Workers In The Lord’s Harvest ("Threads" Day 3)

The seeds of the Great Commission are sowed in Luke 10. As Jesus sends out his disciples out "in the midst of wolves," we learn that some will receive them, while others will not. In this episode, Rachael and Matt apply the "Gospel Threads" Bible study method to explore God's character, the urgency of eternity, and what it means to hear or reject the messengers of Christ. 

Click Here for week four homework sheet

BEFORE this episode: Complete day THREE homework (Luke 10:1-16)

AFTER this episode: Complete day FOUR homework (Exodus 3:1-22)

Click Here to learn more about Gospel Threads as an evangelism method

Transcript

Purpose And Promise Of Fruitful Faith

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Do you ever feel like your life just isn't as productive or effective as it should be? As followers of Jesus, we want our short time on earth to have eternal impact, but often we feel like we're falling short. The good news is that Scripture gives us a promise, a life that's never ineffective or unproductive in knowing Jesus Christ. In 2 Peter 1, we're told to build on our faith, adding goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection and love. As these qualities grow, they keep us fruitful and effective for God's kingdom. I'm Matt Morrow, and my wife Rachel and I have spent nearly 20 years teaching God's Word and walking with people in every stage of faith. Our passion is to see lives permanently and radically transformed by Scripture applied. Adding to your faith is here to help you understand biblical truth, practice it daily, and grow to look more like Jesus. We're glad you're here. Let's walk this journey together.

SPEAKER_01 1:24

And we are

Hosts’ Mission And Podcast Vision

SPEAKER_01 1:25

on day three of homework for the method of studying the Bible called Gospel Threads. So we are really excited that you are joining us. If I will say this a million times, but if you have not spent time in Luke 10, verses 1 through 16, then please hit pause now and go spend some time in the Word so that you can join us in sharing and what the Holy Spirit was showing you, because the real work is done between you and the Lord, not in listening to us. So please pause and spend time in the Word. But if you've done that, then we're we welcome you and are welcome you to the conversation. So we're eager to hear what the Lord is showing you and want to talk a little bit about what the Lord showed us today. And so before we dive into Luke 10, one verses 1 through 16, Matt, would you like to pray for us?

SPEAKER_00 2:18

Yes, let's uh let's go to the Lord. Lord, thank you so much for your word and for the way you have you have just

Homework Setup And Prayer

SPEAKER_00 2:24

done such remarkable work in us and through us to know you better. The the extreme lengths to which you have gone in order to pursue us and to and to invite us into your presence. And so, Lord, I pray that as we enter your word today, that this will be something that that where we sense and see your presence, uh that we understand you better as as the your character and your nature, that we understand ourselves better and the sinfulness of man. And Lord, that we that we learn to just fully appreciate the sufficiency of Christ and and that you would grow our faith through this through this work. Lord, we know that eternity hangs in the balance, and so with all of these core elements of the gospel permeating every part of your word, we just ask your Holy Spirit to open our eyes to your word and to the truth that you have for us in it, so that we can honor you and that we can be shaped and become more like you and less like our old selves. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen.

Reading Luke 10:1–16 Aloud

SPEAKER_00 3:29

So today we are in Luke 10, 1 through 16. And this is a this is a uh a passage, there's a lot going on in this passage, and so I want to make sure that we're that we're taking our time with it as much as we can. But there's just a lot here to unpack in terms of the the core elements of the gospel.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

And I love in your prayer that you use the word God's pursuit of us, and this this passage is a picture of pursuit.

SPEAKER_00 3:56

It certainly is, and so let's let's just go into it now. Again, Luke 1, or I'm sorry, Luke 10, 1 through 16. That's where we are, okay? So Luke 10, 1 through 16. After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way, behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no money bag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, Peace be to this house, and if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you, and remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you, heal the sick in it, and say to them, The kingdom of God has come near to you. But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless, know this that the kingdom of God has come near. I tell you it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. Woe to you, Chorazan, woe to you, Bethsaida, for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes, but it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.

