Do As He Does

Scripture: Matthew 9:35-10:23

Matthew 9:35–10:23 NIV

35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on 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 workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” 1 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. 9 “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts—10 no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. 16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

6/14/2026

Order of Service:

Announcements

Opening Worship

Prayer Requests

Prayer Song

Pastoral Prayer

Kid’s Time

Offering (Doxology and Offering Prayer)

Scripture Reading

Sermon

Closing Song

Benediction

Special Notes:

Standard

Opening Prayer:

God of unfailing promise and compassion, we confess that we have doubted Your faithfulness and fail to answer Your call. Forgive us, and renew us with Your Holy Spirit, that we may labor joyfully in Your harvest. We pray this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Call to Worship

Leader: We love the Lord, for He hears our cries and answers our prayers.

People: We will call on Him as long as we live.

Leader: Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”

People: We come to be sent out in His name, bringing hope and healing.

Leader: Come, let us worship the Lord of the harvest.

All: Alleluia! We lift our voices to God’s glory!

Do What He Does

Movement 1: The Harvest Field

Most of you have some familiarity with harvest field work, and at the very least, you’ve driven by the vast fields that surround us. These last few years have presented some significant challenges in the fields. But I want you, for just a moment, to close your eyes and go back to a September or October when you stood in front of a field of corn ready for harvest. Go back to one of those years where there was just the right amount of rain and just the right amount of sun, when all the storms went around us, when the corn was tall, and the field was full, and you were excited to get in the combine and get that harvest started. That’s a picture of the joy of the harvest season—a joy in the work that a part of us yearns for. But that is not what our passage today is about.

Farmers in the first century would stand outside fields just like that. Many of them would be in wheat or barley fields, perhaps, instead of corn. They, too, would be excited for those good years when the fields were plentiful, ripe, and ready. But as they stood on the edge of those fields, they weren’t thinking about firing up a combine or getting a tractor ready. Most of them didn’t have a team of horses to help pull farming equipment.

No, they stood there and looked at the vast fields with an expiration date. All of that wheat and barley needed to be brought in within three weeks at the most, regardless of what the weather did. These field workers were not landowners. They were the ones who worked for a wage or a share of the crops, and if the work did not get done, they would lose out, and they and their families would go without. They knew their community was counting on that harvest to put food on every table.

And as for farming equipment, what did they have back then? Most of them had a bushel basket and their own two hands.

As they stood there on the edge of the field, weeping in gratitude for the fruitful harvest and feeling the weariness already setting into their bones, before they took a step into that field, they put their hands together, and they prayed for help.

(pause)

Jesus had been preaching, teaching, and healing. As we saw last week, he had been gathering God’s people together, trying to get them to focus and give their attention to God, giving Him the glory instead of engaging in petty squabbles with each other. He had gone to places that were hard to reach and hopeless, working one person at a time. Jesus, the Lord of the harvest, had been working the fields himself. He saw far more than we do.

As he chose 12 to follow him and work with him in the fields, he wanted them to have at least a glimpse of the work ahead. These 12 were harassed sheep without a shepherd, drawn from the crowds, and were just now learning to follow him as he went right back in. As they gathered at the outer edges of that harvest, knowing the time was growing short, Jesus told them to pray to the Lord of the harvest that he would send more laborers into the field because the harvest was plentiful but the workers were few. Just as Jesus had already shown them, he told them to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field.

Movement 2a: The Prayer Itself

As disciples of Jesus, we follow Him first.

Then, when Jesus sends us, we trust and obey as He shows us the way.

The first work we do is to pray that God would send more help into His field.

I want us to sit for a moment with that prayer.

The image that Jesus is giving us makes us think that anybody with two good legs and strength enough to carry that bushel basket can be of service here. And as Jesus sends out these 12 apostles—Simon Peter, his brother Andrew, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were fishermen; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas; and here’s Matthew, the tax collector, the one that no one liked; James and Thaddeus, perhaps businessmen, family men; and Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, men with other motives and other agendas, —some of these men would be well-suited for fieldwork, and others would have a lot to learn and be far outside of their comfort zone.

