WEBVTT 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:19.179 Our passage this morning is found in the ninth 00:00:19.179 --> 00:00:22.339 chapter of Matthew, beginning at verse 35 to 00:00:22.339 --> 00:00:27.379 the end of the chapter. It says, Then Jesus went 00:00:27.379 --> 00:00:31.019 about all the cities and villages, teaching in 00:00:31.019 --> 00:00:33.759 their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:37.280 kingdom, and healing every sickness and every 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:40.560 disease among the people. But when he saw the 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:44.140 multitudes, he was moved with compassion for 00:00:44.140 --> 00:00:46.840 them. Because they were weary and scattered, 00:00:47.060 --> 00:00:51.100 like sheep having no shepherd. Then he said to 00:00:51.100 --> 00:00:55.460 his disciples, The harvest truly is plentiful, 00:00:55.600 --> 00:01:00.579 but the labors are few. Therefore pray the Lord 00:01:00.579 --> 00:01:04.219 of the harvest to send out labors into his harvest. 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:09.519 Let's pray. God, would you help us this morning, 00:01:09.640 --> 00:01:13.019 Lord, as we bow before you, Lord. Desiring very 00:01:13.019 --> 00:01:16.200 intently, Lord, to not only hear from heaven 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:18.780 through your word, but through the eyes of faith 00:01:18.780 --> 00:01:22.000 to see Jesus, Lord, as the only hope. Lord, help 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:25.099 us to behold him better and to grow in our assurance 00:01:25.099 --> 00:01:28.159 of who he is. And we ask this in his name, the 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:32.040 name of Jesus we pray. Amen. I've heard many 00:01:32.040 --> 00:01:34.379 different preachers on different occasions say 00:01:34.379 --> 00:01:37.219 that evangelism is simply one beggar telling 00:01:37.219 --> 00:01:41.200 another beggar where to find bread. I tried to 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:43.120 find the origin of that quote, and no one really 00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:45.980 knows. But one version has it going all the way 00:01:45.980 --> 00:01:49.519 back to Martin Luther in the 1500s. So I don't 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:51.359 know where it comes from, and it really doesn't 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:55.019 matter. But it is a good summary of what evangelism 00:01:55.019 --> 00:01:58.260 is. Now, when we talk about evangelism, what 00:01:58.260 --> 00:02:01.280 do we mean? Well, when you take the word gospel, 00:02:01.480 --> 00:02:04.739 and gospel means good news, the Greek word for 00:02:04.739 --> 00:02:08.810 gospel is euangelion. Euangelion. And then from 00:02:08.810 --> 00:02:11.289 there, it was transliterated, not translated. 00:02:11.370 --> 00:02:13.449 They just made it. They just put it in the same 00:02:13.449 --> 00:02:17.270 sound. Transliterated into Latin as Evangelium. 00:02:17.770 --> 00:02:21.889 From Latin into English as Evangel. Now some 00:02:21.889 --> 00:02:23.550 of you grew up and you probably heard like Camp 00:02:23.550 --> 00:02:26.389 Evangel and you heard of the Evangel. But that's 00:02:26.389 --> 00:02:30.030 an old English word. It's the word Gospel. So 00:02:30.030 --> 00:02:33.849 Evangelion, Evangelium, and Evangel, Gospel, 00:02:34.189 --> 00:02:36.789 whatever word you want to use. They're all synonyms. 00:02:37.229 --> 00:02:40.490 And they all mean good news. Now that is your 00:02:40.490 --> 00:02:42.090 grammar lesson, I suppose, for this morning. 00:02:42.189 --> 00:02:44.849 But I want us to understand what we're talking 00:02:44.849 --> 00:02:48.169 about when we say good news. When we talk about 00:02:48.169 --> 00:02:51.610 the gospel, it is specifically the salvation 00:02:51.610 --> 00:02:55.370 that God offers sinners in his son, the Lord 00:02:55.370 --> 00:02:58.490 Jesus Christ. So the one who goes out sharing 00:02:58.490 --> 00:03:03.009 the evangel is the evangelist. And the act of 00:03:03.009 --> 00:03:07.370 sharing the evangel is evangelism. And in our 00:03:07.370 --> 00:03:09.069 text today, we're going to see God's heartbeat. 00:03:09.669 --> 00:03:12.449 We're going to see God's true love, as we just 00:03:12.449 --> 00:03:15.110 sang about, for the world. We're going to see 00:03:15.110 --> 00:03:18.889 his heartbeat for evangelism. If I were to ask 00:03:18.889 --> 00:03:20.650 you this morning, where does evangelism begin? 00:03:21.909 --> 00:03:24.310 I think most of us, when we think about it, we 00:03:24.310 --> 00:03:27.889 would say evangelism takes place or begins when 00:03:27.889 --> 00:03:31.949 one starts to proclaim to others the gospel message. 00:03:33.319 --> 00:03:35.439 But today we're going to see that evangelism 00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:39.759 begins much, much earlier. Evangelism actually 00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:44.360 begins on our knees. As Jesus said, the beginning 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:48.159 of evangelism is prayer. You and I, as the people 00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:52.020 of God, we are called to pray. Pray to God the 00:03:52.020 --> 00:03:54.520 Father that he would raise up human instruments 00:03:54.520 --> 00:03:59.360 to go out and proclaim this life -altering, life 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:03.280 -saving, awesome good news of the Son. to the 00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:06.780 nations, to the world. Now we're back, we're 00:04:06.780 --> 00:04:10.560 in chapter 9, we're in verse 35. And this text 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:13.479 this morning, it summarizes and it ties together 00:04:13.479 --> 00:04:16.459 all the loose ends from chapters 5 all the way 00:04:16.459 --> 00:04:19.079 through chapter 9. Now this section of Matthew, 00:04:19.139 --> 00:04:20.939 and Matthew is broken up pretty cleanly in different 00:04:20.939 --> 00:04:24.360 sections, began back in chapter 4, verse 23. 00:04:24.620 --> 00:04:26.699 It'll be on the screen here, or on the wall. 00:04:27.639 --> 00:04:31.980 Notice the text here, chapter 4, verse 23. And 00:04:31.980 --> 00:04:34.560 Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their 00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:36.519 synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, 00:04:36.680 --> 00:04:38.800 and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:41.339 of disease among the people. Now notice our text 00:04:41.339 --> 00:04:43.939 this morning. Then Jesus went about all the cities 00:04:43.939 --> 00:04:46.319 and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:48.660 the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every 00:04:48.660 --> 00:04:51.480 sickness and every disease among the people. 00:04:52.180 --> 00:04:55.319 These two verses, which essentially say the same 00:04:55.319 --> 00:04:58.800 thing, they kind of form bookends to this section. 