Co-Mission sermons

On commission Sunday, every church is looking at these few words of Jesus, powerful words, 20 20 vision words, of Jesus to get us seeing what is going on in our world through the surface and all of the a pretend joy and fun that goes on, and these are powerful words. And it's Matthew chapter 9 and verse 35 through to verse 39. Matthew chapter 9, verse 35 to 39, and then Rupert is going to come and open these words up to Let me pray. Father, as we read this word, we want it not just to be words on a page But we pray, please, that we would see it and hear it as it is, the very word of the living Holy Spirit. And that you would speak to us, challenge us, rebuke us where we need rebuking, encourage us where we need encouraging.

We need all of these things, lord. And we pray, please, that we wouldn't be just heroes and not doers, by your spirit, cause us, as a church, and as churches in commission to take these words to our very heart, that we may beat them out, that we may have these 20 20 vision on a glass is on to see what we should be doing, help Rupert as he's with us the first time, please bless him, courage him, as he encourages us in Jesus' name, Matthew 9 verse 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 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. Ask the lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Pete, thank you very much. For the invitation and for praying and reading and It's very good to be with you this morning. The first Sunday of the New Year, as Pete mentioned, possibly the first Sunday of a new decade Depending on whether you think 20 20 belongs at the end of the teens or that belongs at the beginning of the twenties.

There's debate that was raging on social media last week that will come to an end after this week. It's also Commission Sunday which is why you've got me and not Pete, so I'm sorry about that. And the theme for Commission Sunday this year is prayer. Which is always a good thing to be focusing on, but maybe particularly a good thing at the beginning of January. And to help us do that, we're going to look at these words that Pete read for us from Matthews's Gospel that lead up to a prayer in verse 38, the end of the reading that has been referred to as the other Lord's prayer.

Here's the other Lord's prayer. You didn't know there was another 1. It's right there in verse 38. Ask the Lord of the Harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Jesus is the Lord of the Harvest.

He's speaking to his disciples here, And here is a prayer that he commands them to pray. It's much shorter than the other more well known Lord's prayer, but Jesus expects those who follow him his disciples to pray this 1 just as much as the other 1. And, the way that I want to look at this passage this morning is a bit different to how we normally look at a a passage from the bible, but then this morning is a little bit different already. So rather than look at it, As we might normally do in 3 different sections, I want us to walk through the whole thing 3 times. To see something different each time we do that.

First of all, to see what Jesus is like here, And then second to see actually what we are often like. And then thirdly, to see how we could be different. How in fact we could be more like Jesus. Now, there's a reason why we don't usually look at the bible in this way, and we might be about to find out why. Okay, here's the first pass through the passage.

What Jesus is like. And the first thing that we see when we do that is what he does. What he does. Have a look back at verse 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 illness.

Jesus is active, not passive. He went through all the towns and villages, not expecting all the people to come to him where he was. He went to them and as he goes, He teaches, he proclaims the good news of the kingdom, he heals every disease in the illness. Jesus is active on mission. Secondly, what Jesus saw as he went, first 36.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. When Jesus looked out at the crowds of people who came to him wherever he went. What he saw was not just lots of people all in 1 place, a crowd. What he saw was their true, spiritual state, their true spiritual reality. People who were lost and leaderless like sheep without a shepherd, people who were harassed and helpless.

Now, some of them knew that about themselves. No doubt like lost sheep. They were bleeding and barring. They were coming to Jesus for the help that they knew they needed from him. But some in the crowd were completely oblivious completely blind to what Jesus could see in them.

They couldn't see it themselves. Thirdly, what Jesus felt? What Jesus felt again in verse 36. When he saw the crowd, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. Because of what Jesus could see in the people around him, this is what he felt about them, not content for them in their in their helplessness, not exasperation at them for their lostness, not disgust For what a mess they'd managed to make of themselves, but compassion.

If you've ever been walking in Wales or Yorkshire or anywhere with hills, you'll sometimes come across some pretty disgusting looking sheep. They're a real disgrace. They've covered themselves in mud, their wool is filthy and greasy, and around the back end, there are great matted dags of sheep dung hanging off them. And they're always so stupid, aren't they? They're always running the wrong way.

So when you walk towards them meaning no harm, they run away from you, fearing the worst, they run out in front of cars as they try to get to safety. When you encounter a really lost pitiful sheep. They are disgusting. And it is very easy to feel contempt for these stupid creatures. But not Jesus, not here.

When he sees people who are spiritually like that. Because of what he sees, he feels compassion, a deep, strong, positive feeling for them not against them. What Jesus does, what he saw, what he felt, then fourthly. What he said? Have a look at what he said.

Verse 37, then he said to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful. But the workers are few. What Jesus said is really what Jesus saw take 2. See, he looks at the same crowds of people all around him, and instead of seeing helpless shepherdless sheep. He switches the the farming metaphor and instead, he sees a worker limited but plentiful harvest, as well as the the true spiritual state of the people around him.