But Jesus was not sending them into the wheat and barley fields. He was sending them to drive out evil spirits, to heal every disease and sickness. And none of them had the experience, the training, or the tools. So that prayer that they prayed before they stepped into the crowds, that prayer that they prayed with every step they took into the crowds, was not just,

“Lord, there are so many who need help. Send more help to your people.”

That prayer was,

“Lord, there are so many who need your help, and I am one of them. We need more help, and we need better help than I can give. Lord, send more help. Lord, you asked me to follow you, so I’m following you. You’ve given me a glimpse of the vast work ahead of me, and I’m overwhelmed. You told me to pray for help. You told me to pray to the Lord of the Harvest for help. I’ve seen and heard you pray for God to send more help. And now I see that the best thing I can do is to pray like you and know that that is the work”.

(pause)

Movement 2b: The Work That Keeps Praying

That prayer is the work, and we stop doing the work when we stop praying that prayer.

Sometimes we stop praying that prayer because we get distracted by what we are doing with our hands. When our farmers are out harvesting, they don’t count each corn stalk that they harvest. They keep their eyes on the bigger picture, the overwhelming picture, so they stay in their rows and get the job done right.

In the same way, first-century farmers in the wheat and barley fields didn’t count the stalks of wheat they harvested as they walked down the rows. The good workers weren’t even counting how many bushel baskets they filled until the day was over. They kept their eyes on the bigger picture, on the field, seeing what had been done and what was left to do.

We can’t always see the bigger picture, but we can make sure we keep following Jesus, that we keep Him in our sight, because our vision of the work is not going to come through what we see but from what He sees. And as long as Jesus is asking for more help, we definitely need to be asking for more help too.

Another reason we stop praying this prayer is that sometimes we don’t like to ask for help. Many of us have learned through experience. You may have been shamed for asking for help when someone thought you could do it yourself. You may have been pushed out of the way by overeager helpers who took off to do the work that was given to you and left you behind. Or you may have been promised help and then found yourself overwhelmed, drowning in the work by yourself when no help came through.

When we experience those life-shaping and sometimes faith-shaping events in our lives, it teaches us to reword the prayer that Jesus gave us. So I ask him for strength, wisdom, or guidance. I ask Jesus for the supernatural superpowers so that I can get out there and do that work, to be the best super-servant that I can be for him. And I’ll pray that in those moments when I feel like I’m the only one I can count on.

But that is not the prayer Jesus gave us.

That is not the way Jesus shows us.

There are moments when we pray, “Lord, help me see others the way you do. Help me see the potential that you have already put in them, that can be nurtured, healed, and honed in the work that you are leading us to do.”

But even that is not the prayer Jesus gave us for the harvest.

The prayer Jesus gave us is, “Lord, send more help.”

It doesn’t matter where that help comes from—fishermen, tax collectors, businessmen with no spiritual background, or people with questionable agendas. If Jesus sends them, we need them.

The truth is, we think we know how deep that need is when we stand on the outer edge of the field, but we don’t really know how deep that need is until we’re in the middle of the field and find ourselves surrounded by it. It is in that place that we know we need the help. We don’t know where it’s going to come from, and we know they are not going to come unless Jesus sends them.

Movement 3a: Sent — Where We Already Are

We pray as Jesus shows us, and we go as Jesus sends us. He told them not to go among the Gentiles or into any of the towns of the Samaritans, at least at first. Those fields would come later, in God’s appointed time. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.

I think there’s some significance for us as well in starting right where we are—among our friends, family, neighbors, and those in our own community who are not following Jesus, who are sheep without him as their shepherd. Sometimes we are tempted to put together a show or a program to bring Jesus to these people in need of him. We gather our resources, put on our costumes, and dress ourselves up like Jesus so that we can give to them what he gave to us.

We’ve done this throughout history in our world missions, in our spiritual retreats, and on Sunday mornings in our attempts to reach the least of these for Jesus. But brothers and sisters, we are never working for Jesus. We are working with Jesus. We are never bringing him to people who don’t know him. We are following him to people that he loves more than we do.

