Living on Mission - Plentiful Harvest
Notes
Transcript
The felt need: is that there is a plentiful harvest
Solution: align our heart with the Father through prayer
Big Idea: A plentiful harvest is gathered by prayerful laborers.
Prayer is the mechanism by which harvesters are made helpful.
Prayer keeps laborers dependent on the Lord and not on labor.
Intro
Intro
Instagram clip of Brock Purdy QB harvesting wheat this weekend with the 49’s bye week.
Explain what harvest is (as a noun) and then as a verb
harvest (yield) — noun. the yield from plants in a single growing season; perhaps including trees also.
to harvest — verb. to gather as by reaping or gleaning; used of natural products.
As believers, there is a harvest for which we were made to work/labor, a harvest that is not of crops or plants but of people.
Before Jesus sends his disciples out for the first time He says this, Matthew 9:35–38 “35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “[the candy is King sized but the trick-or-treaters are few] … naw i’m just kidding “the harvest is plentiful” but the laborers are few”
How many of y’all would go trick or treating if you knew you were coming back wit King Sized candy?
There is a harvest that is plentiful! The harvest Jesus is referring to isn't money it’s not candy it’s people.
How do we then help to harvest/gather a plentiful harvest? There are at least three indicators for us in the text.
Proclamation of the gospel of the Kingdom
Posture of compassion
Prayer
1. Proclamation of the Gospel of Kingdom
What was the gospel Jesus preached?
Define GoK and its significance in contrast to the “near gospel”
Present gospel moment.
If we are to be effective laborers we must be proclaim the the GoK
2. Posture of compassion - the manner in which we go
Our willingness to take action and love those who don’t know Jesus is directly proportional to the extent of our compassion for them.
Although proclaiming the gospel and operating from a place of compassion are essential in fulfilling the great commission to GO - that wasn’t Jesus’s first action step for His disciples. His action step, the first command was to: Pray
3. A plentiful harvest is gathered by prayerful laborers.
I find it interesting Jesus doesn’t say the “work is plentiful” although that may be true, Jesus says the “harvest” the yield, the product is plentiful. - There are many He wants to bring into the kingdom and many miraculous things He wants to do.
I find it interesting he also doesnt put a qualitative description to modify “the laborers are few” he doesn’t state that as a negative or a positive but rather factual. There are some laborers in this room - we may appear to be few but God has a plentiful harvest for us to participate in.
Prayer is the mechanism by which harvesters are made helpful.
Prayer keeps laborers dependent on the Lord and not on labor.
Prayer aligns our heart with the Father.
Matthew 6:9–13 “9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Maybe define “Lord of the harvest” if I have time.
Conclusion:
Last week we talked about how why God leaves us in this world. That we might be sanctified by His Word and sent into this world.
How is God’s word seeking to sanctify you today? If you look at three characteristics of a laborer what is missing? Proclaiming of the gospel, posture of compassion? or earnest prayer?
God is sending you on a mission this week, but if I could ask you to apply one thing from today’s message it would be what Jesus asked his disciples, “pray earnestly to the Lord of the Harvest that He would send out laborers into his harvest.”
A plentiful harvest is gathered by prayerful laborers.
Who does he say this to? who does he call “laborers”? His disciples. Meaning you and I are meant to be laborers, it’s part of our role as disciples.
What are three characteristics of laborers?
They Sow - Phase I
Jesus “preached gospel of the Kingdom” v35
all of us are called to evangelize and be able to articulate the gospel
1 Peter 3:15 “15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”
Romans 10:14 “14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”
This isn’t a matter of giftedness but of calling - you may not be called to be a pastor but you are called to share the gospel
Matthew 28:19–20 “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””
Once we are obeident with our portion, our work, we can trust that God will do his to cause growth.
1 Corinthians 3:6–8 “6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.”
They Gather Phase II
Not only does God cause growth but he causes the harvest to be plentiful
They Pray
35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
What is the gospel?
Define Gospel of the Kingdom
What is the way in which the gospel is transmitted?
Proclaiming of the gospel & meeting physical needs - meeting physical needs increases peoples receptivity to the gospel and the procomation is the only way for people to know
Romans 10:14 “14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”
Last week we looked at Jesus’ prayer for His disciples, for us. Today we will look at what he asks us to pray. Why is He asking us to pray before he asks us to go?
Prayer keeps us, the laborers, dependent on the Lord and not on our labor.
Prayer also aligns our heart with the Father. We will not go if our heart is not aligned with His.
Jesus said “the harvest IS plentiful”. This is a statement of fact. There is a plentiful harvest to be gathered.
What is a harvest?
to harvest — verb. to gather as by reaping or gleaning; used of natural products.
harvest (yield) — noun. the yield from plants in a single growing season; perhaps including trees also.
harvest time — noun. the season for gathering crops.
What is Jesus saying?
Intro - helpless
Intro - helpless
Begin with two short stories
Story 1 - the time I got lost because my gps died and I was helpless, without guidance on how to get home
Story 2 - a time I had to finish a 12 page paper the night before it was due felt helpless, the task was too big to accomplish alone.
The reality is both circumstances can be overwhelming - it can be terrifying to not know which direction to go, to feel paralyzed and lost - helpless. It can also feel crippling to feel like your to-do list or the task before you is to grand. God has given us a grand mission - Matthew 24:14 reveals to us that we get to participating in ushering the second coming of Jesus by bringing the gospel to the world! How could we reach 8 billion people with the truth of the gospel? Much less how can we reach one roommate, one family member, one teammate, one classmate? Especially, when what we talked about last week is still true - we will experience opposition and hate in the midst of doing so.
How do we reach the world for Christ? How do we reach MSP with the hope of the gospel? How do we reach the U?
What is a disciple? A disciple of Jesus Christ is someone who is actively following Jesus, is being changed by Jesus, and is committed to the mission of Jesus.
35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
How reach the world?
Proclaim GoK
Met needs/healed
Why haven’t we - apathy v. compassion
“without a shepherd”
Solution: Pray Jesus went/laborers sent
fWhy did he tell us to pray?
It’s the Lord’s harvest not our own, “send out laborers into his harvest”
The Lord has authority over the mobilization of his laborers and over the field/harvest. If we go under our own authority and not His we go in vain.
If we are to have the same compassion Jesus had when he saw the crowds we must receive that compassion that compels us to action from God.
Prayer is the foundation to the advancement of the gospel. Receiving the gospel is a spiritual event that cannot be accomplished apart from prayer.
ch 10 he does send empower them and send them - but its preceded by praying
One reason this verse bothers me is b/c it almost feels like it leaves room for the disciples to dissociate themselves from the mission it seems to give room for followers to think they can pray that God would send laborers and neglect the fact that He is sending them. why does Jesus phrase it this way??? b/c vs 37 there are such few laborers that the only way the plentiful harvest is going to be harvested is if the Lord is _____(mobilizing his laborers?).
There’s diff types of laborers 1) sowers 2) reapers some plant seeds others collect the harvest
Why does the text describe the crowds as harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd? What was the form of their harassment and helplessness.
Sheep were harassed by predators and found helpless when they didn’t have a shepherd nearby to guide and protect. The crowds are harassed and helpless because the people of God/disciples/shepherds are not participating in the work of shepherding sheep. It’s the result of a duty that’s been left neglected. Why? a lack of compassion.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”