Tonight we're going to be in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 9, verses 35 to 38.
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness.
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.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to be the servant of all, putting ourselves last.
Today I want to use this passage to look at our motives in service.
So easily it can be pride, obligation, or fear.
But these are all flawed.
To fuel our actions, our motives must align with Jesus himself.
So let's look at what motivated Jesus in this text.
We see Jesus' motivation is compassion for the people he is with.
He sees them as lost sheep, harassed, and helpless.
Before we explore this further, let's put the passage in context.
We are in Matthew's account of Jesus' life.
He repeatedly reminds us that Jesus is the Messiah and Savior that the Jews are waiting for,
through explaining the Old Testament scripture.
Jesus has been passing through the lands, displaying his power,
and he has been teaching about God's will and kingdom.
Jesus is willing to cope with the crowds, jostling to see him.
Demanding miracles of him, doubting and rejecting him.
Endless lines of tired and complaining people.
Masses just waiting for him to evict these ruthless Romans.
Jesus desires to face these crowds on a daily basis.
He didn't need to prove himself.
He didn't need their praises.
He didn't need to gain authority.
He had all this when he was on his throne in heaven.
He had chosen to humble himself, leaving all these behind.
He had chosen to get alongside them,
to share mankind's suffering,
to pour out his compassion.
We remember again John 3.16.
For God so loved the world,
that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish,
but have eternal life.
God so loved the world.
His love was his motivation.
Here Jesus saw the crowds as sheep without a shepherd.
An image we may have heard many times,
but what does it mean?
Let's try and draw some explanations from scripture.
Firstly, Psalm 119, verse 176, says,
I have strayed like a lost sheep.
Seek your servant,
for I have not forgotten your commands.
The psalmist has openly confessed
that he has gone away from God and his commands,
but he longs for God to strengthen him
so that he can follow them.
The Bible is littered with individuals and nations
who disobey God's commands,
looking for satisfaction in earthly desires.
Likewise, we do the same.
We look for lasting satisfaction
in work, relationships, or hobbies.
Good things, but not capable of eternal satisfaction.
When idolized,
they can cause us to stray away from God's commands.
The second illustration is from Luke 15,
verses 3 to 7.
Then Jesus told them this parable.
Suppose one of you has a hundred street
and loses one of them.
Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country
and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?
And when he finds it,
he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.
Then he calls his friends and neighbors together
and says,
Rejoice with me.
I have found my lost sheep.
I tell you that in the same way,
there will be more rejoicing in heaven
over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous persons
who do not need to repent.
Here Jesus makes a direct comparison
of a man wandering from God and sinning
to a sheep wandering from the flock.
So when Jesus sees the crowd
as wandering sheep,
he sees them for what they are,
sinners,
people who have rejected him,
his Father,
and the Holy Spirit.
Yet he loves them despite this.
He longs for them to know him.
He sees them as precious.
He wants to rejoice and celebrate
just because he has found them
and brought them home.
He cares for them.
The third image is in what we read
earlier in Ezekiel,
but I will focus on Ezekiel 34,
11-12.
For this is what the Sovereign Lord says,
I myself will search for my sheep
and look after them.
I will rescue them from all the places
where they were scattered
on a day of clouds and darkness.
These verses proclaim God
as the shepherd for the lost sheep.
They have strayed,
but God promises
to seek out Israel
once they were scattered.
Likewise,
through his Son,
he promises to seek us out
once we have strayed.
We can trust in
and be thankful for
this promise.
To review these three texts,
why does Jesus see the crowd
as lost
like sheep without a shepherd?
One answer would be
that they had departed
from the God who loved them.
They looked to the world
to satisfy
and to find contentment
not in him,
but in being full of things
around them.
They had disobeyed
God's commands.
Another answer
for the crowd being lost
can be drawn from Ezekiel
in that they are lost
because they didn't have
good teachers
pointing them to God,
but rather false teachers
exploiting and failing the people.
Israel had false teachers
proclaiming religiosity
as the means to knowing God.
But today there are
many false gospels,
objects and dreams
that people put their hope
in to satisfy.
The crowds have gone astray
looking to be healthy,
wealthy and wise.
God has moved
to the periphery.
In doing so,
they have sinned against God
and God alone.
What's the consequence
of straying?
Let's reflect on
our own lives
prior to coming to put
our hope and trust
in Christ as our Lord
or those times
when we forget
God's love for us
and we wander.
We can feel helpless
at seeing the tasks
around us.
