Cross Road

Baptist Church

© 2017

Sermon Text

Work Orders

Sermon Series – The Work of Christ, Part 3

1. After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, where He Himself would come.

2. Therefore He said unto them, “The harvest is truly great, but the laborers are few: pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers into His harvest.”

Luke 10:1-2

Taking Orders

The modernist view of Christianity is that the commands of Jesus Christ are optional; this view stretches the teaching of free Grace to mean “no work.” This could not be further from the truth. Not only has Christ called us to salvation through His Grace, He has called us to service through His Power. The Church of Jesus Christ must understand the necessity of accepting the commands of Jesus Christ as work orders.

If military personnel did not follow commands they were disciplined even to the point of facing court martial for disobeying orders. What are the consequences of our failure to follow the orders of the Holy God? One of the consequences I can readily say is that of grieving the Holy Spirit. Another consequence is that of being excluding from the amazing things that God would accomplish through His people; the person who fails to work fails to receive God’s power. Then there is the eternal consequence of not receiving the rewards of serving the Lord Jesus Christ. As Revelation 14:13 proclaims, Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord … that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them. What we do on earth will be recognized in Heaven whether it is good or for evil. If we make it our mission to follow the orders of the Holy Spirit, our life mission will be that of faithful followers and wise stewards of Grace. Every thing depends on our ability to take orders and to take them seriously. Churches should realize that this is the Work of Christ and not the local assembly’s agenda. Bossy people won’t follow orders. They will run into conflict every time because they will either assume the work is wrong, the work is hard, or the people doing the work are unqualified. The fact that we are all sinners saved by Grace also means we are all workers that have a mission to accomplish for the Master. God excludes none of His saints from His work.

 The commands of Christ are not beyond comprehension. You don’t have to travel across the sea to seek them or go to some secret place to obtain them. Our work orders are based on taking the Good News to those that need it. With that order, Jesus simplified our work. As we shall see in these verses there are four power-filled principles that we need to direct our attention. First, know the One you are working for. Second, know that you are not working alone. Third, know that there are opportunities for you in this work. Fourth, know your environment.

The Lack of Knowledge

If the work of Christ is to succeed, we must follow God’s plan. So what is the plan? The text explains the plan and it also includes others that were not considered to be as close to Jesus as the Twelve. Jesus appointed the seventy to go into every city and place as His ambassadors. After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, where He Himself would come. Notice that these were appointed and sent. We too are appointed and sent. There are those who second guess the fact that you and I and every believer have been appointed by God and sent by God.

So the first principle is clearly – you must know the One that you are working for. You must know this when Satan tries to buy you out and get you to deny your work orders for a few moments of pleasure. It is good to know that you are on this assignment by God. Some years ago, the Gospel song was released by Slim and the Supreme Angels, I’m on a Mission for the King. All that you do is mission oriented and you must be mission minded. There is no discharge or furlough from this mission that we are on. God has appointed and sent us to represent Him in this dark and confused world. We must represent Him and represent Him well. Otherwise we will allow Satan to tempt us into a frivolous work of turning stones into bread and thinking about our own interest rather than the Lord’s orders. You have orders.

Not only should we be reminded of Whom we are serving in order to resist the evil one, we must know the one we are working for in order to resist the naysayers and folks from Negative County. When they oppose you and say all manner of evil against you, you can wear a smile because you know whom you have believed and you are persuaded that He is able to keep that which He has committed unto Himself. Paul would say – “stand in the evil day.” You have work orders.

The second critical principle is also to know that you are not alone. Our Lord sent them out two and two. This is not just for company but for accountability. It is amazing how much we can do with someone else helping. It is also amazing how we don’t become distracted when there is someone else present. Please know that you are not alone. When moments of discouragement come, you have fellow laborers in the Gospel. There are men and women that God has sent to accompany you. They are there as God’s appointees. Work with them. I am amazed at the way some ministers literally run down, talk down, and put down their congregations. Granted, every Church has problem people. It is discouraging to be in a Church where people are constantly told and treated as if they were worthless. The reason why we have been able to accomplish things at Cross Road is due mainly to the encouragement that God gives and secondarily the encouragement we give to one another. It is a wonderful thing to work with people who build you up rather than to tear you down. We know that we are not doing what we are capable of. That’s why God sent two rather than one. The Song – I’ll go if I have to go by myself needs to be revised due to the fact that it is so un-Scriptural. It sounds good but it sends a bad message. You need someone else to go with you on your journey.

