despised by men.
• I am treated like a worm.
• I am bearing their blame and shame and rejection.

And yet, “I was born for this”

John 12:27 “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.”

Hebrews 10:5 “Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME;”

And a few verses later we read:
Hebrews 10:10 “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

He knew that He was born to die.
He knew that He was given a body so that it might be crucified.

As David reminded in Psalms 139, all His days had been ordained before Him before as yet one of them came into being.

He knew why He was here, and His faith never wavered,
Even while embracing the harshest fulfillment of that plan.

He was forsaken, but He trusted God’s reputation.
He was despised, but He trusted God’s purposes.
3) HE WAS MALIGNED (11-21)

We saw that the Father forsook Him
We saw that the crowds despised Him

And now we find that He was also maligned.
John MacArthur will tell you that he believes this to be a spiritual maligning, namely a demonic one.

When you read verses 11-21 you find His attack
Given through the analogy of 4 different types of beasts.

(12) “Many bulls…strong bulls of Bashan”
• The bulls of Bashan were indeed strong, and they were also wild.
• The Canaanites of the day attributed their wildness to demonic spirits and even worshiped them in their pagan cultures.

(13) “a roaring lion”
• And of course we are not lost on the reality that Satan is compared to a lion who seeks whom he may devour.

(20) “the power of the dog”
• A common referral to Gentiles and even the pagan religions they served.

(21) “lion’s mouth” and also “the horns of the wild oxen”
• It may very well have been a reference to a demonic army of hell which surrounded Him to attack Him and mock Him and ultimately kill Him.

Certainly we know the battle He fought there.

But the clear point either way is that the battle He fought
LITERALLY MALIGNED HIS BODY.

He wasn’t just forsaken
He wasn’t just despised
He was physically and brutally attacked

Isaiah 52:14 “Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men.”

Isaiah 53:4-5 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.”

As the enemy attacked Him we actually get an account of the brutality.

(14) “I am poured out like water, And all of my bones are out of joint;”
Do you know how you died on the cross?
• When they dropped it in the hole it pulled your shoulders out of socket and you died through suffocation.

(14) “My heart is like wax; it is melted within me.”

Do you remember the effects of His death?
John 19:34 “But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.”

(15) “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws;”
And we heard Him say:
John 19:28 “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.”

(16) “They pierced my hands and my feet”
Obviously picturing the crucifixion.

(18) “They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots”

Matthew 27:35 “And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots.”

It’s clear isn’t it?
• It was brutal and real physical torment.
• He was being physically killed.

He was encircled and He was attacked.
Forsaken, Despised, and Maligned.

And yet even while being physically maligned,
He trusted in God’s deliverance.

(19-21) “But You, O LORD, be not far off; O You my help, hasten to my assistance. Deliver my soul from the sword, My only life from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion’s mouth; From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me.”

Do you remember what He said as He died?
Luke 23:46 “And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.” Having said this, He breathed His last.”

Even when facing death He was confident that
The Lord would not allow Him to undergo decay,
But that He would be raised from the dead.

He prayed that God would deliver His life.
And in remarkable fashion, in the last line He says that God heard Him!

“From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me.”

Now, that was Christ’s suffering and the way He approached it.
• Certainly we could learn a lot about trusting God’s reputation in our suffering.
• Certainly we could learn a lot about trusting God’s purposes in our suffering.
• Certainly we could learn a lot about trusting God’s deliverance in our suffering.

But more than that, we want to see the result of His suffering.
So first we saw His suffering
#2 HIS SALVATION
Psalms 22:22-24

Now you recognize here His promise to “tell of Your name to my brethren:”

And who were the first people Christ called for after He rose from the dead?
Matthew 28:10 “Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

What we are talking about here is the victory that has occurred.
Christ suffered, but God raised Him from the dead,
And now He is proclaiming that victory.

And the message of this victorious Christ is proclaimed to the world.
(23-24) “You who fear the LORD, praise Him; All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel. For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.”

• Praise God My brothers!
• Praise God and stand in awe of Him!
• He did not forget Me forever!
• He has not rejected Me forever!
• I cried and He heard Me!
• He did not allow Me to undergo decay!
• God has raised Me from the dead!

That’s a simple reality clearly seen there.
That this Christ suffered an enormous battle and yet God delivered Him.
God, in effect, saved Him.

It is that SAME BATTLE we looked at back in Psalms 16 and again in Psalms 21.

And then we get the FULL GOSPEL REALITY.
His Suffering, His Salvation
#3 HIS SEED
Psalms 22:25-31

Now of course we again see that the message of His suffering
And salvation is a message proclaimed “in the great assembly”

“I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him”

That is to say, “I’m going to make sure that everyone knows what God accomplished for Me and through Me.”

