[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Yes, He has always been faithful. Amen? And what a wonderful Savior we have.
[0:11] Turn in your Bibles, if you would, to Matthew chapter 9. But as you read this passage of Scripture, I wish you'd remember what Philip said in John 14. In John 14, Philip looks at Jesus and says, If you'd just show us the Father, that'd be enough.
[0:26] And Jesus answered, You've seen me. You have seen the Father. And today, I want you to see Jesus. And I want you to see the Father. And I want you to understand what a great God you serve.
[0:38] And I want you to see how that's going to impact your life. If you take your Bible, and I'm not going to read the passage with you again, but I am going to give you the Tennessee hillbilly version of it. So if you'll follow along, I think this will be exciting.
[0:51] Would you go with me to Matthew chapter 9, verse 18. He just got through preaching that last thing he said about the old wineskin and the new wineskin. We looked at that and said, there's never been about the rules.
[1:04] And he got through saying that. And as he was doing that, he finishes speaking. You'll see there in the verse. And about that time, a leader in the synagogue, another synagogue, shows up to him and bows down to him, shows reverence towards him, and says, Hey, my daughter is sick.
[1:22] She's close to dead. In fact, it's when he shows up and asks, The daughter's not yet dead. Some servants will get there in just a minute and say he's dead. And the first thing you see about Jesus, this wonderful thing, he's there.
[1:33] And this man shows up. I don't know what he had on his agenda. I don't know what he would have been planning to do. But the servant, the Jairus, says to him, My daughter's about dead.
[1:44] If you come, I believe you could heal her. And Jesus just got up and left. He just put aside whatever it was he was doing and headed out on his way to go see this person and make a difference in her life.
[1:54] While he was walking down the road to make a difference in her life, in that little girl's life and that man's life, as he's walking down the road, a lady who has been sick for 12 years who has a disease that's like filthy.
[2:06] I mean, she's got a bleeding issue. And so she is in horrible shape. The doctors can't help her. Nobody would have wanted to talk to her. She shouldn't be out in public.
[2:17] It's a disease almost like leprosy. And she walks up behind him and touches the hem of his garment. Instead of getting upset when the Bible would have said, Don't touch things that aren't clean. He turns around and says, Lady, your faith has made you whole.
[2:30] You're healed. You're going to go home a new woman today. And so he turns around and says, All right, let's go on to your house. I was headed to help you, but somebody else needed my help and stopped to help them. But don't worry, I'm on your way.
[2:40] By the way, on the way, the daughter has now died. But he said, Don't worry about it. He gets to the house and says, She's not dead. She's just taking a nap. She's just sleeping. Everybody laughs and mocks him right to his face.
[2:51] And he walks in and raises her from the dead. And as he gets through raising her from the dead, he starts out the door and two blind men are out there. He comes out of the house and on the way out of the house, he's two blind men and says, Hey, son of David, son of David, listen to me.
[3:04] Would you help us? We're blind men. And he turns right around and helps him and heals him and said, You guys believe I can heal you? They said, We do. He said, Good, you're healed. And everything's fine. Then he turns around and keeps on walking.
[3:14] And there's this demon possessed guy who can't talk. And they brought him to Jesus and Jesus heals him. I mean, everywhere he goes, he goes about doing good. Can you say amen? Then he gets to the room.
[3:26] I don't know where he's going to spend the night. I'm sure it was a Motel 6. They had the light on. He pulls up, walks in the motel room. But when he does, everybody in the neighborhood knows he's there. So he's going around teaching and preaching and telling everybody, Man, I'm here to tell you there's deliverance from sin.
[3:40] There's new life. Jesus Christ is here. God's son is here. And you can have new life. You can have victory over your sin. And he heals everybody who's sick. Every disease.
[3:50] Every person that's having any problem. Boy, Jesus is doing a work. And he gets through with that. And as he finishes up chapter 9, this is what he says. Guys, there's so many people hurting.
[4:03] There's so many people in such great need. Would you raise up your eyes and would you look out on the fields? Would you see that the harvest is ripe? Would you see people are hurting everywhere? They don't have a pastor.
