1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,440 Welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. We are a Bible-Believing Church located 2 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:16,680 in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. We are proudly part of the Christian Fellowship 3 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:21,920 Ministries with 3,000 churches around the world. We are a church focused on world evangelism, 4 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:27,300 discipleship and church planting. Here we will share recent sermons from P.H.S.A. Church 5 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:31,880 and other sermons from throughout our fellowship. I am Pastor David Bigford and I will be your 6 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:36,420 host for this podcast. I thank you for listening today and we hope these messages are a blessing 7 00:00:36,420 --> 00:00:43,520 to you and bring you closer to God. 8 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:53,200 Hello and welcome back to the Salmon Arm Potter's House podcast. My name is David Bigford. I'm 9 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:58,160 the pastor here and today I have a message entitled, Prepare for the Harvest. The text 10 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:05,400 we'll be using primarily today is going to be Matthew 9, 35-38. But before we do that, 11 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:10,800 let's jump in and let's consider Ecclesiastes and the Critic. So it's been reported that 12 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:16,200 after the Dallas Cowboys won their first Super Bowl, legendary football coach Tom Landry 13 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:22,580 observed the overwhelming emotion in a few days among the players was how empty that 14 00:01:22,580 --> 00:01:28,800 goal was. There must be something more. In Ecclesiastes 1, 2 it says, Vanity of vanities, 15 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:36,020 it says the preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. So when work seems meaningless, 16 00:01:36,020 --> 00:01:43,800 we can start to question our motives. We can start to question the rationality of pushing 17 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:50,120 through when everything can seem meaningless. So what do people gain from their labors at 18 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:55,800 which they toil under the sun? It says in Ecclesiastes 1, 3. The Cowboys were not the 19 00:01:55,800 --> 00:02:00,840 first ones to learn that the great professional success isn't necessarily coupled with deep 20 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:07,760 satisfaction. The author of Ecclesiastes reminds us, this is an ancient experience. He was 21 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:12,400 the king of Israel and yet he writes, I have seen all the things that are done under the 22 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:19,140 sun. All of them are meaningless, a chasing after wind, which is Ecclesiastes 1, 14. He 23 00:02:19,140 --> 00:02:23,840 is a conflicted soul as demonstrated by way of his arguments, often within himself throughout 24 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:29,520 the book of Ecclesiastes. It's particularly acute where work is concerned. Ecclesiastes 25 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:35,960 2, 11 he says, yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to 26 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:42,880 achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after wind. Nothing was gained under the sun. 27 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:48,200 Later in Ecclesiastes we also read, I know that there is nothing better for people than 28 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:53,880 to be happy and to do good while they live, that each of them may eat and drink and find 29 00:02:53,880 --> 00:03:01,940 satisfaction in all their toil. This is the gift of God, Ecclesiastes 3, 12-13. 30 00:03:01,940 --> 00:03:09,280 But the optimism is short lived and I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from 31 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:15,920 one person's envy to another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind, in 32 00:03:15,920 --> 00:03:22,520 Ecclesiastes 4, 4. Many people resonate with this cycle of enthusiasm and despair regarding 33 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:27,680 their own labor. But the inclusion of this book in the Bible teaches us that God hears 34 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:33,580 our troubles, that he acknowledges them, and that he is not indifferent to the small frictions 35 00:03:33,580 --> 00:03:40,580 that loom large in our lives. Apply the word, the phrase, under the sun appears in this 36 00:03:40,580 --> 00:03:47,680 book 29 times. Does this reinforce the pointlessness of work with an image of the sun circling 37 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:53,280 endlessly across the sky while nothing ever changes? Or does it refer to a world beyond 38 00:03:53,280 --> 00:04:00,300 the fall, not under the sun, where work would not be in vain? So we have to keep this message 39 00:04:00,300 --> 00:04:08,820 in mind as we read Ecclesiastes. Is the push one to look past our current circumstance 40 00:04:08,820 --> 00:04:17,040 or is it to sit in despair? In our text in Matthew 9.35-38 it reads, 41 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:21,120 The harvest is plentiful, the labors are few. And Jesus went through all the cities and 42 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:25,360 the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, 43 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:30,460 and healing every disease and every affliction. And when he saw the crowds, he had compassion 44 00:04:30,460 --> 00:04:35,880 for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said 45 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:42,040 to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the labors are few. Therefore, pray earnestly 46 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:47,280 to the Lord at the harvest to send out labors into the harvest. 