Welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. We are a Bible-Believing Church located
in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. We are proudly part of the Christian Fellowship
Ministries with 3,000 churches around the world. We are a church focused on world evangelism,
discipleship and church planting. Here we will share recent sermons from P.H.S.A. Church
and other sermons from throughout our fellowship. I am Pastor David Bigford and I will be your
host for this podcast. I thank you for listening today and we hope these messages are a blessing
to you and bring you closer to God.
Hello and welcome back to the Salmon Arm Potter's House podcast. My name is David Bigford. I'm
the pastor here and today I have a message entitled, Prepare for the Harvest. The text
we'll be using primarily today is going to be Matthew 9, 35-38. But before we do that,
let's jump in and let's consider Ecclesiastes and the Critic. So it's been reported that
after the Dallas Cowboys won their first Super Bowl, legendary football coach Tom Landry
observed the overwhelming emotion in a few days among the players was how empty that
goal was. There must be something more. In Ecclesiastes 1, 2 it says, Vanity of vanities,
it says the preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. So when work seems meaningless,
we can start to question our motives. We can start to question the rationality of pushing
through when everything can seem meaningless. So what do people gain from their labors at
which they toil under the sun? It says in Ecclesiastes 1, 3. The Cowboys were not the
first ones to learn that the great professional success isn't necessarily coupled with deep
satisfaction. The author of Ecclesiastes reminds us, this is an ancient experience. He was
the king of Israel and yet he writes, I have seen all the things that are done under the
sun. All of them are meaningless, a chasing after wind, which is Ecclesiastes 1, 14. He
is a conflicted soul as demonstrated by way of his arguments, often within himself throughout
the book of Ecclesiastes. It's particularly acute where work is concerned. Ecclesiastes
2, 11 he says, yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to
achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after wind. Nothing was gained under the sun.
Later in Ecclesiastes we also read, I know that there is nothing better for people than
to be happy and to do good while they live, that each of them may eat and drink and find
satisfaction in all their toil. This is the gift of God, Ecclesiastes 3, 12-13.
But the optimism is short lived and I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from
one person's envy to another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind, in
Ecclesiastes 4, 4. Many people resonate with this cycle of enthusiasm and despair regarding
their own labor. But the inclusion of this book in the Bible teaches us that God hears
our troubles, that he acknowledges them, and that he is not indifferent to the small frictions
that loom large in our lives. Apply the word, the phrase, under the sun appears in this
book 29 times. Does this reinforce the pointlessness of work with an image of the sun circling
endlessly across the sky while nothing ever changes? Or does it refer to a world beyond
the fall, not under the sun, where work would not be in vain? So we have to keep this message
in mind as we read Ecclesiastes. Is the push one to look past our current circumstance
or is it to sit in despair? In our text in Matthew 9.35-38 it reads,
The harvest is plentiful, the labors are few. And Jesus went through all the cities and
the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
and healing every disease and every affliction. And when he saw the crowds, he had compassion
for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said
to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the labors are few. Therefore, pray earnestly
to the Lord at the harvest to send out labors into the harvest.
So the age we live in today is an age of the critic. We live in a very polarized, cynical
world that is hyper-focused on earthly gain and individual truth. We have all heard the
phrase, common sense is no longer common. Why is it that we view the world so harshly
today? Is the world any better or worse than it has been in the past? An argument can be
made that we live in one of the most peaceful times in history. If you look at the decadent
Western world, this would be undeniably true. That does not mean we are righteous or holy,
or quite to the contrary. We are very prideful and sinful as a group of nations. But are
we really worse than those that went before us? This is one of the reasons why I like
to look to the wisdom books of the Bible. This group of three books that gives us a
compendium of all this biblical wisdom and knowledge, Proverbs tells us that by doing
right, you will be blessed. Ecclesiastes plays the part of the cynic and the critic, but
ultimately the book agrees with Proverbs, but for a different reason. Life is fleeting
so you should do what's right for the fear of the Lord. And then finally in Job, it shows
us a righteous man who was heavily tested and tempted. His story exemplifies the dos
and the don'ts when life doesn't go our way. The critic first of all acknowledges the perspective
of Proverbs. He says it is really good, a really good idea to learn wisdom and to live
in the fear of the Lord. He says that since you can't control your life, you shouldn't,
you should stop trying. Learn to hold things with an open hand because you really only
have control over one thing and that's your attitude towards the present moment. Stop
worrying he says and choose to enjoy a good conversation with a friend or the son in your
face or a good meal with people that you care about. This brings me to my first point, which
is envision. As laborers, we must envision. It's vitally important that we need to see
the needs around us and then we must meet those needs. We must see what Jesus saw. He
saw sheep without a shepherd. We must feel how Jesus felt. He had compassion on the multitude.