Jesus’ Mission Strategy And Consequences

SPEAKER_00 5:59

That's Luke 10, 1 through 16. So this is a key moment because Jesus is beginning the model for missionary work, essentially, right? I mean, he's he's essentially laying the groundwork for what eventually will fill the book of Acts and all the rest of the New Testament, and what even today is the central Great Commission of His church. And he's doing this in a very practical way, sending them out two by two. They have very specific instructions about what to do when they get to these to these towns. They're going ahead of him, so he's going to follow into these areas. And it's clear that some will receive this and some will reject it. And that there is a significant consequence in either case. So our goal in this text, I have to say, Rachel, I'll just mention this. I as I have, you know, as we've played around with a couple of different models of Bible study over the last couple of weeks, some of those models come to my mind as I'm reading this. I know today we're using gospel threads, and that's and that's what we're going to demonstrate, but I guess it's probably good that as I look through this, I'm thinking of maybe a statement and a couple of questions. Or I'm or I'm thinking about, you know, what it's like to go to from their home to our home and those sort of techniques that we that we worked on. It it's just it's just starting to affect the way I think about scripture when I go into it, which I think is the point, right?

SPEAKER_01 7:24

Yeah.

Study Tools And Gospel Threads Method

SPEAKER_01 7:25

I mean, you know, we said in the beginning that all our goal in this was is for you to have some tools in your toolbox. So, you know, I mean, just like with a toolbox, if you need a hammer, you go get a hammer, and if you need a screwdriver, you go get a screwdriver. And so I think as you're reading God's word, these are these are helpful tools to to kind of unpeel it, to lay it out and see what God is showing us about himself, about his character, about who we are, about his eternal purposes and plans. So I think that all of those are just good tools to really get at those things that God is telling us are true from this scripture, and then asking us to respond to that because ultimately God's desire for us is us to for us to be shaped into ever-increasing glory, more of an image of him. And so any way that we can get into his word so that we can, he can use it to illuminate himself to us so that we can become more like him, I think is a really good, is a win.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

And nothing is more central to illuminating himself to us than the story of the gospel of Jesus Christ, right? I mean, so ultimately that's what we're doing today and this week. And, you know, we I use I use colored highlighters to to help sort of color code different parts of the text that maybe align with the character of God or the sinfulness of man, the sufficiency of Christ, or the necessity of faith, or the urgency of eternity, just to kind of help me with that. But you shared yesterday your approach, which I've now adopted as well, which is to read through it five separate times. And each time I read through it, I'm looking for just one of those gospel threads. I'm just just looking for one part that's revealed, either expressly or implicitly, and then I'm either highlighting that or making a note off to the side about the text and highlighting my note in that color. And that's something that's been helpful to me just in following how you do it and how you've how you've found success there too. So let's go ahead and dive

God’s Character: Pursuit And Provision

SPEAKER_00 9:30

into it. As we look at this text that we just read, what are some of the things that that stand out as you're as you're looking for those elements of the gospel and specifically the character of God? That God is the that he is the uh holy, just, and gracious creator of all. That's the nature of his character. And there are different aspects of that, of course, that we that we discussed a couple of days ago as well. But what do you see that jumps out to you in terms of the character of God here?

SPEAKER_01 9:57

I mean, first the pursuit, right? Like all of this, God but like Jesus appoints the 72, Jesus sends the 72, he equips the 72. So I definitely one of the things that stood out to me is that that all of this is directed by God. He he has the heart to go out and and bring in the lost. He calls this his harvest. Yeah. That we are workers or laborers in his field.

SPEAKER_00 10:28

Right.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

And so that was one of the things about his character that really stood out to me is that he is the Lord of the harvest and we are just workers in his field.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

It stands, it also is worth mentioning, I think, that his his qualities as a creator, I think, are on display here too. That he is so intentional about even the plans for how he pursues us. He I mean, this is a this is a deliberate, carefully thought out, carefully constructed plan, which means he's not kidding around about his mission and his purpose. He is dead serious about pursuing the lost, giving every opportunity for them to come to him and seeking them out in a very intentional way. And also he's just as intentional about the consequences of their decision, whatever that decision may be. If they turn toward him, that leads to a certain outcome. If they turn away from him, that leads to a different outcome.

