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LAMBS AMONG WOLVES
Luke 10:1-3
Sunday Morning Sermon
November 15, 1998
Fair Avenue Baptist Church
In VERSE ONE our Lord appointed 70 other disciples to go out into the harvest.
We see also in VERSE ONE that He sent them out two by two.
In VERSE TWO our Lord tells them that the harvest truly is great. And that fact remains today, the harvest truly is great.
We are surrounded by a great harvest.
Thursday night my wife and I found a 2nd grade girl and her little sister who do not go to church.
And when my wife began to talk with her, the little girl was excited about going to church.
The harvest truly is great.
Our Lord also said something that rings true today, “BUT the labourers are few.”
The labourers today are few.
I wish we would get a greater burden for people,
I wish we would get a greater burden for lost souls.
The labourers today are few.
We also notice in VERSE TWO where the Lord told us to “pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.”
Not only is the harvest great,
We are to pray for the labourers in that harvest.
Everytime I pray, I pray for labourers.
Everytime I pray, I pray for God to call more labourers,
more labourers from this church,
more labourers from our people,
young and old.
One of my greatest desires and dreams is for the Lord to reach down and call a man in his late 30’s or early 40’s - to call him to preach.
I constantly think of Bro. Wiley Bennet, a man in his late 50’s when God called him to preach. And today he is pastoring the Woodland Hills Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas.
Or for the Lord to reach down and call a man in his late 30’s or early 40’s - call that family to the mission field.
Just two weeks ago we met the Urling family and when Tim Urling was 32, a layman in his church, God called him to the mission field.
I AM praying for more labourers.
I pray for our teenagers,
Those in school and out of school,
I pray for God to speak to them.
And praise the Lord for whom He has called.
Thank our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for those who have been called into the great harvest.
God does answer prayers,
Especially those prayers He told us to pray.
But it is VERSE THREE where I want to spend a few minutes this morning.
“Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.”
As lambs among wolves...
Normally, a lamb wouldn’t make it among wolves.
Normally, a lamb wouldn’t have a chance if it ended up with a bunch of wolves.
In every case, a lamb would be utterly destroyed if it were sent out to the wolves.
We all know that the lamb would be eaten alive.
And today, you and I, as Christians, have been sent out into a wicked world.
A wicked world of wolves.
Jesus warned of wolves in Matt. 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”
Jesus compares the false prophets as “ravening wolves.”
We have been sent out as lambs.
But, wait a minute, a lamb doesn’t stand a chance, especially against “ravening wolves.”
But we have been sent out,
Sent out as lambs among wolves.
How are we going to do it?
I THINK OF THE SINGLE MOTHER:
Husband walked out,
The financial difficulties,
Trying to be both mom and dad,
Trying to stay strong,
Fighting the temptations to yield to sexual sins which are so prevalent today,
She sometimes fights sexual harassment on the job,
How is she going to do it?
A lamb among wolves...
I THINK OF THE NORMAL HUSBAND AND WIFE:
Trying to raise children in a Christian home,
Giving their tithes and to missions,
Trying to be faithful to church,
They’re both working,
Often their families don’t understand their Christian life,
It’s hard at the job with all the cussing,
Life seems so hectic,
How are they going to do it?
Lambs among wolves...
I THINK OF THE WIDOW OR WIDOWER:
They often fight loneliness,
They miss their spouse,
They miss that partner,
And if they are not careful, that loneliness will turn to bitterness,
They are growing older,
How are they going to make it?
Lambs among wolves...
I THINK OF THE TEENAGER:
The peer pressure today for a teen is so much greater than it was when I was young,
Their lives are more often than not have been shattered by divorce,
Their hormones are running like crazy,
They are too young to be treated like a child yet not old enough to be treated like an adult,
There is so much pressure to yield to sexual sins,
There is so much pressure to have boyfriends and girlfriends,
Their lives are filled with confusion,
How are they going to make it?
Many times as I pray for our teenagers I begin to cry,
They are carrying such a burden,
They are under such a heavy load,
And I love them so much,
I feel like a parent to many of them,
I feel like a dad to many of them,
And my heart breaks.
