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 --> 00:00:31,600 and other sermons from throughout our fellowship. I am Pastor David Bickford and I will be 6 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:35,880 your host for this podcast. I thank you for listening today and we hope these messages 7 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:40,320 are a blessing to you and bring you closer to God. 8 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:50,920 Hello and welcome back to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. I am your host, Pastor 9 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:56,560 David Bickford. I'm up here living the dream in Salmon Arm, British Columbia, pursuing 10 00:00:56,560 --> 00:01:01,800 the Great Commission as I go out there and tell people about the gospel of Jesus Christ 11 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:06,840 and make a fool of myself for His sake playing the bass on the street. So if you see me around 12 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:12,560 town playing the bass, you'll know who I am now. I come up and talk to me. It was good. 13 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,840 I had some people come up and talk to me yesterday. It was a fun time. My hands were getting a 14 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:21,440 little bit numb by the time because we're getting closer and closer to winter up here. 15 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:30,360 In fact, I've been told that Larch Hills has snow already, so it's definitely getting there. 16 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:36,840 Pray for me. I have to go down to the coast this week, down to Vancouver. That means I 17 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:39,960 got to travel through the passes, so I'll be able to come back and give you a report 18 00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:46,160 next week on how much snow I saw, if I remember. With that, I've got a message today called 19 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:50,040 Prepare for the Harvest. I've done one similar to this. It's this little bit of a revamp 20 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:58,400 of it, but I hope you enjoy it. If we're going to go ahead and jump in. The text is Matthew 21 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:08,320 9, 35 through 38. As we get into this, I want to consider first the book Ecclesiastes and 22 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:15,320 the idea of the critic and just the fact that we tend to be quite harshly critical of the 23 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:21,800 life. Before we get to our primary text, I want to quote Ecclesiastes 1, 2 where it says 24 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:31,480 vanity of vanities says the preacher, vanity of vanity. The critic that is in Ecclesiastes 25 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:35,200 or the presentation of the critic, this is one of the books of wisdom in the Word of 26 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:42,360 God. It's very interesting because we see this play that happens within Ecclesiastes. 27 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:49,960 It's a very important book because it shows us how we can really battle against the sadness 28 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:55,440 or the harshness of life in a very godly way in the sense that we can come and understand 29 00:02:55,440 --> 00:03:02,560 that God knows that this is a battle to fight for faith. As we jump into this, I just want 30 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:09,240 to touch on this illustration I found. It's been reported that after the Dallas Cowboys 31 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:15,040 won their first Super Bowl, their first Super Bowl, legendary football coach Tom Landry 32 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:19,980 observed the overwhelming emotion and a few days among the players was how empty that 33 00:03:19,980 --> 00:03:25,960 goal was. There must be something more. I've used that before as I said. This is a bit 34 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:32,240 of a revamping of a previous sermon, but I want to expand upon that idea with some personal 35 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:38,620 experiences today. You might have heard, you might remember that I was in the United States 36 00:03:38,620 --> 00:03:45,360 Marine Corps and I remember the emotion, the elation of being up on top of the hill after 37 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:49,920 the crucible event in boot camp when our drill instructors would give us our Eagle, Globe 38 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:54,880 and Anchor, that EGA that is a symbol of the United States Marine Corps. It's what is on 39 00:03:54,880 --> 00:04:01,320 our logo. It's the badge that we wear with quite a bit of honor. I remember when they 40 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:06,500 were giving that to us, there was just this flood of emotions. You see grown men crying 41 00:04:06,500 --> 00:04:11,400 because all the labor, all the hardship from the three months of basic training and for 42 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:17,160 a lot of us, the months and months of preparation before we went to basic training has culminated 43 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:24,760 now in finally obtaining the title of a United States Marine. So you think that this would 44 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:32,060 carry us on for days and days and days and you know, but it is something that even amidst 45 00:04:32,060 --> 00:04:41,560 the elation you feel, you come to this realization that what's next. You've accomplished this 46 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:49,040 goal but you're still very, very new in the Marine Corps and there's this reality that 47 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:54,060 kind of hits you as you get closer and closer to the time where you're going to go back 48 00:04:54,060 --> 00:04:57,840 on boot leave and then have to come back for your next training cycle and you're still 49 00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:05,400 going to be the new guy or a newb or you know, just I left basic training as a slick sleeve 50 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:09,560 private. What that means in the Marine Corps is you don't have any rank insignia because 51 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:17,840 you don't even rate a rank yet. You're a private, you know, without any designation. If you 52 00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:21,420 have one chevron in the Marine Corps, that means you're a private first class and one 53 00:05:21,420 --> 00:05:26,960 chevron with the crossed rifles. That's a Lance Corporal and one guy in our unit, he 54 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:32,360 was our honor guard. He got to leave basic training as a Lance Corporal which gave him 55 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:39,560 about a year to a year and a half leg up on all the rest of us, lowly slick sleeve privates. 