I haven't posted a message in a couple weeks. I have been out of town. Believe it or not, there are places in this country where internet access is limited or very costly. I appreciate your interest in this blog and hope you will continue to check in from time to time.
The message I am posting today is about Christian service. I can confess that such service can be tiring and disappointing at times. Jesus' words to the seventy-two can help keep such occasions in perspective. Many of you will know that Monday is "Labor Day" in the United States.
Luke 10:1-20
Many of us have tomorrow as a day off.
You may be planning to spend the day with your family doing chores,
traveling somewhere to have a picnic, or just loafing around home. On Tuesday you'll return to work.
Will your holiday make you satisfied with your job?
Recently I heard
statistics cited which suggest fewer than 20% of Americans are completely
satisfied with their jobs. Even if we
factor out workers who have relatively minor gripes and complaints that leaves
few people who have what we call "job satisfaction".
Few come home from the workplace as these workers did.
"The seventy-two returned
with joy..."
In fact, if some of you returned home from work filled with joy, your
families might ask, "Have you been fired?"
Who were these seventy-two people?
Why were they filled with joy?
The first question is easier to answer than the second.
Who were they? We don't know. If the twelve apostles were among them, that
leaves sixty unnamed. As far as I know
they appear nowhere else in the New
Testament. No one in the Book of Acts,
for example, is described in terms such as "David, son of Amos, who was
one of the seventy-two...." I'm sure
some of them went on to what we might call "full-time Christian
service" but I think the majority of them returned to their homes, their
fishing boats, their shops, their fields, their forges to continue with the
jobs they had left behind when they were sent on this journey. But I also think they returned forever
changed.
The other day on Proprietors Road, very close to my home, I saw two young
men with white shirts, black ties, and bicycles. You don't need me to tell you who they
were. Each of these young men, who may
have only begun shaving a couple of years ago, wore a tag that identified him
as Elder So and So. They were Mormon
Missionaries and they were in the community trying to share the story of the
Mormon Church, trying to win converts to Mormonism.
For all the concerns we may have regarding Mormon doctrine and practice,
I have always thought this aspect of their lifestyle to be a stroke of
genius. Each young Mormon is required to
spend some time in missionary work before he or she can pursue a career. Whatever professions they ultimately enter,
I am sure many will continue to spread the Mormon message.
In the same way, I am certain most of these seventy-two continued to tell
the story of Jesus. And they told it,
not from a pulpit, but from behind their forges, on the decks of their fishing
boats, or as they chatted with others in the marketplace.
Whatever their jobs might have been, sharing the good news of Jesus
became their primary profession.
It reminds us of how the early reformers distinguished between vocation
and avocation.
PROP: We can have a joyous
satisfaction in our labor for Christ and in our life in Christ.
I
JOB SATISFACTION IS LINKED TO
A SENSE OF SIGNIFICANCE
As we labor for Christ we have a sense of significance because of what
the Gospel accomplishes in the visible world. (17) The gospel changes the lives of those who
share it.
The Seventy-two experienced joy.
We can understand that. Aren't
you delighted when you can bring someone good news? When we bring the good news of Christ, we are
bringing the best of news.
The Seventy-two experienced triumph as they saw men and women liberated
from the power of sin. It’s exciting to
know the gospel still liberates those who receive it. As we see people walk away from their chains,
we feel excitement and joy.
As we labor for Christ we have a sense of significance because of what
the Gospel accomplishes in the invisible world. (18)
Remember
how Jesus responded to their joyful testimony?
Here’s how the Voice renders his response: “I know. I saw Satan falling from above like a lightning bolt…”
As they ministered, Jesus was seeing more than even they saw.
Let me be frank with you. What
Jesus said called for a special perception.
Following their mission little may have seemed to have changed in the
world at large, but Jesus tells us it takes a special perception to see beyond
the events of the moment. “Then he turned
to his disciples and said privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you
see. For I tell you that many prophets
and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you
hear but did not hear it.’” (Luke 10:23-24)
We can become so concerned about this world, we forget there is an
invisible world in which a battle rages for the souls of men and women. The Bible identifies the commander of the
forces that would destroy our souls as Satan.
Sometimes little in the visible world seems to change despite our
faithful proclamation of the Gospel.
But we can never be sure of what impact we may be having on the
invisible world.
Here’s Leon Morris: "To the
casual observer all that had happened was that a few mendicant preachers had
spoken in a few small towns and healed a few sick folk. But in that Gospel triumph Satan had suffered
a notable defeat."
By faith believe your words spoken on Christ's behalf shake the
foundations of Satan's kingdom.
II
JOB SATISFACTION IS LINKED TO
A SENSE OF SECURITY.
1. We possess a sense of security
because the protection we have through Christ. (19)
In the midst of their joy, these disciples needed to remember something. The non-spiritual dangers we face are not as
potentially hazardous as the spiritual dangers we face.
Christians may be threatened by spiritual foes but need not be overcome
by them. (2 Cor 4:8-9) We may know
protection from the spiritual foes:
Depression, loneliness, fear, doubt.
Of course, we may experience these things but they need not overcome us.
2. We possess a sense of security
because of the position we have in Christ. (20)
In these words Jesus referred to the city record. A person's name there guaranteed rights as a
citizen.. It attests our identity.
I once read the story of a young boy travelling alone on a train. An elderly passenger asked, "Are you
alone?"
"Yes."
"How far are you going?"
"To the end of the line."
"Aren't you afraid to take such a long trip by yourself?"
"No, sir, I'm not."
"Why not?"
"Because my father is the engineer."
You have the security of knowing your Father is the Sovereign of the
universe.
It assures our inheritance. Your
name isn't written in erasable ink.
CONCLUSION
As we serve Christ we have joy because of what Jesus does for us and
through us. Whatever we may do to put
food on our tables may, at times, be far from satisfying. If we remember the lessons the seventy-two
learned, we will have job satisfaction on an eternal level.