And then we see what the effect will be among those who hear this story.

1) SATISFACTION FOR THE AFFLICTED (26)
“The afflicted will eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever!”

The first result of His suffering and resurrection will be
That all those who are afflicted will in Him find the satisfaction they crave.

He is the bread of life and in Him they will eat and be satisfied.

Jesus said:
John 6:35 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”

And again:
John 6:48-50 “I am the bread of life. “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.”

And again:
John 6:57-58 “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. “This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”

His suffering and salvation will bring satisfaction to the afflicted.

2) RECONCILIATION TO THE NATIONS (27-28)
“All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations will worship before You. For the kingdom is the LORD’S And He rules over the nations.”

It speaks to the scope of His atonement.
That through His suffering
Every nation tribe and tongue will be redeemed to the Father.

Revelation 7:9-10 “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

3) DELIVERANCE TO THE DEAD (29)
“All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship, All those who go down to the dust will bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.”

We have there the promise of every knee bowing to Him and worshiping Him.

But ultimately it was those who faced death and who were dead.
Because He lives they can live also.
It is a picture of the salvation which He purchased.

And ultimately it ALL CULMINATES in this final one.
4) JUSTIFICATION OF THE SEED (30-31)

“Posterity (literally “the seed”) will serve Him; It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation. They will come and will declare His righteousness To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.”

• We are told of a people yet to come who will serve Him.
• We are told of children yet to be born who will serve Him.
• We are told of a “coming generation” that will worship Him.

WHY?
(31) “They will come and declare HIS righteousness”
• They will boast in His perfection, not their own.
• They will trust in His perfection, not their own.
• They will clothe themselves in His perfection, not their own.

And they will tell the world about it!
“They will come and will declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, that He has performed it”
• He has done it!
• He has finished it!
• He has born our suffering

• He was Forsaken for us
• He was Despised for us
• He was Maligned for us

He took what we deserved and we now receive His righteousness!

It clearly is “The Original Gospel Song”

That Christ suffered and died and rose again.
And He became the source of righteousness
To all who call upon Him.

Isaiah 53 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.”

Laborers In The Harvest – Part 1
Luke 10:1-20 (1-2)
January 13, 2019

Well this morning we begin a new section in Luke’s gospel.
You’re aware of the themes we’ve seen.

1) Jesus, the Long-Awaited Redeemer of Israel
Luke 1:1 – 3:38

2) The Gospel Ministry of Jesus
Luke 4:1 – 7:17

3) Who is this Man?
Luke 7:18 – 9:20

4) Messianic Misconceptions
Luke 9:21-62

Well this morning we introduce a 5th theme,
“THE NECESSITY OF JESUS”

It is very simply that reminder that submission Christ is not optional.

We all understand that eternity depends upon our relationship with Christ.
We often read:
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”

Verses like that cannot be overemphasized.
That truth is one that all of humanity must embrace.

Humanity has fallen short of the glory of God
And abides under God’s holy wrath,
And the only means of reconciliation with God
Is through the atonement offered in Jesus Christ.

That makes Jesus the pinnacle of importance.
No decision you make in life will ever even come close
To the importance of that decision.

I saw a post on Facebook recently that said:
“There is a 0.0296% chance that your child will become a professional athlete. There is a 100% chance that they will stand before God.”

There is nothing that you will ever encounter or deal with
That even comes close to the importance of Christ in your life.

To call Him necessary is actually even a bit of an understatement.
But that’s what Luke is putting on display here in chapter 10.

This section would serve to remind us that
His call to deny self and take up the cross and follow Him
Is NOT an optional one.

Our world must seek and love and submit to Christ.

LUKE 10 WILL MAKE THAT POINT.
I can go ahead and give you a quick rundown to help you see that.

It begins in the first 20 verses with the sending of the 70 and their return to Him.
• And everything they are called to preach only further emphasizes the necessity
of Christ.
• Since those who receive Christ enter God’s kingdom and those who do not fall
under judgment worse than that of Sodom and Gomorrah.
• But even upon their return and their excitement at having seen the demons
subject to them Jesus says:
Luke 10:20 “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

It is a reminder that a relationship with Jesus
Is even more important than authority in this world.

Victory is nice, victory over demons is especially rewarding,
But even that pales in comparison to being saved by Christ.

And then comes the heartbeat of the entire chapter.
Luke 10:21-22 “At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

That is the heart. That is the point of the section.
Namely that no one knows the Father
Except those whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

YOU MUST HAVE JESUS.
• This even leads into Jesus reminding the 12 of how blessed they are that they
have been granted the right to know Christ.