We must do what Jesus did. He ministered to their needs. Evangelism does not have to be
an organized church program, but evangelism must be intentional. We must see people for
what they are, lost souls in need of a savior. And we must comprehend the consequences of
letting them die without Jesus. They are destined for a lake of fire. We must realize that we
have the information that they need to be rescued from that fate. If we are going to
reap a harvest of souls, then we as a church must envision. We have to see what God sees.
In the first part of Matthew in 935, we read that then Jesus went about all the cities
and all the villages. When we think about a mission field, many times we think of some
place far away. Some other country like Nicaragua, Uganda, Ecuador, Colombia, Haiti, and many
other places in Africa, Asia, South America, all throughout the world. These places are
indeed mission fields, but that verse says that Jesus didn't say we only went to foreign
countries to minister. No, it says he went about the cities and the villages. So we live
in a mission field here in Sammonarm. Enderby can be a mission field. Armstrong can be a
mission field. Tappan, Sycamore, Sorrento, these are all mission fields. Our places of
employment, a bowling alley, grocery store, our homes, our mission fields. Wherever you
go is meant to be a mission field. Wherever there are lost people is the mission field.
And as a church and as individuals, we must envision. We must look around and see the
lost people everywhere we go, and we must see the devastating condemnation that awaits
them if they die lost in their sins. And as we envision, when we see the mission field,
then we must share. We must share the message. In the second half of Matthew 9.35, we read
teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom. We find the later part
of this verse that Jesus heals sickness and disease. For that very reason, many people
followed Jesus and there were always a crowd around him looking for a miracle. But the
fact that Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom to them is much more important. We
know that Jesus healed the sick. He made the blind see, the deaf to hear, the mute to speak,
the lame to walk. We even know that he raised people from the dead, but those were only
temporary fixes. One day, those who received a miracle would still die and face eternity.
Even those who were raised from the dead would once again die again. But through the preaching
of the gospel, many received a miracle that would last throughout eternity. Through the
preaching of the gospel, they received the miracle of salvation. There are people today
who are looking for a miracle. Some are looking for a solution to their financial problems.
Some are in desperate need of a solution to their marital problems. Some are facing a
terminal diagnosis and are looking for a solution to their health problems. And Jesus can solve
every one of those issues. But there's no benefit in being happy, healthy, and wealthy
in this life and then dying and going to hell and being separated from God for eternity.
Some people are only looking for a crutch. And what they truly need is the message of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. In Romans 10, 13 through 14, it says, For whoever calls
in the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have
not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall
they hear without a preacher? Without the gospel, there is no evangelism. Without the
gospel, there is no mission work. Without the gospel, there is no help for those in
the mission field. We must share the gospel. In Romans 1, 16, Paul said, The gospel of
Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. So let's envision
the mission field and share with them the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus
first shared the gospel, but then he also served them and performed many miracles. So
this brings me to another portion of envisioning the ministry. The word ministry comes from
the Greek word meaning to serve as a slave. Throughout the New Testament, ministry is
seen as a service to God and other people in his name. Ministry involves more than just
sharing. It involves serving. According to our passage, Jesus healed many sicknesses
and diseases, but not only did he feel physical infirmities, he cast out many demons as well.