00:04:59.139 --> 00:05:01.579 Chapter 4. It's getting ready to introduce 5. 00:05:01.720 --> 00:05:04.699 Chapter 9 ties it up. So when we look at these 00:05:04.699 --> 00:05:08.000 chapters, chapters 5 through 9, there is a great 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:11.920 emphasis given in Matthew's gospel to Jesus' 00:05:12.139 --> 00:05:14.540 teaching ministry. I mean, three whole chapters, 00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:19.379 5, 6, and 7, but also his acts of healing. Now, 00:05:19.399 --> 00:05:22.300 in verse 35 of chapter 9, we're told that the 00:05:22.300 --> 00:05:25.079 Lord Jesus went about doing three things specifically. 00:05:25.699 --> 00:05:27.420 The very first thing, it says he was teaching 00:05:27.420 --> 00:05:30.920 in their synagogues. Well, I wonder, what would 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:34.100 he have been teaching? In the synagogue, which 00:05:34.100 --> 00:05:36.420 was a place of local worship outside the temple, 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:40.379 Jesus would have taught from the law, the prophets, 00:05:40.600 --> 00:05:43.500 and the writings. Those three designations form 00:05:43.500 --> 00:05:46.399 the entire Old Testament. He would have explained 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:50.439 how they spoke about him. Now, I can say that 00:05:50.439 --> 00:05:52.420 because we have an example of this in Luke chapter 00:05:52.420 --> 00:05:56.660 4. In Luke chapter 4, we read these words. So 00:05:56.660 --> 00:05:59.500 he, that is Jesus, came to Nazareth. where he 00:05:59.500 --> 00:06:02.379 had been brought up, and as his custom was, so 00:06:02.379 --> 00:06:04.819 this is what he regularly did, he went into the 00:06:04.819 --> 00:06:06.879 synagogue on the Sabbath day and he stood up 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:09.939 to read. And he was handed the book of the prophet 00:06:09.939 --> 00:06:13.759 Isaiah. And when he had been opened the book, 00:06:14.120 --> 00:06:17.319 now notice he deliberately, so he gets the scroll, 00:06:17.459 --> 00:06:21.120 Isaiah's scroll, he finds the place where he 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:23.779 wants to read from. And this is where he read. 00:06:24.740 --> 00:06:27.620 Beginning of verse 18. The spirit of the Lord 00:06:27.620 --> 00:06:30.860 is upon me. Because he has anointed me to preach 00:06:30.860 --> 00:06:33.699 the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal 00:06:33.699 --> 00:06:36.180 the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the 00:06:36.180 --> 00:06:38.800 captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, 00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:41.519 to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to 00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:45.319 proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Now 00:06:45.319 --> 00:06:48.420 notice what Jesus did. Then he closed the book. 00:06:48.500 --> 00:06:51.720 He closes that scroll. He gives it back to the 00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:54.180 attendant who had given it to him. And he sat 00:06:54.180 --> 00:06:57.220 down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue 00:06:57.220 --> 00:07:01.300 were fixed on him. And he began to say, he began 00:07:01.300 --> 00:07:05.459 to teach. And he said to them, today this scripture, 00:07:05.720 --> 00:07:09.180 Isaiah, what I just read from, is fulfilled in 00:07:09.180 --> 00:07:12.860 your hearing. Who Isaiah was speaking of is now 00:07:12.860 --> 00:07:16.480 taking place. So Jesus would go into the synagogues. 00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:18.420 He would then take Old Testament scriptures, 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:22.079 read them, and explain their fulfillment in him. 00:07:22.759 --> 00:07:25.740 But apart from teaching in the synagogues, the 00:07:25.740 --> 00:07:28.000 Bible tells us that he also went about preaching. 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:32.240 The gospel of the kingdom. Now the word preaching 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:34.860 here, it's the word keruso, and it literally 00:07:34.860 --> 00:07:37.379 is what a king's herald would do. Well, what 00:07:37.379 --> 00:07:39.800 would a king's herald do? He would go out before 00:07:39.800 --> 00:07:41.680 the king. He was kind of like the mouthpiece 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:44.199 or the spokesperson for the king, and he would 00:07:44.199 --> 00:07:46.839 make the decrees of the king known. He would 00:07:46.839 --> 00:07:50.800 make a proclamation. Jesus also, he went about 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:54.220 making a proclamation, but what was he proclaiming? 00:07:54.980 --> 00:07:58.870 The good news, the gospel. The good news about 00:07:58.870 --> 00:08:02.129 the kingdom of God. Now we talked about this 00:08:02.129 --> 00:08:04.550 before. The kingdom of God, when you see that, 00:08:04.569 --> 00:08:06.629 or the kingdom of heaven as Matthew titles it, 00:08:06.670 --> 00:08:10.230 refers to the rule and authority of God. That's 00:08:10.230 --> 00:08:12.550 what we're talking about here. Here's the good 00:08:12.550 --> 00:08:17.870 news. God's anointed king had arrived. That is 00:08:17.870 --> 00:08:21.399 good news. Because with him came God's reign 00:08:21.399 --> 00:08:25.319 of salvation and restoration, which was now breaking 00:08:25.319 --> 00:08:30.319 into the world through Christ. And since God's 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:33.620 kingdom was here and the king had arrived, the 00:08:33.620 --> 00:08:38.600 people were called to repent. Thirdly, he started 00:08:38.600 --> 00:08:41.100 to heal every sickness and disease. Now again, 00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:44.600 guys, why was he doing this? He was preaching 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:48.750 something extraordinary. He was proclaiming that 00:08:48.750 --> 00:08:51.370 the reign of God was breaking into the world. 00:08:51.710 --> 00:08:53.850 Now, if I'm telling you, hey, the reign of God 00:08:53.850 --> 00:08:56.049 has come upon you, the rule and authority and 00:08:56.049 --> 00:08:58.429 reign of God is coming into the world right now, 00:08:58.629 --> 00:09:01.250 there better be something to back it up. There 00:09:01.250 --> 00:09:04.389 better be some evidence to back up those claims. 00:09:05.610 --> 00:09:08.889 Hence, we see the miracles. The Lord Jesus then 00:09:08.889 --> 00:09:11.730 went all over Galilee, that's northern Israel, 00:09:11.950 --> 00:09:15.320 and what was he doing? Miracle. after miracle. 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:18.080 He was performing many miracles. And what were 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:21.700 they doing? Two things. They, first of all, authenticated 00:09:21.700 --> 00:09:25.879 his message and his identity. Secondly, though, 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:29.779 they were signs. The miracles were not haphazards. 