Take your Bibles with me and turn to Luke 10. Luke 10.

About six months ago, something happened here in Mattoon that I never thought would happen. It was the answer to the prayers of my wife for years. We got a Chick-Fil-A franchise.

If I told you that, over the 13 years we have been here, my wife and I have had hundreds of wishful conversations about Mattoon getting a Chick-Fil-A, would you believe me? If I told you she had written emails to their corporate headquarters explaining why our town would be a good spot for a Chick-Fil-A, would you believe me? If I told you that we'd made dozens of trips over the years to Terre Haute, just because they had a Chick-Fil-A, would you believe me? It doesn't matter if you believe me, because it's true.

But when you open an in demand chain restaurant like that - there is a big problem. You know you are going to have some of the busiest days ever in the history of the restaurant right after it opens. You also have, by nature of it being a new restaurant, a workforce that is completely inexperienced. So how do you make a good impression when you are absolutely slammed with new customers and you have a totally green workforce?

What's amazing is how well Chick-Fil-A has figured this out. You see, they flew in around 20 of their best workers from all around the country to Mattoon. These guys were the cream of the crop. They had tons of experience. They paired this crew one on one with the local workers.

This ensures three things:

1. The restaurant has enough workers for the grand opening.
2. The restaurant has the best workers for the grand opening.
3. All of the new employees are trained by some of the best, establishing good habits from the start.

I don't know if you can imagine the anxiety of looking at some huge amount of very time-sensitive work, and knowing there is no way you could ever get it done unless a lot of helpers show up. Brides might feel this way the week of their wedding. VBS coordinators are feeling it right now.

But 2,000 years ago, Jesus looked at the biggest, most urgent task in human history - reaching every person with the gospel - and He knew exactly what it would take. In Luke 10 this morning we are going to see how the Son of God staffed the most important mission ever undertaken.

Let's go ahead and read the first 20 verses of this chapter this morning:

[!bible] Luke 10:1-20 - KJV

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
4. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.
5. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.
6. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.
7. 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.
8. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:
9. And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
10. But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,
11. Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
12. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.
13. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
14. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you.
15. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.
16. He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
17. And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
18. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
19. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

If you are reading this and feeling de ja vu, you aren't going crazy. This is extremely similar to how chapter 9 starts. You don't have to turn there, but in chapter 9, Jesus is sending out the twelve apostles to heal and preach and He gives them basically the same instructions. Here in chapter 10, Jesus expands His crew by adding 70 more preachers. So you HAVE heard this before...sort of.

The twelve apostles in chapter 9 mostly ministered in Galilee - in Northern Israel - but these 70 were preaching and ministering in Judea, in southern Israel.

Jesus was facing the greatest job in the world: how do we spread the gospel, how do we spread the good news? Like Chick-Fil-A - Jesus had an ingenious plan. As we read the rest of the Bible, we learn that that plan includes us. Every believer is called to embrace this work. We are God's servants, bought with a price, and His mission is our mission. All of us are in the ministry.

I think there are lessons here for us about ministry. Basically, this passage breaks down into two sections:

• What we need for the ministry
• How we need to think about the ministry

Let's pray and we'll jump into this passage and consider our role in the greatest work in history.

Prayer

Let's start this morning by looking at this passage and considering.

1. What we need for the ministry

I think there are four things that we can see in these verses that we need if we are going to see God's work get done on this earth.

The first thing is...

People

The biggest difference between this commissioning and the one in chapter 9 is the number of people. Jesus went from 12 preachers to 82 (12 + 70). More workers were needed to do the work.

And it's interesting that the first instruction that Jesus gave to his new team of workers was to ask for more laborers. Verse 2 says:

[!bible] Luke 10:2 - KJV 2. 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.

Imagine a farmer who is looking out on his harvest. He's done all of this work to bring in the harvest. He has his whole economic fortune invested in that field. And the harvest comes and it is beautiful. It's a good crop. But he has no way to bring it in. Can you imagine how stressful that would be, how desperate you would be for help.

God has a great harvest of souls - people who God has watered, and nurtured and who are ready to become His disciples, but He needs workers to go out into the field and harvest those souls.

