BIBLICAL CHURCH PLANTING
VICTOR CHOUDHRIE
Luke 10:1-9
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.
2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5 “When you enter a house, first say,`Peace to this house.’
6 If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.
7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you.
9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, `The kingdom of God is near you.’
Verse 1
Two by Two
36 Teams of 3 (2 + Jesus = 3)
Don’t go without Jesus!
Verse 2
Good things: harvest is plentiful
Bad things: workers are few
Harvest is ready now — don’t be discouraged even if it looks like they’re not ready
John 4:34-35 – Do you not say, `Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
Wheat when ripe is golden yellow
White … the color evaporates in the sun — it’s past due for harvest. It’s over-ready.
There are no areas not ready for Christ.
God used the most useless candidate to carry the gospel to Samaria (the Samaritan woman). She had a theological argument with Jesus about where/how to worship. God is spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. Salvation is not in one temple/church or another, it’s in the heart.
We are the temple of God. Wherever we are, we are the temple of God. We don’t have to go to church to connect with God. God chose this woman and she went (she, who could not face other women in the village), came back. A few minutes of an encounter with Jesus, she became bold and eager to share the Good News. She had the whole village at the feet of Jesus within a matter of minutes after her encounter with Jesus.
Regardless whether Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu or whatever, the harvest is ready now.
Back to Luke 10 …
Jesus wants us to be working in His mission field. The bad news is that there aren’t enough doing His work.
Laborers are comfortably sitting in the church singing nice songs.
We have a difficult task of turning all these comfortable people into laborers.
You’re not going alone; you’re going 2 x 2 with Jesus, the harvest is ready …
Verse 3
God said He’s sending us as lambs among wolves. That means you cannot go on your own strength. There’s nothing a wolf likes better than having a lamb for lunch.
Verse 4
Jesus didn’t say to take musical instruments, singers, pews … you don’t need anything. He said “Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; do not greet anyone on the road.” No extra baggage.
Go and don’t make a noise — don’t even greet anyone on the road. You’re going on serious business — don’t get distracted. You’re going into enemy territory. It’s not a social occasion. You’re going to war. You should be praying as you’re going. You may be praying Psalm 2:8 … “ask me and I’ll give you nations for an inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession”
When you go, you are to go with intention of possessing people and land. God says to Moses I will give you the land and the tribes of Canaan.
Missionaries make a mistake — they ask for people only and they preach the gospel everywhere. People accept Christ but the land is unredeemed.
Another prayer you may be praying while going there — you’re going into the enemy territory. The devil is not only over there, he has built strongholds, (prostitution, gambling, idolatry, etc) The strongman has built strongholds in the village. Before you reach the village, you want to demolish the strongholds. Matt 12:29
Matt 12:29-30
29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house.
30 “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.
It’s the power of the Holy Spirit that removes the strongman. You must first remove the strongman — bind him and then take his possessions. What are his possessions? People and the land.
Matt16:18-19
Praying for the people, praying for the land, binding and loosing the strongman …
The man of peace is essential in the church …
Luke 10:5-6
5 “When you enter a house, first say, `Peace to this house.’
6 If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.
Jesus’ System: (Rev 3:19) to build relationship
- Overrides the caste system
- Eating first
- Meeting afterwards
- Church of Jesus Christ is all about relationships.
- Do not go from house to house …
- Bless the food and eat whatever is put before you
- Build up relationship
- When do we preach?
- Signs and wonders first … pray for the sick and they’re healed, delivered, then they will ask by what power you do this? What is this God? Where did you get power from?
- Go!!!