Article

 Rick Ferrell - November, 2024

Luke 10:1-9 KJV — After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

Here, we see that Jesus is appointing and sending 70 people out for ministry. This is the only place in the Bible where we read about Jesus sending a specific number of people aside from the 12 disciples. And the number of people here seems to be a little confusing. Some translations of the Bible have 72, while others have 70 people that Jesus appointed and sent out. Whether 70 or 72; the number is not the major thing here. The major thing is the appointment with instruction that Jesus gave, to send them out.

So, He ‘sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.’ Jesus sent them in twos for mutual encouragement and accountability. He knew that His public ministry was coming to an end very soon. But, there were still so many places that He had not yet visited with the Good News of the kingdom of God. So, He is sending out the 70 to those places where He was about to go.

Now, let’s look at the actual words of Jesus to the 70, as He was about to send them on their mission. He told them:

Luke 10:2-3 KJV — Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.

In this article, I would like to share with you three key principles on how you can be a worker in God’s harvest field: The first principle is:

1. Seeing the harvest from God’s perspective

What kind of harvest is Jesus talking about here? Jesus was not talking about a physical harvesting of fruit or grain. He was talking about spiritual harvesting of people. He was talking about the harvest of souls for salvation.

Matthew 9:36 KJV — But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

Jesus saw their need, that’s why He had compassion for them. Compassion means to be emotionally moved by what we see around us. Jesus was moved to compassion. His heart was broken when He saw the crowds harassed and helpless. 

Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision International says, "Let my heart be broken with the things that break God's heart"

The world's population today is 8.2 billion. Only 2.4 billion profess to be Christian. 5.8 billion people in the world today are without Christ. The harvest really is plentiful. If we are going to see the crowds as Jesus did, we must open our eyes. The world is full of people who are not like us. So, the first step is to see them. Jesus said:

John 4:35 KJV — Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.

The harvest is waiting to be harvested. And the time to harvest is now.

But, “The workers are few.” 

Now, the question is, why are there so few workers in the harvest field? 

The workers are few, because there are a lot of people who don't follow Christ. 

The workers are few, because people love the world and all that is in it, more than they love God.

The workers are few, because even among those who follow Christ, there are some who are not working in the harvest field. 

And the main reason why there are so few workers in the harvest field is because we don’t see the harvest like God does.

It does not mean that everyone has to go to far away places to serve in missions. But, everyone has a role to fulfill in God’s harvest field. If we just lift our eyes and look at school, at work, in the neighborhood or at home, we will see that the harvest is waiting to be harvested.

Evangelist Tony Abram said, “The greatest joy next to the joy of your own salvation is winning another soul to Christ."

The Bible teaches us that there is GREAT JOY in heaven over one sinner that repents.

The following statistics are from a survey on how people come to know the Lord:

.0001% from TV or a Crusade

1-2% from Street evangelism

2-4% from a Church program

3-6% from Sunday School

4-6% by Walking in to church

6-8% from a Pastor or Minister

74% from Friends and relatives

Think of all the people you see everyday: family, friends, neighbors, work associates. Church, that is our mission field, and we are responsible for them. 

When was the last time you shared the gospel with a friend, co-worker or neighbor? We will never have a sense of urgency until we realize that we are responsible for them. We need to take responsibility for our field that God has entrusted to us. We need to see the lost around us through God’s perspective.

Now, you may be thinking, with such a great task of harvesting and so few workers, how do we go about it? That brings us to our second principle:

2. Praying for workers in the harvest  

Jesus says, “pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.” 

Jesus did not ask them to think about strategy and ways to be an effective worker in the harvest. He simply asked them to pray. 

He is setting a pattern and priority for them. Prayer is the means that God has established to get workers into the harvest. So, Jesus does not ask us if we have a burden for the harvest. Instead, He asks us to pray for the harvest. And that’s how we develop a burden for the harvest. 