On a couple of occasions, he fed thousands of people through his ministry. Jesus illustrated
the importance of service. Jesus Christ was the ultimate servant. In Mark 10, 45, for
even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom
for many. The entire life of our Savior was a life of service. Do you remember when he
washed the feet of his disciples? This was a job of a common slave. Yet Jesus humbled
himself and served others. May we never look at a job in the ministry and think that is
below us. Service is vitally important in reaching others for Jesus Christ. Why? Because
serving others points people to Christ. In Matthew 5, 16, it says, let your light so
shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in
heaven. Moving from vanity to purpose to joy in Ecclesiastes
12, 13-14 says the end of the matter all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments.
For this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment and with
every secret thing, whether good or evil. This brings me to my next point, which is
to empathize. As laborers, we must empathize. The purpose of the critic in Ecclesiastes
and tying it to this portion of Matthew is to tie the emotions that we all tend to feel
from time to time and so that we can deal with it head on. We can all be cynical or
despondent. We can all make excuses or do little or nothing. We can tell ourselves that
it doesn't matter. Nobody cares or that there is always tomorrow. The difficulty is having,
maintaining and acting with the mind of God. That is why the scripture is so important.
When Jesus saw these multitudes and he was intensely moved with compassion or empathy
because of their condition. They are described as being a sheep with no shepherd. This was
a multitude of people who were utterly neglected concerning the interests of their soul. There
was no shortage of people and there was no shortage of problems. As Jesus looked upon
their hurting faces, he had great compassion as to their situation. Today there is no shortage
of people and there is no shortage of people with problems still. It is not up to us to
judge those people. It is not up to us to condemn those people. We must realize that
we were once lost as they are now. We must realize that God does not measure sin as we
do and rather than looking at the people around us for their sin, it is time that we see them
as Jesus sees them. Lost souls that need a savior. The only way we will ever see a harvest
of souls is if we come to a place of intense burden and if we empathize with those lost
souls. We will not see a harvest of souls until we finally grasp the fact that hell
is real and people are going there. We must realize that we are the body of Christ. We
are his hands and his feet and we need to start living out what we say we believe. To
get ready for the harvest as laborers, we must envision, we must empathize and finally
we must evangelize. As laborers, we must evangelize. This is my third point which is to evangelize.
At the crux of the book of Ecclesiastes, it highlights the absurdities of life. Guided
by the words of the teacher, the book begins with everything is meaningless, completely
meaningless. The word translated as meaningless in Hebrew is the word Hevel. It translates
into vapor breath which in the context of the book indicates the idea of something fleeting.
Ecclesiastes is simultaneously a book about life and death. Extending beyond an emotional
experience the death is poised as an inevitable part of life. There are two sides of the same
coin. The book reflects on death and how that should inform our time in life. It is a book
of optimism and pessimism. It is a book of both and this contrasts to the Great Commission
and the harvest field. It pushes us to judge our own actions in light of the blazing light
of Jesus' words and his call to us if we are to follow him. He is the servant king
and he calls us to be servants as well. Evangelism is defined as spreading of the gospel of Christ
by public preaching or personal witness. Please notice that. Evangelism is a necessary work.
Jesus told his disciples the harvest is truly plentiful. He says, look guys, there's
plenty of people who need to hear the message. There are plenty of people who need to be
heard. The mission field is ready. It's ripe. The harvest is now. Jesus wanted these men
to know that there was a great work to be done. Today there are also many, many more
people in the field than there were in Jesus' time. These people are in great need. They
are like sheep without a shepherd. These people are on a path that leads to destruction and
today more than any time in history, evangelism is a necessary work. Not only is evangelism
a necessary work, evangelism is a neglected work. If the harvest truly is plentiful but
the labors are few, we really need to start questioning our own motives. Jesus tells us
therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labors into the harvest. Jesus makes
it clear that the time for harvest is now. The harvest is ready. People need to be reached
for the sake of the gospel. But he also declares that there was a great problem. There are
few labors to work the fields. That is a problem that was still present in our world today.
There's a field ripe and ready to be harvested but there's still too few who are willing
to take up that work. A tragedy of life and all of the world is not that men do not know
God. The tragedy is that knowing Him they still insist on going their own way. That's
a quote from William Barclay. In closing, and as followers of Jesus Christ, we have
a lot of work to do and we have very little time to do it. We must give ourselves to it.