56 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:44,280 So this portion of scripture and ecclesiasties, vanity of vanity says the preacher, vanity 57 00:05:44,280 --> 00:05:51,360 of vanity is all vanity really does have some applicability to our day to day life because 58 00:05:51,360 --> 00:06:01,680 we'll often times hit a goal only to have that goal be, you know, shown to be very lackluster 59 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:08,440 within a short time. Within like the world of sales and selling you work off of a monthly 60 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:13,000 bonus, a quarterly bonus or a yearly bonus depending on how the company is structured 61 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:19,800 and you might hit that target but then the next month comes by and now they've upped 62 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:27,760 your target and you have to do what you've done plus more. It can seem like a harsh game 63 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:35,480 if you allow it to control your mindset and that's what the critic is talking about in 64 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:40,960 Ecclesiastes. In Ecclesiastes 1 3 it says what do people gain from all their labors at which 65 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:49,040 they toil into the sun? So the Cowboys weren't the first to feel this kind of regret or loneliness 66 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:53,200 like I mentioned we feel this all the time with our own personal goals and satisfaction. 67 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:58,080 I remember when I got my bachelor's degree it was man I did this huge thing but within 68 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,720 weeks I was like I need to go back I need to get a master's I need to do something 69 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:07,000 else to differentiate myself because everybody has a bachelor's degree at least that's what 70 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:14,120 I thought. So the author of Ecclesiastes is reminding us of this ancient experience, this 71 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:20,960 desire to achieve a goal and then the reality that once achieved there's always something 72 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:27,560 more. In Ecclesiastes 1 14 it says I have seen all the things that are done under the 73 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:36,780 sun all of them are meaningless and chasing after the wind. So we see that he has a conflicted 74 00:07:36,780 --> 00:07:43,740 soul as demonstrated by his way of his arguments and often within himself he's battling he's 75 00:07:43,740 --> 00:07:48,320 arguing just like we do in our own personal lives and I believe that's the main reasons 76 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:54,200 why this is part of the canonized Bible is the reality that this is something God recognizes 77 00:07:54,200 --> 00:08:03,720 as part of us in our creation and it's particularly acute when we're concerned with work. In Ecclesiastes 78 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:10,160 2 11 he writes yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to 79 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:16,720 achieve everything was meaningless a chasing after the wind nothing was gained under the 80 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:22,320 sun and later in Ecclesiastes 3 12 through 13 I know that there is nothing better for 81 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:28,000 people than to be happy and to do good while they live that each of them may eat and drink 82 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:36,200 and find satisfaction in all their toil this is the gift of God. See but that optimism 83 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:41,360 was short-lived because in Ecclesiastes 4 4 he says and I saw that all toil and all 84 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:47,940 achievement spring from one person's envy of another this too is meaningless and chasing 85 00:08:47,940 --> 00:08:55,280 after wind is an interesting thought because there's an old movie about Gordon Gekko I've 86 00:08:55,280 --> 00:09:00,800 never even actually seen it but it's about Wall Street I think it's called Wall Street 87 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:07,160 and it talks about how greed is good is the idea in that movie and it's an interesting 88 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:13,000 idea because that's what drives a lot of people in business to pursue bigger and better things 89 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:18,320 is the greed or the covetousness and even in our society today with the certain political 90 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:25,560 ideas of socialism where the idea of socialism is one of covetousness it is to desire what 91 00:09:25,560 --> 00:09:32,360 others have in a desire in the bringing down of others so that you can be brought up it's 92 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:39,520 not a selfless idea it's an idea of covetousness at its core so I think it's an interesting 93 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:45,840 an interesting you know piece of wisdom that we pull from Ecclesiastes many people resonate 94 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:51,160 with this cycle of enthusiasm and despair regarding their own labor I've seen this 95 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:55,320 with with colleagues when I when working in sales where they'll have they're having a 96 00:09:55,320 --> 00:10:00,060 tremendous year and it's ramping up and there's nothing you could say to them to destroy that 97 00:10:00,060 --> 00:10:05,080 optimism only to see them on the next year when their target is much higher and they're 98 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:11,760 struggling to hit their target to be just down on the dumps and pessimistic and disappointed 99 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:17,720 and upset with their life and what the way that they've been treated I think it's an 100 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:25,520 interesting conundrum within the human heart that we battle with these ideas so often and 101 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:30,040 I think it's more important that we look to the Word of God to see how the Bible tells 102 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:36,120 us to deal with these ups and