SPEAKER_01 11:24

And he's he is clear on that. I also love like uh just the presumption in this story, right? When Jesus sends them out, he he presumes they're going to be provided for.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:39

Because he's doing it, right? He's providing for them. And so he tells them you don't have to take a purse or a bag or sandals. And when you enter a town and are welcome, eat what's offered to you. You're not gonna starve. When you go and you're welcome, then you eat what's offered to you, and he tells them that he's got work for them to do. And then there will be sick people there, and you're to do the task at hand. So heal the sick that are there in the towns that welcome you. So he already knows what's gonna happen, and he already knows he's provided for them, and he already knows that they are going to find productive work in his field.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

And he tells them that.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

And he tells them that.

SPEAKER_00 12:21

Yeah, which which we'll we'll get to in a little bit what that means in terms of responding by faith. But part, you know, a big part of the necessity of faith is just believing what he says enough to to bank on it, you know, to order our lives around

Sinfulness Of Man And Cost Of Rejection

SPEAKER_00 12:36

that. So before we get to that, let's talk about the sinfulness of man. So there are some, I guess, expectations that there will be sinfulness of man on display here as well, even as he's even as he's I guess previewing what they will encounter when they get to these different cities and towns. And and so I I mean I noticed that that he describes that you'll be in the midst of wolves, right? That's uh I mean that's some pretty stark language there, right? About how about the nature of sin and sinfulness, what that's like. Sin devours like a wolf. It it's I mean, in other parts of the Bible it's described as prowling and and crouching at the door, you know. I mean, it's it's it's not something that's passive.

SPEAKER_01 13:20

Right.

SPEAKER_00 13:21

It's it's aggressive. And and he also talks about what it means if if people don't receive what's being offered. So if the rejection of of the offer is the sinfulness of man.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

Right.

SPEAKER_00 13:36

So so are these some of the things that came came through to you, Rachel? Are there other things that you noticed in here?

SPEAKER_01 13:41

Those were things that I noticed. One of the things that I noted is that in some ways the religious are more hardened and harder to reach than the pagan areas. You know, he compares these cities and these pagan cities would repent where these Jewish cities would not. And so there is kind of this religiosity that can be a barrier to hearing and believing the word of God. And I think that's something that that comes through in our sinfulness.

SPEAKER_00 14:17

Well, that's that's one that I will just readily admit. I didn't I didn't pick up on that. I saw these cities and I don't know them from yeah, I don't I don't know these cities for the most part. I don't know much about them at all. But this is actually a good, a good moment to pause, I think, and and say, we've talked about how if you have a good study Bible, having some context is really important. We really talked about that a lot in last week's method when it comes to that, you know, from their home to our home, but really understanding a little bit about these cities that are being described here. And if you were doing two questions in a statement, one of your questions might be, what's going on in these cities? Right. And then you you unpack that a little bit, and and ultimately when you start doing that, which you evidently have done some of that, you're able to distinguish there are actually some commonalities in some of these cities. And one of the commonalities in the cities that seem to be rejecting it is their religiosity, which I didn't know, but that's a but that's a huge deal. It's a it's a big truth in this text. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

That you've got Gentile

Christ’s Sufficiency And Exclusive Claim

SPEAKER_01 15:15

versus Israelites versus the Gentiles, and and so, you know, in some ways that that can be a barrier to them accepting the truth.

SPEAKER_00 15:27

So one of the things I also notice in the in the category of the sinfulness of man is this uh language that he uses when he describes I'm I'm jumping into uh verse 13, where he's talking about these cities, and it says they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. The key, I think, here, the key takeaway in under the sinfulness of man is that repentance, this also could be described under the necessity of faith, but repentance is necessary in order to turn to the Lord, right? You can't you can't ever be pleasing to him if we're still walking in sin, if we're still walking in the flesh. We have to turn from that.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

Right. And judgment will come if you don't turn, right, which is a result of our sinfulness. So those can kind of show up too, like judgment can show up in the urgency of eternity, but it's it is also related to the sinfulness of man.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

So the character of God, the sinfulness of man on display in this text. What about the sufficiency of Christ? Again, he's the one sending people two by two into these different towns and cities. He did, I mean, one of the things that that stood out to me, you mentioned earlier, but I was thinking of more in this space, which is when he tells them not to carry a money bag or a knapsack or sandals that that as you said earlier, he is providing for them. He has already gone ahead of them, and so they and so they, you know, every every need they have is going to be met because Christ is sufficient. Even in those daily needs.

