Praise fellowship Sunday, feb 2, 2014 Praying for the - TopicsExpress

Praise fellowship Sunday, feb 2, 2014 Praying for the harvest Matthew 10: 35-38 1. Travel with me in an imaginary journey to Judea and lets observe what is taking place. I can see the scene unfold before me in my mind. As Jesus and his disciples wait outside of town on one of those barren hillsides that dot the landscape of countryside, the word spreads throughout the towns and villages that Jesus is waiting. Excitement begins to build as people begin scurrying around to gather their family members to go to where Jesus is with his disciples. Perhaps the disciples have their backs to the road that leads out of town and they do not immediately see the throngs of people as they slowly climb the hill and cross the valley. As they begin to walk towards the Master, they fill the countryside, appearing from the distance as fertile fields of the Jordan valley as the wheat fields turn white at harvest. Suddenly Jesus stops what he is saying and points over the shoulders of the disciples towards the crowd that now completely covers brown barren ground and because of the color their clothing, now appears as a sea of white. Jesus points and tells his disciples, Look. The disciples look and what do they see? They only the crowd coming towards them. Perhaps they see the crowds and intruders to their time with Jesus. They see them and pushy demanding people who want to take their seats close to the Master. And they have seen crowds like this before and they are probably are already judging the crowd. Hes what they are seeing. A. Some considered him a prophet There were those that considered Jesus a wise man, a man whose words were worth remembering and maybe even living by. Messiah, no, a wise man, yes. A man with insight, someone who could help them be a better father, mother, brother, sister, employee or employer, yes. And that is what they came looking for. To see the prophet. B. Some needed him to provide for them There were those that had great needs and they came hoping to Jesus could supply what was needed. Some needed healing. Physical ailments were making life hard to bear. Fathers were carrying children who were lame. blind, deaf and dumb. Sons carried mothers and fathers who could not longer walk. Friends picked up other friend who had not walked in years and they were making their way to where Jesus was. Many led those that were blind by the hand carefully over the rocky hillside hoping that Jesus would reach out his hand and heal them. Some lead those that were demon possessed towards the master, with the wailing of the demons who knew that when Jesus would speak, they would have no choice but to be obedient to his words. Some had material needs. They wanted food to eat, clothing, housing. This was Jesus, the miracle worker, he could make anything happen. C. Some had to prodded into coming I have no doubt that there were those coming that did not want to come. Some teenager told his mother he was not coming, only to hear his father say, do as your mother says. Husbands were dragging their feet was their wives pulled them towards Jesus. Wives were making up excuses, naming all the other things that they could and should be doing instead of coming to see Jesus. Children were leading the charge as they dragged their parents towards Jesus. D. Some came because of the media Some came to see the show. They did not really want to hear what Jesus said, and they did not think they had any need that Jesus could meet, but what it when they were there, he did a great miracle. Wow, to be able to brag that they had witnessed such and thing, imagine. E. Some came to prove him false And there were those that came to listen intently to see if they could catch him in some great error, something they could point to and accuse him of heresy. They did not believe him to be a prophet, they said the miracles were done in the devils name, and that Jesus was a fake. F. But some found him to be the priceless treasure. There were those that listen to him responded to the call of the Holy Spirit and they received him as the messiah. Listed in the verses below the passage we read this morning are the names of the twelve. Later he would sent out 70. Later there would be about 120 in the upper room. God calls out to those that will listen, he reveals himself to those that would open their eyes and look for him. 2. But, The focus of Jesus was on the harvest. When Jesus looked at the crowd, he saw individuals that were cast out, thrown down, mistreated, hurting and hopeless lost. He saw them as slaves to sin and thus destined for an unfulfilled life and a hopeless eternity and his heart was moved with compassion. That word has the meaning of deep feeling coming from the very depths of the heart of Jesus. It was not just a feeling of pity, a feeling that moved him to shake his head in disbelief, but he was moved his in his heart with compassion, that compelled him to act. It was this compassion that sent him to the cross. Something had to be done and he was willing to do what he had been sent from the father to do. He still has that compassionate heart. He has sent his Holy Spirit to call out to us in our frustration, in our despair, in our hopeless search for meaning and purpose in life outside of a relationship with the Father through himself. He