The Motivation for Harvesting

SUN CITY BIBLE CHURCH MISSIONS WEEK-END

SEPTEMBER 2007

“HARVEST TIME” - MATTHEW 9.35-38

Message #2 – Sunday Morning

The Motivation For Harvesting

JOHN AND BETTY STAM WERE A RATHER UNIMPOSING YOUNG COUPLE WHO MARRIED IN 1933 AND BEGAN THEIR MARRIED LIFE BY HEADING FOR THE MISSION FIELD OF CHINA. 

·       THEY WERE YOUNG AND CERTAINLY AWARE OF HOW MUCH THEY HAD TO LEARN.  BUT THEY WERE UNRESERVEDLY DEDICATED TO THEIR CALLING AND WERE READY FOR THE HARDSHIPS AND SETBACKS OF CHRISTIAN WORK IN A FOREIGN LAND.

·       THEIR AIM WAS SIMPLE: TO GO ABOUT IN CHINA, TEACHING AND PREACHING … "TALKING ABOUT [JESUS] TO EVERYBODY, AND LIVE SO CLOSELY WITH HIM AND IN HIM, THAT OTHERS MAY SEE THAT THERE REALLY IS SUCH A PERSON AS JESUS."  

I AM CERTAIN THAT THE STAMS WERE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE PASSAGE THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT FROM MATTHEWS GOSPEL AND THE 9TH CHAPTER.  I’LL TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED TO JOHN AND BETTY STAM IN A BIT BUT FIRST LET’S REVIEW WHAT WE LEARNED LAST NIGHT.

WE BEGAN BY OBSERVING THAT UNLIKE THE PHYSICAL HARVEST WITH IT’S PERENNIAL BRIEF WINDOW OF TIME DURING WHICH THE CROP MUST BE BROUGHT IN, THE HARVEST THAT GOES ON IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM IS ONE WHICH, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE ONE WHO’S SOUL IS IN NEED OF BEING HARVESTED, LASTS AS LONG AS THE LIFETIME OF A MAN.  BUT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE ONE LABORING IN THE FIELD, THE HARVEST IS A PERPETUAL ONE. 

WE NOTED THAT THE FIELDS ARE CROWDED WITH AN EVER INCREASING NUMBER OF SOULS THAT ARE READY TO TRUST CHRIST BUT THAT SO MANY CHURCHES AND INDIVIDUAL BELIEVERS ARE EMPTY HANDED.

IN MATTHEW 9.35 WE NOTED SOMETHING OF THE METHOD OF HARVESTING THAT WAS EMPLOYED BY OUR LORD JESUS, SUGGESTING THAT IF WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST ON EARTH TODAY, IT WOULD FOLLOW THAT AS ONES WHO HAVE BEEN SENT OUT INTO THE WORLD WITH THE GOSPEL, WE OUGHT TO EMULATE HIS METHOD.

HIS METHOD WAS ONE OF SEEKING TO MOVE AMONG THE PEOPLE AND TAKING OPPORTUNITIES TO TEACH AND PREACH AS HE PRESENTED HIMSELF AS THE MESSIAH, SENT BY THE FATHER TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR, TO BIND UP THE BROKEN, TO FREE THE CAPTIVES OF SIN AND DEATH, TO BRING SIGHT TO THE SPIRITUALLY BLIND, TO LIBERATE THOSE WHO WERE OPPRESSED AND TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.

THAT WAS WHAT JESUS DID AND THE OBVIOUS QUESTION IS, IF WE ARE TRULY HIS AMBASSADORS … IF WE ARE TRULY THE BODY OF CHRIST IN THE WORLD TODAY … HOW CAN WE DO ANY LESS?

THIS MORNING I WANT TO MOVE FROM WHAT JESUS DID (THE METHOD OF THE HARVEST) TO WHY HE DID IT (THE MOTIVATION FOR THE HARVEST).  WE TURN THEN TO VERSE 36 OF MATTHEW 9 AND DISCOVER THAT THE ANSWER TO OUR INQUIRY IS FOUND IN WHAT JESUS SAW.

MATTHEW 9.36: BUT WHEN HE SAW THE MULTITUDES, HE WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION FOR THEM, BECAUSE THEY WERE WEARY AND SCATTERED, LIKE SHEEP HAVING NO SHEPHERD.

HE SAW

IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE TO LOOK AT SOMETHING AND SEE NOTHING AT ALL. I DO IT ALL THE TIME WHEN I LOSE MY KEYS OR WALLET OR CELL PHONE AND HAVE TO ASK LINDA TO FIND IT … IT’S USUALLY IN PLAIN SITE IN A LOCATION WHERE I HAD ALREADY LOOKED ONCE OR TWICE.

IF YOU DO MUCH TRAVELING THROUGH AIRPORTS YOU QUICKLY REALIZE THAT IT’S EASY TO JUST SIT AND DAYDREAM WHILE MASSES OF PEOPLE PASS BY. 

·       IT’S THE SAME WAY WITH SHOPPING MALLS … AND TRAFFIC BACKUPS ON THE HIGHWAYS.

