Jesus makes some significant statements in Luke chapter 10. This chapter is centered mainly on evangelism and the Good News. Read these few selected verses and we’ll look at their significance. Feel free to read in context. (NASB)
1Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.
2And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
5“Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’
6“If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.
16“The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
21At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.
Verse 2 shows that there is a great need everywhere, even today. On your campus or living situation, how many people need to hear the Gospel message? Chances are you answer is, “Many of them”.
Verse 6 gives us some interesting insight. As the disciples of Jesus were going out ahead of Jesus to the towns and villages He was going to visit, they were instructed to say “Peace be to this house”. If the Holy Spirit has prepared the person at the doorway, they would respond positively to Christ. We are always looking for people of peace whom God has prepared. Verse 16 gives us a clear message.
Verse 21 shows how the message is for everyone. Often those who are in higher positions or status are more difficult to reach because of the potential of feeling self sufficient.
What does this mean for us?
1. Continue to share the Gospel as often as you can.
2. Share the Gospel with everyone, freshman, grad students, and professors. Like a fishing net, throw the message of the Gospel out wide. Don’t ignore anyone. It just might be the one freshman on your campus that will be your next leader who has a great impact. Everyone counts.
3. Continue to look for the person of peace. That person could be the one who is ready to place their trust in Christ and also someone who can open the door to reach others. As in verse 5, the person of peace could be the gatekeeper to open up a dorm floor (RA), Greek house, athletic team, or professor.
4. Never give up or get discouraged. You have the backing of the Holy Spirit and through His power, He may use you to see people’s lives changed. Keep praying for some big things to happen on your campus or living situation. Step out in Faith.
As you get closer to the end of your Spring term, especially keep in mind the weekly tip from two weeks ago titled, “Plan Well For The Fall” on March 15th.
Other Tips for Ending The Spring Well
1. Be sure to gather everyone’s email address, cell phone, facebook and home address. This will help you stay in touch throughout the summer.
2. Be sure to have a facebook page for your campus if you haven’t established one yet. There you can post announcements and encouragement. You can alert everyone when and where the meetings will be for the fall term.
3. Plan for a fun end of the year party. Celebrate what God has done this year.
4. Begin praying for your fall term – that God will move in a powerful way on your campus.
Be sure everyone has a copy of, or knows where to get the “Surviving the Summer” guide, http://godsquad.com/summer/guide.pdf
Talk to you next week,
Ben Rivera/The GodSquad Team