Scripture References: Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

Last lesson: When we come upon those who are not open to what we are trying to do for Jesus’ sake, politely disinterested, and rigorously and rudely opposed to the news we bear and the service we offer in Jesus’ name, well, Jesus had some advice on what to do in this situation, too. We tell any of the dissenters who will listen that we are wiping the very dust from our feet that got on us while coming to them.

Continuing on however, remember that the seventy went out and did what Jesus asked them to do according to his directions, and they experienced some notable successes. Luke reports that when they came back from their initial mission, they were joyful and said to Jesus:

“Sir, even the most devilish ones gave in to us when we approached them in your name.” He said to them, “Yes, and I saw the whole Satanic structure smashed like a bolt of lightning from the sky. Look here, I’ve given you the ability to trample on ‘snakes and scorpions,’ and on the power-structure of the opposition, and nothing will be able to stop you. But don’t get all hepped up just because the devilish guys gave in to you; instead you should be happy that you’re enrolled in a spiritual cause” (Luke 10:17–20, The Cotton-patch Version of Luke and Acts).

Jesus was saying to persons who saw the gospel successfully at work, through numerical increase and dramatic effect on teller and hearer, that they had to keep such success in perspective. Yes, the gospel works; it does change lives. However, this kind of change is always effected through the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit, not through the power of the messenger of the Good News. He or she is always, at most, a catalyst for the work of God. If we forget this, we will certainly mistake God’s power as our own, and we will begin to take personally the appreciation which changed lives tend to express. Then we could come to believe that people owe us for our efforts, and religious scandals will be repeated time and again. We have to be aware that after a victory, that is when God’s servants need to be most vigilant for that is when the devil likes to plant seeds of pride.

What should really thrill us is not our own success stories of how we helped the gospel to function in the lives of people who had been in bondage to evil, but the more foundational reality: that the gospel of Jesus Christ first changed us and the power of God grasped our souls and gave us hope in a hopeless world. This alone should make us willing laborers for the demanding harvest which Jesus called “truly great.”

Can you think of any task which promises to pay you greater dividends than this ministry of the harvest and laboring to prepare people to receive all that God wants for them? There is no greater calling, no greater opportunity than to be laborers together in the fields “white for harvest” (John 4:35). People out there desperately need us on their way to finding God in Jesus Christ. The voice we hear calling us to them is the voice of Jesus. Let’s go in the power of the Holy Spirit!

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.