Jesus also sees, in the same people, real spiritual opportunity. To him, these lost, leaderless, messed up sheep, are also a wonderful bumper addition to his kingdom. He can see something that is wholly unappealing as something valuable and attractive. But he can also see a real spiritual problem. The lack of workers to bring this bumper harvest in.

And it's that problem that he sees that prompts him to tell his disciples what to do next. So What it what Jesus told his disciples to do. Have a look at verse 38. Ask the Lord of the Harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. What Jesus tells his disciples to do is to pray, to pray about the problem so that the opportunity can be realized, to pray for workers who can bring in this bumper harvest, to pray for workers who can see beyond the messed up sheep.

That same harvest he can see. To pray for workers like that to be sent into the harvest field. Which brings us finally and a little bit beyond our passage to what Jesus does next. Just look with me at the next chapter of Matthew's Gospel. Verse 1 of chapter 10.

Jesus called his 12 disciples to him and he gave them authority to drive out in pure spirits and to heal every disease and illness, just what he's been doing. And then we get the names of the 12, in the next few verses, then verse 5, if you look. These 12, Jesus sent out with the following instructions do not go into the gentile to the gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans because at the moment, there's not that many of you, there's not enough of you to go too far the workers of you. But go rather for now, until the more of you, to the lost sheep of Israel. To bring in the harvest.

He's mixing his metaphors as he goes, goes to the lost sheep to bring in the harvest. What Jesus does next is show us what he does as the Lord of the Harvest, When we do what he tells us to do, when we pray for workers, he sends out his workers into his harvest field to bring in his harvest Okay, there's the first walk through the passage. We've seen what Jesus is like. On the the second walk through, we'll maybe make this more of a jog to get through it. I want to think about what we are often like, what we are often like.

First of all, in what we do, And the truth is, when it when it comes to what we often do, when it comes to mission, We are not active. We are we are passive. We're not proclaiming the good news of the kingdom in words and deeds. In fact, our words and deeds often obscure rather than reveal the kingdom to people around us. And when people hear what it is we're saying, and when it they see what it is we're doing.

Often, it's not good news for them. Often what we're saying and doing are not things that belong in this kingdom at all. What we often do. Secondly, what we see When Jesus saw people, he saw their true spiritual state. And when we see people, we just see people.

Some of them are nice, and we like those sorts of people, the nice ones, And and actually some of them aren't that nice. Some of them are really annoying and we don't like people like that. But what we don't see is that they are harassed and helpless, that they're lost and leaderless like sheep without a shepherd. They are, but we just don't see it. Which is why when we see people, when we meet people, we don't feel what Jesus felt towards them when he met them.

We don't have compassion on them. We're often indifferent to them. Sometimes we're irritated by them. Sometimes maybe we feel superior, to some of them because we're not in such a mess as they are. We'd never we'd never say it, but sometimes we even feel disgusted by some of the people that we may, to at least we feel contempt for them.

Unlike Jesus, the strong emotional reaction we have towards other people often, it isn't that positive. If anything, it's negative, but most of the time, we're just disengaged emotionally disconnected from the people that we meet. We're untouched by their lostness, their helplessness, because we don't see it. And that's because when we see them, we don't see this other thing that Jesus sees. We we don't see a plentiful harvest.

People who could potentially be part of his kingdom. We just see people, other people. And because we can't see the harvest We can't see the problem that Jesus also sees. If you can't see the opportunity that's all around you, then you won't notice the lack of workers to bring in the harvest. They're desperately small resources for the immensely huge task that we can't see.

And here's the here's the real kicker with this. When we do become aware, that actually maybe we could do with some more resources to reach more people with the good news of the kingdom. And actually, often We do become aware of that. We don't do what Jesus tells us to do in verse 38. We don't.

Asked the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into his Harvest field. We don't pray. Instead, we get busy. Busy recruiting, busy training, busy deploying, busy trying to fix the problem ourselves. We've correctly identified the problem, but we respond to it as if it's our problem.

When Jesus says, He's the Lord of this harvest, and it's his harvest field for which he will send his workers. And the result of our often not praying but fixing, well, the best result is that we send out our workers into his Harvest field. But he graciously chooses to use them anyway, even though he hasn't been consulted. And the worst result of fixing, not praying, is that nothing changes from verse 37. The harvest remains plentiful, but the workers remain few.

And so we feel overwhelmed at the task and discouraged by our lack of resources, and maybe we even begin to feel a little bit fed up with God for not doing more to help us. Because after all, this harvest thing was his idea, right? Even though we haven't yet got round to asking for that help. We just got on with it ourselves, which is why we don't often get to experience what Jesus does next, sending his workers into his harvest field to bring in his harvest. First, walk through the passage, we see what Jesus is like.

Second walk through, we see what we are often like. Third and final walk through. What could we be like? If we were more like Jesus or to put it another way, how could 20 20 be different to 20 19, what's come before. First, in what we do, How could we be more active, less passive when it comes to mission?

How how could we have and then maintain mission mindedness that doesn't fizzle out with all the rest of our new year's resolutions around about mid February. How could our words and deeds proclaim loudly and clearly the good news of the kingdom? Jump ahead to verse 38, to the other Lord's prayer. Jesus says, ask the Lord of the Harvest. Jesus doesn't just want us to pray about 1 thing.