Jesus commanded us in Mark 16:15

[!bible] Mark 16:15 - KJV 15. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

There are currently around 8.1 Billion people in the world. Every one of them needs to hear the gospel. What an enormous harvest field. What a monumental task.

God's work needs people.

This should be our prayer - that God would send forth laborers into the harvest. That God would raise up more people who would work for Him.

But notice who this instruction to pray is given to - it's given to workers. It's given to people already active.

How hypocritical is it to say to God "Please raise up laborers for your harvest" while you are lazing away on the couch? No! Be a laborer yourself first - and then pray God would raise up more.

God's work needs people and people includes you.

So what are you doing to be a part of God's mission. What are you doing to bring in the harvest?

There is a second thing we can learn about what we need for the ministry here and it is..

Boldness

Look at verse 3:

[!bible] Luke 10:3 - KJV 3. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.

We need to remember this when we think about the work God has given us: We are being sent by God. Yes, there are wolves out there - but we have the great shepherd.

Do you know what's interesting in this passage - at the end - all 70 of the lambs came back. Not one of them was hurt by the wolves.

They were sent on a mission from Christ and that mission required boldness:

• Boldness to preach
• Boldness to heal
• Boldness to cast out devils
• Boldness accept hospitality
• Boldness to pronounce judgment on those who rejected Christ

We need people to do the work of God, and those people need to develop some holy boldness.

Now, can I suggest to you a reason for their boldness? I think they were bold because they had been with Jesus. I think they were bold because they had seen Jesus do things in their life.

When Jesus said they had authority to heal and cast out demons. They believed Him. When Jesus said "he that hears you hears me" they believed Him.

Now, I do not believe that we have the exact same mission. I don't believe God wants us to go around healing people and casting out demons. But we have been given authority to act as God's ambassadors and to preach the gospel.

Are you bold in your mission, are you boldly doing the work for Christ?

The other day I was at work, and I got to witness for just a few seconds about salvation to my whole team of coworkers. I prayed for boldness and I saw my opportunity and I went for it. I wish I had been more bold - but I at least got to give the big idea of the gospel to them.

But I'm going to be honest, I fail here far more than I succeed. I need boldness. It's easy to be bold behind a pulpit - it's much harder to be bold when you are talking to a family member, or a coworker, or anyone one on one.

We need boldness in our work because God has given us a mission. God has given us a command.

We need people for the work, and those people need boldness.

Look at a third thing we need for the work...

Urgency

Look at Jesus instructions in verse 4:

[!bible] Luke 10:4 - KJV 4. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.

A purse is like a wallet. A "scrip" was like a backpack. And I think we can learn from cross references that they weren't going barefoot but they weren't supposed to bring a second pair of shoes.

Then it says "salute no man by the way" - in their culture, they would have these long, drawn out greetings. It could take an hour just to say "hi." And so what Jesus was saying with this verse is that you have to do what you are doing with a sense of urgency. You have to do it on purpose. The urgency about the work has to come before comfort or convention.

And this is really made clear in verses 5-7. Jesus tells them that whoever takes you in - that's where you stay. Whatever food they offer, that's what you eat. You don't get to try to find an upgrade. You don't have time for that. This is a mission with some urgency - so treat it with urgency.

Think about 2 Timothy 2:4 for a second...

[!bible] 2 Timothy 2:4 - KJV 4. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

Soldiers don't go into battle expecting to be comfortable. They don't shop around for the best hotel. They are on a mission - and we should be on a mission in the work God has given us.

Our attitude should be like Nehemiah, when he was pestered by Sanballat and Tobiah "I'm doing a great work for God, and I can't come off the wall." Just a focused urgency on the work God has given us.

Are you allowing creature comforts or distractions or conventions to keep you from the work God wants you to do? Are you trying to be comfortable in the middle of a battlefield?

We need people for the work. Those people need to be bold and they need to go about their work with a sense of urgency.

Finally, we need...

Dependence

I think it is clear from this whole section that these workers were not to go out in their own power. They were to trust God.

• They were depending on Him for protection. They were sheep among wolves. They would need to protection of the great shepherd.
• They were depending on Him for provision. They weren't taking anything with them. They were putting themselves in a very vulnerable position.
• They were depending on Him for power. These were ordinary guys and they could not do the work God had for them with out God's enablement.