From there we go to the story of the Good Samaritan which most people think is a story about being neighborly.
• No. Luke uses the story as negative illustration.
• We have here a man who is rejecting Christ but trying to justify himself through his own love of God and love of his neighbor.

• The story Jesus gives is meant to reveal the great lengths that are entailed in loving your neighbor properly.
• No one should read that story and then be able to say, “Yep, I do that.” That story is meant to condemn our lack of brotherly love and once again drive us to Jesus.

And then the chapter concludes with Jesus expressing that very reality as He dines with Martha and Mary.
• Martha is upset that Mary isn’t helping in the kitchen and Jesus says:

Luke 10:41-42 “But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

That’s why we call this chapter “The Necessity of Jesus”
He is in fact the one thing that is necessary in this life.

So there’s the theme we’re going to be embarking upon
For the next few weeks.

AND IT BEGINS WITH JESUS SENDING OUT THE 70.
I, once again, find the Lord’s timing to be impeccable,
• Since not only are we currently in the middle of our “Mission’s Month”
• But we are also having our first meeting this afternoon for “Mission Malawi”
• I can promise you that when we started studying Luke in July of 2017 I had no
idea that we’d be here at this time.

God always has a way of directing His people.

So let’s begin this study of the necessity of Christ,
Even as we currently focus on our mission as believers
To go and proclaim the gospel.

We can divide this text into 5 points, but it will take a few weeks to get through them all
#1 THE SOVEREIGN APPOINTMENT
Luke 10:1

“Now after this” is more than just an insignificant transition.

What Luke is really indicating is after Jesus’ Galilean ministry.

We talked about this some a few months ago;
Namely that Jesus ministry in Galilee was rapidly coming to an end.

Now it is over.
• Jesus is moving now to Jerusalem.
• As you know, He has tunnel vision, He is headed to Jerusalem to suffer and be killed and to be raised from the dead.
• In order to do that, He must leave the northern region of Galilee, He must travel south through Samaria, into Judea and ultimately down to Jerusalem.

His Galilean ministry has come to a close.
You will even see down in verses 13-15
• That Jesus will now pronounce final judgment on those Galilean cities which
saw all His miracles and heard all His preaching and yet still refused to repent.

(13-15) “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. “But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!

That is not a warning of what could happen,
That is a declaration of what will happen.

They rejected Him and now He is leaving,
He is heading south to Judea and Jerusalem.

Certainly He is on a mission to go and offer Himself a sacrifice for sin,
But He is also on a mission to PREACH THE GOSPEL ON THE WAY.

But before He arrives in any city,
He has ordained to send messengers on ahead of Him.

“Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.”

This is NOT THE FIRST TIME you’ve seen such an action.

We remember the man named John the Baptist who said:
John 3:28 “You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’”

Of him we read:
John 1:6-8 “There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.”

I’ve always liked that passage
Because of the peculiar reality that it seems to reveal.

Because in that passage we have “Light”
And we also have one who came “to testify about the Light”

It actually seems a little redundant.
Light is self-evident. If light enters your darkness
You don’t need anyone to tell you, it is unmistakable.

And yet, we find that God sends one to testify about the light.
The reason of course is because it is so important.
We don’t want anyone to miss it.

That was John’s purpose.
• To make sure that no one missed the Light when He came through.
• He was to prepare the hearts of the people for the coming King.

Well here we have “seventy” John the Baptists
Going out in “pairs ahead of Him”.

They are doing the same thing John did.
They are making sure that everyone is ready for Jesus when He arrives.

These are not the 12 apostles,
• These are 70 others who have no doubt been following Jesus and listening to
Him preach and watching His miracles.
• We know that when our Lord ascended there were 120 in the upper room.
• Certainly these 70 were part of that group.

Here the Lord appointed them to go ahead of Him
And prepare each place for His coming.

This would have been southern Galilee
This would have been Samaria
This would have been Judea

You go and tell the people that the King is on His way.
These were SOVEREIGNLY APPOINTED MISSIONARIES

For those of you mulling over the idea of going to Malawi this summer,
• We’re going to talk about this in more detail in our meeting this afternoon.
• Namely how to recognize when the Lord is doing this.

But namely here, you simply must see that missions at its core
Is about submission to the will of the King.
He calls, He appoints, we obey.

Well the Lord is sending the 70 here.
It is a Sovereign Appointment

#2 THE SPIRITUAL ASSESSMENT
Luke 10:2a

Here we find WHY their sending is so important.

“And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;”

This is a reality that the Lord wanted them to be aware of.

And it is a reality, that rightly understood,
Should operate as a chief motivator for mission involvement.