00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:32.440 They were signs pointing to his mission. They 00:09:32.440 --> 00:09:35.059 were showing how the kingdom of God was in breaking 00:09:35.059 --> 00:09:39.480 into the world. What do I mean? Jesus had come 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:43.779 to restore all that sin had broken. He had come 00:09:43.779 --> 00:09:46.210 to bring The word shalom. Shalom is a Hebrew 00:09:46.210 --> 00:09:47.950 word and we know it means peace. If you go to 00:09:47.950 --> 00:09:51.009 Israel and they will greet you with shalom. But 00:09:51.009 --> 00:09:53.090 it doesn't mean peace like absence of conflict. 00:09:53.850 --> 00:09:57.169 The word shalom means wholeness. Everything is 00:09:57.169 --> 00:10:00.429 operating as it should operate. Jesus had come 00:10:00.429 --> 00:10:04.889 to bring wholeness, shalom, back to the created 00:10:04.889 --> 00:10:11.190 order. And his miracles were attesting to that. 00:10:11.509 --> 00:10:14.679 For example. Where there was sickness, that came 00:10:14.679 --> 00:10:18.340 because of sin, he's bringing healing, the kingdom 00:10:18.340 --> 00:10:22.039 of God. Where there was injury, he's bringing 00:10:22.039 --> 00:10:25.840 repair, the kingdom of God. Where there is suffering, 00:10:26.039 --> 00:10:29.080 brought in by sickness, Jesus is bringing relief, 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:32.779 the kingdom of God. Where there was death, Jesus 00:10:32.779 --> 00:10:35.860 is bringing resurrection. You start to see what 00:10:35.860 --> 00:10:40.460 he was doing. He is transforming the chaos of 00:10:40.460 --> 00:10:44.690 the world. Into the kingdom of God. The first 00:10:44.690 --> 00:10:47.370 Adam, through his rebellion and disobedience, 00:10:47.470 --> 00:10:50.049 brought sin into the world and with sin came 00:10:50.049 --> 00:10:53.309 brokenness. The world no longer operated with 00:10:53.309 --> 00:10:56.250 shalom. It was no longer operating as it was 00:10:56.250 --> 00:11:00.009 meant to operate. And now the second Adam, the 00:11:00.009 --> 00:11:03.129 Lord Jesus Christ through his obedience, he had 00:11:03.129 --> 00:11:06.610 come and he's restoring wholeness and order and 00:11:06.610 --> 00:11:09.669 shalom to the world. But you see the priorities 00:11:09.669 --> 00:11:13.000 here. There's teaching. Teaching the law, teaching 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:15.620 the prophets. There's preaching, proclaiming 00:11:15.620 --> 00:11:19.940 the kingdom, and healing. But all of those were 00:11:19.940 --> 00:11:24.059 motivated by his mercy. It tells us he had compassion 00:11:24.059 --> 00:11:27.879 for the people. Crowds, great crowds were following 00:11:27.879 --> 00:11:31.379 Jesus, perhaps only for the miracles. But Jesus 00:11:31.379 --> 00:11:35.000 saw them as sheep who were in danger. They were 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:37.080 in danger because they had no shepherd who was 00:11:37.080 --> 00:11:39.399 caring for them. That's where we find verse 36. 00:11:40.059 --> 00:11:43.480 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved 00:11:43.480 --> 00:11:47.340 with compassion for them. I love this. They're 00:11:47.340 --> 00:11:48.779 weary. They're scattered. They're like sheep 00:11:48.779 --> 00:11:51.059 having no shepherd, he said. So these lost sheep 00:11:51.059 --> 00:11:53.899 of Israel, they were supposed to have shepherds 00:11:53.899 --> 00:11:55.740 who were caring for them. Now, who would have 00:11:55.740 --> 00:11:58.659 been the shepherds of Israel at that time? Well, 00:11:58.679 --> 00:12:00.320 the religious leaders were supposed to be their 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:04.000 shepherds. The scribes and the Pharisees. But 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:06.279 one of the contrasts that Matthew continually 00:12:06.279 --> 00:12:09.279 highlights in his gospel is this stark difference 00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:12.100 between Jesus Christ and the religious leaders, 00:12:12.139 --> 00:12:14.259 that of the scribes and Pharisees. You're going 00:12:14.259 --> 00:12:16.740 to see a stark difference all the time. So the 00:12:16.740 --> 00:12:19.539 religious leaders are shown, through Matthew, 00:12:19.779 --> 00:12:24.179 to be false shepherds, and Jesus is shown to 00:12:24.179 --> 00:12:28.740 be the true good shepherd. Here we find Jesus, 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:32.299 and he's moved. He's moved with compassion for 00:12:32.299 --> 00:12:35.220 the people. The Pharisees' friends had contempt 00:12:35.220 --> 00:12:37.259 for the people. They saw them and they quote 00:12:37.259 --> 00:12:39.360 people of the land is what they would refer to 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:41.500 them. They had contempt for the common people. 00:12:41.899 --> 00:12:45.700 The Pharisees were not concerned for anyone who 00:12:45.700 --> 00:12:48.840 did not share their same level of religious scruples. 00:12:49.340 --> 00:12:51.740 So what the Pharisees would do, instead of moving 00:12:51.740 --> 00:12:54.120 toward the people in compassion, they would keep 00:12:54.120 --> 00:12:57.159 their distance from the commoners, seeing them 00:12:57.159 --> 00:13:00.080 as defiled. They didn't want these defiled people 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:02.500 around them. But then you say, well, what about 00:13:02.500 --> 00:13:05.259 the scribes? Scribes and Pharisees were often 00:13:05.259 --> 00:13:08.639 at odds. The scribes were no better. The scribes, 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:10.539 when they were like the religious lawyers, they 00:13:10.539 --> 00:13:12.980 are the elite. They're the upper crust of society. 00:13:13.419 --> 00:13:16.399 They would have been the ruling class, born into 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:20.139 nobility, if you will. But they also had no real 00:13:20.139 --> 00:13:23.399 interest in common people whatsoever. And in 00:13:23.399 --> 00:13:26.279 fact, these false shepherds, both scribes and 00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:29.590 Pharisees, only cared for themselves, for their 00:13:29.590 --> 00:13:32.149 position, for their comfort, for their titles. 