47 00:04:47,280 --> 00:04:52,160 So the age we live in today is an age of the critic. We live in a very polarized, cynical 48 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:57,920 world that is hyper-focused on earthly gain and individual truth. We have all heard the 49 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:03,120 phrase, common sense is no longer common. Why is it that we view the world so harshly 50 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:09,320 today? Is the world any better or worse than it has been in the past? An argument can be 51 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:14,720 made that we live in one of the most peaceful times in history. If you look at the decadent 52 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:20,520 Western world, this would be undeniably true. That does not mean we are righteous or holy, 53 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:26,120 or quite to the contrary. We are very prideful and sinful as a group of nations. But are 54 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:31,440 we really worse than those that went before us? This is one of the reasons why I like 55 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:36,880 to look to the wisdom books of the Bible. This group of three books that gives us a 56 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:41,200 compendium of all this biblical wisdom and knowledge, Proverbs tells us that by doing 57 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:46,520 right, you will be blessed. Ecclesiastes plays the part of the cynic and the critic, but 58 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:51,880 ultimately the book agrees with Proverbs, but for a different reason. Life is fleeting 59 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:56,200 so you should do what's right for the fear of the Lord. And then finally in Job, it shows 60 00:05:56,200 --> 00:06:01,400 us a righteous man who was heavily tested and tempted. His story exemplifies the dos 61 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:08,160 and the don'ts when life doesn't go our way. The critic first of all acknowledges the perspective 62 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:12,960 of Proverbs. He says it is really good, a really good idea to learn wisdom and to live 63 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:17,720 in the fear of the Lord. He says that since you can't control your life, you shouldn't, 64 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:23,560 you should stop trying. Learn to hold things with an open hand because you really only 65 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:28,840 have control over one thing and that's your attitude towards the present moment. Stop 66 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:34,000 worrying he says and choose to enjoy a good conversation with a friend or the son in your 67 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:39,080 face or a good meal with people that you care about. This brings me to my first point, which 68 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:46,520 is envision. As laborers, we must envision. It's vitally important that we need to see 69 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:54,240 the needs around us and then we must meet those needs. We must see what Jesus saw. He 70 00:06:54,240 --> 00:07:00,880 saw sheep without a shepherd. We must feel how Jesus felt. He had compassion on the multitude. 71 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:08,160 We must do what Jesus did. He ministered to their needs. Evangelism does not have to be 72 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:14,560 an organized church program, but evangelism must be intentional. We must see people for 73 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:19,840 what they are, lost souls in need of a savior. And we must comprehend the consequences of 74 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:27,040 letting them die without Jesus. They are destined for a lake of fire. We must realize that we 75 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:32,960 have the information that they need to be rescued from that fate. If we are going to 76 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:41,080 reap a harvest of souls, then we as a church must envision. We have to see what God sees. 77 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:47,520 In the first part of Matthew in 935, we read that then Jesus went about all the cities 78 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:52,200 and all the villages. When we think about a mission field, many times we think of some 79 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:59,660 place far away. Some other country like Nicaragua, Uganda, Ecuador, Colombia, Haiti, and many 80 00:07:59,660 --> 00:08:04,800 other places in Africa, Asia, South America, all throughout the world. These places are 81 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:12,520 indeed mission fields, but that verse says that Jesus didn't say we only went to foreign 82 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:18,280 countries to minister. No, it says he went about the cities and the villages. So we live 83 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:23,920 in a mission field here in Sammonarm. Enderby can be a mission field. Armstrong can be a 84 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:29,600 mission field. Tappan, Sycamore, Sorrento, these are all mission fields. Our places of 85 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:37,280 employment, a bowling alley, grocery store, our homes, our mission fields. Wherever you 86 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:46,560 go is meant to be a mission field. Wherever there are lost people is the mission field. 87 00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:51,320 And as a church and as individuals, we must envision. We must look around and see the 88 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:56,520 lost people everywhere we go, and we must see the devastating condemnation that awaits 89 00:08:56,520 --> 00:09:03,200 them if they die lost in their sins. And as we envision, when we see the mission field, 90 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:10,000 then we must share. We must share the message. In the second half of Matthew 9.35, we read 91 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:15,360 teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom. We find the later part 92 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:21,280 of this verse that Jesus heals sickness and disease. For that very reason, many people 93 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:26,280 followed Jesus and there were always a crowd around him looking for a miracle. But the 94 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:31,640 fact that Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom to them is much more important. We 95 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:36,120 know that Jesus healed the sick. He made the blind see, the deaf to hear, the mute to speak, 96 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:40,480 the lame to walk. We even know that he raised people from the dead, but those were only 97 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:47,920 temporary fixes. One day, those who received a miracle would still die and face eternity. 