Now, the question is, “Do we ask God to raise up and send out more workers into His harvest field?” We pray for the things that matter the most to us. But, “Does the Lord’s harvest matter enough to us to motivate us to pray for it?”

We are working in a spiritual harvest field, so we work with spiritual tools. And the most powerful tool in harvesting souls is ‘prayer’. We pray for the Holy Spirit to open their hearts for the gospel. We also pray for ourselves for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, because it’s only in the power of the Holy Spirit that we can participate in the spiritual harvest. 

Author, A. J. Gordon said it very well, “You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.” 

So, what happened when they prayed for God to send out workers into His harvest? God answered their prayer! And they themselves were the answer!

We need to pray for God to send out workers into His field. And prayer is the start. 

Prayer is the turning of a key, starting up the engine. And once you pray for God to send out workers, don’t be surprised if you are the very person who will be sent. At times, just to be obedient, we pray, “Lord, please, send out workers into Your harvest field.” But, what we’re thinking is that young people will dedicate themselves to missions. Young people will feel called to go into ministry at home and abroad.

Well, it is true that young people may be called to be missionaries and pastors. But, every believer is to be a worker in God’s harvest field. Every believer is to be a witness of Jesus Christ to others in his or her sphere of influence. And every believer is to pray for workers in God’s harvest field.

Now, the first two principles set the stage for our final principle:

3. Going into God’s harvest field

Right after asking them to pray for the workers, in vs. 3 Jesus says:

Luke 10:3 KJV — Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.

Jesus’ approach in sending the workers to the harvest field is very simple, He just said, “Go.” 

If Jesus had not said “Go” we would not be here today. 

But, going like lambs among wolves is not easy. What happens when lambs are among wolves? Wolves will devour them. So, why did Jesus tell the 70 that they will be like lambs among wolves? He was warning them of the difficulty of the task. One reason why the workers are few is because the work is difficult.

What defense does a lamb have against a wolf? 

Not much. 

But, if the Great Shepherd is the one sending the lambs out, they will have a lot of defense. Working in God’s harvest will be difficult. It will be challenging. But, the reward is worth it. 

And the Great Shepherd will be with us. He will not ask us to do anything that we are incapable of doing. So, we can trust Him and go to proclaim the good news.

Out of 8.2 billion people, only 2.4 billion say they're on the road to heaven. How about the other 5.8 billion? 

When we look at that huge number, we think that there’s nothing we can really do about it. What can I do? I’m just one person. Well, Jesus was just one person. He worked tirelessly to bring the message of salvation to the lost. And as a result of that, we are here today. 

But, 2,000 years later, the fields are still ripe, and the harvest is still waiting. Jesus didn't physically go out and win the whole world, but he did win the world around him. And each and every one of us can do the same.

They are waiting for the workers to harvest them. But, the workers are few. So, God is calling all believers to get involved in His harvest. Christ has made it very clear in the Great Commission:

Matthew 28:19-20 KJV — Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

So, every Christian is a missionary. Every believer is to share Christ with others. Some are called by God to serve in another country and culture, while others are called to serve in their own family, neighborhood and circle of influence. Whether near or far, God wants us to go into His harvest.

If you don’t remember anything else from this message, remember this:

The harvest will not be reaped unless there are workers to reap it. 

And we can't bring in the harvest without first going into the harvest field. When we go to the field, our job is not to save the harvest - that's God's work. Our job is to tell people about the Lord of the harvest. We must be willing to go to the harvest field God has prepared for us. God is looking for workers to send out into His harvest field because people need the Lord.

So how do we reap the harvest?

1. See the harvest from God’s perspective.

2. Pray for workers in God’s harvest.

3. Go into God’s harvest.

Luke 14:23 KJV — And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

My house is full, but my field's are empty,

Who will go and work for Me today?

It seems my children all want to stay around my table,

But no one wants to work in my fields,

No one wants to work in my fields.