downs and peaks and valleys in our life and in our emotions 103 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:40,280 the Bible teaches us that God hears our troubles that he acknowledges them and that he is not 104 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:47,100 indifferent to the small frictions that loom large in our lives how do we apply these this 105 00:10:47,100 --> 00:10:53,100 to our lives the phrase under the sun appears in the book 29 times and it's done in order 106 00:10:53,100 --> 00:10:59,200 to reinforce the pointlessness of work with an image of the sun circling endlessly across 107 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:08,040 the sky while nothing ever changes or I can refer to how the world beyond the fall not 108 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:14,520 under the sun where work would be done in vain keep this keep this you know question 109 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:20,000 in mind as you read Ecclesiastes now let's look at our primary text now which is Matthew 110 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:27,040 35 to 38 the harvest is plentiful the laborers are few and Jesus went through all the cities 111 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:30,720 and the villages teaching and their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom 112 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:36,100 and healing every disease and every affliction when he saw the crowds he had compassion for 113 00:11:36,100 --> 00:11:41,860 them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd then he said 114 00:11:41,860 --> 00:11:47,060 to his disciples the harvest is plentiful but the labors are few therefore pray earnestly 115 00:11:47,060 --> 00:11:52,400 to the lord of the harvest to send out labors into the harvest let's pray dear lord god 116 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:58,360 I pray that we won't allow the peaks and valleys of our life that we won't allow the elation 117 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:05,120 of our emotions and the pessimism of our downtrodden times to impact us in a way that we lose sight 118 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:11,520 of the harvest field help us lord to focus in on your will and the call to go out and 119 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:17,760 to see people save because of the grace that you freely extend to them in Jesus name we 120 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:24,960 pray amen the age we live in is an age of the critic you can't turn on the news right 121 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:29,720 now as we're approaching we just had elections here in British Columbia and there's elections 122 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:37,080 of fastly approaching in the United States you can't turn on any channel of tv or news 123 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:43,120 or podcast or anything without hearing about someone being critical of the situation we're 124 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:51,240 in and how how bad the other person is and how good they are and vice versa so we live 125 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:56,680 in this period of cynicism where everyone is focused on earthly gain and individual 126 00:12:56,680 --> 00:13:03,000 truth we have all heard the phrase common sense is no longer common why is it that we 127 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:07,580 view the world so harshly today is the world any better or worse than it has in the past 128 00:13:07,580 --> 00:13:14,280 and I know the answer that argument is no during times of of upheaval and travail like 129 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:20,480 in in in Israel there were periods where women were eating their children in order to survive 130 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:27,560 starvation what a horrendous and horrible thought that is in our day and age so no we're 131 00:13:27,560 --> 00:13:32,920 not as bad as it was back then but we're fastly approaching periods of time where we could 132 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:39,640 be in situations that are just as is evil and wicked as they were back in the times 133 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:44,920 when Israel was falling to the Assyrians an argument can be made that we live in one of 134 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:49,520 the most peaceful times in history if you look at the decadent nature of the western 135 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:56,040 world you'd have to accept this is true that doesn't mean that we're righteous that doesn't 136 00:13:56,040 --> 00:14:01,520 mean that we're holy in fact I think we're fastly going towards we're on a conveyor belt 137 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:07,280 that's just rocketing down towards a place of wickedness and I believe that to be undeniably 138 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:16,640 true that doesn't mean that we sit by and wait for this to happen that doesn't mean 139 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:22,680 that we can sit by in our pride and sin and and sit in our sin and and say well we're 140 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:29,800 not we're not as bad as others that's why we have the wisdom books of the Bible this 141 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:34,920 group of three books gives us the compendium of biblical wisdom of knowledge Proverbs tells 142 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:41,000 us that by doing right you will be blessed Ecclesiastes counters that play and with as 143 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:46,480 with the part of the cynic or the critic but ultimately the book agrees with the Proverbs 144 00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:52,840 for a different reason life is fleeting so you should do right for the fear of the Lord 145 00:14:52,840 --> 00:15:00,520 and then finally Job shows us a righteous man who is who is heavily tested and tempted 146 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:06,520 his story exemplifies the do's and don'ts when life doesn't go your way the critic first 147 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:12,640 and of all acknowledges the perspective of Proverbs by saying it is really good a really 148 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:18,360 good idea to learn wisdom and to live in fear the Lord he says that since he can't control 149 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:23,720 your life you should stop trying learn to hold things with an open hand because you 150 00:15:23,720 --> 00:15:30,640 really only have control over one thing and that's your attitude at the present moment 151 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:36,240 stop worrying he says and