Harvest Workers Wanted

HARVEST WORKERS WANTED

Matt. 9:37-38; 10:1

INTRODUCTION

A. ONE WAY OF SALVATION

1. A Chinese Confucian scholar was converted to Christ. He explained his reasons to his friends by a story:

2. “A man fell into a dark, dirty, slimy pit & he tried to climb out, but couldn’t. Confucius came along and saw the man in the pit and said, “Poor man, if he’d listened to me he would’ve never gotten into that pit!”

3. Buddha came along & saw the man in the pit and said, “Poor man, if you’ll come up here, I’ll help you!”

4. “Then Jesus Christ came along, saw me, and said, ‘Poor man!’ And jumped down into the pit and lifted me out!” [John Pollock, A Foreign Devil in China, p. 54]

5. All the world’s religions claim to save you by your good works. But NO ONE will be justified by their works because we’re all sinners. Only through Jesus Christ can we be saved because He bore our sins and died for us on the cross.

6. No other person ever died for your sins. There’s NO OTHER ATONEMENT but through Jesus, Who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me” John 14:6.

B. OUR MISSION

1. It’s never been more important for Christians to speak out than now. We have freedom, support from our government, police protection, satellites & the internet to make it possible to witness to people here and around the world.

2. We may be the Last Generation – it’s our task to tell the story of Jesus to our generation.

C. TEXT & THESIS

1. 35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.” Matt. 9:35-38; 10:1

2. When Jesus saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion, a deep yearning. He wasn’t indifferent about them. He had genuine love, not condemnation. That’s how we should be toward the lost. Jesus made a parallel between the lost and a giant field of grain awaiting harvest.

3. Jesus said 5 things about the Lost needing to be saved:

I. THERE ARE MULTITUDES OF THEM

A. ALMOST AN INFINITE FIELD is pictured

1. Some US states – like Nebraska – grow corn on its flat country, and it looks like an ocean.

2. The Lord Jesus sees the billions in Africa, Asia, India, Russia, South America, and beyond, as like great field of grain waiting to be harvested. The concept of reaching so many boggles the mind.

B. THEY MUST BE REACHED OR PERISH

1. The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912; 1,500 drowned, 700 survived. Although 20 life boats were launched -- they were only partly filled. Most of them paddled to safety away from the sinking ship, fearing being swamped by a crush of survivors.

2. Survivor Eva Hart said, "I saw all the horror of the sinking, and I heard, even more dreadful, the cries of drowning people." Only one lifeboat, No. 14, rowed back to the scene after the ship sank and chased cries in the darkness, seeking and saving a precious few.

3. Recent research has uncovered that each lifeboat was equipped with a wind-proof lantern and investigators found that most of the rowboats put their lanterns out so the desperate people couldn’t find their boat! ("Titanic Lifeboats Extinguished their lights” by Senan Molony, 12-6-11.)

4. They didn’t want their boat to be found! They were alive and they didn’t care if the others drowned. That’s like Christians who say, “I’m in the boat going to Heaven, that’s all I care about.” NO! What if the situation were reversed and you were in the water – would you want them to ignore you?

5. God help us! Don’t let us be guilty of such cowardess and selfishness that we hide our light when people are drowning all around us! How shall we face You Jesus, when You suffered so much to save them?

II. THE INFINITE VALUE OF THE LOST

A. THE VALUE OF CORN & WHEAT

1. Corn & wheat are valuable commodities. In 2024, corn farmers in the U.S. grew 14.9 billion bushels of corn valued at $64.7 billion. The wheat was valued at $6.5 billion.