[4:14] They don't have anywhere to turn. They need help. Pray that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers to his harvest. Now that's what you just read a while ago. That's a tremendous story. Can you imagine a story greater than that?
[4:26] What a Savior. What a good and wonderful and kind person Jesus Christ was. He was God in the flesh. Would you like to have a glimpse of God?
[4:37] Would you like to know what the Father's like? Just look at Jesus and you just did. What a good God. I want to share with you five truths today from this passage of Scripture.
[4:48] I want to share with you five truths that you can write down maybe to help you think through this passage of Scripture. But more than anything else in the world, I wish you'd just get a hold of what a wonderful Savior He is. Maybe you came today and you wonder, does He really care about me?
[5:01] Is He interested in me? Am I too far gone? Have I messed up my life? Am I so messed up that even God doesn't have time for me and God can't work in my life? If you read this passage of Scripture, you'll know He's here for you.
[5:12] He's working in your life. And you'll come. He'll make a difference in your life. So let me give you five truths, if I could, that you'll find in these 20 verses that we're looking at. Number one, all were welcome.
[5:24] Number one, all were welcome. In verse 18, a ruler comes and he says, My daughter's even now dead. Well, in Matthew she's already dead. But in the other stories we know that he had gotten there.
[5:36] She was just sick. And she's like a 12-year-old girl. And she's just sick. And he comes to Jesus and says, I need help. You've got to get to my house. And as they turned their head towards his house, that other lady is going to come and touch him.
[5:49] And he's going to wait a little while. And while he's waiting to help that other lady, his daughter's going to die. And he's going to hear that other lady give her testimony of faith in Jesus. And Jesus is going to go heal him. But here you have a rich and powerful man.
[6:02] Who needs help. He's an important person. He's a ruler in the synagogue. The community would know who he is. When he walks in, they all know, Hey, there comes a guy who's a leader. There comes a guy who's a ruler.
[6:13] And Jesus had time for him. And right in the middle of taking time for this rich guy, this powerful guy, this leader, God's available for everybody.
[6:24] Say amen. Here comes a lady who has an issue of her blood for 12 years. Just to be blunt and honest with you, most of them think it's a menstrual thing. She's sick.
[6:34] And she's been to doctors. And nobody can help her. This woman, you've got to understand, in Jewish society, in Jewish society, women were less than men. Women were kind of like not respected.
[6:46] They were treated like property. A man could get rid of his wife for any reason. There's no reason in the Bible a woman could get rid of her husband. And so anybody might say, Well, this is a Jewish leader.
[6:56] He deserves all that respect. And here comes a woman. Not just a woman, but a sick woman. Not just a sick woman, but a woman everybody's giving up on. Not just a sick woman, but 12 years a sick woman.
[7:08] And she comes up. She's ceremonially unclean. No one should be touching her. She shouldn't be touching anyone. Her disease is about as bad as leprosy. She's an outcast from society.
[7:19] She's lost everything just trying to get well. And Jesus stops. And Jesus stops. He doesn't scold her. He doesn't say, Woman, what are you doing?
[7:29] This isn't ceremonially right. You shouldn't be touching me. He says, I've got time for you, ma'am. Nobody else might respect you. Nobody else might want to help you. But I've got time for you. You're welcome. The rich guy was welcome.
[7:41] The lady who nobody would have welcomed was welcome. And then he kept going. And in verse 27, he comes up on two blind men. These guys are beggars. Blindness is a common illness.
[7:52] And they're crying, Have mercy on us, thou son of David. They're beggars. They're considered to be under a curse or a punishment. You've got to remember that in much of Jewish ideas of the day was, Who did sin, this man or his parents?
[8:06] Why is this guy in bad shape? He's in bad shape because if bad things happen to you, it's because you're bad. Well, Jesus doesn't treat you that way. That's just how society looked at it. And here's these two blind men.
[8:17] And they say, Would you have mercy on us? And he doesn't look at them and say, No, you're cursed. No, you deserve it. No, that's what ought to happen to you. He turns and says, Yeah, I'm going to help you. All were welcomed.