CROWDS MAKE US TIRED, NERVOUS, IRRITABLE AND ANNOYED.

·       IT’S HARD TO WAIT IN LINE AT THE GROCERY STORE AND IT’S HARDER TO DRIVE ON A CROWDED FREEWAY DURING RUSH HOUR.

·       WHEN THE CROWDS COME, IT’S EASY TO SAY, "LEAVE ME ALONE. I’VE SEEN ENOUGH PEOPLE. LET ME GO BACK TO MY HOUSE AND MY SOFA IN FRONT OF THE TV AND MY CAT/DOG AND I’LL BE JUST FINE."

·       THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE WHEN YOU ARE BUSY. 

JESUS HAD BEEN BUSY FOR DAYS. THE TEXT SAYS HE HAD BEEN PREACHING IN EVERY VILLAGE AND TOWN.

·       LINDA AND I ARE IN ITINERANT WEEKEND MINISTRY 2 TO 3 WEEKENDS OUT OF EACH MONTH. 

·       IN TWO YEARS WE’VE MET ALL SORTS OF NEW PEOPLE AND HAD A GREAT NUMBER OF BLESSINGS BUT I WANT TO TELL YOU THAT ITINERANT MINISTRY WEARS YOU DOWN PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY, MENTALLY AND SPIRITUALLY.

·       IT’S EASY TO TUNE PEOPLE OUT BECAUSE YOU ARE SO WORN OUT.

IF WE ARE GOING TO SEE THE CROWDS OF THE WORLD, IT WILL REQUIRE US TO REDEFINE OUR VIEW OF HUMANITY.

·       ALL OF US GRAVITATE TOWARD PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKE US, WHETHER IT BE AT THE COUNTRY CLUB, THE RECREATIONAL CENTER, THE COMMUNITY WHERE WE CHOOSE TO LIVE, OR IN OUR OWN CHURCHES.

·       BY NATURE WE TEND TO HANG AROUND PEOPLE WHO LOOK LIKE US, TALK LIKE US, ACT LIKE US AND THINK LIKE US … AND MAYBE HER I CAN SAY “ACHE” LIKE US TOO  AND THAT’S NOT WRONG.

BUT IF WE ARE TO BE THE BODY OF CHRIST IN THE WORLD WE MUST LEARN TO SEE THE MULTITUDES AS JESUS SAW THEM AND IT BEGINS BY “SEEING THEM.”

·       YOU MAY THINK THAT IS NOT A HARD THING TO DO HERE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WITH ALL THE PEOPLE RUNNING AROUND HERE BUT DO YOU REALLY SEE THEM? 

·       IF WE ARE GOING TO SEE THE CROWDS AS JESUS SAW THEM WE MUST OPEN OUR EYES IN A NEW WAY.

·       JESUS SAW SOMETHING THE DISCIPLES DIDN’T SEE. IT WAS NOT BECAUSE THEY WRE BLIND … THEY JUST DIDN’T SEE WHAT HE SAW.

·       EVEN SO WE MAY LIVE OUR WHOLE LIVES SURROUNDED BY THE PEOPLE JESUS SEES … WHILE WE SEE NOTHING . . . AND FEEL NOTHING.

BIBLE SCHOLAR AND AUTHOR D. A. CARSON TELLS OF A TIME WHEN HE AND A FRIEND WERE GOING TO THE BEACH FOR SOME MUCH-NEEDED PEACE AND QUIET, BUT WHEN THEY GOT THERE THEY FOUND A HORDE OF HIGH SCHOOL KIDS CELEBRATING GRADUATION WITH LOTS OF BEER, LOUD MUSIC AND, SHALL WE SAY, PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION.

HE WRITES, "DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED THAT MY EVENING’S RELAXATION WAS BEING SHATTERED BY A RAUCOUS PARTY, I WAS GETTING READY TO COVER MY DISAPPOINTMENT BY MORAL OUTRAGE. I TURNED TO MY FRIEND TO UNLOAD THE VENOM BUT STOPPED AS I SAW HIM STARING AT THE SCENE WITH A FARAWAY LOOK IN HIS EYES. AND THEN HE SAID, RATHER SOFTLY, ’HIGH SCHOOL KIDS—WHAT A MISSION FIELD!’" (D. A. CARSON, WHEN JESUS CONFRONTS THE WORLD, P.110 (BAKER BOOK HOUSE)

THAT’S WHAT WE SEE IN OUR TEXT THIS MORNING.  JESUS WASN’T THE ONLY ONE LOOKING AND WATCHING IN THAT DAY. BUT HE MAY WELL HAVE BEEN THE ONLY ONE TO SEE. 

·       TODAY THE WORLD AND YOUR COMMUNITY IS FULL OF PEOPLE WHO ARE LOST …

·       DO WE SEE THEM AS JESUS SEES THEM? 

·       HOW MANY WILL YOU SEE TODAY?  HOW MANY WILL YOU MISS? 

·       JESUS SAW THEM AND SO MUST WE.