00:13:32.850 --> 00:13:35.629 But that was nothing new. If you go back to the 00:13:35.629 --> 00:13:39.269 Old Testament, the whole history of Israel is 00:13:39.269 --> 00:13:42.629 replete with examples of self -serving shepherds 00:13:42.629 --> 00:13:44.350 who were indifferent to the people they were 00:13:44.350 --> 00:13:47.029 called to serve. What we see today in government 00:13:47.029 --> 00:13:48.450 is really no different than what's always taken 00:13:48.450 --> 00:13:51.629 place. People get in positions of power and prestige, 00:13:51.730 --> 00:13:53.649 and instead of serving the people, they serve 00:13:53.649 --> 00:13:57.840 themselves. But not Jesus. But that was the false 00:13:57.840 --> 00:14:00.700 shepherds here. In fact, we can go back to Ezekiel 00:14:00.700 --> 00:14:03.559 chapter 34, and there we see that God issued 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:06.799 a scathing indictment upon the false shepherds 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:09.460 of Israel. I want to show you something, because 00:14:09.460 --> 00:14:11.899 I want to show you how there's an indictment 00:14:11.899 --> 00:14:16.100 and there's a promise of Ezekiel 34. And the 00:14:16.100 --> 00:14:19.299 word of the Lord came to me, that's Ezekiel, 00:14:19.299 --> 00:14:22.720 saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:32.980 of Israel. Should not the shepherds feed the 00:14:32.980 --> 00:14:36.039 flocks? Of course they should. You eat the fat. 00:14:36.179 --> 00:14:38.419 You clothe yourselves with the wool. You're getting 00:14:38.419 --> 00:14:40.899 rich off of them. You slaughter the fatlings, 00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:44.980 but you do not feed the flock. The weak, they've 00:14:44.980 --> 00:14:47.259 ignored. You've not strengthened. Nor have you 00:14:47.259 --> 00:14:49.059 healed those who were sick, nor bound up the 00:14:49.059 --> 00:14:51.419 broken, nor brought back what was driven away, 00:14:51.620 --> 00:14:54.299 nor have you sought what was lost, but rather 00:14:54.299 --> 00:14:58.120 with force and cruelty you have ruled them. So 00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:00.679 they were scattered, because there was no shepherd. 00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:03.559 And they became food for the beasts of the field 00:15:03.559 --> 00:15:06.539 when they were scattered. Ah, my sheep, they 00:15:06.539 --> 00:15:08.379 wandered through all the mountains and on every 00:15:08.379 --> 00:15:10.919 high hill. Yes, my flock was scattered over the 00:15:10.919 --> 00:15:13.519 whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:16.009 or searching for them. Let's skip down to verse 00:15:16.009 --> 00:15:21.330 9. Therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the 00:15:21.330 --> 00:15:26.950 Lord. Thus says the Lord God, behold, I am against 00:15:26.950 --> 00:15:30.490 the shepherds, and I will require my flock at 00:15:30.490 --> 00:15:34.330 their hand. God was angry. He was angry because 00:15:34.330 --> 00:15:36.110 these people who were supposed to be serving 00:15:36.110 --> 00:15:38.690 the people were only serving themselves, only 00:15:38.690 --> 00:15:41.169 concerned for their own welfare. They were also 00:15:41.169 --> 00:15:43.750 characterized by injustice. They didn't help 00:15:43.750 --> 00:15:45.840 the sick. They didn't care for the poor. They 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:47.700 didn't do anything that they're required to do. 00:15:48.779 --> 00:15:52.159 What's required in a shepherd? To feed and care 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:54.720 for sheep. Instead, they were taking these sheep 00:15:54.720 --> 00:15:57.320 and exploiting them, getting rich off of them, 00:15:57.399 --> 00:16:01.360 and profiting for their own gain. And God said 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:03.899 the people of Israel then were hurt. So there 00:16:03.899 --> 00:16:06.399 was a desperate need of a good shepherd who would 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:10.139 tend and care for them. Well, if the leaders 00:16:10.139 --> 00:16:12.460 were failing to do it, what's going to happen? 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:15.779 This is the good news. Here's the promise. God 00:16:15.779 --> 00:16:17.940 said, I will come and personally tend to them. 00:16:18.179 --> 00:16:20.740 Now, same chapter. Now let's look at verse 11, 00:16:20.820 --> 00:16:24.620 if you will. For thus says the Lord God, I love 00:16:24.620 --> 00:16:28.720 this. Indeed, I myself will search for my sheep 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:31.559 and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his 00:16:31.559 --> 00:16:37.440 flock on the day he is among the scattered sheep. 00:16:38.300 --> 00:16:40.759 So will I seek out my sheep and deliver them 00:16:40.759 --> 00:16:42.759 from all the places where they are scattered 00:16:42.759 --> 00:16:45.399 on a cloudy and dark day. Go down to verse 14. 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:48.919 Notice the I wills again. I will feed them in 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:51.159 good pasture, and their fold shall be on the 00:16:51.159 --> 00:16:53.340 high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie 00:16:53.340 --> 00:16:55.480 down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture 00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:57.159 on the mountains of Israel. I'm going to take 00:16:57.159 --> 00:17:00.080 care of them, God says. Verse 15. I will feed 00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:02.659 my flock, and I will make them lie down, says 00:17:02.659 --> 00:17:07.000 the Lord God. Fast verse. I will seek. What was 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:08.920 lost? Are you starting to make connections here? 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:13.319 Jesus said, I have come to seek and to seek and... 00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:19.480 I have come to seek and to what? Thank you. That's 00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:21.440 not a hard verse, by the way, but I just drew 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:24.180 a blank. I have come to seek and to save that 00:17:24.180 --> 00:17:27.000 which was lost. I will seek what was lost. I 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:28.480 was just testing you all. That's all I was doing. 00:17:29.119 --> 00:17:32.369 Verse 16. I will seek what was lost and bring 00:17:32.369 --> 00:17:35.309 back what was driven away, bind up the broken, 00:17:35.390 --> 00:17:37.650 strengthen what was sick, but I will destroy 00:17:37.650 --> 00:17:39.829 the fat and the strong and feed them in judgment. 00:17:40.049 --> 00:17:43.890 Okay. That's Ezekiel. God said something here. 00:17:43.930 --> 00:17:45.809 Here's the promise. I'm going to personally come 00:17:45.809 --> 00:17:47.910 and I'm going to search and seek for my lost 00:17:47.910 --> 00:17:50.490 sheep. I will deliver them. I will feed them. 00:17:50.569 --> 00:17:53.289 I will protect them. I will save them. I will 00:17:53.289 --> 00:17:55.930 come and bind up their wounds and I will strengthen 00:17:55.930 --> 00:17:59.480 the sick. Great promises. What do you see Jesus 00:17:59.480 --> 00:18:03.299 doing in Matthew 9? Then Jesus went about all 00:18:03.299 --> 00:18:05.140 the cities and villages. He's teaching, he's 00:18:05.140 --> 00:18:07.339 preaching and healing every sickness and every 00:18:07.339 --> 00:18:11.160 disease. He's doing exactly what Ezekiel said. 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:16.279 God said, I will do it. Jesus is doing it. Make 00:18:16.279 --> 00:18:18.480 the connection in your mind here, friends. God 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:22.859 said, I myself will come and do this. Jesus is 00:18:22.859 --> 00:18:27.920 doing it. What's the connection? Jesus is God. 00:18:29.220 --> 00:18:32.019 Jesus was showing compassion to the people. He's 00:18:32.019 --> 00:18:33.599 healing the sick. He's binding up the broken. 