choose to enjoy a good conversation with a friend or the sun 152 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:43,900 on your face or a good meal with people you care about but don't lose sight of the wisdom 153 00:15:43,900 --> 00:15:49,200 of living for the Lord and living in fear of the Lord so that brings me my first point 154 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:55,200 which is in vision and with that I have an illustration this is called the right vision 155 00:15:55,200 --> 00:16:03,320 and in the year 1870 the Methodist in Indiana were having their annual conference at a point 156 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:07,800 the president of the college where they were meeting said I think we live in a very exciting 157 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:15,280 age the presiding bishop said what do you see he asked what do you see the college president 158 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:20,960 responded I believe we are coming into a time of great invention I believe for example that 159 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:28,120 men will fly through the air like birds the bishop said this is hearsay the Bible says 160 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:33,680 that flight is reserved for the angels we will have no such talk here after the conference 161 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:46,000 the bishop whose name was Wright WRI GHT went home to his two small sons Wilbur and Orville 162 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:51,360 and you know what they did to their father's vision they were the obviously Wilbur and 163 00:16:51,360 --> 00:17:03,160 Orville first to fly in Kitty Hawk North Carolina we have to be aware of cynical attitudes that 164 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:13,320 hold back miracles and I believe flight is a miracle I was an aircraft I was an air crewman 165 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:21,520 on CH 53 echoes it's a gigantic helicopter 70 feet 100 feet long 70 foot rotor arc tremendously 166 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:29,000 powerful piece of equipment six gearboxes three main engines and an auxiliary engine 167 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:36,760 what would that bishop of thought of that piece of mechanical magnificence if I can 168 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:46,800 say it he was oblivious he was cynical he was wrapped up in his own critical nature 169 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:56,000 as laborers we must envision the harvest field this isn't some metaphysical crap this isn't 170 00:17:56,000 --> 00:18:03,240 some you know you'll believe it and and and see it kind of crap no this is just the reality 171 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:09,480 that it's vitally important that we see the needs around us and then we meet those needs 172 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:16,640 we must see what Jesus saw he saw sheep without a shepherd we must feel how Jesus felt he 173 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:23,560 had compassion on the multitude we must do what Jesus did he ministered to their needs 174 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:30,760 evangelism doesn't have to be organized by a church program but evangelism must be intentional 175 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:37,400 we must see people for what they are lost souls in need of a savior we must comprehend 176 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:42,800 the consequences of them dying without Jesus they are destined for the lake of fire we 177 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:50,600 must realize that we are to have the information that they need to be rescued from that fate 178 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:57,360 if we are going to reap a harvest of souls then we as a church as Christians as believers 179 00:18:57,360 --> 00:19:07,240 as individuals we must envision that's their salvation we must envision the mission field 180 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:15,040 we must envision the message and we must envision the ministry the mission field which is in 181 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:21,400 the first part of Matthew 935 we read then Jesus went about all the cities in the villages 182 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:26,160 when we think about a mission field many times we want to think about something other than 183 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:32,760 where we're at and you know what if you feel called to be a missionary then what are you 184 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:40,060 still doing here you should be in the missions right that's if you're in our fellowship 185 00:19:40,060 --> 00:19:46,080 listening this you're a couple in a church and you feel compelled to preach then you 186 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:54,920 should be sent out to preach obviously there's logistics involved but that's the whole point 187 00:19:54,920 --> 00:20:01,800 is you shouldn't be sitting idly by you can be out there preaching on the street today 188 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:07,200 we like to think of places that are far away Nicaragua Uganda Ecuador all these kind of 189 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:13,160 places Africa Asia and that's the only place where the gospel mission field needs to be 190 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:18,600 but the first doesn't say that Jesus only went to foreign countries to minister in fact 191 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:28,180 he stayed in Israel or Judah Judea and he went about all the little cities and villages 192 00:20:28,180 --> 00:20:32,880 so that means that here salmon arm is a mission field enter be as a mission field Armstrong 193 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:40,960 tap and sycamus these are all places we should be out there preaching the gospel of Jesus 194 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:46,960 Christ our jobs when it when capable so they're not getting fired I'm not calling you to to 195 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:53,480 be fired but there are ways where you can share your gospel by living a godly life when 196 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:57,280 you're at the bowling alley or in a grocery store you could definitely kick up a conversation 197 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:03,000 you'd be amazed how often you'll be able to share your message your your testimony and 198 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:11,480 that's a powerful powerful evangelistic tool where wherever you go it's a mission field 199 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:17,620 there's lost people everywhere