HE WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION

THE TEXT HERE REVEALS TO US IN A POWERFUL WAY THE HEART OF THE LORD JESUS.  HIS HEART IS REVEALED IN HIS RESPONSE AS HE “SAW” THE PEOPLE.  THE TEXT SAYS THAT HE WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION.

THIS IS A VERY POWERFUL WORD IN THE GREEK.  IT IS THE WORD “SPLANGCHNA.” 

·       IT LITERALLY MEANS “TO BE MOVED IN THE INWARD PARTS”.  BARCLAY SAYS IT REFERS TO “THE NOBLER VISCERA” MEANING THE HEART, THE LUNGS, THE LIVER, THE INTESTINES.

THE GREEKS BELIEVED THAT THESE ORGANS WERE THE SEAT OF THE EMOTIONS, AND EVERY ONE OF YOU HAS LIVED LONG ENOUGH TO KNOW THE FEELING.

·       SOME OF YOU HAVE KNOWN WHAT IT IS TO FEEL FEAR IN THE GUT. 

·       SOME OF YOU HAVE KNOWN THE RACING HEARTBEAT OF INTENSE LOVE.

·        YOU HAVE KNOWN THE GREAT GNAWING PRESSURE OF GRIEF AND ANXIETY THAT CAN LITERALLY CREATE AWFUL PAIN IN THE CHEST AND KNOTS IN THE STOMACH.

YOU FEEL THOSE EMOTIONS IN THE SPLANCHNA AND THE RESPONSE OF THOSE SENSATIONS IS THE MOVEMENT OF THE SPLANCHNA.

·       SO WHEN MATTHEW SAYS THAT OUR LORD WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION, YOU KNOW THAT WHEN THE LORD LOOKED UPON THE LOST WITH WHOM HE CAME INTO CONTACT AS HE MOVED ABOUT FROM CITY TO VILLAGE AND IN THE SYNAGOGUES HE EXPERIENCED A GREAT SURGE OF AFFECTION AND COMPASSION FOR THEM.

·       HE EXPERIENCED A POWERFUL, GUT WRENCHING REACTION. 

HE COULD HAVE BEEN ALOOF AND INDIFFERENT AS WE SO OFTEN ARE WHEN WE SEE THE HOMELESS AND THE LESS FORTUNATE THAN WE. HE WAS NOT.

HE COULD JUSTIFIABLY BEEN CONDEMNATORY AND DISMISSIVE AS WE SO OFTEN ARE WHEN WE SEE THE ADDICT AND THE ALCOHOLIC, OR THE HOMOSEXUAL WITH AIDS. HE WAS NOT.

HE COULD HAVE MADE EXCUSES FOR PEOPLE AND DOWN-PLAYED THEIR SIN AS WE SO OFTEN DO WHEN WE SEE THE REBELLIOUS THOSE ALIENATED FROM SOCIETY. HE DID NOT.

IN MATTHEW 7.11 HIS ONE WORD DESCRIPTION OF THE STATE OF HEART OF THE CROWD IS "EVIL". HE COULD HAVE DESPISED THE CROWD, CAUGHT UP IN ALL THEIR PETTY ABSURDITIES. HE COULD HAVE HATED THE CROWD, WHICH WOULD SOON TURN ON HIM AND CALL FOR HIS DEATH. BUT INSTEAD, HIS HEART WENT OUT TO THEM IN A MOST POWERFUL, GUT WRENCHING WAY.

HOW CAN WE WHO ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST BE SO COMPLACENT WHEN WE ARE SURROUNDED BY THOSE WHO ARE LOST AND HEADED FOR HELL?

NEVER LET IT BE FORGOTTEN THAT JESUS SAID, ‘NO MAN COMES TO THE FATHER BUT THROUGH HIM.”

·       THAT UNSAVED PERSON SITTING NEXT TO YOU IN THE GOLF CART LATER THIS WEEK IS GOING TO SPEND AND ETERNITY IN TORMENT.

·       THAT FRIEND WHO YOU WHOM YOU PLAN TO HAVE LUNCH WITH THIS WEEK IS GOING TO SPEND ETERNITY SEPARATED FROM JESUS. 

·       YOU SHARE A FENCE WITH YOUR UNSAVED NEIGHBOR BUT HAVE YOU SHARED THE GOSPEL? 

·       THE BUDDIES YOU SHARE COFFEE WITH AT THE LOCAL EATERY, YOUR TENNIS PARTNER, THE STAFF AT THE RECREATIONAL CENTER, THE NURSING STAFF AT THE LOCAL CLINIC, THE GIRL AT THE CHECKOUT COUNTER OF THE GROCERY STORE … APART FROM CHRIST THEY ARE ALL DESTINED FOR HELL. 

·       DO YOU SEE THAT?  DO YOU KNOW THAT?  ARE YOU MOVED BY THAT?

EVEN IF YOU BELIEVE THE MOST OPTIMISTIC STATISTICS OF THE GALLUP ORGANIZATION WHICH SAYS THAT THERE ARE BETWEEN 30 AND 50 MILLION EVANGELICAL BELIEVERS IN THIS COUNTRY TODAY, THAT MEANS THAT THERE ARE BETWEEN 250 AND 270 MILLION WHO ARE LOST!

