Co-Mission sermons

By the goal, we thank you so much for the love that sought us, the blood that brought us and the grace that brought us into your family. Please be with us now as we open up your word together. Reveal more of your wonderful character to us. Prepare our hearts to be receptive and open and give us grace to both understand and to respond to this passage tonight, amen. Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 9, this on page 9 74, We're going to read from verse 35 to the end.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages teaching in their synagogues. Proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless. Like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

Asked the Lord of the Harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his Harvest fields. Thanks, Dan. Leading everyone. Lovely to speak with you. Feels like home.

My name is Rob, and we're gonna look together at this passage this evening and we're going to take it slowly as it is only 4 verses. So we can take it nice and slowly. Have you ever ever had the feeling that you're late you've joined late to a party? I know some of you are always late to parties. Shame on you.

Okay? Shame on you. Actually, I've got a confession to make New Year's Eve. Well, I was only resting my eyes, but then the whole of Dagonum got lit up. I thought only a few minutes had elapsed.

And people were getting their fireworks in early so they could watch the better ones on TV. And I sleeply reached for the laptop thinking, Hannah and I could watch them too. It turned out as 12 o 3. Half half an hour had gone by. I was late to the party.

And the first thing I needed to realize was that a lot had been going on in my absence. Crowds had gathered in huge number, Many words had been said in the build up. And that's the feeling we need as we join the scene here in Matthew 9. A lot has already happened, and lots has been happening since this conversation. And if we don't get up to speed with that, What we'll do is we'll assume we'll assume we're the most important players in it, and we're not.

The party has already started. Let's look at Verse 35. It says this. Jesus went it's a summary. Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and illness.

Jesus has been teaching everywhere, and healing every type of disease and affliction. He has all power and authority, and yet he uses it to lovingly care and provide for people as a good shepherd. So Jesus and his eternal kingdom is in full view here. And all are invited. And in the last chapter, chapter 8, a Roman centurion, a tax collector, A paralyzed man have all joined the party.

And Jesus has with him in this section, 12 men, and will in the next chapter send them out to do the work. And in our passage tonight, Jesus turns to them after seeing the crowds, and says this, he says the harvest is plentiful, and the workers are few. So we will be thinking in a bit about what Jesus calls us to do. But we've got to remember we've joined late to the party. It's worth us seeing all that's happened, that we had no part in.

You weren't there? I wasn't there. The party is already in full swing because Jesus is there. And it doesn't depend on us. And people in prayer might be the means that Jesus uses, but he's the 1 getting it done.

1 of the books I read said, this Jesus was already at work before they were at work or at prayer. Even before Jesus says in verse 38, this is what you should pray. It's a bit like this. Next 1. It's a bit like when my 1 year old Eddie wants to join in.

This is him helping with setback at Beckins Church. We start them young. Usually the activity of the task isn't really within his capabilities. Let's be honest. That doesn't stop him wanting to do it.

So for him to take part, it looks a bit like this. That's a great picture to start with. Of what of the job that Jesus is calling us, his people too. It's not good luck you're on your own now, I need you. Jesus' final words to them in Matthew 28 will be, and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

So with that in mind, we're now going to see what Jesus sees when he looks at the crowds. And that's our first point. And with it, we'll see how he corrects our own assessment on how things really are. Because Jesus sees lost people and an abundant harvest. First then, Jesus sees lost people in verse 36.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. When Jesus looks at the crowds that are gathered, he sees that they're like sheep that are exposed. Their greatest need is a shepherd, Without which, they are open to attack. That's not what I see when I look around. And I don't have the kind of urgency that Jesus because to me, mostly everyone seems fine.

So I don't know if you had this experience. People I spent time with over Christmas, I came away thinking, actually, if I'm honest, they've got everything life. They really do. And perhaps that's how it looks for people who live right next door to you, I'll write next door to this building, in fact. Or on your unit course or at the office or at the school gates, My usual policy is if some if there's no glaring issues, there's no need to pay any attention.

So for example, my car. It got in a pretty bad state. To be honest, like, we just about managed to get back from our family gathering at Christmas. And that was that was really a miracle. And I said to God, if I promise, if if you let me get half a mile down the road to the garage, I will take better use of this car.

I'm really sorry because I managed to trash the last 1 I had as well, but don't tell Don't tell Ben and Rachel Rolf. Okay? It was he's rattling. It was rattling. And I hadn't had the Cam belt changed, and I'd left it too late.

There was no glaring issues. And it could have been disaster. When something is wrong, we tend to only really notice when things are falling apart. And in this case, we think, well, people have got to look like things are falling apart in their lives. But usually, that's way too late, isn't it?