and the church is built on individuals and we must begin 200 00:21:17,620 --> 00:21:26,800 to envision we must look around to see the lost people and not just wait cynically and 201 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:34,760 do nothing we are allowing condemnation of hundreds maybe thousands of people in our 202 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:42,480 life because we're too afraid to envision their salvation we have to share the gospel 203 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:48,600 which brings me to the message in the second half of Matthew 935 we read teaching in their 204 00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:54,200 synagogues preaching the gospel of the kingdom we find the latter part of this verse that 205 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:59,120 there always there was always a crowd near him looking for a miracle but the fact that 206 00:21:59,120 --> 00:22:07,060 Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom that is much more important we know that Jesus 207 00:22:07,060 --> 00:22:11,020 healed the sick he made the blind see the deaf to hear the mute to speak and the lame 208 00:22:11,020 --> 00:22:17,440 to walk and we're Pentecostal we believe in the prayer to heal the sick we believe that 209 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:22,240 the blind can see the deaf can hear the mute can speak the lame to walk we believe that 210 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:28,480 we even know that people have been raised from the dead but those were only temporary 211 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:33,760 fixes at the time even when Jesus was doing it all of those people who received miracles 212 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:40,800 would still die and face eternity even those who were raised from the dead like Lazarus 213 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:47,060 would have to once again die a natural death but through the preaching of the gospel they 214 00:22:47,060 --> 00:22:55,760 received a miracle that would last throughout eternity they received the miracle of salvation 215 00:22:55,760 --> 00:23:00,360 and that is our message and that is what we're envisioning is the spreading of the gospel 216 00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:06,240 of Jesus Christ for the sake of salvation through grace in his name alone there are 217 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:11,120 people today who are looking for miracles some are looking for a solution to their financial 218 00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:16,320 problems some are in desperate need of a solution in their marital problems some are facing 219 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:24,200 terminal diagnosis are looking for healing and Jesus can solve every one of those issues 220 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:32,240 but it's of no benefit if being happy healthy wealthy in this life still leads you to dying 221 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:42,680 and going to hell some people are only looking for this crutch when they truly need a message 222 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:48,160 of this a miracle miraculous gospel of Jesus Christ in Romans 10 13 through 14 whoever 223 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:54,200 calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved how then shall they call on him in whom they 224 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:58,960 have not believed and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard and how 225 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:06,200 shall they hear without a preacher without a preacher without the gospel there's no 226 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:09,920 evangelism without the gospel there is no mission work without the gospel there is no 227 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:18,400 help for those in the mission field we must share the gospel in Romans 1 16 Paul said 228 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:28,160 that the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes 229 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:32,560 so let us envision the mission field and share with them the message of the gospel of Jesus 230 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:39,320 Christ Jesus first shared the gospel but he also served them and performed those miracles 231 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:46,200 which brings us to the next part of the next area of envisionment the ministry this word 232 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:54,000 comes from the Greek word to serve as a slave and not to jump off on a tangent but the word 233 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:59,640 slave is a Roman for like what they considered slaves from Slavic lands it comes from the 234 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:07,040 Slavs just an interesting tidbit of history for you but anyway to serve as a slave so 235 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:11,200 throughout the New Testament ministry is seen as service to God and other people in his 236 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:17,600 name ministry involves more than just sharing it involves serving according to this passage 237 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:23,040 Jesus healed many sicknesses and diseases not only did he feel heal physical infirmities 238 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:31,800 he cast out demons as well on a couple occasions he fed thousands of people miraculously and 239 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:37,760 he did that to illustrate the importance of service Jesus Christ was the ultimate service 240 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:43,440 and mark 1045 for even the son of man came not to be served but to serve and to give 241 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:49,800 his life as a ransom for many so this morning when I preached in service I preached about 242 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:54,600 the hardships that we might involve then if you're not catching my sermons I do those 243 00:25:54,600 --> 00:26:01,920 I do live stream those on our Instagram page all those notes are in the show notes but 244 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:07,400 it was talking about the hardships that we come across in life and how we need to embrace 245 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:14,240 that if we're going to win for Jesus name because our Savior who came to earth he came 246 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:21,760 and he lived a hard life ultimately being crucified for our sins he lived a life of 247 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:30,200 hardness and service for us the entire life of our