is still moved with compassion when he sees the crowds that live in our world, wandering as sheep without a shepherd. He sees them as the harvest field, white to harvest. How could he see them as such when we consider crowd that we described earlier in this message? A. You see, Jesus understood the power of the Message. It is the Word of the Living God that can break through the hardness of mens hearts and open their ears to hear the Good News. There is no greater power in the universe than the Word of God. At his command, everything that we know has come to be. We have never or will ever learn anything that God has not already known forever. There are no new discoveries with God. He knows all because he created all, not by some accident but by the willful words of his mouth. He commanded and it was so. When he says for it to end, it will end. This is the power that the Word of God posses. It can break through to the hardest of sinners, it can touch the lives of the meanest of men. It can gently lead a small child to believe that Jesus died on the cross to save them from their sins. It can speak to those of low positions in life and speak to those who the world would believe are in positions of world power. It is the living word of God. B. Jesus knew the need of the proclaiming the Message Let them come and let them hear. No matter why they came, let them come. Let the spirit of God draw them to a place, to a person, so that they can hear the Living Word of God, that powerful word that speaks to our hears and convinces us that we need a savior. I cannot convince you by my words alone. I do not posses the power in my own words to bring conviction to your life, but God has chosen to use people as his instruments of proclamation. I have been called,you have been called, not as a preacher, but as a believer, to proclaim by our personal testimony and by our use of the very Words of God that there is GOOD NEWS. Jesus has come and given his life as a ransom for you. He has paid the price so that you could have a living eternal relationship with your Heavenly Father. Rm 10: 13- 3. Jesus prayer command to his disciples A. The potential and the problem The harvest is great, the workers are few. There is not shortage of people who have not heard the real Good News. There is not a shortage of people who are looking for something that this world cannot give them, there is no shortage people who are trapped in the grips of sin and are looking for freedom. There is no shortage of people who are longing for meaning and purpose that only comes when they come to know Jesus as personal Savior. But there is a shortage. It is not in the crops but rather in the workforce that has been commission to reap the harvest. There is a bumper crop but not enough workers. Those who are in the fields are often overwhelmed with the task given to them by their master to reap the harvest when the harvest is so large and they number so few. They are overworked, tired, burnt out and eventually simply resort to survival mode of doing what they can. there will be burst of energy but soon the pace of the work must slow to allow for rest. B. The purpose in Prayer: Pray to The Lord of the Harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. If the harvest is great, what should we be praying for, more harvest? If the harvest is ready to be harvested, if there are but a few workers in the fields, we do not need more to harvest. Our prayer should be for more workers. The crying need of every generation is the cry for The Lord to send for more workers into the harvest. Millions and millions of people have never heard of message of Everlasting life through faith in Jesus Christ. I am not talking about people leaving the UNITED STATES to become missionaries. There are people you work with, your neighbors, family and friends and the people God will bring into your life who have never heard a true presentation of the Gospel message. God is sending us into the harvest field, there is plenty of work to be done. We cannot delay, the harvest is ready now and our opportunity will soon pass. You and I are the workers that God longs to send into the harvest. You and I are the answers to the prayer of those who are working to reap a harvest of lost mens souls. We are the desperately needed workers. God is asking us if we would be the one that would help reap the harvest. Invitation: Isaiah was worshiping in the temple when he had a vision of Holy God. listen as i read the account to you in Isaiah 6. Did you hear the response of Isaiah after his sins had been forgiven? Did you hear his response when he heard the desire of God to have someone go and be a messenger for Him? It was as if Isaiah could not respond fast enough. God has forgiven his sin, had touched his lips,changed his life, how could he not say Here I am, send me. That is the desire of God for you this morning. He wants to hear you say, Here am I, send me. Put me to work, place you where you want me, give me the opportunity, let me have the privilege of sharing with someone the life changing message. The need has never been greater. The call of God has never been any clearer. The need for you to respond to the call of God any more urgent. Listen to the words of Jesus. The harvest is great. The workers are few. Pray to The Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.