98 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:54,280 Even those who were raised from the dead would once again die again. But through the preaching 99 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:58,580 of the gospel, many received a miracle that would last throughout eternity. Through the 100 00:09:58,580 --> 00:10:03,800 preaching of the gospel, they received the miracle of salvation. There are people today 101 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:10,020 who are looking for a miracle. Some are looking for a solution to their financial problems. 102 00:10:10,020 --> 00:10:13,600 Some are in desperate need of a solution to their marital problems. Some are facing a 103 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:20,520 terminal diagnosis and are looking for a solution to their health problems. And Jesus can solve 104 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:26,080 every one of those issues. But there's no benefit in being happy, healthy, and wealthy 105 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:35,920 in this life and then dying and going to hell and being separated from God for eternity. 106 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:41,640 Some people are only looking for a crutch. And what they truly need is the message of 107 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:46,620 the gospel of Jesus Christ. In Romans 10, 13 through 14, it says, For whoever calls 108 00:10:46,620 --> 00:10:53,760 in the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have 109 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:59,800 not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall 110 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:05,480 they hear without a preacher? Without the gospel, there is no evangelism. Without the 111 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:09,800 gospel, there is no mission work. Without the gospel, there is no help for those in 112 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:15,320 the mission field. We must share the gospel. In Romans 1, 16, Paul said, The gospel of 113 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:22,040 Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. So let's envision 114 00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:27,040 the mission field and share with them the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus 115 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:34,200 first shared the gospel, but then he also served them and performed many miracles. So 116 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:39,720 this brings me to another portion of envisioning the ministry. The word ministry comes from 117 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:45,760 the Greek word meaning to serve as a slave. Throughout the New Testament, ministry is 118 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:51,160 seen as a service to God and other people in his name. Ministry involves more than just 119 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:56,300 sharing. It involves serving. According to our passage, Jesus healed many sicknesses 120 00:11:56,300 --> 00:12:01,880 and diseases, but not only did he feel physical infirmities, he cast out many demons as well. 121 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:07,840 On a couple of occasions, he fed thousands of people through his ministry. Jesus illustrated 122 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:13,760 the importance of service. Jesus Christ was the ultimate servant. In Mark 10, 45, for 123 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:19,920 even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom 124 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:26,240 for many. The entire life of our Savior was a life of service. Do you remember when he 125 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:31,880 washed the feet of his disciples? This was a job of a common slave. Yet Jesus humbled 126 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:37,440 himself and served others. May we never look at a job in the ministry and think that is 127 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:44,120 below us. Service is vitally important in reaching others for Jesus Christ. Why? Because 128 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:50,240 serving others points people to Christ. In Matthew 5, 16, it says, let your light so 129 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:56,440 shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in 130 00:12:56,440 --> 00:13:03,520 heaven. Moving from vanity to purpose to joy in Ecclesiastes 131 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:10,840 12, 13-14 says the end of the matter all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments. 132 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:15,400 For this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment and with 133 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:20,680 every secret thing, whether good or evil. This brings me to my next point, which is 134 00:13:20,680 --> 00:13:27,760 to empathize. As laborers, we must empathize. The purpose of the critic in Ecclesiastes 135 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:33,760 and tying it to this portion of Matthew is to tie the emotions that we all tend to feel 136 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:39,120 from time to time and so that we can deal with it head on. We can all be cynical or 137 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:43,520 despondent. We can all make excuses or do little or nothing. We can tell ourselves that 138 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:50,160 it doesn't matter. Nobody cares or that there is always tomorrow. The difficulty is having, 139 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:57,000 maintaining and acting with the mind of God. That is why the scripture is so important. 140 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:02,720 When Jesus saw these multitudes and he was intensely moved with compassion or empathy 141 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:08,800 because of their condition. They are described as being a sheep with no shepherd. This was 142 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:14,720 a multitude of people who were utterly neglected concerning the interests of their soul. There 143 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:20,520 was no shortage of people and there was no shortage of problems. As Jesus looked upon 144 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:26,400 their hurting faces, he had great compassion as to their situation. Today there is no shortage 145 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:31,600 of people and there is no shortage of people with problems still. It is not up to us to 146 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:36,440 judge those people. It is not up to us to condemn those people. We must realize that 147 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:41,520 we were once lost as they are now. We must realize that God