The times demand urgent action. The gospel is only good news if it arrives to the lost
in time. I just celebrated my 43rd birthday so I'm pretty young but still that doesn't
give me a lot of time. If I lived to my 80s that gives me 40 more years of service. Roughly
40 more years of service. So I'm past the halfway point on my life even if I just make
it to my early 80s. Ecclesiastes says that wisdom has limits. If the message of Proverbs
is this is how you should live your life, the message of Ecclesiastes is a response
saying I did it and it didn't work. But there's a split on interpreting this book. Is this
a positive outlook on life or is this a negative outlook on life? Strong cases can be made
for both but regardless Ecclesiastes has a message to stop worrying about the future,
to stop chasing after perfection, to be content with where you are in life and to follow God.
Follow God. Ultimately Ecclesiastes shows us that everything is fleeting and much of
our life is out of our control and yet there are quiet invitations beneath the surface
to do our best in everything, to be wise and to find enjoyment in the small things. Even
as Heavil is part of our natural human experience, even as the vapor of our life is built in
to this world, we need to choose to embrace contentment in the present, to release those
anxious worries about the future and to trust in God. So here's some questions for you
to ponder today. Do you see the potential harvest? Do you see the field? Do you see
these countless lost souls? Do you see that the world is turning away from God in a way
that's quite frightening? Meaning the field is growing. It's becoming more ripe for the
harvest every day. And then you have to ask yourself, are you willing to do what it takes
to work in the field? Now working in the field can come in a lot of different ways, but are
you willing to evangelize? Are you willing to support the work of evangelists and the
support the work of those that are in the field? Will you see what Jesus saw when you
look out on those masses of people who are unsaved? Will you feel what Jesus felt when
He said that they're like sheep without a shepherd? Will you do what Jesus did? Will
you humbly serve others and bring them the message of salvation? So may we here at the
Potter South Church come together and envision and empathize and evangelize. When we do these
things then we will be ready, said the harvest. And so as a prayer, I just want to say, Lord,
help us to live out what we say we believe. Give us direction on where you would have
us to go. Give us strength to do what you would have us to do. Help us to envision the
ministry you've called us to. Help us to empathize with the loss and help us to evangelize
the world. Starting right here in Salmon Arm with your gospel. Help us to be ready for
the harvest. So with that, if I could have every head bowed, every eye closed, wherever
you're listening to this message, of course, unless you're driving or you're operating
heavy machinery. I appreciate you listening on your drive or while you work. But I want
to give a quick invitation. Because the whole purpose of everything we do is for this invitation.
If you're not right with God and this message has impacted you, maybe a friend or somebody
sent you this recording, I want you to know that the time is now. The time is now for
you to accept Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior. If that's you and this message has
impacted you and you know you're not right with God, but you want to be. I want you to
signify that uplifted hand. I know this is a recording, but God can see you in the future.
He can see you. And if you rose your hand and you meant that, you want your life to
be changed. You want Jesus Christ. You want salvation. And I want you just to repeat after
me, dear Lord God, I know that I'm a sinner, but I also know that you sent your son Jesus
Christ and that he came to earth and he died for my sins. And then he rose from the grave.
I repent of my sins and I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. And I thank you for salvation
through grace. Amen. That simple prayer moves you from death into life. And I pray also
that dear Lord, I pray that you would fill your servants with the Holy Spirit, with the
joy that comes with salvation. And I pray that you would help them and solidify them
in your name. So I want to thank you for listening to these messages to this podcast. I want
to ask you to like, share, subscribe, spread that out. There's another podcast list to
talks about the fee, the fee being to share the message. We have a fee in Christianity
too. It's to share the message. It's to be prepared for the harvest. It's to be, you
know, in envisioning the harvest and so that you can understand that there's work to be
done. It's to have empathy on the lost so that we do not get puffed up in our own pride,
but we empathize and we understand that there's a lost world that needs to be reached. And
then ultimately to evangelize, to preach the gospel, to share your testimony to others.
So again, thank you for listening. I pray that you have a blessed day, a blessed week
and God bless you. I'll see you next time.