00:18:33.799 --> 00:18:36.319 And in fact, we read in John chapter 10, verse 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:40.180 11, Jesus says two times. He says, I am the good 00:18:40.180 --> 00:18:44.420 shepherd. In Ezekiel 34, God's a good shepherd. 00:18:45.099 --> 00:18:48.700 Jesus said, I'm the good shepherd. And the good 00:18:48.700 --> 00:18:51.599 shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Verse 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:55.400 14, I'm the good shepherd. And I know my sheep 00:18:55.400 --> 00:18:59.579 and I'm known by my own. Jesus would not be another 00:18:59.579 --> 00:19:01.619 false shepherd who would take advantage of the 00:19:01.619 --> 00:19:04.579 sheep for his gain. Rather, he's the true good 00:19:04.579 --> 00:19:07.619 shepherd who would even lay down his life for 00:19:07.619 --> 00:19:10.720 them. The word Jesus, friends, was passionate, 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:14.279 consumed with fulfilling his father's plan, which 00:19:14.279 --> 00:19:17.640 was what? To rescue the lost sheep, all the lost 00:19:17.640 --> 00:19:20.500 sheep that the father had given to him. John 00:19:20.500 --> 00:19:26.200 6, verse 39. Jesus said of himself, this is the 00:19:26.200 --> 00:19:29.759 will of the father who sent me. Here it is. That 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:32.859 of all he has given me, I should lose nothing, 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:37.019 but I should raise it up at the last day. Jesus 00:19:37.019 --> 00:19:40.480 said, I had come to seek and to save that which 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:43.140 was lost. He said, I have come to bring into 00:19:43.140 --> 00:19:48.079 one fold all of the lost sheep that my father 00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:52.339 had given to me. Jesus will see to it that the 00:19:52.339 --> 00:19:55.259 mission of world evangelism is accomplished. 00:19:56.399 --> 00:20:01.440 In John, back in Matthew 9, verse 37, he said 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:04.119 to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but 00:20:04.119 --> 00:20:07.099 the labors are few. Therefore, you pray that 00:20:07.099 --> 00:20:08.779 the Lord of the harvest, that he would send out 00:20:08.779 --> 00:20:11.299 labors into his fields, into his harvest. So 00:20:11.299 --> 00:20:14.500 the harvest is plentiful. What harvest is he 00:20:14.500 --> 00:20:17.859 referring to? He's speaking of the multitudes 00:20:17.859 --> 00:20:19.960 that he just looked on with compassion who were 00:20:19.960 --> 00:20:23.490 scattered, having no shepherd. The harvest is 00:20:23.490 --> 00:20:26.609 all those whom he will gather into God's kingdom. 00:20:27.789 --> 00:20:31.029 There are lost sheep that he had come to save, 00:20:31.130 --> 00:20:34.450 he said. There were many lost sheep who needed 00:20:34.450 --> 00:20:37.190 to hear. And he said there are so few workers 00:20:37.190 --> 00:20:41.130 right now to get this done. Now was Jesus only 00:20:41.130 --> 00:20:46.170 referring to the lost sheep of Israel? No. How 00:20:46.170 --> 00:20:48.829 do I know that? If I go back to John 10 where 00:20:48.829 --> 00:20:50.349 he said he's the good shepherd, look at verse 00:20:50.349 --> 00:20:54.130 16. He says, speaking to his disciples, and other 00:20:54.130 --> 00:20:57.690 sheep I have which are not of this fold, them 00:20:57.690 --> 00:21:01.410 also I must bring, and they will hear my voice, 00:21:01.589 --> 00:21:04.650 and there will be one flock and one shepherd. 00:21:05.470 --> 00:21:08.589 The other sheep who are not of that fold are 00:21:08.589 --> 00:21:11.069 they who are outside of Israel. He's referring 00:21:11.069 --> 00:21:14.789 to the Gentiles. There are some Gentiles, he 00:21:14.789 --> 00:21:17.670 says, I must, notice the language of compulsion, 00:21:17.990 --> 00:21:21.920 I must bring them into the kingdom. Why? Now 00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:24.500 this is not me. Look at the text. Why must I 00:21:24.500 --> 00:21:26.299 bring them to the kingdom? He says, because they 00:21:26.299 --> 00:21:30.500 belong to me. Other sheep I have. Not other sheep 00:21:30.500 --> 00:21:33.400 I may have or potentially have. Other sheep belong 00:21:33.400 --> 00:21:36.420 to me. But they're outside of Israel. And he 00:21:36.420 --> 00:21:39.500 says, they're already mine. And I'm going to 00:21:39.500 --> 00:21:41.420 bring them in. So there's going to be one fold. 00:21:41.500 --> 00:21:46.000 One people of God. Not two. There was a multitude 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:50.710 of Gentiles who belonged to Christ. And he says, 00:21:50.769 --> 00:21:53.490 I'm going to ensure that all these lost sheep 00:21:53.490 --> 00:21:56.029 are going to come to me and I'm going to save 00:21:56.029 --> 00:21:58.130 them and I'm going to bring them into one fold 00:21:58.130 --> 00:22:01.710 because this is my father's will. He is referring 00:22:01.710 --> 00:22:04.769 to a particular group of sheep who belong to 00:22:04.769 --> 00:22:08.009 him. The father gave them to him. And he says, 00:22:08.029 --> 00:22:09.650 I've got to bring them in because he's doing 00:22:09.650 --> 00:22:11.670 his father's will. Now, let me just ask this. 00:22:11.809 --> 00:22:14.609 Why do I say that the father gave them to him? 00:22:15.690 --> 00:22:19.279 Because the scripture says it. John 6, 37, it's 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:23.259 not my words, it's his. All that the Father gives 00:22:23.259 --> 00:22:28.440 me is going to come to me. And the one who comes 00:22:28.440 --> 00:22:31.539 to me, I will receive. I will in no means cast 00:22:31.539 --> 00:22:36.180 out. Those whom the Father gave to Christ will 00:22:36.180 --> 00:22:38.720 come to Christ. And those who come to Christ 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:41.380 will be received by Christ. And they will be 00:22:41.380 --> 00:22:43.579 kept by Christ. Because two verses later, he 00:22:43.579 --> 00:22:46.319 says, I don't lose any of them. Verse 39, John 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:50.009 6. He's not speaking abstractly. He's not speaking 00:22:50.009 --> 00:22:51.910 hypothetically. He is speaking particularly. 00:22:52.190 --> 00:22:54.529 A group of people will come. He doesn't say might 00:22:54.529 --> 00:22:56.650 come or hope to come. They will come. They will 00:22:56.650 --> 00:22:58.410 hear my voice and they will be brought into the 00:22:58.410 --> 00:23:03.390 fold of God. The harvest is the world. The gospel 00:23:03.390 --> 00:23:07.509 is for the nations. God has people in every ethnic 00:23:07.509 --> 00:23:10.609 group, every ethnos. is the Greek word, in every 00:23:10.609 --> 00:23:13.150 ethnic group, every tribal group, every language 00:23:13.150 --> 00:23:16.009 group, in every corner of the world who need 00:23:16.009 --> 00:23:19.349 to hear the good news of Christ and his kingdom. 