Savior was a life of service you remember 248 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:34,720 when he washed the feet of disciples that was a job for a common slave as well yet Jesus 249 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:40,640 humbled himself and served others may we never look at a job in the ministry and think that 250 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:46,800 it's below us service is vitally important in reaching others for Jesus Christ why because 251 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:54,800 serving others is the point and it points people to Jesus in Matthew 516 in the same 252 00:26:54,800 --> 00:27:00,400 way let your light shine before others so that they may see your good your good works 253 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:06,920 and give glory to your father who is in heaven so on the job let your light shine so that 254 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:12,440 others may see your good works because they'll see that and if they know you're a Christian 255 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:16,880 because he said yeah I'm a Christian he goes in passing and conversation they're gonna 256 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:23,960 say why are you such a different Christian than what I see from others open door for 257 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:31,360 a testimony so then moving from vanity to purpose to joy we see in Ecclesiastes 12 13 258 00:27:31,360 --> 00:27:39,600 through 14 the end of the matter all has been heard fear God and keep his commandments for 259 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:44,480 this is the whole duty of man for God will bring every deed into judgment with every 260 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:50,380 secret thing whether good or evil and this brings me to my next point which is empathize 261 00:27:50,380 --> 00:27:55,540 a small boy went to the movies with his still smaller brother and after they seated themselves 262 00:27:55,540 --> 00:28:02,760 asked can you see Willie nope was the reply well said the older brother just laugh when 263 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:08,880 I laugh how many of us act this way we're not interested in actually helping we might 264 00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:15,560 ask a question that makes it sound like we want to help but oftentimes it's just we thought 265 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:21,600 we needed to ask the question and we're not actually going to do anything to help this 266 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:26,740 is what it you know what we see in our society today you know we see a lot of politicians 267 00:28:26,740 --> 00:28:32,000 and I won't get political I know my wife doesn't like it if I get political yet you can call 268 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:38,500 me and I'm happy to tell you whatever you want to hear about my political leanings but 269 00:28:38,500 --> 00:28:45,200 the reality is as politicians will oftentimes say I will work for you I will do this tell 270 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:49,660 me what you need and then when you tell them they don't do anything why is that because 271 00:28:49,660 --> 00:28:55,520 they don't really empathize with your plight they're usually lofty and lifted off away 272 00:28:55,520 --> 00:29:05,760 from it as laborers though we must empathize in Matthew 936 it says when we saw the crowds 273 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:10,800 he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a 274 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:17,160 shepherd the purpose of the critic in Ecclesiastes and tying it to this portion of Matthew is 275 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:23,960 to tie the emotion we all tend to feel at times when we deal with them head-on we can 276 00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:32,040 all be cynical or despondent we can all make excuses to do little or nothing we tell ourselves 277 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:37,600 that it doesn't matter nobody cares or that there is always tomorrow but it's not always 278 00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:45,240 tomorrow for everybody the difficulty is having and maintaining and acting with a mind of 279 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:52,080 God that is why the scripture is so important Jesus saw the multitudes he was intensely 280 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:58,560 moved with compassion or empathy because of their condition they were described as being 281 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:04,480 sheep with no shepherd this was this was a multitude of people who are utterly neglected 282 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:11,880 concerning the interests of their souls there was no shortage of people there was no shortage 283 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:20,200 of problems Jesus looked up upon their hurting faces and he had great compassion to their 284 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:26,280 situation today there is no shortage of people and there's no shortage of people with problems 285 00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:32,680 it is not up to us to judge those people it is not up to us to condemn those people we 286 00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:38,280 must realize that we were once as lost as they are now we must realize that God does 287 00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:43,640 not measure in sin as we do and rather than looking at the people around us for their 288 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:56,240 sin it is time that we see them as Jesus sees them lost souls that need him our Lord a savior 289 00:30:56,240 --> 00:31:00,560 the only way we will ever see a harvest of souls is if we come to a place of intense 290 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:07,640 burden and if we empathize with those lost souls we will not see a harvest of souls until 291 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:14,320 we finally grasp the fact that hell is real and people are going there we must realize 292 00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:19,860 that we are the body of Christ we are his hands and his feet we need to start living 293 00:31:19,860 --> 00:31:27,720 out what we say we believe to get ready for the harvest as laborers we must division we 294 00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:36,720 must empathize and then finally evangelize a woman criticized DL Moody for his methods 295 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:43,160 of evangelism and attempting to win people to the Lord Moody replied I agree with you 296 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:49,560 I don't like the