Summary
What if the greatest mission in history is not something we observe from a distance, but something we are personally invited into? In this teaching drawn from Luke 10, we explore the radical idea that God’s primary way of reaching the lost is through sending the found. That means if we have experienced forgiveness, redemption, and new life in Christ, we are not simply recipients of good news — we are carriers of it. The passage walks us through Jesus commissioning 70 ordinary, nameless people and sending them out into the harvest. The harvest, he tells them, is abundant. The workers are few. This flips the way we often see the world. We tend to assume there are plenty of workers and not many people ready to respond. But Jesus says the opposite is true. People are ready. The question is whether we will go. The spiritual lesson here is both humbling and energizing: we are not spectators in God’s story. We are participants. And the first step is not strategy or preparation — it is prayer. Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers, and then be willing to hear that prayer answered with your own name.
Key Scripture – Luke 10:1-12
Discussion Questions
- When you hear the phrase “you are sent,” what is your initial reaction — excitement, hesitation, confusion, or something else? Why do you think you respond that way?
- Pastor Andy said, “God’s primary way of seeking the lost is sending the found.” What does it mean to you personally that God has chosen to work through people rather than simply acting on his own?
Digging Deeper
- Read Luke 10:1-9. Jesus sent the 70 out with very little in the way of provisions and told them to trust that their needs would be met along the way. What does this reveal about the relationship God wants his sent people to have with him? Where do you struggle to trust God in that way?
- Pastor Andy pointed out that Jesus said the harvest is abundant, but the workers are few — and that we often live as though it is the opposite. Do you tend to see your community, workplace, or neighborhood as a place where people are ready to respond to the gospel? What shapes your perspective on that?
- Jesus told his disciples to pray specifically for more workers to be sent into the harvest. How often does that kind of prayer make it into your regular prayer life? What would it look like to make it a consistent practice?
- Pastor Andy described the seeking God of Genesis 3 — where God calls out to Adam and Eve after they have sinned and hidden themselves. In what ways does that picture of God challenge or reshape how you think about the people in your life who seem far from him?
- The 70 returned excited about what they had accomplished, and Jesus redirected their joy. He told them not to rejoice in what they had done, but to rejoice that their names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). Why is that distinction important? How does it protect us from pride and burnout in ministry?
Personal Reflection
- Andy identified several mission fields: neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, families, and nations. Where has God specifically placed you right now? Who are the people in that space who do not yet know Christ?
- He challenged the group to pray for a specific person, people group, or nation. Who or what came to mind during that time of prayer at the end of the sermon? Have you shared that with anyone or acted on it?
- The young missionary couple discussed in the sermon is going to reach college students from nations where the gospel is difficult to access openly. How does hearing a story like that affect your sense of what it means to be on mission? Does it feel like something reserved for a certain kind of person, or does it stir something in you personally?
Scripture Reference
- Luke 10:1-12 — The sending of the 72; the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few; the person of peace; the kingdom of God has come near
- Luke 9 — The sending of the 12 disciples with authority to heal and cast out demons
- Luke 10:17-20 — The 72 return with joy; Jesus responds that their names are written in heaven; Satan falling like lightning
- Genesis 1-3 — Creation of Adam and Eve in God’s image; God walking with them in the cool of the day; the fall and hiding from God
- Genesis 10 — The table of nations; 70 nations listed
- Romans 1:16 — The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew and then to the Greek
- John 3:16 — God so loved the world that he gave his only Son; whoever believes will not perish but have eternal life
- James 4:8 — Draw near to God and he will draw near to you