00:23:20.589 --> 00:23:24.109 Well, how will they be reached? Well, if they're 00:23:24.109 --> 00:23:26.009 going to believe, they have to hear the gospel. 00:23:27.150 --> 00:23:30.349 The evangel must be proclaimed in the nations. 00:23:31.390 --> 00:23:34.910 So what do we do? We have a great responsibility. 00:23:35.250 --> 00:23:37.269 You're like, we've got to go. Yeah, but he didn't 00:23:37.269 --> 00:23:41.150 say that. He did later, Matthew 28. But he said, 00:23:41.150 --> 00:23:43.730 right now you've got to pray. Look at it. It 00:23:43.730 --> 00:23:47.410 begins in prayer. Therefore, pray. The Lord Jesus 00:23:47.410 --> 00:23:50.250 had been preaching and teaching going all throughout 00:23:50.250 --> 00:23:52.930 Galilee, but now he's looking and says he told 00:23:52.930 --> 00:23:56.250 his disciples. He said, will you pray that God 00:23:56.250 --> 00:24:00.190 will call others into this mission and join me? 00:24:01.410 --> 00:24:03.230 Now, friends, this is a great thing, and I hope 00:24:03.230 --> 00:24:05.730 you see it. There is a partial answer to this. 00:24:06.009 --> 00:24:08.349 In chapter 10. Remember, the original manuscript 00:24:08.349 --> 00:24:10.109 has no verse divisions, no chapter divisions. 00:24:10.369 --> 00:24:12.549 Those came centuries later. So he's praying, 00:24:12.630 --> 00:24:14.970 the last verse, that the Lord of the harvest, 00:24:15.170 --> 00:24:17.329 and you go to chapter 10, verse 1, he calls to 00:24:17.329 --> 00:24:21.369 12. The prayer was answered. So there's a partial 00:24:21.369 --> 00:24:23.170 answer, and I'll get to that a little bit later, 00:24:23.269 --> 00:24:26.109 well, pretty soon. Now he says pray. If you're 00:24:26.109 --> 00:24:27.930 looking at the King James or the New King James, 00:24:27.970 --> 00:24:30.210 which I'm preaching from, it says pray. If you 00:24:30.210 --> 00:24:32.170 have another version, it says pray earnestly. 00:24:33.190 --> 00:24:37.200 Pray earnestly. This isn't casual. The idea is 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:40.019 to be in earnest, asking, seeking, begging. What? 00:24:40.680 --> 00:24:43.220 That God would raise up workers who would go 00:24:43.220 --> 00:24:47.480 out and preach Christ to the people. Once again, 00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:49.779 you see divine sovereignty and human responsibility. 00:24:50.500 --> 00:24:53.900 They're always together. Divine sovereignty because 00:24:53.900 --> 00:24:57.099 who does the harvest belong to? God. He's the 00:24:57.099 --> 00:25:00.039 Lord of the harvest. He's the one, by the way, 00:25:00.079 --> 00:25:02.880 he's the only one who sends out workers. He didn't 00:25:02.880 --> 00:25:04.660 say go out and recruit people. He says pray that 00:25:04.660 --> 00:25:07.160 my father's going to raise them up. He sends 00:25:07.160 --> 00:25:09.839 them out. But there's also human responsibility. 00:25:10.839 --> 00:25:13.619 How's that? You and I are to be praying and somehow 00:25:13.619 --> 00:25:16.299 God works with our prayers. If prayer didn't 00:25:16.299 --> 00:25:18.619 matter, why would Jesus tell them to pray? If 00:25:18.619 --> 00:25:20.279 God was going to do it even if people didn't 00:25:20.279 --> 00:25:23.230 pray, why would Jesus tell them to pray? You 00:25:23.230 --> 00:25:25.910 and I are to pray that God will send out workers 00:25:25.910 --> 00:25:28.829 into his harvest. We pray because sinners need 00:25:28.829 --> 00:25:31.049 to hear, they need to believe, and they need 00:25:31.049 --> 00:25:34.329 to call on Christ. Paul said that in Romans 10. 00:25:35.269 --> 00:25:38.250 He says, for whoever will call on the name of 00:25:38.250 --> 00:25:40.069 the Lord will be saved. Amen. We all love that 00:25:40.069 --> 00:25:45.430 verse. But go on. He's using a point here. How 00:25:45.430 --> 00:25:47.750 then shall they call in him in whom they have 00:25:47.750 --> 00:25:50.190 not believed? And how should they believe in 00:25:50.190 --> 00:25:52.619 him of whom they have not heard? And how are 00:25:52.619 --> 00:25:54.920 they ever going to hear without a preacher? And 00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:57.900 how shall they preach unless they're sent? Who's 00:25:57.900 --> 00:26:01.220 sending? God. Now the church will also send. 00:26:01.619 --> 00:26:04.079 As it is written, how beautiful are the feet 00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:06.160 of those who preach the gospel peace, who bring 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:09.640 glad tidings of good things. That's Isaiah there. 00:26:11.079 --> 00:26:13.799 Notice Paul's logic. In order to call on Christ, 00:26:14.099 --> 00:26:16.039 you have to hear about Christ. How did you call 00:26:16.039 --> 00:26:19.299 on Christ? You had to hear about him. But if 00:26:19.299 --> 00:26:21.430 you're going to hear about Christ, Someone had 00:26:21.430 --> 00:26:24.569 to come and preach about Christ or tell you about 00:26:24.569 --> 00:26:26.990 Christ. Christ had to be proclaimed or you couldn't 00:26:26.990 --> 00:26:28.829 have heard. And Paul says, well, how are they 00:26:28.829 --> 00:26:31.490 going to hear without a preacher? He's answering 00:26:31.490 --> 00:26:35.950 himself. They don't. They won't. Someone must 00:26:35.950 --> 00:26:38.230 go and tell them of Christ and his saving work 00:26:38.230 --> 00:26:42.089 or they don't hear. This is why missions is an 00:26:42.089 --> 00:26:45.829 integral part of the church. The church commissions 00:26:45.829 --> 00:26:49.700 people. to go to lands, foreign lands, some local, 00:26:49.940 --> 00:26:53.119 some foreign, some regional, preaching the gospel 00:26:53.119 --> 00:26:57.660 that it is God who ultimately calls and sends 00:26:57.660 --> 00:27:01.880 them. It must be. God is always the ultimate 00:27:01.880 --> 00:27:05.000 and decisive factor, but that does not lessen 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:07.799 nor does it mitigate human participation and 00:27:07.799 --> 00:27:12.299 responsibility. The mission belongs to God. And 00:27:12.299 --> 00:27:14.599 Jesus said, I'm not going to fail in it. I must 00:27:14.599 --> 00:27:17.710 do it. It does not blow dust. It is his harvest. 00:27:17.829 --> 00:27:21.430 It is not ours. But, he says, all of God's children 00:27:21.430 --> 00:27:24.009 should be praying, and I want to slip in something 00:27:24.009 --> 00:27:26.569 here, giving toward that end, toward the message 00:27:26.569 --> 00:27:29.269 of Christ. Because you don't get to China with 00:27:29.269 --> 00:27:33.710 your prayers. You pray and you give. The church 00:27:33.710 --> 00:27:36.609 advances, though, God's mission on our knees. 