Necessity Of Faith And Response

SPEAKER_00 17:08

What what else do you see in the sufficiency of Christ?

SPEAKER_01 17:10

The thing that stood out to me is that Jesus clearly says a rejection of them is a rejection of him, and a rejection of him is a rejection of God. Yeah. And so he is claiming to be God. Right. He's clearly saying if you reject me, you have rejected God. And so you see that kind of sufficiency in that. That they know they need God, and he's saying, if you reject me, you are rejecting God.

SPEAKER_00 17:44

Because he alone is the path.

SPEAKER_01 17:46

Is the path to God. Right. You also see that he talks about his work in the harvest, right? The harvest is plentiful, that he's sending out workers, that he is the one who is working the field. You know, it's his field. And he's he's the one who is working and preparing the the harvest of that field. So you see his sufficiency, I think, in in how he talks about his field as well. And I also noted that that the religion of these towns would not save them, right? That when he talks about whoever listens to you listens to me, but whoever rejects me rejects him and the one who sent me. And he talks about up in verse 13, like if the miracles that were performed had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago. They would have been sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But these Jewish cities, their religious you know, their religion is not saving them. They they might be to to the perspective of the

Urgency Of Eternity And Judgment

SPEAKER_01 18:56

of this audience, those would be more religious cities, but their religion is not going to save them.

SPEAKER_00 19:05

Okay, so we move to the necessity of faith. And there are several things here in terms of calling the the followers of Christ to walk by faith in this whole process, right? And the whole the whole effort to to do this thing, to carry out this instruction requires them to walk by faith and not by sight. There's also a description of of the kinds of different responses that people can have here that either describe walking in faith or describe not doing that. Right? What do you see?

SPEAKER_01 19:38

Um I that is what I saw that that he who listens and receives gets Jesus, and the ones who reject do not get Jesus. And then they also then do not get the one who sent Jesus, which is God the Father. So you very clearly see that all of that hinges on belief. It hinges on what they do with Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 20:03

So just like the gospel itself, this story that's being described gives gives a you know a picture of what it looks like to know that Christ is sufficient, but just knowing that Christ is sufficient and just the fact that he is sufficient doesn't lead to the outcome. There has to be a response in faith.

SPEAKER_01 20:27

Yeah. They are saved through their belief or they're saved by

Timeless Truths And Simple Obedience

SPEAKER_01 20:31

listening and receiving.

SPEAKER_00 20:34

Okay, what about the urgency of eternity? What do you see here?

SPEAKER_01 20:37

The thing that jumped out to me is woe. You know, I mean, just the word woe is urgent. I mean, Jesus is being urgent, like woe to the cities, you know, it will be more bearable for you than it would be more bearable for Sodom than for you if you reject, reject uh God's messages. And and it's very clear, right? He tells them, Will you be lifted to heaven? No, you will go to Hades. And so he's clearly laying out the penalty for their unbelief or for their rejection of his of his message.

SPEAKER_00 21:21

Okay, so w now that we've looked at all of these, we've we see these different gospel threads throughout the text, what are some timeless truths that emerge and what are what are our potential responses to those timeless truths? So what what kinds of truths did you see, Rachel?

SPEAKER_01 21:38

First, that rejecting Jesus, God's son, will bring judgment.

SPEAKER_00 21:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:45

It was a timeless truth that that I pulled out of that, that there is not another way. And and then secondly, just from kind of a the perspective of sharing the gospel, that I am a worker in in a in the field that belongs to to Christ and that field is his harvest. Like you know, he is the Lord of that harvest. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

I I I noticed in the in the uh timeless truth category this this concept that I was trying to think kind of what it's like to be the be the people who he is sending out and the timeless truth here is that is that when you go out on his mission that there is his way and only his way to do it. There's not there's not a it's trusting him is essential to the accomplishment of the mission. And so you know the the application for me in that is to to not get too creative about this, right? When you're sharing the gospel, when I'm considering how to carry out the best you know the the great commission as as I and we have all been called to do to to just keep it simple to follow to follow what he says and trust him with the outcomes. That's the necessity of faith.

