Introduction
A. My Dad and I were talking the other night about love and marriage. He told me that he knew as early as their wedding what marriage to my Mom would be like. It seems the minister asked my Mom, "Do you take this man to be your husband." And she said, "I do." Then the minister asked my Dad, "Do you take this woman to be your wife," and my Mom said, "He does."
A. Last week we saw that many people have to be brought to Jesus
1. There was the paralyzed man that was brought to Jesus by his four friends
a. They refused to be deterred from their purpose and tore up the roof of the house to get their friend before Jesus
b. There were several men who had to go to Jesus to see their loved ones healed
2. There were others who were driven to Jesus because of physical ailments
a. The prime example was the woman who had the 12 year long issue of blood
(1) Turn to 1 John 5:14-15
B. We also brought up the fact that we are hampered in any evangelistic efforts by
1. Our handicaps
2. Distance
3. The resistance of the others
4. We reminded that even though we are providentially hinder in our evangelistic efforts we can always pray
5. Even though we are unable to make that contact our prayers are heard by God
1 John 5:14-15 NKJV
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. {15} And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
C. Today we continue more of less in this vain
1. Jesus mission was to bring to men the gospel
a. The gospel being authenticated by
(1) Miracles
(2) Signs
(3) And wonders
b. But, even more Jesus brought the gospel authenticated by compassion and love
(1) Lets turn to Matthew 9:35 - 36
II. Body
A. The authentication of Jesus gospel
Matthew 9:35-36 NKJV
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. {36} But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
1. Jesus-style love is the opposite of the world's power-based, accomplishment-equals-importance viewpoint.
2. Christian love means putting the other person first, seeking the other person's well being regardless of what it costs.
a. As I was taught Christian love is doing the very best for the one we love regardless of the cost to us.
3. There are some lessons to be gleaned from this passage
a. The first lesson is that Jesus method of spreading the gospel was to go to where the people who needed the gospel were
(1) He went about all the cities and villages, teaching and preaching
b. Grace Baptist is a member of The Conservative Baptist Association of America
(1) We are also a member of the Rocky Mountain Conservative Baptist Association
(a) But, it seems that the leadership of these associations cannot be inconvenienced to come to the villages
(b) They will only meet in the cities
i) Turn to Luke 19:10
c. Jesus went every where
(1) To cities
(a) Large and small
(2) And to the little villages
(a) Little village like those here in rural Colorado
Luke 19:10 NKJV
"for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
(3) Where did Jesus go to find the lost
(a) I have already told you
(b) He went where the lost were
(c) Jesus went day after day to places where the lost were
d. We are foolish to sit back and wait for the lost souls to come to us
(1) The vast majority will not come
(2) They do not know to come
(3) We have to go out and get them
(4) Turn to Matthew 28:19 - 20
e. Jesus method of spreading the gospel was to go
(1) To go to the cities
(2) To go to the villages
(3) To go to the country
(4) To the hill sides
(5) To the mountains
(6) To go to the sea side
(7) To grave yards
(8) Any place there were people who were lost
(9) Then Jesus commanded His disciples to go
Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, {20} "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
(a) Do I have to remind you that this passage says, laterally, “While You Are Going”
(b) Turn to 1 Peter 3:15
i) Pastor Don told a story about his father. His father would start out a journey with a gas tank that was not full. Of course in that day and time, gas stations were scattered along the highways and were attended every moment the station was open. He did this so that he would have to stop at many gas stations. And while the attendant was a captive audience PD’s dad would witness to the attendant.
ii) Today, Gas stations are automatic and rarely attended. One has to pump their own gas.
(c) While you are going about your daily routine, pray for an opportunity to speak to some one about Christ
1 Peter 3:15 NKJV
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
4. The second lesson, is to seek, cultivate, pray for the same compassion Jesus had for the lost
Matthew 9:36 NKJV
But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
a. The people of this world are like sheep without a shepherd
(1) Domestic sheep are rather stupid
(2) Unless there is a shepherd to watch over them
(a) To care for them
(b) To know them
(3) These sheep will do something really dumb
(a) Wander off and find themselves in untenable position
i) In a place where they cannot get back to where they belong
b. Jesus saw the population of Judea as sheep
(1) He saw the weariness
(2) And their scattered condition
c. And He had compassion
(1) People today are in the same state
(a) Weary and scattered
(2) The Greek word translated compassion means to have a feeling of deep sympathy
(a) To pity them
(b) To feel a deep concern about their lost condition
5. If your concern is for your comfort and convenience we will never attain to the compassion Jesus felt for the people of this world
a. One lesson we should learn from this passage is that we ought to have compassion on the lost
(1) Whether the lost live in a Hollywood mansion
(2) Or a skid row slum
(3) And everything in between
(a) And now lets turn to Matthew 9:37 - 38
B. The Lord’s command to pray
Matthew 9:37-38 NKJV
Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. {38} "Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."