00:27:38.269 --> 00:27:40.170 So what's the foundation of missions? According 00:27:40.170 --> 00:27:43.529 to Jesus, it's prayer. All of us should be praying 00:27:43.529 --> 00:27:45.589 that God's going to raise up more preachers, 00:27:45.589 --> 00:27:47.769 more missionaries who are going to go forth preaching 00:27:47.769 --> 00:27:51.470 the good news of our Savior. But it can't be 00:27:51.470 --> 00:27:53.049 stressed enough. I want you to notice something 00:27:53.049 --> 00:27:55.890 and don't overlook it. Jesus' desire for missions 00:27:55.890 --> 00:28:00.410 was motivated by his compassion. His heart bled 00:28:00.410 --> 00:28:03.289 for the people. It went out to the people. He 00:28:03.289 --> 00:28:05.529 was not like the Pharisees who were repulsed 00:28:05.529 --> 00:28:08.650 by the people. He said Jesus looks on them. He 00:28:08.650 --> 00:28:11.549 sees need. He sees suffering. He sees brokenness. 00:28:12.119 --> 00:28:15.380 And it moved him. It says it moved him with compassion 00:28:15.380 --> 00:28:18.880 and he was going to do something about it. As 00:28:18.880 --> 00:28:21.160 disciples of Christ, as those who are followers 00:28:21.160 --> 00:28:24.279 of this risen Lord, may the Lord produce in us 00:28:24.279 --> 00:28:27.779 this very same attitude. We've got to look through 00:28:27.779 --> 00:28:30.660 the eyes of the Lord. There's a song that says, 00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:32.900 Lord, break our heart for what breaks yours. 00:28:34.200 --> 00:28:37.339 It's a good line. Lord, break our heart for what 00:28:37.339 --> 00:28:41.920 breaks yours. In verse 37, He commands his disciples 00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:45.039 to pray. He says, hey, you need more workers 00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:47.880 to go out into this harvest. Now, presumably, 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:52.839 they did pray. And we see God answer their prayer 00:28:52.839 --> 00:28:55.079 because he called some of them to go. So notice 00:28:55.079 --> 00:28:58.880 this next text, and we're ending it here. The 00:28:58.880 --> 00:29:01.319 very last verse of chapter 9, the very last verse, 00:29:01.559 --> 00:29:04.339 therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send 00:29:04.339 --> 00:29:06.809 out laborers into his harvest. No chapters, no 00:29:06.809 --> 00:29:08.910 verse divisions, right? So don't get the 9 and 00:29:08.910 --> 00:29:13.190 10 all mixed up. We go to chapter 10. And when 00:29:13.190 --> 00:29:17.470 he had called his 12 disciples to him, now notice 00:29:17.470 --> 00:29:19.930 what he gives them authority over unclean spirits 00:29:19.930 --> 00:29:21.950 to cast them out. That's what Jesus has been 00:29:21.950 --> 00:29:24.230 doing to heal all kinds of sickness. That's what 00:29:24.230 --> 00:29:26.210 Jesus has been doing and all kinds of disease. 00:29:26.329 --> 00:29:30.170 That's what Jesus has been doing. There's starting 00:29:30.170 --> 00:29:33.089 to be an answer to this prayer. God is raising 00:29:33.089 --> 00:29:36.910 up workers. Who are these workers? And we'll 00:29:36.910 --> 00:29:38.329 look at this more next week because this is an 00:29:38.329 --> 00:29:40.130 interesting list. In the names of the apostles, 00:29:40.269 --> 00:29:42.349 you have Simon, who's Peter, Andrew, his brother, 00:29:42.529 --> 00:29:46.769 James and John, sons of Zebedee, Philip and Bartholomew, 00:29:46.910 --> 00:29:49.349 Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector, the one 00:29:49.349 --> 00:29:51.589 who wrote the gospel, James, the son of Alphaeus 00:29:51.589 --> 00:29:53.990 and Lebaeus, whose surname was Thaddeus, and 00:29:53.990 --> 00:29:57.269 Simon, the Canaanite, and by the way, Judas Iscariot, 00:29:57.309 --> 00:29:59.589 who also betrayed him. We'll look at that next 00:29:59.589 --> 00:30:03.369 week. Lord willing. But up to this point, our 00:30:03.369 --> 00:30:06.029 Lord has been doing all this ministry. By himself. 00:30:07.289 --> 00:30:10.609 But all that's about to change right now. The 00:30:10.609 --> 00:30:15.410 disciples would become the very workers they 00:30:15.410 --> 00:30:18.210 were praying for. And I find that's what happens 00:30:18.210 --> 00:30:20.109 a lot of times. Sometimes you get burdened. You're 00:30:20.109 --> 00:30:21.690 like, and you start praying. You're praying for 00:30:21.690 --> 00:30:24.609 missions and then God burdens you. Hey, you go. 00:30:25.769 --> 00:30:27.869 The Lord is now going to involve more disciples 00:30:27.869 --> 00:30:31.559 in this mission to reach more sheep. How is it 00:30:31.559 --> 00:30:33.259 possible? Well, the Lord had prepared the sheep 00:30:33.259 --> 00:30:34.880 through his teaching and preaching ministry. 00:30:35.140 --> 00:30:37.559 Now it's time to go and reap this harvest of 00:30:37.559 --> 00:30:40.759 souls. But it's not going to be physical healing 00:30:40.759 --> 00:30:45.240 only, but spiritual. Because what people most 00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:49.079 need is the forgiveness of sins and to be reconciled 00:30:49.079 --> 00:30:52.160 with God. And that is precisely what the good 00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:56.380 shepherd did and only he could do. See, the good 00:30:56.380 --> 00:30:58.240 news of the kingdom, folks, is not simply that 00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:02.119 the king arrived. That's good news. But that 00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:05.579 the king laid down his life for his sheep. The 00:31:05.579 --> 00:31:09.700 gospel, the euangelion, the evangel, is our king 00:31:09.700 --> 00:31:13.859 came and he died in our place and he was buried 00:31:13.859 --> 00:31:17.279 and he rose again the third day and he offers 00:31:17.279 --> 00:31:20.400 salvation and eternal life to all who would ever 00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:24.359 call upon him. Israel's shepherds, they failed 00:31:24.359 --> 00:31:29.500 miserably. God's true shepherd prevailed. ultimately. 00:31:30.200 --> 00:31:33.420 He never exploited the sheep. Instead, he was 00:31:33.420 --> 00:31:36.779 impoverished so that the sheep might be enriched. 00:31:37.039 --> 00:31:40.200 False shepherds enriched themselves and impoverished 00:31:40.200 --> 00:31:43.740 the sheep. Jesus impoverished himself and enriched 00:31:43.740 --> 00:31:48.500 the sheep. 2 Corinthians 8, 9. For you know the 00:31:48.500 --> 00:31:51.460 grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he 00:31:51.460 --> 00:31:56.279 was rich, and that's an understatement, yet for 00:31:56.279 --> 00:32:01.349 your sakes, for our sakes, He became poor. That 00:32:01.349 --> 00:32:05.930 you, through his poverty, might become rich. 00:32:06.650 --> 00:32:11.109 Amen. That is grace. You know the grace of our 00:32:11.109 --> 00:32:13.190 Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know it? That's what 00:32:13.190 --> 00:32:16.650 Paul said it is. So what do we do? Obviously 00:32:16.650 --> 00:32:20.170 we pray. But first though, can I suggest something? 