OR IF YOU BELIEVE THAT ANYONE WHO GOES TO CHURCH MUST BE SAVED, THAT STILL LEAVES MORE THAN 150 MILLION WHO NEVER SET FOOT IN A CHURCH.

·       DO WE HAVE ANY COMPASSION FOR THEM?

·       WHAT EVIDENCE IS THERE THAT INDICATES THAT WE EVEN THINK ABOUT THEM?

·       WHAT INDICATION IS THERE THAT THESE LOST SHEEP HAVE PENETRATED EVEN A PART OF OUR CALLOUSED HEARTS?

YOU CAN’T SAY THAT YOU LOVE JESUS, AND NOT CARE ABOUT THE THINGS THAT HE CARES ABOUT. 

·       IF WE ARE THE BODY … IF OUR HEART BEATS WITH THAT OF THE LORD JESUS …

·       IF WE TRULY ARE A REFLECTION OF HIM IN THIS WORLD … OUR HEART MUST BE MOVED WITH COMPASSION FOR THE LOST IN THE WORLD AND HERE IN MENIFEE VALLEY. 

·       AND WHEN IT DOES, IT WILL INFUSE THE MINISTRY OF THIS LOCAL CHURCH WITH A POWERFUL, IRRESISTIBLE FORCE THAT WILL TRANSFORM IT IN WAYS NEVER DREAMED POSSIBLE.

WELL WHAT WAS IT IN PARTICULAR THAT JESUS SAW THAT RESULTED IN THIS REACTION OF HIS HEART?

WEARY

HE SAW THAT THEY WERE WEARY. 

·       THE WORD HERE IS ACTUALLY A WORD THAT CAN BE TRANSLATED “ANNOYED OR “HARASSED” OR “TROUBLED”;

·       IT IS ALSO USED IN THE SENSE THAT IT MEANS TO SKIN, TO MANGLE, TO STRIP THE FLESH FROM. 

JESUS LOOKED AND SAW THE PITIABLE CONDITION OF PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES WHO WERE BEING DESTROYED. 

·       HE SAW THE BROKEN CONDITIONS OF MIND AND SPIRIT AND BODY. 

·       HE SAW THE OPPRESSION OF SATANIC INFLUENCE AND THE POLITICAL AND CULTURAL HARDSHIPS OF LIFE. 

·       HE SAW THAT THESE PEOPLE WERE BEING DESTROYED … THEY WERE IN A DESPERATE ONE SIDED BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL AND THEY WERE LOSING.

SCATTERED

FURTHERMORE, THEY WERE SCATTERED; THIS IS A WORD THAT LITERALLY MEANS THEY WERE FLUNG ABOUT.

THIS NOT AT ALL THE AMUSING PICTURE OF SHEEP THAT HAVE FOUND A WAY OUT OF THE PASTURE AND NOW NEED TO BE RE-GATHERED. 

·       THIS IS NOT SIMPLE AIMLESS WANDERING THROUGH LIFE WITHOUT ANY LEADERSHIP.  THERE IS SOMETHING MORE SINISTER HERE. 

·       THIS WORD SAYS THAT THEY WERE BEING “FLUNG ABOUT.”

THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS TO SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD; WHO HAVE NO ONE THERE TO PROTECT THEM FROM THE EVIL INFLUENCES OF RAVENING WOLVES, LIONS, OR OTHER PREDATORS – OR CALAMITIES THAT WOULD BEFALL THEM.

THIS IS A DISTURBING AND ALARMING PICTURE OF SHEEP THAT ARE IN A CONDITION OF BROKENNESS AND RUIN BECAUSE OF SOME BRUTAL ENEMY WHO HAS MANGLED THEM, RIPPED THEM APART, VICTIMIZED THEM, USED THEM AND TOSSED THEM ASIDE LEAVING THEM FOR DEAD.

LIKE SHEEP HAVING NO SHEPHERD

THIRDLY, WHEN JESUS SEES THE MULTITUDES HE SEES THAT THEY – [AND PERHAPS IT IS TIME THAT WE INCLUDED OURSELVES AMONG THEM] HE SEES THAT WITHOUT HIM WE - WANDER AROUND LIKE STUPID LOST SHEEP.

·       WE FOLLOW WHOEVER HAPPENS TO BE IN FRONT EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THEY ARE GOING.

·       WE GET OURSELVES INTO DEEPER AND DEEPER TROUBLE, TORN APART BY PREDATORS AND WORN DOWN BY FEAR, WITH NOT THE SLIGHTEST HOPE OF EVER EXTRICATING OURSELVES FROM THE VALLEY OF DEATH THAT WE HAVE GOT OURSELVES TRAPPED INTO.

"WEARY AND SCATTERED LIKE SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD," IS A GRAPHIC METAPHOR. BUT THERE IS MORE TO IT THAN MEETS THE EYE. BECAUSE WHEN JESUS SAYS THAT, HE IS REFERRING BACK TO A POWERFUL STRAND OF PROPHETIC TEACHING.

IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THE SHEPHERD IS A PICTURE OF THE LEADERSHIP OF GOD'S PEOPLE, JUST AS IT IS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 

IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, THE LEADERSHIP OF GOD’S PEOPLE HAD FAILED TERRIBLY. 

·       ZECHARIAH 17. SAYS "WOE TO THE WORTHLESS SHEPHERD WHO LEAVES THE FLOCK!

·       BUT NOT ONLY HAVE THEY ABANDONED THE FLOCK INSTEAD OF PROTECTING IT, THEY HAVE OPPRESSED, THEY HAVE KILLED, THEY HAVE DONE EVERYTHING FOR THEMSELVES AND NOTHING FOR THOSE IN THEIR CARE.

IN NUMBERS 27.16,17, MOSES PRAYS FOR THE LORD TO APPOINT A MAN OVER THE CONGREGATION TO LEAD THEM SO THAT THEY MAY NOT BE LIKE SHEEP WHICH HAVE NO SHEPHERD.

·       ISRAEL OFTEN HAD SUCH GOOD SHEPHERD, BUT THEY ALSO HAD FALSE ONES LIKE THOSE MENTIONED ABOVE AND IN ZECHARIAH 19 WHO "SEE LYING VISIONS, AND TELL FALSE DREAMS; THEY COMFORT IN VAIN. THEREFORE THE PEOPLE WANDER LIKE SHEEP, THEY ARE AFFLICTED, BECAUSE THERE IS NO SHEPHERD."

THE ULTIMATE FULFILLMENT OF MOSES PRAYER WAS THE GREATER SON OF DAVID, THE MESSIAH, WHO WOULD SHEPHERD THE FLOCK.

·       EZEKIEL 34.23 - "THEN I WILL SET OVER THEM ONE SHEPHERD, MY SERVANT DAVID, AND HE WILL FEED THEM; HE WILL FEED THEM HIMSELF AND BE THEIR SHEPHERD.

DAVID WAS ALREADY DEAD WHEN THIS WAS PROPHESIED BUT

JEREMIAH 23.5 EXPLAINS IT. "BEHOLD, [THE] DAYS ARE COMING," DECLARES THE LORD, "WHEN I SHALL RAISE UP FOR DAVID A RIGHTEOUS BRANCH; AND HE WILL REIGN AS KING AND ACT WISELY AND DO JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS IN THE LAND.

BUT GOD HAD ALSO SAID THROUGH HIS PROPHET ZECHARIAH THAT THIS GOOD SHEPHERD WOULD PAY A PRICE FOR HIS COMPASSION.

·       JESUS QUOTED THAT VERY PROPHECY TO HIS DISCIPLES JUST BEFORE HIS DEATH WHEN HE SAID "THIS VERY NIGHT YOU WILL ALL FALL AWAY ON ACCOUNT OF ME, FOR IT IS WRITTEN: 'I WILL STRIKE THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK WILL BE SCATTERED.'" (MATTHEW 26.31):

·       IT WAS THE COMPASSION OF CHRIST LED HIM TO PAY THAT PRICE.  IT WAS HIS COMPASSION THAT LED HIM THE CROSS.

JOHN AND BETTY STAM HAD THEIR HEARTS TRANSFORMED BY THE COMPASSION OF JESUS AND THEY WERE LED TO GIVE THEIR LIVES IN THE SERVICE OF THE LOST MILLIONS OF CHINA. FOR THEM, TOO, COMPASSION LED TO SUFFERING.

THEY FOUND THEMSELVES CAUGHT UP IN THE ADVANCE OF THE COMMUNISTS, WHO OVERRAN THE TOWN WHERE THEY WERE LIVING. THEY WERE TAKEN CAPTIVE, ALONG WITH THEIR BABY DAUGHTER.

WHEN THE COMMUNISTS THREATENED TO BAYONET THEIR CHILD, A LOCAL MAN, WHOM THEY DID NOT KNOW, PROTESTED. THE COMMUNIST LEADER SAID "THEN IT'S YOUR LIFE FOR HERS!" THE MAN REPLIED, "I AM WILLING." HE WAS BEHEADED.

JOHN AND BETTY STAM WERE TAKEN ON A FORCED MARCH DURING WHICH SOMEONE RECOGNIZED THEM AND ASKED THEM "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" "WE DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE GOING," REPLIED JOHN, "BUT WE ARE GOING TO HEAVEN."

THEY WERE BROUGHT BEFORE A CROWD ON A HILLSIDE, AND THE COMMUNIST LEADER POURED SCORN ON THEIR FAITH AS A LESSON TO THOSE WHO WERE LISTENING.

IN THE CROWD WAS A MR CHANG, A NOMINAL CHRISTIAN WHO UP UNTIL THAT TIME HAD BEEN RELUCTANT TO TAKE A STAND FOR HIS FAITH. BUT HE WAS EMBOLDENED BY THE WITNESS OF THE STAMS, AND PLEADED FOR THEIR LIVES.  HE WAS PUSHED AWAY AND ASKED, "ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN THEN?" "YES," HE REPLIED, AND HE WAS DRAGGED AWAY AND KILLED. A FEW DAYS LATER, JOHN THEN BETTY WERE BOTH BEHEADED.