way I do it either tell me how do you do it the woman replied I don't 297 00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:58,560 do it Moody retorted then I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing 298 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:07,520 it as laborers we must evangelize and Matthew in our text Matthew 9 37 38 then he said to 299 00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:12,640 his disciples the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few therefore pray earnestly 300 00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:19,540 to the Lord of the harvest and send out laborers into the harvest so at the crux of a cleaver 301 00:32:19,540 --> 00:32:26,280 of Ecclesiastes we see the highlighting of the absurdities of life we're guided by the 302 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:36,040 words of the teacher or preacher we read everything is meaningless and in verses 1 to 2 of chapter 303 00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:41,120 1 of Ecclesiastes says the words of the teacher son of David king in Jerusalem meaningless 304 00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:47,040 meaningless says the teacher utterly meaningless everything is meaningless the word translated 305 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:53,760 as meaningless is the Hebrew word have L it translates into vapor or breath which in the 306 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:59,780 context of this book indicates the idea of something leading Ecclesiastes is simultaneously 307 00:32:59,780 --> 00:33:06,180 a book about life and death extending beyond the emotional experience death is posed as 308 00:33:06,180 --> 00:33:13,300 an inevitable part of life there are two sides of the same coin the book reflects on death 309 00:33:13,300 --> 00:33:21,160 and how that should inform our time in life it is a book of optimism and pessimism it 310 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:30,320 is a book of both and this contrast to the great commission and the harvest field pushes 311 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:37,200 us to judge our own actions in the light in the blazing light of Jesus's words and his 312 00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:45,700 call to us if we are to follow him he is a servant king and he calls us to be servants 313 00:33:45,700 --> 00:33:52,100 as well evangelism is defined as the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ by publicly 314 00:33:52,100 --> 00:33:58,520 preaching or personal witness so that means everybody can do it right publicly preaching 315 00:33:58,520 --> 00:34:03,360 or personal witness how do you witness tell someone how you got saved and what it and 316 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:10,740 how that how big of a change that was in your life please notice that evangelism is necessary 317 00:34:10,740 --> 00:34:15,920 work Jesus told his disciples the harvest is truly plentiful he says look guys there 318 00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:20,480 are plenty of people out there who need to hear this message there are plenty of people 319 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:27,080 who need to be served this is like you know my life and sales as well look guys there's 320 00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:33,920 lots of people who need to buy stuff you need to get out there and sell stuff so I don't 321 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:39,480 I don't say that lightly this is the reality there is a lot of people who need Jesus why 322 00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:48,600 are we so afraid to share the gospel and I'm not throwing stones it's hard for me to you 323 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:52,640 come back you have to combat this idea of you know I don't know wanna I don't think 324 00:34:52,640 --> 00:35:01,240 they're gonna respond well all this stuff but the reality is we don't have an excuse 325 00:35:01,240 --> 00:35:08,480 it is a command it is a command from our King from our Lord because the harvest is truly 326 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:14,520 plentiful plentiful the mission field is ripe and ready to harvest Jesus wants these men 327 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:18,640 to know that there was a great work to be done he wants us to know that there's a great 328 00:35:18,640 --> 00:35:24,760 work to be done there are many many more people in the field than there were in Jesus time 329 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:28,560 and these people are in great need one of the most interesting things right now with 330 00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:34,620 demographics is there's I'm not exactly sure off the top of my head but there's like over 331 00:35:34,620 --> 00:35:40,920 eight billion people on the planet but we're seeing a demographic demographic collapse 332 00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:45,520 so there will be declining birth rates they're gonna be less people the global population 333 00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:51,200 is expected to contract this should be seen as something that's terrifying if you're a 334 00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:57,440 Christian believer because how many of those people are going to be gone and didn't get 335 00:35:57,440 --> 00:36:05,920 the gospel preached to them they're in great need they're sheep without a shepherd these 336 00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:10,180 people are on a path that leads to destruction they need to hear the word of God they need 337 00:36:10,180 --> 00:36:20,160 the chance to accept the grace that comes at the feet of Jesus more than any other time 338 00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:29,740 in history evangelism is the necessary work not only isn't necessary it's neglected it's 339 00:36:29,740 --> 00:36:37,440 neglected we know that we're told that the harvest is plenty but the labors are few that's 340 00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:45,140 a rebuke from our Lord Jesus makes it clear that not enough of us are doing the job people 341 00:36:45,140 --> 00:36:50,040 need to be reached and I think that that's a call to the church that's a call to those 342 00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:56,480 who believe in Jesus Christ when they read this and Matthew it should make you feel a 343 00:36:56,480 --> 00:37:05,040 little lazy it should make you feel a little bit critical of what am I doing with my time 344 00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:10,600 because people need to be reached for the sake of the gospel he declares that there 345 00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:15,960 was a great problem that the labor is being too few in the field and that problem is even 346 00:37:15,960 --> 00:37:24,560 more