Christ Sends Ministers

Jesus Christ sends ministers to share his gospel of forgiveness with the world.  In our text from Luke 10 Jesus starts with a prayer.  The prayer request by Jesus is surprising to some people.  The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.  Isn’t Jesus the Lord of the harvest?  Doesn’t he know that we need people to dedicate their lives to reaching souls with gospel to bring that harvest in?  Yes, he knows – prayer isn’t for God, it’s for us.  When we pray, we show that we realize how our strength must come from God and it’s his power that will bless our work.

So when God does bless our sowing the seeds of the gospel, when God does give us called worker, we remember to say thank you.  Just as parents remind their children to say thank you, God gently reminds us, “Go with a prayer.”

“Go in his strength alone.”  I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.  I remember when a professor told us that on call day we would be thrown to the wolves, but when we finally reached our assignments we would find that the people are just sheep.  Not every day of my ministry has been peaches and cream, but it has been a blessing to serve you.  It’s during those hard times when the gospel ministry isn’t “fun”, that the Lord of the harvest is reminding you that everything you accomplish will be with his strength.

Go with a prayer, go in his strength alone, and go with a message of peace.

I was talking to a colleague of mine who had hit a rough patch – a series of months where things just weren’t going well.  He was ok.  In each instance God provided a way out, a solution to the problem that he never could have imagined.  He commented that all I do is share the gospel and pray.

Want to hear more?  Watch this week’s message taken from Luke 10 – Through the Word Christ Sends Ministers.