SPEAKER_01 23:08

There is a piece of faith in that and you know I also kind of just think about in terms of just that God has provided and he sends them out and he says you know when you enter a town and are welcome to eat what's offered heal the sick there and tell them the kingdom of God has come near to you that you get to participate in what God is doing.

Staying On Mission Without Distraction

SPEAKER_01 23:30

That we get to participate in what God is doing. When he brings that work and then we do that work then we get to say God has shown up for you you know the kingdom of God is near to you. And so I think there's encouragement even in that and just the reminder that that this is his field and that we are working that it's his harvest that the battle the battle belongs to the Lord that it's not on us and and so just you know kind of I think just for me just praying praying through those things of you know in terms of just application like how am I being sent and do I really do I walk in the authority that God has given me knowing God is going to provide for me or do I try to take the responsibility of the outcome onto myself and I think sometimes I get distracted or discouraged by outcomes as opposed to just the obedience of doing what God has called me to do and remembering that this is his field his message his harvest and those who reject ultimately are rejecting him but those who hear and receive the kingdom of God is coming to them and you can just rejoice in that. So that was one of my applications. I also you know sometimes just a side note something will just stand out to you and in verse four it says don't take a purse a bag or sandals and do not greet anyone on the road which seemed a little weird to me like like why do you not say hello? It's kind of an odd instruction right and just kind of praying that I one of the things that that I just kind of thought of in that is that I can get distracted so easily.

SPEAKER_00 25:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:23

And sometimes I get caught up in saying hello you know just kind of chatting and making small talk and I and I get totally thrown off my mission. And I can do that in big ways and small ways but you know I was like I don't know if there's a practical I don't know so you know I don't don't read too much into that but I don't know if there's just a practical element of that like stay on mission right don't get distracted by all the other people that you meet.

SPEAKER_00 25:50

When God is sending you to a place keep your head down and obey and and so that was just something that I was like I can can really get I can get distracted pretty easily so I'm gonna not comment on that because there we don't need to do that. We just don't need to do that. Okay so let's do this. Let's take I think this is a great great ill illustration or example of how you can really explore and see these these gospel threads emerging from a text some of them are express some of them are implied and and some of them are subtext of what's going on but in every case that gospel is front and center.

Closing Prayer And Next Assignment

SPEAKER_00 26:31

So Rachel would you would you uh pray for us and for those who are walking alongside us in this so that as we prepare even to to process and think through how we're going to apply the truths that come from this text and also prepare our hearts for Exodus tomorrow as we move move into that as well.

SPEAKER_01 26:51

Our most gracious heavenly father we just come to you and we praise you because you are the Lord of the harvest that that we are merely workers in your field and that you are the one who is bringing in the harvest that you are calling souls from the four corners of the earth unto you and into your kingdom. Father we praise you because through Jesus the kingdom of God has come near and we are recipients of it and so we just praise you for that. Father I pray that you will send us out that you will remind us that we go out as lambs among wolves that we are to walk in whole dependence on you because you are the one who knows where we're going you have prepared the work you have sent us out and you are providing everything we need because we go in your authority because everything is under your feet. And so we praise you for that and pray that you'll just move in our hearts and minds so that we will so that we will go out into your fields that we will do the work that you have called us to do that we will not rely on our own our own ability to provide or our own resources but that we will rely on you and what you have done and your completed work. And so Father we ask that you will make us good laborers Father that you will call us up and send us out and we ask that in Jesus' name amen.

SPEAKER_00 28:17

Amen so we hope that this has been a blessing to you and that you are being blessed as you continue to seek out the threads of the gospel in God's word. Today we were of course in Luke chapter 10 tomorrow we're going to go to the Old Testament. So invite you into Exodus 3 verses 1 through 22 and we'll be finding these same gospel threads in the Old Testament that we see in the new they just show up in a different way. And so we'll look forward to joining you back here tomorrow for more gospel threads from Exodus 3