But Jesus sees the underlying issues that we don't see. When Jesus looks, he sees more than we see. He sees them as harassed and helpless. Now, harassment of this crowd, perhaps in Matthews's Day, could have come from religious customs. Leaders who instead of lifting their burdens had actually piled on more of their expectations on them and said, this is how you've got to be.

And we're going to think a little bit now about what it's like today. So I've put if you'd make notes, I've put 3 things, cultural tradition, religious systems, and secular ambitions that weigh people down. First 1 then, cultural tradition. Every culture, you know, has a set of expectations. And though they may have started off with good intentions, they sent they soon become a rod for people's back.

An example, I'm going to tell you about 2 friends, and you'll know by the second 1 that I'm lying because I shouldn't have 2 friends. My first friend avoids calls from his parents. And some of you might do that all the time, so that doesn't shock you. But he does it for different reasons. It's the only way he can avoid getting into debt.

Because to answer that call would require him to pay large sums of money he doesn't have, to pay the fees of friends of the family back in his home country, and it's not seen as optional, it's what is expected by others. It's a burden. He's weighed down. What about a religious system? I'll tell you about my second friend.

Here we go. We're getting dodgy now. I was speaking to her on Friday, and she used to be a part of a large system that operated around shame and performance. It was a large religious system that operated that way. She actually handed in a monthly record of how many hours she had clocked up doing the main activity of that religious system.

And her 4 hours a week with a full time job was actually shunned by those who had tall tallied up over 4 times that much. Some over 50 hours, and she was weary and harassed and helpless First 1 was cultural tradition, religious systems, and the last 1, secular ambition. Which isn't actually that different. When value and worth comes from what you achieve, it's down to you to make something of your life. And the stakes are high.

So living becomes about slaving and flogging yourself to get the highest paid job to live up to your own ex expectations or that of others. And what all these 3 have in common is unattainable expectation that only you can carry. No 1 is gonna do it for you, you must carry these things. No wonder, depression and suicide is on the rise, people are burnt out, or as Jesus puts it, harassed and helpless. People are harassed and helpless.

Like sheep without a shepherd. So whether for the well off or needy whether civilized or slanderous, whether successful or sluggish. Jesus sees a lost and exhausted people. That's how he looks at the crowds. So why do we put ourselves through that?

That's a good question, isn't it? If it's so exhausting, living up to those expectations. Why do we do it? What drives us to want us to justify ourselves in that way? Well, maybe we sense we're not as we're meant to be, and actually that nagging feeling that we're we're just not as good as we could be.

Maybe it's that we realize that we are sinners And actually, to justify ourselves or to try to justify ourselves is what we want and need. But if that's the case and it's actually a problem with God, the achievements, the approval of others, they're never gonna bring you rest. Maybe there's someone here tonight who is here because they are feeling crushed. You've tried every other way to pull yourself up and feel different about yourself. But none of it's worked.

You're feeling harassed and helpless There's really good news for you. Because Jesus doesn't just see we're like that, he has compassion on us. He feels for you and suffers with you. That's what that word means, compassion. It breaks him to see you like that.

And he longs to help you, to be your good shepherd. So that you would know his unconditional love and not the need to perform, and him who would burden himself so that you would be unburdened from the heavyweight of sin. That's the kind of person that Jesus is. That's what he longs to do for people who are helpless. So you can take on his yoke and learn from him instead.

He will lift those burdens from you. What lost people need is for Jesus to lead them. That's the first point. We've seen that the work is urgent, because people are lost. We we need to see though that it's gonna be effective.

People will be saved And that's what we see in verse 37. Let's look at that. Jesus sees an abundant harvest. He says, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Jesus sees an abundant harvest, and I find that's not usually my expectation I tend to start with little or no expectation because that way it's easier, isn't it?

I'm not going to be disappointed. Actually, I hear this in myself when I'm asked to speak about how things are going in our church. I can talk at length about activity and busyness and what we're doing and all of that stuff. But to actually say what we believe in God to do this year, through it, that's so much harder. We may think that people are less likely to respond, and why do we do that?

I think it's because we we we blame the rise in secular culture. So we say, this culture is secular. We don't expect too much. Let's just have a think about that, because the reception for the gospel was hardly promising in Jesus' day. In the next chapter we hear, they've got a mission to the lost sheep of Israel, who are steeped in culture and tradition.

Their rejection of Jesus is actually a growing theme in Matthew. And if you look just back at verse 34, They say we're saying this about him is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons. So they've they've seen how good Jesus is and all that he's doing. And yet they say of him that he is the most evil of evil, and he is doing the most evil of evil. If you look at 10 verse 25 just quickly, it says this.

Is that the right verse? Yeah. If the head of the house has been called Satan, be I was above, how much more the members of his own household? So Jesus's prediction is that Christians are gonna be slandered even more than that. So Jesus, he knows what they're stepping out into, doesn't he?

