Good morning. I'd like to welcome you back to a new week, another Anchored in the Word morning reflection. And if you were with us this past Sunday, this is the passage that we dealt with in the evening service because we had a guest missionary. But I'm really looking forward to dealing with this passage. I think that there are some very simple and practical truths that will give us a lot to think about this week. And so if you were able to join us for that message, you'll know where we're going this week. And if not, I hope that this passage and the discussions will be very helpful. Luke chapter 10 verses one through nine is where we are. I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to read the section and then we will dig into the first part of this. Here's what it says. After these things, the Lord appointed other 70 also and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place wherewith he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, the harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. Go your ways. Behold, I send you forth as sheep among wolves, carrying neither purse, nor strip, nor shoes. Salute no man by the way. And to whatsoever house ye enter first, say, Peace be unto this house. If the Son of Peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it. If not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking, such things as they give you. For the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. Into whatsoever city you enter and they receive you eat such things as are sent before you Heal the sick that are therein and say unto them the kingdom of god is come nigh unto you And what i'd like to do this morning is i'd like to set the tone for our study By giving you a very simple summary statement and when I when I read the summary statement, you're going to go Well, that is a very simple summary statement, but it's important when we're dealing with passages that are uh narrative portions of scripture that we don't overly we could say read our own situation into the text, but we need to look at what's going on there, think about parallel situations, and then work our way to application. So first of all, a summary statement. Luke records the following details regarding the commission of the 70 to remind us of the nature of Christ's unique work. through them at that particular moment in redemptive history. I think it's important for us to recognize that what we witness in these verses is not necessarily a pattern that we follow it exactly to a tee the way that they did in this situation, but this is a unique moment in history. It's a unique set of circumstances. There's a very particular kind of approach that Jesus gives to these people. And I want us to keep that in the forefront of our minds as we work our way through the text. So let me give you the first fact that we will examine this week, and that is this. God appoints people to unique ministries according to what he is doing in the world. Again, in verses one and two, he says, after these things, there's a whole history that's going on leading up to this. He appoints another 70 also, So these are people in addition to the original 12, who at the beginning of chapter nine, he's already sent them out. And what we can see is that the ministry of the 70 and the ministry of the 12 was going to be very, very similar. It says he sent them out two by two before his face into every place that he was going to go. And essentially what Jesus was doing was he was sending out the 70 evangelist to prepare the way for him to come. Very similar to what John the Baptist was doing. Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world. The 12 are doing the same thing now, the 70. So Jesus is taking the message of the kingdom throughout all the regions of Judea and Israel, and they're preparing the people for that. So what we're looking at is a very particular moment in history. It's a very particular moment in redemptive history. He's choosing 70 men, 35 groups of two. They're spreading the gospel of the kingdom. And he's reminding them that the harvest is great, but the laborers are few. There are lots and lots of people that rather than being involved in the work of the kingdom, the work that these 70 people were called to and were going to be faithful in, instead they're concerned with just the ordinary details of life without a kingdom-centered focus. And the same thing is true in our generation as well. The average person isn't thinking about eternity as much as they should. They're thinking about the temporal, the here and now. Even within the church context, amongst believers, we have the same kind of problem. But what I want to draw your attention to beyond that specific moment in history is that this is just one among many specific moments in history. And I want to remind you of the unique aspects of those things and then kind of drive it down to where we are today. Think about the story of Noah. Noah was called to do what? To build a boat. And the purpose of building that boat was to preserve humanity, and ultimately the redemptive promise of God. Now, there was only one Noah, and we don't have people building boats for 120 years today. But at that particular moment, that was a critical thing that God called him to do. Or look at the example of Joseph. God literally uses Joseph, who was sold as a slave in Egypt. He was lied about, thrown into the prison, forgot about in the prison. He ends up in this position of great authority. God uses him to preserve a nation from death and starvation, and again, to preserve redemptive purpose that he has, keeping that plan intact. Again, a unique series of circumstances. God calls a person to that moment. Or think about Joshua and Moses, deliverance from Egypt, the conquest of Canaan, a particular moment in history with unique opportunities, unique challenges. Ezra and Nehemiah, the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, the establishing of God's people after they were coming back from captivity. Haggai, just a little bit after this time period where he has to stir up the people and preach, you need to quit focusing on your households and you need to focus on rebuilding the temple and the worship of God being reestablished amongst the exiles who are back. This is so very, very important. Or think about Esther, who was one of the exiles and she's living in Persia and through circumstances, that were completely outside of her control. She ends up being the queen of the king who was a harsh and ruthless man. A man who was basically willing to allow the Jewish people to be exterminated and God brings her into that position so that she would step in and she would plead on the behalf of God's people and ultimately the Jewish people's lives would be preserved. We see Daniel, the witness to Gentile palaces both in Babylon and in Medo-Persia. So the point that I'm trying to draw your attention to is that God is always doing things in the world. And God chooses individuals to step into those very unique roles. And what we're looking at here this morning is 70 men who were a part of that moment in redemptive and in human history. So it leads me to a final question. How do we apply this to ourselves? Well, it's very simple. just like Daniel and Nehemiah and Haggai and these 70, like they were living at a particular moment in history with particular challenges and things that God was doing. You and I live in a moment in history with unique challenges and opportunities. And just as God called these people either by voice, okay, in this example of these 70, or in the example of Noah, or through providential circumstances, in the example of Joshua, excuse me, Joseph, or an example like Ezra or Nehemiah. These are not people that he said, hey, come and do this, but through circumstances he worked. No matter how you cut it, God had a purpose for their lives. And God has a purpose for your life. You are a part of the story of history. You're a part of a family tree. You're influencing people in the world around you. God wants to and is not just working in you, but he's also working through you. And so I'm reminding you again today that there are particular aspects of your life right now that are literally divine appointments of unique ministry to where God is working in the world today. We're not apostles. We don't have the power of the apostles or the 70. But we have unique ministry callings, and we need to focus in on that. And so, Lord willing, this week, I'm gonna focus on a little bit more of the details that fall under this topic of the nature of Christian ministry and the significance of the moment in which we are living today. Let us be faithful with that. Hope that this was a good start to our week for you, and we look forward to continuing our study, Lord willing, tomorrow. Have a blessed day. Bye now.