THE REALITY IS THIS,
Namely that “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few”

But let’s make sure we understand what the Lord is saying here.

The GENERAL ASSUMPTION I think to this statement is
• That Jesus is saying that there are lots of people out there who are ready to be
saved
• They are just waiting on someone to go out there and share the gospel with
them and in effect harvest them into the kingdom.

I think we take that interpretation largely from the way Jesus used it
When talking to the woman at the well.

John 4:27-38 “At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?” So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” They went out of the city, and were coming to Him. Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. “Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. “For in this case the saying is true, ‘ One sows and another reaps.’ “I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”

That is a fairly straightforward analogy and a strong rebuke of the disciple’s lack of focus and priority.
• As they seen the people of the town they had just left all coming out to meet
Jesus, and Jesus says they are like a great harvest coming into the kingdom.
• Jesus says, “I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored”
• They thought they had been sent to buy lunch, Jesus said, “That’s not what I
sent you to do. That whole town was ready for salvation, but you didn’t say
anything to anyone about Me.”

And certainly from that story we could easily make an assumption
That Jesus means the same thing here.
There’s a whole group of people ready to be saved,
They’re just waiting for you to go and reap the harvest.

But that’s NOT ALL that Jesus means,
And that’s not exactly what He means here.

In our text, Jesus doesn’t refer to the 70 as REAPERS,
He refers to them as “laborers”, and THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.

The “laborers” worked the field and worked the vineyards
TO PREPARE IT FOR THE HARVEST.

At what you need to understand here is what the “harvest” represents.

The “harvest” represents THE COMING JUDGMENT.

We certainly see that in the Old Testament.
Joel 3:11-14 “Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves there. Bring down, O LORD, Your mighty ones. Let the nations be aroused And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge All the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.”

And most of the time this is how Jesus referenced it.

Remember the parable of the wheat and the tares?
Matthew 13:30 “Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”‘”

Matthew 13:40-42 “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

THE POINT IS THAT
The harvest represented more than just the salvation of elect.
It also represented the destruction of the wicked.

The harvest is the final culmination.
The harvest is that day when the redeemed are delivered
And the day when the wicked are destroyed.

Revelation 14:14-20 “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.”

There you see it again.
• There is coming a day of absolute finality when this entire world will give an account to God.
• Those are the redeemed will be delivered and the wicked will be destroyed.
• And it is often portrayed with the analogy of the harvest.

We also see it from Jesus with the analogy of a dragnet.
Matthew 13:47-50 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. “So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Different analogy, but the same point.

And I give you that to help you understand what Jesus has in view here.
He is referring to a “harvest” that is certainly coming.

In fact He says, “The harvest is plentiful”
It is the Greek word POLYS (Polus)
It means “great” or “much” or “large”

We know it as a harvest which will encompass the entire world.
JESUS SAYS THAT IT IS WHAT IS COMING.

And certainly you should understand this.
THIS WORLD IS HEADED FOR JUDGMENT.

Peter said:
2 Peter 3:7 “But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”

And again:
2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”

There is a coming judgment
In which the righteous will be gathered to the Lord
And the wicked will be destroyed.

The ONLY MEANS TO BE SAVED from this judgment
Is through the Lord Jesus.

John 5:24-29 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

SO, IF judgment is coming,
AND the only way to escape it is through Christ
THEN you understand what Jesus is expecting from these “laborers”

They aren’t going in necessarily to reap,
They are going in to proclaim the truth
So that these people will run to Christ.

And if you look at another account when Jesus used this same phrase
Then you’ll understand WHY IT WAS HIS DESIRE that they do that.

Matthew 9:35-38 “Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

• Why does Matthew say that Jesus gave commands regarding
laborers before the harvest?

“He felt compassion for them”

• Do you understand that Jesus knew better than anyone about the certainty of judgment and the agonies of hell?

• Do you understand that this was a driving reality in the life of Jesus?

• Do you understand His desire to rescue sinners from hell?

• Do you understand His compassion?

What else can be said but that a lack of missions
Is nothing short than a lack of compassion?

It was the compassion of Jesus that drove Him to beg for more laborers.

We have before us a world that is lost in sin and headed for judgment,
And those who by in large don’t know it.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

We have here Satan who is a liar
• And he has convinced the world that they are fine and that there is no need
for concern.
• He has raised up hordes of false prophets to proclaim to them a false gospel
to keep them focused on their comforts and the things of this world.
• They push people through the wide gate and onto the narrow way which
leads only to destruction.

AND THIS WORLD IS BUYING IT.
They need laborers who will do the work
Of preparing the field for the coming harvest.

