Luke 10:1-12,17-20
Unlike the conversations we have looked at previously, this one did not occur between Jesus and an individual, but involved a large group of people. The group in question consisted of seventy of His followers. Jesus was sending them ahead of Him to the towns and villages He was planning to visit. Their assignment was to prepare the people in those places to receive Him. They had no particular qualifications for the task. They were just ordinary folk who believed in Jesus and His mission and wanted others to know Him too.
This was a big step up for these disciples. It was one thing to listen to Jesus talk, or to watch Him healing the sick and delivering people from demons. It was quite another to go and do it themselves. I am sure that they had many questions and doubts that are not recorded for us in this account. Jesus acknowledged that they would feel as vulnerable as lambs amidst a pack of wolves. He also recognised that not everyone would receive them well, but He expected them to go anyway.
He gave them some clear instructions. They were to travel light, trusting God to take care of their needs while they were serving Him. He warned them not to get distracted from their task by long-winded greetings with friendly people, or to waste time pursuing people who were not interested in their message. Instead, they were to spend their time with folk who responded positively to their message about Jesus and His kingdom. Those were the ones who would gather their friends and neighbours to come and listen to Jesus when He arrived.
The conversation resumed when the seventy returned from their mission trip. Having gone in trepidation, they were now ecstatic because they had seen the power of God’s kingdom at work as they proclaimed healing and deliverance in Jesus’s name. Jesus made it clear that such authority over Satan’s kingdom was available to every person who followed Him. However, He warned them not to take pride in what they did for God but rather to rejoice in the salvation He had given them.
As believers today, we are called to be involved in the same mission as those first disciples(Matthew 28:18-20). It is our job now to preach the good news of the gospel and to demonstrate the reality of God’s kingdom in supernatural power (Mark 16:15-18). As those who have been born again and filled with the Holy Spirit we have the authority to overcome every work of the enemy. We have the power to take back the ground he has stolen in our own lives and the lives of those around us. Yet many Christians today get sidetracked by worldly pursuits, or spend their time with people who are not interested in serving God. Jesus told His disciples that the harvest was ripe but the labourers are few. Are you actively promoting the kingdom of God or are you sitting by while others do the work?
Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Prayer
Father God,
I know that you have given me an assignment to tell people about Jesus. You have called me to demonstrate the reality of Your kingdom by operating in the power of the Holy Spirit to bring healing and wholeness to the people around me. Please forgive me where I have allowed fear, unbelief or worldliness to hold me back from what You have called me to do. Help me to give myself wholeheartedly to the work of bringing in the harvest, trusting that You will provide everything I need to fulfil the task.
Amen.
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