[8:28] And then he comes up on the complete opposite. In verse 32, there's a dumb man. That just means a guy that can't speak. His tongue wouldn't work. He couldn't get words out of his mouth because he was demon possessed.
[8:40] He is possessed of the devil. In verse 32, he has no voice of his own. He can't even express his needs. He is possessed by a devil. This guy is the opposite of who Jesus is.
[8:51] Jesus is holy and pure. And this guy is full of devils. This guy is full of the devil. But Jesus takes time to meet his need and to work in his life.
[9:02] All are welcomed. Probably the most telling part, which is kind of like a subpart in the story, is found in verse 35. He just met everybody who had a needs need. Look at verse 35.
[9:14] Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. So here he is, God in human flesh, a rich ruler, a poor woman who shouldn't be out in society and shouldn't be touching people, blind men who are beggars and maybe under a curse from God, a guy full of demons, and then everybody else.
[9:37] Then everybody else. Here's a good lesson for you. All are welcome at the cross of Jesus Christ. Say amen right there. All are welcome at the cross. If you came this morning and you got it all together and you just got a need like your daughter's dying, come on to Jesus.
[9:51] You came here this morning and you're in bad shape and it looks like nobody would ever care about you because you got this disease that makes you an outcast of society and you're stuck off somewhere. You're quarantined from everybody else.
[10:03] Jesus has time for you. You're a blind beggar and you can't see and there's no hope for you. Jesus has time for you. Hey, you're full of demons and you can't even speak your own needs.
[10:14] You don't even know how to say I need help today. You're welcome. Come to Jesus today. That's the story that everybody else that was there. And what really touches me is verse 36.
[10:26] In verse 36, he saw the multitudes. I mean, this guy's been messing with the multitudes. He's been helping the rich and the poor, the women, the demon-possessed and the blind. He's been helping everybody in every town with every need.
[10:38] And he still looks up and saw the multitudes and he was moved with compassion on them because they fainted. They were giving up. Life seemed to have no meaning, no hope, no way out.
[10:49] They couldn't get it out. They couldn't get out of life. They were scattered abroad like sheep having no shepherd. And he was moved with compassion. Verse 36, you ought to underline that. He was moved with I love you.
[11:01] He was moved with I feel for you. He was moved with hurting inside of him for them. That's why I said he's helping but hurting for more. He's helping everybody he can but still hurting.
[11:14] After all he's done in this chapter, he's not through. He still cares. He looks and he sees the crowds, the people and the hurts for them. He knows they have nowhere to go and no one to care about them.
[11:27] Just like Jairus whose daughter had died and was helpless and alone without Jesus. Just like a woman who looked for help for 12 years with no help. Just like blind men living in darkness with no solution possible.
[11:38] Just like a man in control of the devil. Just like all those people who are hurting and sick. Jesus cared for them and met their needs. Jesus said, all are welcome. If I stop today, that's a good enough message for you.
[11:51] All are welcome. That includes you. It doesn't matter what condition you came in. It doesn't matter what other people think of you. It doesn't matter how alone you feel. He welcomes you. Come believing and trusting and he will make a difference in your life.
[12:05] That includes your friends and your family members. There are no cases too hard for him. There are not people he will not save. You can with confidence invite them to come and hear the good news.
[12:17] You can share the truth with them and watch God make a difference in their life. So before I leave, point number one. I hope you wrote it down somewhere. All are welcome. And you came this morning and you walked into Vision Baptist Church.
[12:28] And you looked around and you think, man, all these people got it together. I'm just not sure I fit in. These people seem to have it together. My life's kind of messed up. I'm going through some junk. I don't know where I fit in. Can I just tell you, you're welcome.
[12:40] Jesus is waiting on you. He cares about you. He's looking for you. He is concerned about you. All are welcome. Not one of these people were turned away.
[12:50] Can you say amen right there? You came this morning and you say, man, you don't know my marriage. You don't know my family. You don't know my finances. You don't know all the mess I've done. Well, just come to Jesus.
[13:03] Because they were all welcome. That's a great truth. Amen. The second thing I want you to look at is they were all helped. You should write that down. They weren't just welcome. He didn't just say, y'all come.