He doesn't sort of have rose tinted glasses. And Christians through the ages have done good things to those around them and yet been called evil for what they believe. And I guess in our day, Christians Will and are being held up as evil, maybe because they hold to God's intention for marriage and sexuality? People think that's evil. They accuse him of evil.

And yet Jesus doesn't say Don't really expect much. Don't expect much or expect very little. He doesn't say that. He says the harvest is plentiful. And the hundreds of years since this conversation have proven that Jesus was right to say that.

Countless millions of souls have entered into his kingdom, maybe you're sitting here because of that. Jesus has been answering this prayer to send out many thousands of workers into the harvestersfield, and the harvesters been plentiful. So Jesus sees and abundant harvest. And because it's such a great harvest, we've also heard Jesus say that there aren't enough workers So what we expect them to say next is to the disciples is, go on. Off you go.

Go on with it. He doesn't say that, does he? He says in verse 38, he says ask, the Lord of the harvest, to send out workers into his harvest field. Prey. Prey earnestly.

Pray earnestly for workers. His instruction really is that simple. Before they've done anything, Jesus calls them to pray. The workers are few, and the the task is great. It needs more workers.

Is that it? I mean, that doesn't sound like we're doing much, does it? I mean, just ask for more workers. And in our eagerness to get on with it, we'd happily skip this first and head straight into the more what we see as more practical instructions of chapter 10, what we're gonna do when we get there and what people say and what we need to do when they kick us out or whatever it is. And I say that because I love doing things.

If my activity earlier showed a lack of expectation and talking about activity rather than what God is going to do. It also shows what I think about prayer. So my time and energy is taken up with lots of other things, but prayer. I plow on with the things I can do, and not wanting to brag, I can do a lot of things. I've actually learned to tie my shoelaces.

Okay. No. I can make PowerPoint slides look good. I can design a flyer. I can, you know, the list is endless.

And yet the we can, And I can often overtakes that we can't, and so we don't pray. And when we do pray, we don't really feel like we're doing anything. But isn't that the point? What we are doing is asking God to do something. And whether we're a small church, with few resources, or a big church with lots of people.

The harvest is plentiful, but the work is a few, We need to be seeking God to provide more workers. And as we as the disciples go, Jesus wants them to be asking, you know, he doesn't just say, okay, don't go. He says, go. But you know, remember to ask, So it's not enough for us to just sort of be part of a church and say, oh, this is lovely. We've got people to the rotor and it's really good.

You know, let's be praying for more people to go to the harvest field and to to meet more people for Christ And actually, I really want to say well done. Because actually, from a distance, I've noticed a growing prayerfulness in this church. There's been a commitment to praying for mission in different parts of the world and the put and the UK and London. And it's really encouraging, not just knowing that you've been prayed for, but to see other people prayerful. Can I encourage you to keep going with it?

Because even when the prayer updates seem a bit dry, which they do, why not try and read between lines? It's not all activity, as some would present, or all success, or even all failure, but the harvest is plentiful. Keep praying. And perhaps in light of what we've heard, you could pray for people to have the right expectation of what God is going to do. And for them to be fearful, and not just manically busy.

I commend you the commission prayer and news slot. It's on the website. Just go to commission, and there's a new tab, news and prayer. You get 1 news story, from 1 church and some prayer points from another church. That's going to be operating all the way through this year.

It's a new thing. Just a couple of clicks away, I think you can even subscribe to the prayer thing on prayer mate if you know how to do that. Great way to keep praying. But lastly, and I'll finish with this, we need more hands given to this urgent and effective work. I say hands because as far as I can see, the picture of harvesting isn't a specialist job.

It wasn't. Is something everyone can do. What Jesus has in view, immediate view is 12 ordinary untrained people. And these are the very ones he uses, that the gospel spreads to the world. And though we might think sound at workers.

This means paid staff, he doesn't. He means all believers. And everyone has a part to play in the in the work that he's given us to do. So when we pray this prayer, send our workers into his harvest field, It may just be that God will answer that prayer by sending you. And that's what he did with the disciples.

He wanted them to pray that prayer so that when that they would their heart would be changed, and they would be the ones to go. And he sends them out. So let me encourage you. I'm really encouraged by Cornerstone. Like all the evangelism, pretty much every idea you ever had, up nicked.

So keep coming up with ideas where else I'll be stuck. And it's wonderful to be part of a church that is absolutely going for evangelism. But God can and will send out workers into his harvest field. So there's our sim to do that. Let's pray.

Father God, you you are the lord of the harvests and it is your work bringing souls to know you and to to be lifted from those burdens. And thank you that you were doing that today. Thank you that these words about the harvest and about the crowds are just as true. I pray that we would see things like you do, and we pray that we would trust you to use us for that work. May we'd be willing, may we'd be prayerful, and we we pray that there would be many more workers telling people about Jesus, amen.