does not measure sin as we 148 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:47,800 do and rather than looking at the people around us for their sin, it is time that we see them 149 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:54,200 as Jesus sees them. Lost souls that need a savior. The only way we will ever see a harvest 150 00:14:54,200 --> 00:15:00,240 of souls is if we come to a place of intense burden and if we empathize with those lost 151 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:05,200 souls. We will not see a harvest of souls until we finally grasp the fact that hell 152 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:11,120 is real and people are going there. We must realize that we are the body of Christ. We 153 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:17,080 are his hands and his feet and we need to start living out what we say we believe. To 154 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:23,760 get ready for the harvest as laborers, we must envision, we must empathize and finally 155 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:34,880 we must evangelize. As laborers, we must evangelize. This is my third point which is to evangelize. 156 00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:41,160 At the crux of the book of Ecclesiastes, it highlights the absurdities of life. Guided 157 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:45,760 by the words of the teacher, the book begins with everything is meaningless, completely 158 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:52,400 meaningless. The word translated as meaningless in Hebrew is the word Hevel. It translates 159 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:59,480 into vapor breath which in the context of the book indicates the idea of something fleeting. 160 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:04,120 Ecclesiastes is simultaneously a book about life and death. Extending beyond an emotional 161 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:09,560 experience the death is poised as an inevitable part of life. There are two sides of the same 162 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:15,400 coin. The book reflects on death and how that should inform our time in life. It is a book 163 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:23,400 of optimism and pessimism. It is a book of both and this contrasts to the Great Commission 164 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:33,200 and the harvest field. It pushes us to judge our own actions in light of the blazing light 165 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:38,880 of Jesus' words and his call to us if we are to follow him. He is the servant king 166 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:46,520 and he calls us to be servants as well. Evangelism is defined as spreading of the gospel of Christ 167 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:54,680 by public preaching or personal witness. Please notice that. Evangelism is a necessary work. 168 00:16:54,680 --> 00:17:00,240 Jesus told his disciples the harvest is truly plentiful. He says, look guys, there's 169 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:05,000 plenty of people who need to hear the message. There are plenty of people who need to be 170 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:13,040 heard. The mission field is ready. It's ripe. The harvest is now. Jesus wanted these men 171 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:18,620 to know that there was a great work to be done. Today there are also many, many more 172 00:17:18,620 --> 00:17:24,440 people in the field than there were in Jesus' time. These people are in great need. They 173 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:29,160 are like sheep without a shepherd. These people are on a path that leads to destruction and 174 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:35,720 today more than any time in history, evangelism is a necessary work. Not only is evangelism 175 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:44,240 a necessary work, evangelism is a neglected work. If the harvest truly is plentiful but 176 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:55,120 the labors are few, we really need to start questioning our own motives. Jesus tells us 177 00:17:55,120 --> 00:18:02,400 therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labors into the harvest. Jesus makes 178 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:08,840 it clear that the time for harvest is now. The harvest is ready. People need to be reached 179 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:14,080 for the sake of the gospel. But he also declares that there was a great problem. There are 180 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:20,280 few labors to work the fields. That is a problem that was still present in our world today. 181 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:26,200 There's a field ripe and ready to be harvested but there's still too few who are willing 182 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:34,400 to take up that work. A tragedy of life and all of the world is not that men do not know 183 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:43,080 God. The tragedy is that knowing Him they still insist on going their own way. That's 184 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:52,720 a quote from William Barclay. In closing, and as followers of Jesus Christ, we have 185 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:59,200 a lot of work to do and we have very little time to do it. We must give ourselves to it. 186 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:05,400 The times demand urgent action. The gospel is only good news if it arrives to the lost 187 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:14,720 in time. I just celebrated my 43rd birthday so I'm pretty young but still that doesn't 188 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:25,160 give me a lot of time. If I lived to my 80s that gives me 40 more years of service. Roughly 189 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:33,240 40 more years of service. So I'm past the halfway point on my life even if I just make 190 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:43,440 it to my early 80s. Ecclesiastes says that wisdom has limits. If the message of Proverbs 191 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:47,840 is this is how you should live your life, the message of Ecclesiastes is a response 192 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:55,560 saying I did it and it didn't work. But there's a split on interpreting this book. Is this 193 00:19:55,560 --> 00:20:00,460 a positive outlook on life or is this a negative outlook on life? Strong cases can be made 194 00:20:00,460 --> 00:20:05,640 for both but regardless Ecclesiastes has a message to stop worrying about the future, 195 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:13,680 