1. The harvest is truly plentiful
a. Today, the news tells us that the population of the world is 7 billion people
(1) Seven billion souls
(2) Of those 7 billion, how many are destined to an eternal hell
(a) How many are destined to eternal hell because no one told them about Salvation in Christ?
b. We are living in an agricultural area
(1) In the summer we see wheat fields
(2) A rich golden color
(a) Today a farmer is able to harvest many Acers of wheat alone
(b) But, if you watch, you may see a number of combines reaping the fiends together
(c) But in Jesus day, there were no huge John Deere Harvesting machines
(d) It all had to be done using a hand scythe
(e) People lined up and using the cycle or scythe cut the crop off near the earth
c. This is the image Jesus is projecting
(1) A bountiful crop
(a) The wheat a rich golden brown
(b) Ready to be harvested
(2) But, the reaping of a wheat field had to be done quickly
(a) Or else that which was left rotted in the field
i) Turn to John 4:35-36
2. Jesus saw the world
a. The harvest is necessary work
John 4:35-36 (NKJV)
(35} Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! {36} And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
(1) Seven billion people in this world
(2) Jesus says that the one who sews and the one who reaps will rejoice together after the harvest
b. The reaper, the waterer and the reaper work to bring in the harvest
(1) I may have the opportunity to say something to someone on day about the gospel but may not have the time or opportunity to follow up on that seed I planted
(2) But, the seed grows
(a) One day another may have the opportunity to add a little to the seed I planted
i) This one is the one who waters
(b) Days, weeks, years later after the seed has taken root in their heart, another may have the opportunity to harvest that soul
c. Generation by generation the harvest must be brought in
(1) Year after year the wheat is planted, grown and harvested
(2) And so it is with the spiritual harvest of men, women and children
(3) Which is why we have been in the AWANA program for over 30 years.
(4) People who were once part of the AWANA clubs are, today, bringing their kids to our AWANA clubs
(a) Think about this, we have had the only consistent program that is aimed at children ages 3 and 4 to 6th grade
(b) AWANA goes further, all the way to Senior in high school
i) But we stop at 6th grade for two reasons
a) One high school takes a high toll on the students
b) And their church, those that have a church, usually requires attendance at confirmation classes on Wednesdays
3. We have the unique opportunity to have clubs full of willing evangelists
a. And for the most part they don’t even know it
b. AWANA, here in Julesburg, has harvested young souls year after year
(1) Turn to Matthew 9:38
C. The command to pray
Matthew 9:38 NKJV
"Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."
1. As I said last week, we are often hampered in our evangelistic efforts
a. Hampered by our own handicaps
b. Hampered by distance
c. Hampered by circumstance
d. Hampered by the resistance of others
2. We should never allow ourselves to be hampered
a. By sloth
b. Or by our own spiritual condition
c. Evelyn Underhill in Christianity Today wrote, “We are agents of the Creative Spirit in this world. Real advance in the spiritual life, then, means accepting this vocation with all it involves. Not merely turning over the pages of an engineering magazine and enjoying the pictures, but putting on overalls and getting on with the job. The real spiritual life must be horizontal as well as vertical.”
(1) Turn to James 1:27
3. Our spiritual responsibility is as follows
James 1:27 (NKJV)
Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
a. I believe first our responsibility is to keep ourselves unspotted by the world
(1) First and foremost keep yourself pure
(a) Doing what John writes in 1 John 1:9
1 John 1:9 (NKJV)
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(2) Secondly, to visit those in need
(a) The word visit means to become involved in the life of another
(b) The need may be material
(c) The need may be spiritual
i) If the need is material
ii) Meet that need
iii) A man wrote if you meet the need of another, even if that need was not real, you will be blessed
iv) If the need is spiritual
v) Meet that need
a) You can yourself
b) Or you can refer the needy one to some one who can meet that need
1) Turn to Psalm 139:
III. Conclusion
A. Pray the Lord of the Harvest to send workers into the harvest
1. Be prepared to be the one sent
2. Be prepared by being read up
3. Be prepared by being prayed up
4. Make this passage a part of your prayer life
Psalm 139:23-24 (NKJV)
Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; {24} And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