[13:13] But I'm not going to do anything. Everybody got help. Everybody got help. Look, if you would, in verse 18. In verse 18, while he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler and worshipped him, saying, my daughter's even now dead.
[13:26] That's pretty bad. Boy, you talk about a hopeless case. You talk about nothing can be done. But come and lay your hand on her and she shall live. And Jesus arose and followed him. And so did his disciples.
[13:38] Notice how Jesus responded when asked to help. He arose and followed. I don't know who you're going to get that would do that. I don't know who you know that would be so busy about whatever they're doing that you'd walk up to them and say, I have some problems.
[13:53] They say, okay, let's go. What can I do for you? But that's what Jesus did. He immediately responded. He gave all of his attention to the man whose home was broken up by death. But when he got there, he got mocked.
[14:05] In verse 23, he came into the house and he saw all the people that were there. They have these people that they hire to come weep and mourn. It's part of their culture. So when somebody dies, you get people to come in and cry and play sad music and all that's going on.
[14:19] And he walks in and says, guys, you can stop the funeral party. She ain't dead. She's just asleep. And they all started laughing at him. Can you imagine a funeral with all these paid criers laughing? And he walks in, takes her by the hand, lifts her up, and she lives.
[14:34] He knew what was about to happen. The people saw things just as they were or appeared to be. He knew the girl would wake up and live. In verse 22, you saw a lady with a blood issue.
[14:46] By the way, we know from the other books of the Bible, she spent everything she had. She may have had some money when it started, but by now she has none. The doctors have cleaned her financial box out.
[14:56] But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, daughter, be of good comfort. Nobody else cares about you. Nobody else has ever hurt for you. Nobody else has understood what you're going through.
[15:08] For 12 years, everybody's been wondering, why can't you get help? For 12 years, everybody said, stay away from me. Don't touch my kids. I don't want what you got to spread to anybody else. For 12 years, but you just touched me.
[15:20] Here's my answer. It's okay. Be of good comfort. Cheer up. My name's Jesus. I'm God in flesh. I'll help you. And she was helped, made whole from that hour.
[15:33] Anyone else would have turned her away. Before her story ends, Jesus heals her, and she's made whole. In verse 30, those two blind men came, and he healed them, and he even told them, y'all don't go tell anybody I did that.
[15:46] You don't need to tell anybody. I'm not doing this to stir up fame for myself. I just heal you. Then the demon-possessed man came, and Jesus freed him. It was never seen like that in Israel before.
[15:59] Everybody got their needs met. Look at verse 35, and Jesus went about all the cities teaching and preaching and healing, and every sickness and every disease among the people was healed.
[16:11] So all were welcomed, and all got help. And I will tell you this morning, if you came to church, if you came to Jesus, if you came today believing and trusting him, he's here for you.
[16:23] He's already done everything that ever needed to be done for you to be saved. Your sin debt's already paid. Your sin debt's already paid. On the cross of Calvary, he said, it is finished.
[16:35] That meant he paid the debt. All that's lacking is for you to believe him and receive the gift. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[16:47] Everybody who came was welcomed, and everybody who came got help. Are you here to get help today? Have you come today and said, man, I'm hurting. I don't know where to turn. My life's kind of wrecked. I need some help.
[16:57] Well, he's here to help you. The third thing I want you to see real quickly is they believed. They believed. Now, you know, everybody's not going to get help. Just let me tell you up front that not everybody will ever go to heaven.
[17:10] We don't believe that everybody's going to be saved. And although our God is a wonderful and loving and kind God, that's not what the Bible teaches. You must believe. You have to turn from yourself and turn to Jesus.
[17:22] You have to repent of your sin and trust Christ with your life. And that's what happens. And look, if you would, at verse 18. The ruler knew that only Jesus could help, and he tells him so. In verse 18, he said, while he spake these things unto them, behold, a certain ruler came and he worshiped him, saying, my daughter's dead.
[17:40] But come, you come and lay your hands on her and she shall live. Now, this guy, if anybody would have something against Jesus, it ought to be this guy. He's part of the religious establishment.