to stop chasing after perfection, to be content with where you are in life and to follow God. 196 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:20,140 Follow God. Ultimately Ecclesiastes shows us that everything is fleeting and much of 197 00:20:20,140 --> 00:20:27,860 our life is out of our control and yet there are quiet invitations beneath the surface 198 00:20:27,860 --> 00:20:34,720 to do our best in everything, to be wise and to find enjoyment in the small things. Even 199 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:43,360 as Heavil is part of our natural human experience, even as the vapor of our life is built in 200 00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:49,480 to this world, we need to choose to embrace contentment in the present, to release those 201 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:54,880 anxious worries about the future and to trust in God. So here's some questions for you 202 00:20:54,880 --> 00:21:03,360 to ponder today. Do you see the potential harvest? Do you see the field? Do you see 203 00:21:03,360 --> 00:21:09,880 these countless lost souls? Do you see that the world is turning away from God in a way 204 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:19,500 that's quite frightening? Meaning the field is growing. It's becoming more ripe for the 205 00:21:19,500 --> 00:21:24,920 harvest every day. And then you have to ask yourself, are you willing to do what it takes 206 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:31,160 to work in the field? Now working in the field can come in a lot of different ways, but are 207 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:36,320 you willing to evangelize? Are you willing to support the work of evangelists and the 208 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:43,960 support the work of those that are in the field? Will you see what Jesus saw when you 209 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:50,540 look out on those masses of people who are unsaved? Will you feel what Jesus felt when 210 00:21:50,540 --> 00:21:59,760 He said that they're like sheep without a shepherd? Will you do what Jesus did? Will 211 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:09,120 you humbly serve others and bring them the message of salvation? So may we here at the 212 00:22:09,120 --> 00:22:14,960 Potter South Church come together and envision and empathize and evangelize. When we do these 213 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:22,060 things then we will be ready, said the harvest. And so as a prayer, I just want to say, Lord, 214 00:22:22,060 --> 00:22:28,040 help us to live out what we say we believe. Give us direction on where you would have 215 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:34,260 us to go. Give us strength to do what you would have us to do. Help us to envision the 216 00:22:34,260 --> 00:22:40,040 ministry you've called us to. Help us to empathize with the loss and help us to evangelize 217 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:47,800 the world. Starting right here in Salmon Arm with your gospel. Help us to be ready for 218 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:52,320 the harvest. So with that, if I could have every head bowed, every eye closed, wherever 219 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:56,560 you're listening to this message, of course, unless you're driving or you're operating 220 00:22:56,560 --> 00:23:03,760 heavy machinery. I appreciate you listening on your drive or while you work. But I want 221 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:13,760 to give a quick invitation. Because the whole purpose of everything we do is for this invitation. 222 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:18,020 If you're not right with God and this message has impacted you, maybe a friend or somebody 223 00:23:18,020 --> 00:23:26,640 sent you this recording, I want you to know that the time is now. The time is now for 224 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:32,680 you to accept Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior. If that's you and this message has 225 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:36,400 impacted you and you know you're not right with God, but you want to be. I want you to 226 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:43,360 signify that uplifted hand. I know this is a recording, but God can see you in the future. 227 00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:48,160 He can see you. And if you rose your hand and you meant that, you want your life to 228 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:54,560 be changed. You want Jesus Christ. You want salvation. And I want you just to repeat after 229 00:23:54,560 --> 00:24:01,620 me, dear Lord God, I know that I'm a sinner, but I also know that you sent your son Jesus 230 00:24:01,620 --> 00:24:07,960 Christ and that he came to earth and he died for my sins. And then he rose from the grave. 231 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:13,920 I repent of my sins and I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. And I thank you for salvation 232 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:23,200 through grace. Amen. That simple prayer moves you from death into life. And I pray also 233 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:29,440 that dear Lord, I pray that you would fill your servants with the Holy Spirit, with the 234 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:37,720 joy that comes with salvation. And I pray that you would help them and solidify them 235 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:44,180 in your name. So I want to thank you for listening to these messages to this podcast. I want 236 00:24:44,180 --> 00:24:50,720 to ask you to like, share, subscribe, spread that out. There's another podcast list to 237 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:56,520 talks about the fee, the fee being to share the message. We have a fee in Christianity 238 00:24:56,520 --> 00:25:05,400 too. It's to share the message. It's to be prepared for the harvest. It's to be, you 239 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:12,280 know, in envisioning the harvest and so that you can understand that there's work to be 240 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:19,960 done. It's to have empathy on the lost so that we do not get puffed up in our own pride, 241 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:24,440 but we empathize and we understand that there's a lost world that needs to be reached. And 242 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:31,800 then ultimately to evangelize, to preach the gospel, to share your testimony to others. 243 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:36,520 So again, thank you for listening. I pray that you have a blessed day, a blessed week 244 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:55,800 and God bless you. I'll see you next time.