Luke 10: 1-4, "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. 2 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. 3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road."
As I studied Luke 10:1-4, I saw four things which I dream and pray will be true for every Christian on campus, especially at the University of the Philippines.
1. I dream of Christians whose eyes are open to see the great multitude in need of Jesus.
Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few (v. 2).” Do you see this harvest? They are the people in your dorm rooms, corridors, classrooms, organizations.
They are the people walking along the Acad Oval, the people at the Sunken, in the Main library. When you see them, do you think of eternity? Do you recognize the thug of the Spirit telling you that they also need Jesus?
Ask the Lord to grant you those pair of eyes. Pray that eternity be stamped on your eyeballs, never to leave your every waking hour. “When you look at a person,” said one Welsh missionary, “think of their eternity.”
I pray that we will do this everyday. To have eyes for the lost is something caught rather than taught. I cannot teach you to love people. I cannot force or threaten you to reach those who are far from Jesus. I cannot bribe you to be active in God’s ministry.
You have to ask the Lord to pour into your heart a deep longing to be His messenger. For when you are caught by the passion for people’s souls, your life will never be the same again. It happened to me. I pray that it will also happen to you.
2. I dream of Christians willing to align their entire lives to the Gospel cause
When God grants you the eyes of eternity, you will immediately recognize that the harvest is too great and the laborers too few. Who are these laborers?
Is Jesus calling us to be full-time missionaries, pastors,church workers, youth workers? Not necessarily. Jesus is looking for people who are willing to align the whole of their lives-- wherever they are and whatever they’re doing-- for the Gospel.
These are the laborers whom Jesus seeks. Lest we forget, we are Christians first before anything else-- students, sons/daughters, employees, church worker.
Saying yes to the Gospel means full submission to one Lord. We become His own and He becomes ours.
You are studying a course. How can God use that for the advancement of His Kingdom? You have an organization. How can God use that for the advancement of His Kingdom? You live in a dorm and have several roommates. How can God use that for the advancement of His kingdom?
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).”
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,(Colossians 3:23).”
3. I dream of Christians willing to face persecution and trials head-on for Jesus
Is this call easy? Jesus said, “...I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves (v.3).” No one said being Christian in this world would be easy.
Jesus actually promised persecution, “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, (2 Timothy 3:12).” For the early believers, this persecution is a matter of life and death.
They may be flogged, imprisoned and executed for preaching Jesus. For us today, especially here in the Philippines, what persecution and challenges are we facing?
Discrimination on campus. Mockery of friends, teachers and family. What else? I am not saying that these are not valid, but compared to what they faced in the first century, ours seem trivial. By the way, persecution does not include the consequences of our wrong actions.
The standard for believers has been set so high that only by God’s grace can we reach it. Consider Luke 9:57-62. Those who want to follow Christ must remember three things.
a. There is no assurance of worldly comfort when you follow Him.
b. When you want to follow Him, you must not and cannot delay.
c. When you want to follow Him, you cannot have divided loyalty.
But like the eyes that see eternity, only God can grant us courage to stand in the face of persecution and trials, unwavering for the Gospel cause. Pray and ask God for the willingness to sacrifice for Him.
4. I dream of Christians willing to fully trust Jesus as they live out the Gospel
In the face of all these challenges, what does Jesus require of us? TRUST.
Trust Him who provides (v.4). Trust Him who looks out for His sheep (v.19). Trust Him who is in control of eternity.
There is a rebuke waiting for us here. We have to stop thinking of a pizza and embrace the horse carriage wheel. What do I mean?
The Christian life is not like a pizza which you divide parts for God, your career, your acads, your love life, your family etc. This mentality only breeds the attitude that says, “I’ll get serious with God when I’m now okay with ____________.”
Fill in the blank. Acads, career, family, health, etc. This cannot be the attitude. Remember that Jesus pervades all of life. He is the center and from Him branches out all other aspects of life.
This is the image of the horse carriage wheel. We align our acads, family life, orgs, friendships, careers to God’s will for His glory. We give Him all as we trust the Potter to mold our smallness for His renown.
Sometimes, our unwillingness to give our all shows how much we distrust God. We work ourselves to death, forgetting that He can easily provide our daily needs (v.4). We trust in our own knowledge and skills at school, not understanding that all wisdom comes from God (James 1:5). We spread ourselves to thinly in the hope of securing good career and future, overlooking that God controls all things (Psalm 135:6).
Can you trust God enough to let Him hold your worries and trials in His hands?
Conclusion:
There is a second part to v.2. Jesus said, “pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
The only ones who can pray this prayer are the ones who have been actively working for God’s Kingdom, seeing the great multitudes and the great need for laborers.
How many Christians in UP do you know have eyes and heart for the lost? Are willing to align their lives for the Gospel cause? Willing to face persecution for Jesus? Willing to trust God’s provisions and grace as they serve in the Great Commission?
Reflect on these things and surely, you’ll be moved to pray for more laborers. Just be sensitive as well, because most of the time, we are the answers to our prayers.
I dare to dream because I know my God will answer. God bless us all!
-----
Image taken from: http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/213/e/f/mang_oble_by_geekyspaz.jpg