[17:51] He should have doubted. But he came believing that God could make a difference, that Jesus could make a difference. In verse 22, in verse 22, a woman got healed. And look what the Bible says.
[18:02] Jesus turned him about. And when he saw her, he said, daughter, be of good comfort. Thy faith have made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. That woman came to Jesus believing.
[18:14] And all she thought was, I know he's somebody special. I know he has the power to help. But if I could just touch those little ornaments that hang from the bottom of his garment, if I could just touch that on him, if I could just touch that, I'd be helped.
[18:28] And he said, you have believed and you are fixed. You are going home well. In verse 28, he said to those blind men, he said, believe ye that I'm able to do this?
[18:39] And they said, yes, sir. Yes, Lord. We believe. And he said, okay, you're healed. The demon-possessed man allowed himself to be taken to Jesus. That would have gone against everything in him if he had been pleased to be demon-possessed.
[18:54] You see, he was demon-possessed and he couldn't talk. And his friends come to him and they say, buddy, we got somewhere we could take you. We could take you to Jesus. We could take you to somebody who could make a difference in your life.
[19:05] This guy doesn't throw a fit. You know, I'm sure he had a way of communicating. I'm sure he can grunt and kick and throw things. But when they said, hey, you're hurting and you need help and we know somebody can help you.
[19:15] Come with us. We'll take you to Jesus. He didn't say a word. He couldn't say a word. They picked him up and took him to Jesus. And he was changed. The people from all over the community are coming to him for help because they know that he can.
[19:29] So there are three things I hope you've noticed today. All are welcome. All are helped. And all believe. But you'll not be involved in God's work without being criticized.
[19:40] That's the fourth thing I wish you'd write down. That's the fourth thing I wish you'd write down. As you serve the Lord Jesus and as you believe in him, you must know that if they criticize Jesus, they're certainly going to criticize you.
[19:53] If they mocked him, they're going to mock you. The Bible says they mocked him for knowing what he could do. Verse 24, he said to them, give place.
[20:03] The day it made is not dead but sleeps. And they laughed him to scorn. They are knee-slapping laughing at him. Who do you think you are?
[20:14] You come into this house. We know she's dead. And you're a dingbat to think you can do anything about it. Ha, ha, ha. Somebody tell another joke. And Jesus said, get out of the way. Walks in the room.
[20:25] Takes her by the hand. Raises her up. Goes walking back out. Says, now laugh. Amen. You see, you see, all were welcomed. All were helped. All believed. This girl, there's been a difference made in her life.
[20:38] But they mocked him. Do you really expect to serve Jesus and then not laugh at you when you think Jesus Christ is so powerful in your life? In verse 34, the religious people, the quote-unquote Bible scholars of his day said that what he did, he did by the power of the devil himself.
[20:56] Look at verse 34 with me. Have you got it open right there? Matthew 9, verse 34. The Pharisees said he cast out devils through the prince of devils. In other words, what they said was this.
[21:07] Jesus has power over the bad guys, over the demons, over the devils out of hell because he's using their power, not God's power. But Jesus knew who he was.
[21:17] He's God in human flesh. He is God in human flesh. And I would like to say to you today, you've come and people are going to say to you, well, that's trite to believe that you can believe God and he can make a difference.
[21:28] That's kind of childish to believe that you can trust God to work in your life. That's kind of childish to believe that you can pray and believe God and he would make a difference in your life. And they may mock you, but that's kind of expected.
[21:40] But you are welcome. Come on. You are welcome. Come on. He will help you. Come on to Jesus. Come believing him and trusting him. Come knowing that he will help you. Those that need the help the most may often be the ones that stand against you the most.
[21:56] Some of you are going to your friends and you're talking to your friends and you're saying to your friends, hey, I want to tell you about Jesus. I want to invite you to church. And you've been working with them. You've been doing everything in your power to get them to come and they're mocking you.
[22:08] But if you know the truth, expect to be mocked. Expect to be laughed at. In a certain way, you know, when you're a preacher or a missionary, you just kind of know that you would be a lot more respected.