FRIENDS, NOT MANY OF US ARE CALLED TO MARTYRDOM BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE REST OF US WILL HAVE AN EASY TIME OF IT. SOMETIMES THE COMPASSION OF JESUS LEADS US INTO STRUGGLES IS OF A DIFFERENT SORT.

GENE AND MARIE SCOTT WENT TO A REMOTE AREA OF PERU IN 1958 TO TELL THE LOCAL PEOPLE ABOUT CHRIST CRUCIFIED AND TO TRANSLATE THE BIBLE SO THEY COULD READ ABOUT HIM FOR THEMSELVES. IT TOOK THEM YEARS TO LEARN THE LANGUAGE, NEVER MIND TRANSLATING THE SCRIPTURES.

·       FOR 25 YEARS THEY SAW NO REAL SPIRITUAL FRUIT. MANY TIMES THEY FELT OVERWHELMED WITH DISCOURAGEMENT.

·       THEY STRUGGLED MIGHTILY TO RAISE THEIR FOUR CHILDREN IN THAT REMOTE AREA;

·       THERE WAS THE FIRE THAT CONSUMED ALL THEIR WORK;

·       THERE WAS THE FLOOD THAT WASHED AWAY THE VILLAGE WHERE THEY LIVED;

·       THE LONG TERM ILLNESS; AND THE PERIODIC HOSTILITY FROM THE LOCAL LEADER.

GENE SCOTT WAS ASKED ON ONE OCCASION IF HE EVER FELT LIKE QUITTING.  HE ANSWERED, "WHICH TIME DO YOU MEAN?"

·       TWICE HE ASKED TO BE REPLACED, BUT NOBODY ELSE VOLUNTEERED TO DO THE JOB, SO HE FELT HE HAD TO SEE IT THROUGH, AND HE PRAYED FOR STRENGTH TO CONTINUE, WHICH HE KNEW HE DIDN'T HAVE HIMSELF.

BUT THEN IN 1984 THE HOLY SPIRIT BEGAN TO MOVE IN A WONDERFUL WAY.  THERE WAS A SPIRITUAL AWAKENING AS NEARLY ALL THE LOCALS BEGAN TO GATHER IN THE EVENINGS TO STUDY THE BIBLE AND TO PRAY. THESE NIGHTLY GATHERINGS WENT ON FOR EIGHT YEARS, AND TRANSFORMED MANY LIVES.

WHEN HE SAW THE CROWDS, [JESUS] HAD COMPASSION ON THEM, BECAUSE THEY WERE WEARY AND SCATTERED, LIKE SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD.

THE WORLD, THIS NATION, THIS COUNTRY, THIS VALLEY, THIS CITY IS FULL OF PEOPLE WHO ARE WOUNDED, BRUISED, MANGLED, CAST DOWN, BLEEDING, SLOWLY DYING.  

·       AS LONG AS YOU CLOSE YOUR EYES, YOU’LL NEVER SEE WHAT JESUS SAW. 

·       SO WE MUST PRAY, "LORD, OPEN OUR EYES THAT WE MAY SEE THE WORLD THROUGH YOUR EYES."

WHAT ABOUT YOU DEAR FRIENDS.  WHAT PART ARE YOU PLAYING IN RESCUING THE LOST SHEEP AND HOW MUCH HAVE YOU SACRIFICED OR SUFFERED IN ORDER TO DO SO HERE IN SUN CITY, AND IN MENIFEE VALLEY WHICH IS PROJECTED TO HAVE OVER 100,000 PEOPLE BY THE END OF 2008 ONLY 25% OF WHOM WILL BE OVER 60 YEARS OF AGE? 

FOLKS, I SUSPECT MOST OF YOU ARE TRANSPLANTS FROM OTHER PLACES ALL OVER THIS COUNTRY. 

·       FOR SOME OF YOU, PERHAPS YOUR HEART IS STILL BACK HOME OR WITH FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES IN OTHER PARTS OF THIS COUNTRY. 

·       LINDA AND I ARE SO VERY GRATEFUL TO GOD FOR THE LOVE AND SUPPORT YOU HAVE SHOWN TO US IN OUR WORK OF PLANTING CHURCHES IN THE MIDWEST. 

·       WE ARE THANKFUL EVERY DAY FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT THAT YOU HAVE BEEN TO US. 

·       DO YOU KNOW THAT THIS YOU FOLKS WERE THE FIRST CHURCH WHO TOOK ON A PORTION OF OUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT.

·       IT WAS A TOTAL SURPRISE TO US AND I WEPT WITH JOY EVEN AS I WAS HUMBLED BY YOUR GENEROSITY AS I RECEIVED THE NEWS.

BUT LET ME ASK YOU LOVINGLY, “WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE AT SUN CITY BIBLE CHURCH IN TERMS OF YOUR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE MISSION FIELD RIGHT OUTSIDE THESE DOORS?”