present today are you willing to do the work the tragedy of life and of the world 347 00:37:24,560 --> 00:37:31,600 is not that men do not know God the tragedy is that knowing him they still insist on going 348 00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:38,640 their own way that's a quote from William Barclay a powerful quote so in closing as 349 00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:43,760 followers of Christ Jesus we have a lot to do and we have very little time to do it yeah 350 00:37:43,760 --> 00:37:55,220 I'm fairly young still I like to think but I have my daughter would disagree 43 but that 351 00:37:55,220 --> 00:38:05,360 means that there's fleeting time left to serve and to bring the gospel for this demands urgent 352 00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:10,260 action the gospel is not only good news if it arrives to the last but it has to arrive 353 00:38:10,260 --> 00:38:16,080 in time Ecclesiastes says that the wisdom has limits that the message of Proverbs is 354 00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:20,440 this is how you should live your life the message of Ecclesiastes is a response saying 355 00:38:20,440 --> 00:38:26,560 I did that and it didn't work there's a split for a lot of people in interpreting this book 356 00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:33,500 is this a positive outlook on life or a negative one you can make a claim for both but regardless 357 00:38:33,500 --> 00:38:40,300 Ecclesiastes has a message stop worrying about the future stop chasing after perfection be 358 00:38:40,300 --> 00:38:46,960 content with where you are in life and follow God you can't you can't be a good witness 359 00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:52,040 you can't be a good preacher you can't be whatever doesn't matter follow God do what 360 00:38:52,040 --> 00:38:58,160 you can do ultimately Ecclesiastes shows us that everything is fleeting and much of life 361 00:38:58,160 --> 00:39:04,840 is out of our control yet we are you know given this quiet invitation to do our best 362 00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:11,540 in everything to be wise to find enjoyment in the small things even as Hevel is part 363 00:39:11,540 --> 00:39:17,680 of our natural human experience even as we are a vapor we have a choice to choose and 364 00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:24,720 embrace contentment in the present to release the anxious energies and worries that we have 365 00:39:24,720 --> 00:39:30,660 about the future and trust in God so here's some questions for you to ponder when you're 366 00:39:30,660 --> 00:39:36,520 listening do you see the potential harvest are you willing to do what it takes to work 367 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:44,240 in the field will you see what Jesus saw will you feel what Jesus felt will you do what 368 00:39:44,240 --> 00:39:54,300 Jesus did well we here at the Potter's house church are we going to come together and envision 369 00:39:54,300 --> 00:40:00,560 empathize and evangelize as a larger fellowship are we going to continue to envision empathize 370 00:40:00,560 --> 00:40:09,080 and evangelize as a larger Christian body are we going to envision empathize and evangelize 371 00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:15,360 when we do these things then we will be ready for the harvest so I want to leave you with 372 00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:22,040 this prayer found Lord help us live out what we say we believe give us direction on where 373 00:40:22,040 --> 00:40:28,080 you would go you would have us to go give us strength to do what you'd have us to do 374 00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:33,440 help us to envision the ministry you have called us to help us to empathize with lost 375 00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:39,640 and help us to evangelize the world starting right here in our homes in salmon arm or wherever 376 00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:46,400 you are with your gospel help us to be ready for the harvest amen so if you could have 377 00:40:46,400 --> 00:40:52,400 every about every eye closed as I just bring this to an end I want to give a quick invitation 378 00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:58,520 that if this message is impacted you and you are not saved and this is for you I want you 379 00:40:58,520 --> 00:41:03,360 to signify that with an uplift wherever you are because God sees and with that I want 380 00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:07,800 you to if you if you raise your hand and you meant that I want you to repeat after me dear 381 00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:12,280 Lord I know that I'm a sinner but I know that you sent your son Jesus Christ and that he 382 00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:18,400 died for my sins and I accept him as my Lord and my Savior and I repent of my sin in Jesus 383 00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:26,040 name amen with that you have entered into the kingdom of God and you are saved now you 384 00:41:26,040 --> 00:41:30,560 need to get out to church do not forsake the gathering of the bread and the Bible tells 385 00:41:30,560 --> 00:41:35,840 us that there's a reason for that it's because iron sharpens iron so if you're in salmon 386 00:41:35,840 --> 00:41:40,160 arm please come and join us we're a small church but I have a vision for God in this 387 00:41:40,160 --> 00:41:46,920 town and beyond and I'd love for you to be a part of that you need to get into the word 388 00:41:46,920 --> 00:41:51,760 get download the u-version app get a Bible go get a printed Bible if you need one call 389 00:41:51,760 --> 00:41:58,240 me and start praying just cry out to God for those of us that are saved that have been 390 00:41:58,240 --> 00:42:03,360 around for a while you need to be reading your Bible you need to be praying and you 391 00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:07,800 need to be sharing your testimony so that people can receive the the good news of Jesus 392 00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:13,240 Christ we don't get it up you know we don't get a gimme on this well this is something 393 00:42:13,240 --> 00:42:20,160 that was the last commandment of our Lord and Savior the Great Commission so find ways 394 00:42:20,160 --> 00:42:26,240 however small to start exercising that muscle and presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ 395 00:42:26,240 --> 00:42:34,080 in in your life to your family to your friends to those you bump into so that Jesus Christ 396 00:42:34,080 --> 00:42:40,000 can do the work of salvation through his grace so with that I want to thank you for listening 397 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:44,920 today I just pray that you have a great work great rest of your week and I can't wait for 398 00:42:44,920 --> 00:43:14,400 you to come back and listen to me again next time God bless.