[22:19] If you were an engineer or an architect or a lawyer, I mean, you're sitting on the airplane and they say, what do you do? You say, well, I'm a preacher. Oh, brother. I mean, that's the attitude everybody has towards you.
[22:30] I'm a pastor. Oh, boy. Better watch it. He's going to stick his hands in my pocket and steal my money. Hey, I'm a missionary. Oh, man. When you get on a plane, they think you're with the Peace Corps or they mock you. Just expect it.
[22:41] If you go talk to people about Jesus, they're going to mock you. They're going to mock you. You're not going to be respected necessarily. But go tell people about Jesus. But no matter how much they resisted, Jesus' power was shown.
[22:55] His power was shown and magnified. Look at verse 26. And the fame hereof went abroad into all the land. Man, everybody heard about it.
[23:07] The girl was healed. She was raised from the dead. The lady was healed of her blood issue. In all honesty, everything he's doing, everybody's talking about it. You can laugh at him all you want.
[23:18] You can mock him all you want. But everywhere it goes, everybody hears about it and knows he is all-powerful. Jesus wasn't doing publicity stunts. In verse 30, he said, and their eyes were opened.
[23:29] And Jesus straightly charged them straight to their face. He said, don't tell anybody about it. But they don't have to tell. Everybody soon found out. The people had seen the miracles.
[23:41] They had never known a man so full of love. He helped everyone he came in contact with. No man has ever loved like him. If before I leave today, I could have you understand what a beautiful and wonderful story this is.
[23:56] If I could help you to understand how a man could be so busy, so occupied, so selfless. How he could walk around helping every person he came in touch with. And all the time he was helping people, he was looking out and saying, there's still more.
[24:08] There's still more. I've helped a blind man here today. There's still more. I've helped a guy who was full of demons and couldn't talk, but there's still more. Hey, I've helped a lady who had a blood issue nobody would respect, but there's still more.
[24:19] I've helped a rich ruler, but there's still more. Hey, I've helped everybody in the towns I've been to, but there's still more. That's the God we serve. What a wonderful, beautiful story the Bible tells us about him.
[24:32] Look, if you would, at verse 36, the last thing. He still felt compassion for more. You write that down. That is the main point. He still felt compassion for more.
[24:45] Look at verse 36. But, but, after doing all of that and all the stories that Matthew just told, all the stories and everything that Matthew just told, But, when he saw the multitudes, he was kind enough and patient enough to look at every individual.
[25:05] He saw the ruler. He saw the lady and all the crowd touching him. He heard the blind men call out to him. He saw the demon-possessed man. And when he walked into town, he saw everybody there that needed something.
[25:17] And he saw them and helped them individually, but he never forgot. There's still many more. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion.
[25:28] You should underline that. This guy's been moved with compassion the whole chapter. In Matthew 9, 18, from there on, every story is, here's a guy hurting. I'm going to help him. Here's a lady hurting.
[25:39] I'm going to help him. Here's somebody needing help. I'm going to help. I'm moved with compassion. I care. But when it's all said and done, he says, look up. Hey, guys, you're walking around with me to learn how to be.
[25:50] You're walking around with me to learn how you can help everybody. But you're walking around with me to learn there's a whole bunch of people everywhere in need. Verse 36, he said, but when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them because they fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd, no one to protect them, no one to provide for them, no one there to guide them, no one to direct them.
[26:13] And they were discouraged and about to faint and just pass out. That's where they were. And he had compassion as he looked across the world. And in verse 38, he said, pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.
[26:30] Though he was busy helping people, he still thought of others. He saw people hurting and alone. They had no one to help them. He called on his disciples to consider the great need.
[26:43] He asked them to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers. You see, as he's helping all these people, you could get so consumed. And man, I made a difference today in Jarius's life and his daughter's life.
[26:55] And I made a difference in the lady's life who had an issue of blood. And I made a difference in the life of two blind guys. And I made a difference in a guy who couldn't speak. And I made a difference in everybody else I came in touch with. And I'm just busy.
[27:06] And that's enough. Not for Jesus. He did all that and he said, but look. Hey guys, look. All we've been doing all day long is great. But keep looking. They still need help.