About workers for the harvest field. He wants us to pray about everything and that includes making us more like him when it comes to what we do, to mission, being active, not passive, being good news not bad news to those around us. Here's a here's a good prayer to start 20 20 with. Jesus make me more like you. Change me to be more like you in what I do, but also secondly, in what I see.

In what I see. Pray to the Lord of the Harvest. Help me see people like you see them. Not as nice or nasty, but to see their true spiritual state, to see them as harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Give me your eyes to see people in my life the way you see them all the time.

Maybe just worth taking a moment to think of the actual people in your life that you could see differently in 20 20, to the way you've been seeing them up to now, maybe your your co workers as you go back to work tomorrow after the Christmas break. Maybe other parents at the school gate as term begins for many tomorrow or this week. Maybe your neighbours, those that you wave to each morning or talk to the weather about, Maybe the the guy at the corner shop who sells you your daily paper or your your pint of milk. Might be the people that you live with, that you share a home with, might be members of your own family. Jesus give me your eyes to see them But then thirdly, give me your heart to feel what you feel for them.

Take away my lazy indifference to the other people in my life. Get rid of the ugly, self righteousness, or contempt, or disgust that's lurking in my heart. For other people. Truth is, we all we all find different types of people difficult in different ways. Some some of us lack compassion for weak, dependent needy people for for sheep that bleat and bar.

Everyone knows their problems. We don't like people like that. Others of us find confident, capable, self sufficient, seemingly successful people hard to care for or hard to care about. Whoever it is that we struggle to love, ask Jesus to change you, so that you care about other people, so that their lostness, their lives and their fate without him as their shepherd, as their saviour, troubles you as much as it troubles him. Lord Jesus, give me your compassion for them, that would a good prayer to pray, wouldn't it?

In 20 20? And show me in them what you see. What I'm currently blind to, show me in them a plentiful harvest. Show me that I am continually surrounded by people who could be added to your kingdom. And take away my cynicism that says, they won't hear and they won't believe, so, what's the point?

And excite me with the potential that you see in them as potential members of your kingdom as people who could belong to you. And once I begin to see people as you see them, would you burden me with the problem that you can also see. Make the fact that the workers, a few, a real problem for me, not just for the workers that we currently have, who are well aware that there aren't enough of them, not just so not just for the church staff, here at Cornerstone or for the elders here, or for commission that is all about planting churches to reach the lost. To bring in this plentiful harvest. They already know that the workers are few.

But to pray, lord Jesus make this burden something I know and I feel too. But then stop me. Stop me and stop the church staff team here and stop the elders and then stop commission, stop all of us from trying to fix that problem on our own without asking you, without prayer. Once we've felt this burden, once we've seen this problem and owned it as our own, Make us pray, because you're the lord of the harvest. It's your harvest field, and you have the workers that you know you need to bring in your harvest, asked the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into his harvest field, and then ask him to open you up to the possibility that you might be the answer to your own prayers.

You might be 1 of the workers that the Lord of this harvest wants to send out into his harvest field to bring in his harvest. Ask him to stop you looking over your shoulder, to see who else he might be sending, and instead ask, is it me? Lord that you're sending. Are you sending me? In 20 20, could I be the answer to this sort of prayer, the other Lord's prayer.

This Thursday just gone, if you celebrated it. Second of January, this Church, Cornerstone Church was planted, as Pete mentioned, as a commission church plant. 17 years ago, last week on Thursday. It wasn't called that then and it didn't meet here then. You know that.

You've only been here a month. But just think How many lost sheep have been found through this church over the last 17 years? How many harassed and helpless sheep have met their shepherd and their saviour through this church? How plentiful the harvest has been? Here, over the last 17 years.

And now think about the next 17 years. By 20 37, some of us will have gone to glory. But the rest of us, especially if cornerstone plants another church, maybe more than 1 church in the next 17 years. And especially if as a church, you don't just try and fix the problem of not having enough workers, but you pray. And the Lord of the the harvest answers your prayers.

Your prayers to do What he does, be active in mission, not passive, to have words and deeds that are good news, not bad news. Your prayers to see. What Jesus sees. To see how he sees. The spiritual state of people all around you in your life.

Your prayers therefore to feel what he feels for them, compassion, not indifference, or contempt, or disgust, If he answers, prayers like that to see what he sees, in the people in your lives, a plentiful harvest. Just just think. Just imagine how big a harvest you could bring in. He could bring in over the next 17 years. In this particular corner of the harvest field that he's put you in.

First 38. Ask the Lord of the Harvest, therefore, to send out workers to send out you into his Harvest field. But why don't we take a moment of quiet and maybe in that quiet to pray, that prayer thinking that you may be the answer to that prayer. Just a moment of quiet, and then I'll lead us in a prayer. Law Jesus, you are the the good shepherd that every sheep needs.

You are the lord of the harvest who can see what what we can't see. Please would you make us more like you? And please would you use us in this harvest field, your harvest field to bring many to their shepherd. And we ask this in your name. Oh, man.