The people who are going to call us out for putting on the costume, the show, the program first are the ones that live in our own homes—and the ones that are closest to home. I think that’s why Jesus sent his disciples there first. It taught them to be honest. It showed them what the work truly was.

“Preach this message,” he told them, “The kingdom of heaven is near.”

Right up front, we let them know we are not the one they’ve been waiting for, but the one that they’ve been waiting for is closer than they know.

Then he tells them, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.” Remove any obstacle someone has to experiencing Jesus. He taught them to preach humbly. That work of healing, removing obstacles, raising the dead, and casting out demons would remind them to keep praying that prayer for help.

As the disciples were out telling others that Jesus was here, they prayed and worked to pull people out of the pits, to help them see and hear clearly, and to prepare them for Jesus. I wonder if they saw themselves in the eyes of many of those people crowded around them. It had not been that long since Jesus came to them and called them from the crowd to come and follow him. When they got near all those troubled people, did those troubles remind them of their own encounters with sickness and death? Their own uncleanness and battles with evil spirits. Some of those challenges Jesus removed. Others, they were learning to face with him daily.

As they did this work, Jesus told them, “Freely you have received. Freely give.” There in the field, in the Lord’s field, they weren’t working for themselves. They were working with Jesus, and it was Jesus who was going to take care of them. They didn’t need to prepare enough money or bring extra supplies, for Jesus said the worker is worth his keep, and the Lord of the harvest takes care of his workers.

We don’t need a costume; we just need to show up as the ones who received freely, and are still receiving freely.

Movement 3b: Sent — With Jesus, Through Resistance, Toward Sending Again

When we are sent by Jesus, we trust and obey as He shows us the way… and our Lord and Savior goes with us. There are divinely appointed moments when the heavens open up and the peace of God fills the room. Eyes are opened to see Him, ears are opened to hear His voice, and hearts open to receive Him. Some of those moments feel like all we did was show up and watch Jesus work.

There are other moments when our words and actions seem to carry and convey more weight, depth, and love to those around us than we realize. We experience Jesus working through us in a way that leaves us pointing to Him as the true shepherd and Savior.

And there are other divinely appointed moments when none of it seems to work right. Jesus tells us where we are not welcomed and where no one listens, we need to shake the dust off our feet and leave.

Sometimes those moments have to do with timing. Sometimes people aren’t ready to hear what we have to share yet. There are still obstacles in the way. Most of the time, we don’t know for sure why some things work and others don’t. But Jesus tells us not to stay where we are not welcome and not to keep preaching where the ears won’t listen.

Does that sound like giving up? One of my former professors, Dr. Tuttle, used to tell us, “Sometimes you put the pressure on by taking the pressure off.”

When it goes well, it is because Jesus is with us. He has sent us, and His Spirit gives us what we need to serve Him faithfully.

Sometimes, when it doesn’t work, it’s because Jesus is with us. The reaction we are facing is not just a reaction to us; it’s a reaction to Him.

Jesus tells us to prepare for resistance because there is a cost. We’re going to learn more about that next week. Don’t be surprised if you experience resistance this week, as you follow Jesus and serve with him.

The truth is, we’re not always going to know why our work with Jesus goes well some days and not others. We’re not the ones leading this work. Jesus will share with us as He chooses. As we follow him, we trust and obey as he shows us the way.

Every experience serving with Jesus shows us deeper need and anchors us praying His prayer, that the Lord of the harvest would send more workers, more help.

We are reminded that as He sends us:

We go, praying,

We go, following Him because He goes with us, and

We go, doing as He does.

Brothers and sisters,

Where has Jesus shown you his harvest?

Where is he sending you?

How are you praying that harvest prayer, that Jesus would send more workers to go into that harvest with you?

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus,

We have heard your call to follow where you lead us.

Help us empty our lives of distractions and open our eyes to see the harvest before us.

Show us our empty hands, and in our weakness, teach us to pray to you to send more help.

Help us to know that our work with you is only accomplished when we pray with you.

And give us the grace to face resistance as we offer ourselves as examples and vessels of your grace to our brothers and sisters around us.

In Jesus' name. Amen.