BEFORE I EVER CAME TO SUN CITY TO MEET YOUR FOLKS FOR THE FIRST TIME, SOMEONE WHO KNEW I WAS COMING DESCRIBED THIS CHURCH AS “AN OLD PEOPLE’S CHURCH IN THE MIDDLE OF A DEL WEBB RETIREMENT COMMUNITY.” 

·       I HOPE AND CERTAINLY BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE MUCH MORE THAN THAT.

·       BUT IT WOULD BE SO EASY FOR YOU TO BE NOTHING MORE THAN THAT … AN OLD PEOPLE’S CHURCH … IN THE MIDDLE OF A RETIREMENT COMMUNITY

·        … PEOPLE COME AND PEOPLE GO

·       … IT’S CLOSE … IT’S CONVENIENT

·       … AND SO WE SIT AND WAIT FOR PEOPLE TO COME … UNTIL THEY GO … EITHER BY THE LORD TAKING THEM HOME … OR UNTIL THEY ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO LIVE INDEPENDENTLY AND THE CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN TAKE THEM HOME

·       AND THEN WE WAIT FOR THE REPLACEMENTS TO MOVE IN AND COME TO CHURCH HERE BECAUSE IT’S CLOSE … IT’S CONVENIENT.

LISTEN DEAR FRIENDS, SUCH AN ATTITUDE WOULD BE A SHAMEFULLY TRAGIC ONE WHEN ALL AROUND THIS DEL WEBB RETIREMENT COMMUNITY, WITHIN EASY REACH OF THIS BODY OF CHRIST ARE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE OF ALL AGES …

·       CHILDREN, TEENAGERS, YOUNG MARRIED COUPLES, YOUNG FAMILIES, MIDDLE AGERS AND EVEN SOME OLDSTERS WHO ARE WEARY AND SCATTERED LIKE SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD. 

·       IF SUN CITY BIBLE CHURCH IS TO REFLECT ITS IDENTITY WITH CHRIST … AS THE BODY OF  CHRIST … IT MUST BE MOVED WITH A HEART OF COMPASSION AND REACH OUT TO TELL THEM ABOUT JESUS … AND PLAY AN ACTIVE ROLE IN RESCUING THOSE LOST SHEEP.

YOU SEE, THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN THE TIME OF THE LORD JESUS LIVED UNDER NO WORSE CIRCUMSTANCES THAN PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIVED AT ANY OTHER TIME OF HISTORY. 

·       DO WE HAVE FEWER WORRIES THAN THOSE WHO LIVED IN JESUS DAY?

·       JESUS SAW PEOPLE WHO WERE WEARY AND I BELIEVE HE STILL SEES WEARY PEOPLE TODAY … DO YOU? 

·       TECHNOLOGY, THE ECONOMY AND GENERAL CONDITIONS OF LIFE HAVE CHANGED BUT HAS THE CHARACTER OF PEOPLE CHANGED AT ALL?  HAS IT GOTTEN BETTER?  DO WE DEAL WITH EACH OTHER WITH GREATER RESPECT THAN EVER BEFORE?

·       THE BASIC MORAL DILEMMA OF HUMANKIND HAS NOT BEEN SOLVED. LACK OF LOVE, WHAT THE BIBLE CALLS SIN, IS STILL A COMMON HUMAN CHARACTERISTIC.

SEEN IN THAT PERSPECTIVE, THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE IN 2007 ARE STILL WEARY AND SCATTERED, LIKE SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD.

·       JESUS STILL SEES PEOPLE IN DISTRESS,

·       PEOPLE WHO NEED HEALING IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER,

·       PEOPLE WHO NEED TO BE FREED THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

WHAT JESUS CALLED THE HARVEST IS A DESCRIPTION OF PEOPLE WHO NEED SALVATION. THE HARVEST IS PLENTIFUL, BUT THE LABORERS ARE FEW, THEREFORE ASK THE LORD OF THE HARVEST TO SEND OUT LABORERS INTO HIS HARVEST.

WILL YOU PRAY AAND ASK GOD TO ENABLE YOU TO SEE PEOPLE WITH THE SIGHT OF JESUS?

·       WILL YOU ASK HIM TO HELP YOU … AND THIS CHURCH TO CARRY THE BURDEN OF SEEING PEOPLE IN DISTRESS?

·       JESUS CARED ABOUT PEOPLE BY SERVING THEM.

·       DO WE HAVE THE SAME HEART AS HE?

·       JESUS' LOVE WAS A LOVE THAT EVEN WAS WILLING TO SUFFER FOR OTHERS.

·       OUR CALL IS TO FOLLOW JESUS. HOW MUCH ARE WE WILLING TO SUFFER?

THIS PASSAGE IS TELLING US:

·       UNTIL YOU SEE, YOU WILL NOT FEEL.

·       UNTIL YOU FEEL, YOU WILL NOT CARE.

·       UNTIL YOU CARE, YOU WILL NOT PRAY.

·       UNTIL YOU PRAY, YOU WILL NOT GO.