We can feel restless,
always looking for
the next thing to satisfy
or we are impatient
with the lack of fruits
of our labour.
We can feel exhausted,
unable to keep going.
We can feel worthless,
struggling to find
our value and identity
in the things around us.
We can feel lost
as to what is the purpose
and hope for our actions.
Our joys don't last,
our sufferings leave us bitter.
We blame others,
we curse and we cry.
These emotions
are not unique to us.
So for those not
in the body of Christ,
let's not assume
they are satisfied.
Like us,
they are in the same
fallen, broken world
that we are in
with similar anxieties,
trials and pains.
They are often harassed
and helpless.
So let's realise
their need
for the same compassion
that we were shown.
As we do this,
try and see people
through the eyes of God.
Through the gospel
they follow,
what they put their hope in.
Let's long to save them
from false teachers,
all the while remembering
that God promised
to be the shepherd.
Jesus came in response
to be a true teacher,
pointing and leading them
to God.
Jesus came to show the path,
drawing people
back to himself.
How will he do this?
John 10, verse 11,
Jesus says,
I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd
lays down his life
for the sheep.
Jesus says this,
but he knows
that he will lay down
his life willingly
for us on the cross.
He knows we have strayed,
he knows we are all sinners,
and we are helpless
by ourselves.
But in dying for us
on the cross,
he makes a path
for us to return
to the green pastures
of God's kingdom
so that we can see
and know God's love.
Let's daily remind ourselves
of the cost it was
to find us
and bring us back,
the anguish,
pain,
and the tears
of the cross,
willingly taken out
of compassion
and a boundless love.
We are quick
to forget this.
We wonder
at what man has made
and get lost
in our task lists
and work.
We overlook
the broken relationships
between one another
and with God.
We forget
the reason he made us
so that we can bask
in his love
and worship him.
And as we relish
in our Father's
intimate love,
we have compassion
for those around us
who do not yet know him,
who don't have
the Father's rest,
who struggle
looking for answers,
who are wandering
like lost sheep.
We will move on
to how Jesus'
compassion manifested.
He taught,
proclaimed the gospel,
and he healed,
all of which
the Holy Spirit
can continue to do
through us.
As well as this,
on the back
of what he has witnessed,
Jesus calls
his disciples to pray.
But first he said,
the harvest is plentiful,
but the work is a few.
What does Jesus mean
by the harvest?
If we look at Matthew 13,
24 to 30,
Jesus told them
another parable.
The kingdom of heaven
is like a man
who sowed good seed
in his field,
but while everyone
was sleeping,
his enemy came
and sowed weeds
among the wheat
and went away.
And when the wheat
sprouted
and formed heads,
then the weeds
also appeared.
The owner's servants
came to him
and said,
Sir,
didn't you sow
good seed
in your field?
Where then
did the weeds
come from?
An enemy did this,
he replied.
The servants asked him,
Do you want us
to go and pull them up?
No,
he answered,
because while you're
pulling the weeds,
you may uproot
the wheat with them.
Let both grow together
until the harvest.
At that time,
I will tell the harvesters,
first collect the weeds
and tie them in bundles
to be burned.
Then gather the wheat
and bring it into my barn.
The harvest is the individuals
who will be brought
into the kingdom of God.
The weeds are those
that reject God.
So in saying
the harvest is plentiful,
the crowds are people
who can be saved.
Yes,
they have gone astray,
but they can be brought in.
By what means
does God bring them in?
His work is.
What are Jesus' disciples
called to do?
Pray,
asking the Lord
of the harvest
to send out workers
into his harvest field.
So let's pray regularly
and earnestly
for people to go
to share this good news
of a Christ
who died for us,
restoring our relationship
with a loving God
so that those
who are lost
can confess
and turn from their sins
and their desires
to go astray
so that then
they can receive
a hope
and assurance
of an eternal life.
We too often forget
the power of prayer,
but as we lay our hopes
and desires
before the Lord,
he will establish them.
Plans and desires
by themselves
will not succeed
unless they are in line
with God's will
and this can only
be achieved
through prayer.
Next,
we shall look
at how this prayer
is answered
in the next chapter,
Matthew 10,
verses 5 to 8.
These twelve,
Jesus sent out
with the following
instructions.
Do not go among
the Gentiles
or enter any town
of the Samaritans.
Go rather to the
lost sheep of Israel.
As you go,
proclaim this message.
The kingdom of heaven
has come near.
Heal the sick,
raise the dead,
cleanse those
who have leprosy,
drive out demons.
Freely you have received,
freely give.
They are to be
the answer
to their own prayer.