00:32:20.250 --> 00:32:22.210 We need to see the world as our Lord saw it. 00:32:23.970 --> 00:32:26.069 Friends, I want to... I want us to think about 00:32:26.069 --> 00:32:28.210 this for a moment. Jesus did not see people as 00:32:28.210 --> 00:32:32.309 a problem. He saw the broken world, but he saw 00:32:32.309 --> 00:32:34.990 it through the eyes of compassion. He saw broken 00:32:34.990 --> 00:32:36.890 people who need his grace, and that's what the 00:32:36.890 --> 00:32:39.210 church is. We need to be operating in grace right 00:32:39.210 --> 00:32:42.210 now, extending salvation. Don't look down our 00:32:42.210 --> 00:32:44.069 noses. Let's not see people as a problem. Oh, 00:32:44.089 --> 00:32:46.029 they can be problematic, but so can I, so can 00:32:46.029 --> 00:32:48.289 you. But let's look at it through the eyes of 00:32:48.289 --> 00:32:50.529 grace. We need to see them through God's eyes. 00:32:51.450 --> 00:32:54.929 These lost sheep, they are hopeless souls. Who 00:32:54.929 --> 00:33:01.329 desperately need Christ. Next, we pray. We pray. 00:33:01.329 --> 00:33:03.930 We pray for God to raise up workers. Make God 00:33:03.930 --> 00:33:05.950 raise up pastors and missionary servants who 00:33:05.950 --> 00:33:08.309 will go out and proclaim King Jesus among the 00:33:08.309 --> 00:33:10.609 nations. Proclaim King Jesus at Rock Hill and 00:33:10.609 --> 00:33:12.190 Simms Alley and Holger and Ironton and Chesapeake 00:33:12.190 --> 00:33:13.750 and Fairland and any other school I'm missing. 00:33:13.849 --> 00:33:16.289 Home school and Sugar Creek and everywhere. We 00:33:16.289 --> 00:33:19.759 need that. But friends, this is the thing we 00:33:19.759 --> 00:33:22.420 have to understand. We need to pray that God's 00:33:22.420 --> 00:33:23.819 going to raise them up. And I pray that God would 00:33:23.819 --> 00:33:27.160 raise up some from this congregation. September, 00:33:27.200 --> 00:33:28.880 as Pastor Kyle mentions, our missions emphasis 00:33:28.880 --> 00:33:31.380 month. It's when we're going to renew faith promise 00:33:31.380 --> 00:33:33.240 commitments. And this is by design. This is not 00:33:33.240 --> 00:33:35.160 to take a break for September. It's not at all. 00:33:35.539 --> 00:33:37.779 It's designed so that the missions is going to 00:33:37.779 --> 00:33:42.380 be kept in front of us. My prayer for this church 00:33:42.380 --> 00:33:45.160 is 100 % participation. If you have never been 00:33:45.160 --> 00:33:47.880 involved in our faith promise giving, You've 00:33:47.880 --> 00:33:51.099 never committed to it. I'm not asking you. I 00:33:51.099 --> 00:33:53.859 will never know what you give. It could be $5 00:33:53.859 --> 00:33:57.059 a month, $10 a month, $20 a month. Whatever it 00:33:57.059 --> 00:33:59.220 was, God's going to use that. But if you have 00:33:59.220 --> 00:34:02.200 skin in the game, you are invested at that point. 00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:05.500 You're more interested. The other thing I would 00:34:05.500 --> 00:34:07.220 encourage you to do, get to know our missionaries. 00:34:07.559 --> 00:34:09.480 Take the list that Teresa is going to have printed. 00:34:09.639 --> 00:34:11.639 And if nothing else, maybe take one missionary. 00:34:11.699 --> 00:34:13.179 Your family said, you know what? I'm not going 00:34:13.179 --> 00:34:14.500 to pray through all 40 because I know I'm not 00:34:14.500 --> 00:34:16.320 going to do it. Take one family and pray for 00:34:16.320 --> 00:34:18.980 them throughout the year. If not, take one family 00:34:18.980 --> 00:34:21.739 and rotate it every month. But pray for them. 00:34:22.460 --> 00:34:24.559 Be open, though, to God's call upon your own 00:34:24.559 --> 00:34:27.039 life, that God would raise up people from this 00:34:27.039 --> 00:34:30.719 flock. And lastly, I want to remember always 00:34:30.719 --> 00:34:36.519 grace. The work belongs to God. Friends, all 00:34:36.519 --> 00:34:38.420 your work, all your efforts, they're never in 00:34:38.420 --> 00:34:41.500 vain, but only He can bring in the harvest. You 00:34:41.500 --> 00:34:44.090 don't have to seal the deal. Your responsibility 00:34:44.090 --> 00:34:47.050 is not to bring people into the kingdom. It's 00:34:47.050 --> 00:34:49.730 not. You can't do it. Only God through his spirit 00:34:49.730 --> 00:34:52.250 does that. Your responsibility is to proclaim 00:34:52.250 --> 00:34:54.369 the gospel of the kingdom, trusting that the 00:34:54.369 --> 00:34:56.230 spirit of God will work in the lives of those 00:34:56.230 --> 00:34:59.570 he's prepared. 1 Corinthians 3, 6, and 7. Paul 00:34:59.570 --> 00:35:03.030 says, I planted. Did you get that last slide? 00:35:03.889 --> 00:35:06.170 Oh, I didn't put it up there. I'm sorry. Let 00:35:06.170 --> 00:35:09.070 me just read this. Paul says this. I planted. 00:35:10.309 --> 00:35:14.639 Apollos watered. But God gave the increase. So 00:35:14.639 --> 00:35:16.920 then neither he who plants is anything nor he 00:35:16.920 --> 00:35:21.780 who waters, but God who gives the increase. Friends, 00:35:21.780 --> 00:35:23.960 listen. We sow, we plant, we water, but only 00:35:23.960 --> 00:35:26.639 God can make the plant grow. Same thing in the 00:35:26.639 --> 00:35:28.760 kingdom. We have a responsibility. Let's preach 00:35:28.760 --> 00:35:30.699 Christ. And preaching doesn't mean what I'm doing. 00:35:30.780 --> 00:35:32.300 It's just proclaiming him, telling others about 00:35:32.300 --> 00:35:35.280 him. But realize you can't do it. Only God can 00:35:35.280 --> 00:35:38.639 do it. But we are a responsibility to tell, to 00:35:38.639 --> 00:35:41.000 pray. Let's do what the Lord has asked us to 00:35:41.000 --> 00:35:43.269 do. Now, listen, the greatest thing about Sunday 00:35:43.269 --> 00:35:45.110 morning ever is that when the church is gathered, 00:35:45.190 --> 00:35:47.269 God has given this special meal where he says, 00:35:47.309 --> 00:35:49.769 listen, you come and commune with Jesus. We need 00:35:49.769 --> 00:35:52.070 to commune with him. And we get to do that at 00:35:52.070 --> 00:35:54.929 the table of the Lord, where once again, by faith, 00:35:54.949 --> 00:35:57.389 Lord, we commune with the risen Lord in the way 00:35:57.389 --> 00:35:59.070 that he has prescribed. Let's go to the Lord 00:35:59.070 --> 00:36:02.510 in prayer. Father, thank you for, Lord, this 00:36:02.510 --> 00:36:04.710 time today. Lord, I pray that it has been helpful. 00:36:06.010 --> 00:36:07.969 Lord, I pray that, Lord, you would continue to 00:36:07.969 --> 00:36:11.730 instruct us and enlarge our understanding. so 00:36:11.730 --> 00:36:13.630 that our affections will be touched, Lord, so 00:36:13.630 --> 00:36:17.090 that we'll grow in love for you, Lord. Lord, 00:36:17.110 --> 00:36:18.809 may we love you more, Lord, truly, Lord. God, 00:36:18.869 --> 00:36:21.969 see people not as problems to overcome or avoid, 00:36:22.170 --> 00:36:24.670 but as people who need Jesus just like we do. 00:36:25.010 --> 00:36:27.889 Lord, help us, Lord, in the dirtiness of life 00:36:27.889 --> 00:36:30.789 and the brokenness, Lord, and it is sordid at 00:36:30.789 --> 00:36:35.250 times. But God, let us offer them this balm, 00:36:35.610 --> 00:36:39.070 this medicine for their soul, the grace of God 00:36:39.070 --> 00:36:41.550 that's given to sinners in Christ. And it's in 00:36:41.550 --> 00:36:44.869 his blessed name we pray, Father. Amen. All right, 00:36:44.929 --> 00:36:46.769 deacons, I'm going to ask you to come and prepare 00:36:46.769 --> 00:36:47.449 the table, please.