FOR MOST OF US … TO BE LIKE JESUS IN THIS WAY WILL REQUIRE SOME CHANGES.  IT WILL REQUIRE SOME CHANGES IN THE WAY WE DO CHURCH IN THIS PLACE AND IN OUR OWN PERSONAL LIVES.

·       I KNOW IT’S HARD TO CHANGE.  IT CAN BE SAID IN MOST EVERY AREA OF LIFE THAT EVERYONE WANTS PROGRESS BUT NO ONE WANTS CHANGE. 

THAT, MY FRIENDS, IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS FACED BY ALMOST EVERY CHURCH IN AMERICA. 

·       WE ALL WANT PROGRESS. NO ONE WANTS CHANGE.

WE ALL SAY WE WANT TO MAKE PROGRESS IN REACHING THE WORLD, BUT NO ONE WANTS THINGS TO CHANGE.

·       CHANGE PROPELS US OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONE.

·       FORCES US OUT OF OUR RUTS.

·       DESTABILIZES OUR ROUTINE.

·       CHALLENGES OUR PRIORITIES.

·       DISRUPTS OUR PLANS.

·       CAUSES US TO ASK NEW QUESTIONS AND SEEK NEW ANSWERS TO OLD QUESTIONS.

·       INTRODUCES US TO WHOLE NEW SET OF PROBLEMS.

·       OPENS THE DOOR TO EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES.

·       STRETCHES US IN WAYS WE DON’T WANT TO BE STRETCHED.

·       UPSETS THE APPLE CART.

·       KICKS US OUT OF THE RECLINER.

·       REARRANGES OUR DAILY SCHEDULE.

MOST OF US HAVE HEARD IT SAID THAT “INSANITY IS DOING THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND EXPECTING DIFFERENT RESULTS.”  I BELIEVE THAT GOD LOOKS AT A GOOD PART OF THE CHURCH IN AMERICA TODAY AND SAYS, “IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE… IT’S HARVEST TIME. 

THE IMMORTAL PHRASE FROM PRESIDENT KENNEDY’S INAUGURAL ADDRESS WAS, “ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU, ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR COUNTRY.”

I CALL UPON YOU THIS MORNING TO ASK NOT: “WHAT CAN WE DO FOR THE LORD?” BUT RATHER “WHAT ARE WE WILLING TO LET THE LORD DO THROUGH US?”

I PLEAD WITH YOU … OPEN YOUR EYES AND SEE THE THOUSANDS OUTSIDE THESE WALLS WHO NEED TO BE RESCUED AS JESUS SEES THEM.  I PLEAD WITH YOU TO ALLOW GOD TO MOVE YOUR HEART TO COMPASSION AND YOUR ARMS TO REACH AND YOUR LIPS TO TELL AND YOUR FEET TO GO SO THAT THEY MIGHT HEAR OF THE ONE WHO IS THE WAY … THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.

AND THEN COME AND ASK YOUR PASTOR … WHERE CAN I FIT IN, HOW CAN I HELP … WHAT CAN GOD DO THROUGH ME IN THIS PLACE?

"IF WE ARE THE BODY"
A TRAVELER IS FAR AWAY FROM HOME
HE SHEDS HIS COAT AND QUIETLY SINKS INTO THE BACK ROW
THE WEIGHT OF THEIR JUDGMENTAL GLANCES
TELLS HIM THAT HIS CHANCES ARE BETTER OUT ON THE ROAD

BUT IF WE ARE THE BODY
WHY AREN'T HIS ARMS REACHING?
WHY AREN'T HIS HANDS HEALING?
WHY AREN'T HIS WORDS TEACHING?
AND IF WE ARE THE BODY
WHY AREN'T HIS FEET GOING?
WHY IS HIS LOVE NOT SHOWING THEM THERE IS A WAY?
THERE IS A WAY

JESUS PAYED MUCH TOO HIGH A PRICE
FOR US TO PICK AND CHOOSE WHO SHOULD COME
AND WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST

JESUS IS THE WAY.

IF YOU ARE HERE THIS MORNING AND HAVE SOUGHT PEACE AND MEANING IN ANY OTHER WAY BUT THROUGH JESUS CHRIST YOU ARE STILL IN YOUR SINS AND ARE DESTINED FOR A CHRISTLESS ETERNITY.  BUT THE TIME OF HARVEST IS NOT OVER FOR YOU … NOT AS LONG AS YOU HAVE BREATH … BUT THERE IS NO GUARANTEE OF HOW MUCH LONGER IT WILL BE OPEN.

I INVITE YOU TO FORSAKE YOUR TRUST IN ANYTHING BUT CHRIST AND CHRIST ALONE AND COME TO HIM TO RECEIVE THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN AND THE GUARANTEE OF ETERNAL LIFE. 

IF THAT IS YOUR NEED TODAY, PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE HERE WITHOUT TALKING TO PASTOR KING OR BROTHER BELL OR BLACK OR MYSELF OR SOMEONE WHO CAN SHOW YOU FROM GOD’S WORD WHAT CHRIST OFFERS YOU MAY RECEIVE IT BY FAITH.