They went themselves.
The disciples
were called
to go to Israel
first
because throughout
the Old Testament
there had been
signs of Jesus' coming.
They had the
covenant promises.
They were waiting
for God's Messiah.
Therefore,
they had been
prepared to receive
the gospel.
Later it would be
time for the good news
to come to the rest.
This was God's plan.
Likewise,
God commands us
as the people
have put their hope
in Jesus
to be workers
in the harvest field.
We don't know
who will respond,
but we know
God is sovereign
and he alone
can save.
Our walk before
an almighty God
is not measured
by the successes
of our conversations,
but rather our
obedience and desire
to serve God.
God's love.
So let's be the
answer to our
own prayers
to willingly
listen to the call
to gather in the
sheep by telling
them the good news
of the gospel,
that there is a
good shepherd
who laid down
his life for all.
So to give this
a practical application,
firstly,
we need to remind
ourselves of God's
love and compassion,
how this displayed
itself in him
becoming man,
pouring himself
out for us.
We do this by
dwelling and
meditating on God's
word of the Bible,
allowing the spirit
to use the words
to change our
hearts and desires.
We must also
remind ourselves
of God's blessings
for us,
his promises
and his nature.
God doesn't
change,
doesn't love us
any less,
doesn't forget
about us.
We forget him,
what he did,
and that he longs
for us to find
our rest in him.
As we do this,
we are filled
with God's love
so that it overflows
into our relationships
with others.
Secondly,
we need to change
our perspectives
of people,
no longer see them
through the world's
perspective of
satisfaction,
achievement,
and status,
but rather through
Jesus' perspective
of their relationship
to God.
We must see them
as the weeds
to be burned
unless they repent,
as the sheep
that are lost
and helpless
as we once were,
their pains,
their struggles,
their frustrations,
and their sorrows.
In doing so,
we will nurture
compassion and longing
for people to find
a sure hope
and lasting rest
in God.
We want them
to experience
the same love
that we have
and have the privilege
of being able
to offer.
Let me tell you
a quick story
of a famous evangelist,
Dwight L. Moody.
When D.L. Moody
was in London
during one of his tours,
several British clergymen
visited him.
They wanted to know
how and why
this poorly educated
American
was so effective
in proclaiming
the gospel.
Moody took the three men
to the window
of his hotel room
and asked each in turn
what they saw.
One by one,
the men described
the people
in the park below.
Then Moody
looked out the window
with tears
rolling down
his cheeks.
What do you see,
Mr. Moody?
asked one of the men.
I see countless
thousands of souls
that will one day
spend eternity
in hell
if they do not
find the saviour.
Moody had
God's perspective
and God's love.
Let's do the same.
Thirdly,
let's not forget
a reliance on prayer.
Mark 14, 36.
Jesus prays,
yet not what I will,
but what you will.
Jesus here
is in the Garden
of Gethsemane
facing his own crucifixion.
He longs to not have
to go through
the pain and suffering,
but he acknowledges
God as Lord of all
and that he knows
what is best
for his life.
As we pray,
we also acknowledge
this and that he is
Lord over the harvest
and our own lives.
We align our will
with his
so that we no longer
desire the life
that is satisfying to us,
but the life
that is obedient
and pleasing to God.
As we long
to become obedient,
we become willing
to cross the pain line,
we become willing
to put others
before ourselves,
and we become willing
to share the reason
for the hope
that we have
in the gospel.
Therefore,
let's obey the call
and go.
Let's get alongside others.
Let's be amongst
the harvest,
sharing life with them,
and let our actions
and speech
be a glimpse
of the God
who created us,
sustains us,
and loves us.
The God filled
with compassion.
The God that is
the good shepherd
who laid down
his life for us,
and ensuring
a distinctive love,
people will ask
the question,
why are they different?
And then they will look
and see that it's
because we know
that it was Christ
who first loved us.
To close,
I would like to touch
on how this passage
influences how we
approach the Family Fun Day.
We pray for the day
so the congregation
can go out
into the community
and share the good news
of Jesus.
furthermore,
as we invite
friends and family,
we do it boldly
because we are doing it
with a compassion
for our community.
We love them
and long to show
this in how we serve
them on the day,
whether it be food,
welcoming them,
or including them
in the games
and activities.
This compassion
leads us to want
to know them,
know their struggles.
We want to show
how much God
rejoices in repentance
when those who are lost
come back
and choose to return
God's love to him.
We want them
to share in the joy
that is greater
than anything else
this world has to offer.
Amen.