The third principle is what I call the empowerment principle. While it is wonderful to know that you have been sent by God. That is the authority principle. It is also good to know that you’re not alone – that is the accompaniment principle. It is critical to know that you have an opportunity to serve. That is empowering because it recognizes that God would never call workers simply to lay them off due to a lack of demand. What did Jesus say? He said unto them, “The harvest is truly great, but the laborers are few: pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest, would send forth laborers into His harvest.” Not only will there be opportunities for you but the ‘Help Wanted’ poster is constantly flashing for other workers to come and join in the Lord’s Harvest. That is an interesting term ‘the Lord’s Harvest.’ This is not Church work. This is not work restricted to a building or a program. This is the Lord’s Harvest. When people argue over work in the Church – they argue over Church work. With the Lord’s Harvest, there is so much work to be done that there is no time for bickering. We must be busy about doing the Lord’s Work in His Harvest and we must be constantly praying for other laborers to join us. I have decided I will never argue again over Church work. It is not worth it. Even if you win the argument – you have not won anything. But oh how wonderful it is to be fully engaged, fully equipped, and fully focused in the Lord’s Harvest! You ask, “what is the Lord’s Harvest?” It is the work of saving souls. We need more laborers and more people who will simply follow orders in leading others to Christ. Admit, when is the last time you have prayed that God would send more laborers into His Harvest? It is not a frequent prayer of ours – but it should be if the work is to be completed. Our Lord is on His Way as the first verse states. He sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, where He Himself would come. What if He comes and we have not reached everyone? Will there be some workers who buried their investment from God? Dear friend, we must be about our Father’s work.

Lastly, you must know your environment. This is the security principle. Somehow many of God’s workers think they are in a friendly world. This is a hostile mission for us. There is danger on every hand. The devourer, the devil is going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. There are enemies and deceptive people at every turn. They would love to destroy both the work and us if it were possible. The good news is that if God be for us – who can be against us. It was Nehemiah who said, we are about a good work, why should we come down to talk with you? This is a good work that Jesus has called us to. Despite the danger and despite the tears, we are God’s workers. So there are several things that we must watch. First, watch your step. Don’t trip up and don’t be tripped up. Second, watch your life. Don’t become entangled with the things of this world, nor should you use your liberty in Christ as an occasion for the flesh. The reason why I don’t drink wine even though the Bible talks about drinking wine is that I remember what I did when I drank wine. So even though I could take a sip, I have decided that I will wait until I can drink the Lord’s new wine in the Father’s Kingdom. Then I know I won’t act a fool. Also we must watch and pray. Watch for opportunities and pray for a break through in this work of the Lord. The harvest truly is plenteous but the laborers are so few.

Applying the Orders

What are the take-a-way points of this message? The main point is to make certain that you are on assignment for God. If God did not order the work that you and I spend time performing, guess what will happen? The work will not succeed. We see a classic example with the Old Testament King Jehoshaphat. He built a fleet of ships with the wicked King of the Northern tribes, thinking that it was in the name of national solidarity. God broke the ships up before they left harbor. Know that God blesses the work that He ordains. In this same light, when enemies attempt to devise destruction against us – no weapon formed against us shall prosper.

The second application or take-away is to know that you will need some assistance. If you need help – ask for it. Don’t be picky about the ones God sends to help you. Don’t be surprised if they come with some baggage. Remember when you had baggage. The fact is, when workers get to working they forget about the baggage and concentrate on the Goodness of God. When laborers start enjoying the work, then God comes into the midst of them. If you think there is joy when two or three start praying together – you haven’t seen joy. Just let two or three get together in their labor for the Lord. God joins them and gives them His joy.

Let me give you an example of a labor of God’s love that touched my heart when I was a child. Back in the day, communities use to have wash days. My Aunt Mabel and Aunt Ethel would come to my Grandma’s house on wash days. As they were washing and folding clothes, Aunt Ethel would start to sing. Grandma and Aunt Mabel would join in and they would start praising God. You ask – how was that the Work of Christ? I was that little boy listening. I heard what they were singing about. More importantly, I felt what they were singing about. God was using them and sending them ahead of Himself. He was coming my way. He sent Grandma, Aunt Ethel, and Aunt Mabel to prepare the way for Him. It took some time for Him to catch up with me, but their song stayed with me so that even when I didn’t know God – I knew about God. I would even sing their song. But now since I met Jesus, I have my own song and my own story. Their singing was a labor of Love for Jesus Christ.

Lastly, remember this application. If God called you to do a work for Him, bad people cannot stop a good work. They may try but it won’t succeed. Bad people may try to hold you down, but it won’t succeed. Why? The One in you is greater than the one that is in this world. Bad people won’t succeed because you know the one that saved you the first time. Any time God can save you from something as powerful as your own sin – it won’t be any problem to save you from bad people. I learned something else, bad people won’t stop a good work because God sent us to share this Good News with bad people. Again, God loves all sinners; even the sinners that talk about us need God’s saving Grace. God bless.