Lambs among wolves...
Our Lord knew that lambs could never make it among the wolves.
And the truth is that a lamb cannot make it among the wolves.
And without the power of God on our lives, we won’t make it.
The Devil wants that single mother to throw her life away,
He wants her to lose her kids to the world,
He wants her to get involved in an adulterous relationship,
He wants her out of church,
He wants her to yield to temptation,
He wants to ruin her life,
And the truth is that most of the time Satan succeeds.
WHY? Lambs among wolves...
The Devil wants that widow or widower to ruin their life,
He wants that man to get bitter,
He wants that woman to get bitter,
He wants the emptiness and loneliness to get you discouraged,
He wants the emptiness and loneliness to get you down,
He wants that emptiness and loneliness to keep you in turmoil,
And many times Satan is successful.
WHY? Lambs among wolves...
The Devil wants to ruin the life of that husband and wife who are trying to live for the Lord,
He wants your marriage to suffer,
He wants your home in turmoil,
He wants the pressure on the job to get you,
He wants to pressure of Hollywood and TV to get to you,
He wants the financial pressures to get you to quit tithing and giving to missions,
Satan wants that daughter to get pregnant out of wedlock,
Satan wants that son to grow up and be bitter and get in trouble with the law,
Satan wants your marriage to fail,
He doesn’t want you to talk,
Did you hear me,
Satan doesn’t want you to talk to one another,
He wants you to get mad,
He wants you to walk away,
The Devil will do everything in his power to keep you from communicating and working through the problems.
Satan will keep the pressure on and make it as hard as he possibly can to ruin your life, ruin your marriage and ruin your children.
And all we have to do is look around us and see that he is doing a good job.
How many families do you know that have not been affected by divorce,
or by rebellious children,
or by children in jail,
or by children shacking up,
or by some kind of abuse?
If we were honest,
And all we have to do is look around us this morning to see that I’m telling the truth.
The Devil wants to ruin your life, teenager.
He wants to destroy your purity,
He wants your virginity,
He wants to destroy your testimony,
He’s after you, young people.
He’s fighting extra hard to get you.
He wants you to have the wrong friends.
He wants your problems to destroy your future.
The Devil is winning a lot of battles.
WHY? Lambs among wolves...
“Preacher, this is not very encouraging.”
“Preacher, this is almost depressing.”
“Preacher, what is the answer?”
The answer is found in VERSE THREE where we read, “I SEND YOU FORTH.”
There it is - “I SEND YOU”
Jesus says, “I SEND YOU.”
We have the power of the Lord with us.
Matt. 28:17, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”
It is in the power of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ that we can make as lambs among wolves.
God’s power will enable us to make it.
I John 4:4, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU, THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD!
That ought to make a Presbyterian want to shout!
We can have the victory,
We can make it as lambs among wolves,
Because greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world!
Phil. 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
I can do it!
Hey, single mother, you can do it!
Hey, widow or widower, you can do it!
Hey, married couple, trying to live for the Lord, you can do it!
Hey, teenager, trying to live for the Lord,
Living in a world of wolves,
You can do it!
Hey, ma’am, trying to live for the Lord and your husband doesn’t care a thing about the Lord,
You can do it!
Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world,
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me,
I CAN DO IT!
I can make as a lamb among wolves.
The Devil’s wolves that want to destroy me,
That want to devour me,
That want to destroy my family,
That want to destroy my marriage,
That want to destroy my kids,
I CAN MAKE IT!
I CAN DO IT!
I CAN HAVE THE VICTORY!
And let me close with a few observations.
We can have the victory,
But we cannot have it without our Lord,
And not only cannot have it,
We will not have the victory.
Jesus wants us to depend on Him,
Jesus wants us to go in His power,
Jesus wants us to need Him.
Lambs among wolves...
Normally a disaster,
And many times it is,
But it doesn’t have to be so.
We can make it!
I can make it!
You can make it!
We can make it together!
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