Hoe up the weeds… Prune back the vines… Bring in the water…

THAT IS WHY THE LORD IS SENDING THESE 70.

THAT IS WHY HE SENDS YOU.
• You aren’t called to save anyone,
• But you are called to go to work in the field,
• Because there is a day of judgment coming to that field.

If nothing else, general compassion should kick in
And cause you to go to work.

So Jesus has sovereignly appointed these 70
And explained to them why the mission is so important.

Let’s begin looking at the next point.
#3 THE SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENT
Luke 10:2b-12

This morning let’s just look at the rest of verse 2.

• Because the judgment is coming.
• Because the wicked will be destroyed.
• Because this judgment is great and will cover the whole world.
Jesus recognizes a need for something.
What is it?

MORE WORKERS

Do you understand that?
• That we live in a world that is in desperate need of missionaries.
• We live in a world that is in desperate need of preachers.
• We live in a world that is in desperate need of teachers of the truth.

And I might just go ahead and add that it is SUPPOSED TO BE YOU.

Can I remind you of what the writer of Hebrews said to his congregation?
Hebrews 5:11-14 “Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”

I understand the reality of spiritual gifts and vocational callings
BUT DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND THAT TO MEAN THAT
God is just ok with everyone else sitting back and doing nothing.

You are expected to be mature enough in your spiritual growth that you can articulate that truth to someone else.
• The writer of Hebrews was frustrated that more of his people could not.
• They were teenagers still eating baby food.
• They needed to grow up and accept responsibility and do the work.

Our world doesn’t need lazy and immature believers.

Our world needs laborers who will enter the field
And do the work of teaching the truth about judgment and salvation.

Jesus could see that, and we still see it.

LET ME SHOW YOU HIS SOLUTION

He says, “therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

He DOESN’T start with “pray for the lost”
He starts with “pray for the workers to get up off their rears and do the work”

It is the simple reality that we have been reminded of time after time.

Romans 10:13-14 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”

The simple truth is that the lost won’t be saved
If no one presents to them the gospel.

And Jesus said the first thing you need to do is pray that “the Lord of the harvest [would] send out laborers into His harvest.”

Well Church, there’s our first directive for missions month.
• To pray that God would send missionaries into the world.
• To pray that God would raise up preachers and teachers of the gospel

There’s our first directive for things like Mission Malawi
• We’ve had here before our church for the past 2 months a Macedonian Call.
• We’ve had a fellow believer contacting us, begging us for help in his fields.

You know what he is begging for?
TEACHERS
People who can give foundational doctrinal truth to his people
So they can go labor in their fields.

Have you prayed that God would send people to that mission?
Have you asked God to raise up people from our own congregation who would answer that call?

And I know that’s hard because
In order to offer such a request you have to be willing to answer it.
Certainly Jesus is aware of that reality.

But His first assignment to the 70
And to the rest of the disciples and even to us
Is that in light of the harvest that we should “beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

“beseech”
DEOMAI in the Greek.
It means to beg.

It is the word the leper used when he wanted to be cleansed from his leprosy.
Luke 5:12 “While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

It is the word the demon used when he wanted to escape the immediate judgment of Christ.
Luke 8:28 “Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, ” What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.”

It is the word the father used when asking Jesus to heal his son from the demon who afflicted him.
Luke 9:38 “And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only boy,”

Does that paint you a better picture of the command here?

We are talking about a world that is facing a sure and certain harvest.
• We are talking about a coming day when the Lord will return and will gather the wheat into His barn but will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

The only salvation from this judgment is through Jesus Christ.
• Trusting Him is absolutely necessary for the world.

The whole world is facing this judgment, and the mission is highly understaffed.
• We need more workers.
• We need more people to enter the field and do the work of revealing that judgment is coming.
• We need more people to enter the field and do the work of calling the wicked to repentance.
• We need more people to enter the field and do the work of proclaiming the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ.

It all points to the necessity of Jesus.
Certainly we believe that.

Well, in that belief, the first thing the Lord tells us to do
Is to beg God to send those workers.

THIS IS WHERE OUR LORD BEGAN.
This is where we start our Missions month.
This is how we begin our Malawi mission.

• There will come a time when we pray for the lost.
• There will come a time when we pray for current missionaries.
• BUT FIRST we pray that God will raise up more missionaries who will go
and do the work.

THE HARVEST DEMANDS MORE LABORERS.

So there’s the beginning.
If you have not done it yet, I’m asking you this morning to start praying that God would send out workers.

Not just to Malawi, but ultimately to every home in Spur
and to every corner of the globe.

This is the command.
START BY PRAYING FOR OBEDIENT WORKERS.