And so it should be for us. Jesus said in John 15:5

[!bible] John 15:5 - KJV 5. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

God needs workers for His harvest. Those workers need to do their work with boldness, urgency and dependence.

And these 70 did. They had a successful mission. Verse 17 tells us they returned with joy, reporting that even the demons were subject to them through Jesus' name. It was an incredible success story! But here's what's fascinating - Jesus' response to their success teaches us something crucial about how we should think about ministry success.

So we've talked about what we need for the ministry. Let's look at what I think is the second lesson from this story...

2. How we need to think about the ministry.

They are back. They are excited. They have just seen God use them.

We cannot fault them for that. There is nothing more thrilling than seeing God use you. It's one of the most addicting things in the whole world.

And that's why Jesus' response to them is so interesting. Look at verses 18-20 again:

[!bible] Luke 10:18-19 - KJV 18. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 19. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

God's plan is to use people to do His work, and Satan can't stop them. Satan is going to be like a flash in the sky.

What is the most common thing you say after you see a lightning strike? Every time. You say "did you see that?" Because it's here and then it's gone. And that is going to be Satan's power when God's children all join in the work.

If we are doing God's work, God's way with God's enabling - nothing can hurt us.

But look at verse 20 - this is the interesting thing:

[!bible] Luke 10:20 - KJV 20. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

As excited as these servants were at the success they saw, Jesus wanted to caution them - "Don't rejoice in that. Don't rejoice in your ministry success. Instead, rejoice in that your names are written in heaven."

Listen, there is a great danger in making our whole identity, our whole source of rejoicing - that God is using us in His work.

For one, we can get proud. One of the biggest dangers in ministry success is pride.

Woodrow Wilson was raised by a preacher. And he said this about a famous preacher that he knew through his father "That man is the only man I ever met who could strut sitting down."

It's easy to look at how God is using us and think "I must be special" - but that is the most dangerous place to be in, because pride comes before a fall.

Another reason we shouldn't rejoice in ministry success is because ministry success doesn't mean we are spiritual.

Several of the guys I went to school with who were the most gifted in ministry- aren't even serving God at all today. Several have had ugly falls. A few have even apostatized and walked away from the faith.

Ministry success doesn't mean you are spiritual.

One more danger of ministry success is that it often isn't permanent. I was looking just yesterday online and I saw a picture of Rick Flanders. Remember brother Flanders? He was a great preacher. A great evangelist. He's been so sick for the last five years he can barely stand.

There is a preacher I admire named R.B. Oullette. (His first name is Rene, you would go by your initials too.) But when I was first learning to preach, I would listen to Brother Oullette's sermons over and over again. He was funny. He was clear. He was biblical. But he had this powerful voice. He had a voice that filled up the room.

And last year do you know what happened to Brother Oullette? He had to have his voice box removed. Now he has no voice.

Ministry success isn't permanent. It can be taken away in the snap of fingers.

But do you know what can't be taken away? Do you know what we can always rejoice in because it doesn't engender pride at all?

That our name is written in heaven.

This verse is very clear. Jesus was saying to these men - you can rejoice - because you are going to heaven. Your name is written there. The word is a word of permanence. On ongoingness. Of something that has already happened but is ongoing.

And can I just say to our arminian friends and to our catholic friends who do not believe you can know you are a Christian - what do you do with a verse like this?

Jesus told them to rejoice that their name was written down. To rejoice in the certainty of it. Ministry success would go away, but their place in heaven is permanent, bought by the precious blood of Jesus.

That is what we can rejoice in. We belong to Jesus.

Conclusion

So, I think in conclusion there are three very obvious applicaitons from this passage

1. Are you doing your work in God's mission?

Is there something God wants you to do for Him? Are you doing it with urgency and boldness and dependence?

2. Are you leaning too much on ministry success for your identity and joy?

Remember, ministry success can be taken away.

3. Do you have assurance of your salvation? Is your name written in heaven?

These verses indicate that you can know. Do you know?

Let's stand for prayer and a song of invitaiton.