[27:19] And he called on his disciples to consider the great need. The harvest is large and much work is to be done. Here's some lessons I'd like you to take home today. Being busy isn't an excuse enough not to worry about others.
[27:32] It doesn't take long once you kind of get your own help. You know, you came to Jesus needy. And maybe he saved you like me 50 years ago. And you got your help.
[27:43] And you sure appreciate God working in your life. But you've got to raise your family and take care of your needs. And you're too busy for others. I mean, that's the opposite of this story. Okay. Jesus was busy.
[27:55] But he was concerned. Jesus was busy. But he wasn't thinking about himself. Realize how many need the Lord Jesus. And how many had helped. And how he was still concerned for more.
[28:08] They needed him. I don't understand how he did it. I don't understand how he did it. I can remember living in how he keep a proof. And dealing with issue after issue.
[28:19] Pastors needing money for this. Tools needed for this. Buildings needed to be built. And literally every day I got up and knew that I would spend my entire day with no time to think about me.
[28:30] Meeting needs here and meeting needs there. And teaching over here and preaching over here. I couldn't heal anybody. But I could be a blessing to them. And Jesus did that more than I ever dreamed of doing it.
[28:41] But when the end of the day came, he said, Hey guys, you've been watching what's going on? Now lift your eyes up. Look out there. We haven't done anything yet. We've got to get busy. Pray the Lord of the harvest.
[28:51] That he'll send forth laborers to his harvest. We should be praying that the Lord will send forth laborers. Did he help you? Has he made a difference in your life?
[29:02] Do you understand salvation? Have you been born again? Are you saved? Is the greatest need you'd ever have already taken care of? That you'd go to heaven? That you have new life? That you're a new creature?
[29:13] Then think about others. The fact is, as a born again believer, do you still have a lot of problems? But every time you've come, over all these years, he's always met your need? Then lift up your eyes. We should look ourselves over and see how much we're involved helping others.
[29:28] We should look ourselves over and say, how accessible are we? Do we help those that we can? Do we believe that God can make a difference in people's lives?
[29:39] I'm so afraid that the modern church has gotten help, and they're glad they got help, but they're not interested in helping others. I'm so afraid that we've become selfish.
[29:53] Take from God, get all God's blessings, but not be concerned about spreading his fame, his glory, telling the world about him. Are we allowing the resistance that we feel causes to not accomplish more for God?
[30:06] God, I know, you went to your friend and you shared the gospel with them and they mocked you. They mocked Jesus. I know you talked to somebody you knew needed Jesus and they spurned your love.
[30:18] They didn't love you back. They rejected you and they rejected the offering, so you kind of feel like, I don't want to do it anymore. I'm tired of being rejected. They said Jesus healed and cast out demons by the power of the devil himself.
[30:32] But he kept on helping. He kept on making a difference. Are we helping all we can and still hurting for others? Hurting to help them. There ought to be something in every one of our chests today that says, man, I've been helped.
[30:47] But there's so many more that need help. That's why we get to Faith Promise Missions, to get that gospel to the other parts of the world. That's why we go out and knock on doors to get that gospel to the world. That's why we share our testimony on the Internet or anywhere else we can because we know Jesus made a difference in our life.
[31:05] And he can make a difference in others' lives. Helping but still hurting for more. I think if I could sum up what happened for Jesus that day, or what he was doing was he was helping everybody he came in touch with, but he was still hurting for more people.
[31:22] And today, you and I ought to be saying, I've gotten help, and now I'll share that help. I will take the gospel of Jesus Christ to others. Father, I love you. I thank you for the opportunity to share your word.
[31:34] And I pray this morning that somebody might be saved. I pray that somebody might be born again. I pray that somebody this morning might decide that they would trust you and believe you and look to you, and I'll give you praise for what you do.
[31:46] God, there just might be somebody lost here, and you're already dealing with their heart. I pray you'd help them to trust you. There might be somebody here today, dear God, that is born again and on their way to heaven, but they're not serving others, not caring about others.
[32:00] They have turned everything into a very selfish relationship as a taker. And I pray, God, you'd help them. And I pray your name would be glorified.
[32:10] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com, where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.