Good morning, everyone.
If you'd like to keep your Bibles open there at Matthew 9,
we'll be going through that text in just a moment.
I moved from the country to Newtown, inner west,
to start studies at Moore College at the beginning of 1996.
I remember one of my first impressions was how many people there were,
in Sydney, that is.
See, I grew up on a farm, 120 acres between five people,
so my personal space consisted of about 25 acres.
But next door to us was a national park of about 80,000 acres,
and I used to play in there as well.
But when I used to start to work in there,
I could go for days without seeing a single soul.
In fact, there were certain areas of the park where I'd worked
that if you did see a single soul, it was very odd, very suspicious.
In fact, they were drug dealers or they were poachers or something like that.
It was really weird to see people in some areas of the park.
It wasn't one of those national parks which was flooded with tourists all the time.
And so in the middle of winter, you could be a whole week and not see a single soul.
And so I've got 80,000 acres all to myself.
And if I ever did find a single soul, I'd be more than happy to spend the day with them.
And moving from that kind of environment to Sydney,
I was immediately struck by the number of people and how close everyone was to you.
One of my first impressions, walking down King Street, Newtown,
and pulling up at a set of lights, pushing the button.
I believed you had to push it six times because apparently I'd changed the lights,
but it turned out that that was actually just a myth.
That never works.
It took me 10 years to work that one out.
Standing there waiting to cross the road and all of a sudden this bloke comes straight up and
right beside me.
Like we're touching.
And I'm thinking, is there no more room here?
I have never stood that close to someone without giving them a hug or having a conversation with them.
And so I did.
I put out my hand and introduced myself to this guy, completely ignored me.
He just looked at me and then looked away and then the light went green and poof, off he went across the road.
It was a weird experience for me.
Kind of like standing in a lift in those early days.
We didn't have lifts in Narrabri.
Or traffic lights.
Standing in a lift.
It was completely odd for me to have all these people crushed in on me.
And we're standing there in total silence just looking at the numbers.
Waiting for our turn to come.
So that we could exit.
No one saying anything to anyone.
Kind of like an awkward prayer meeting where you're looking at the watch just hoping someone either prays something or this thing shuts down real soon.
After 16 years of Sydney, it's changed me.
I don't care if someone stands beside me at the light so they don't say anything anymore.
I'm really grateful when no one speaks to me in the lift now.
There are few things I think more tiring than constant exposure to people.
It is even more tiring when you are constantly serving them or ministering to them.
Mothers with little children have certainly got something to say about that.
I think there's no one more tired than I know than mothers with little children.
Living in Sydney means that we are surrounded.
We are, in fact, we see hundreds of people every day if not thousands.
And we are certainly mindful of millions more.
Especially a rush hour on a train.
Constantly exposed to people.
Natalie and I went to the zoo yesterday.
Took the girls to the zoo.
We normally go on a Friday on my day off.
But we went yesterday.
The whole time there I'm thinking it's going to be busy.
It's going to be busy.
And it was busy.
I mean, I knew it would be.
But you couldn't even get in to see the big cats.
I mean, what's the point of going to the zoo if you can't stand there and gawk across at an animal that could potentially eat you and would love to if it wasn't for the glass there?
And you could sit there and poke at it and annoy it a little bit.
I mean, what's the point of going to the zoo if you can't get to the big cats?
Well, I suppose you could if you were patient enough with people to stand in line and wait your turn.
I wasn't.
I am weary of constant exposure to people.
I'm looking forward to long service leave.
And more exposure to people in school holidays in Queensland.
And so is our society, weary of the constant exposure to people.
It's evidenced in a number of ways, but especially in the withdrawal into the comfort and the privacy and the security of our domestic caves.
We treat our homes like fortresses that visitors may approach only with great care.
The market for domestic security systems continues to grow.
Bars are appearing on windows.
Suburban fences, which came down in the open and accommodating 50s and 60s, have gone back up in the last 30, 40 years.
Entertainment and recreation facilities are being installed.
We phone for pizza.
We can shop from our computers.
We minimise the need to go out as we retreat further and further away from people into our domestic caves.
And the great irony, of course, is that loneliness is skyrocketing as we retreat more and more into our domestic caves.
The other problem linked with that is the emotional burnout from overexposure to people is the emotional exposure to people with issues.
That is particularly heightened for us in the media.
Once upon a time, news of hostility on the other side of the world would take weeks, months even, sometimes even years before we would hear about it.
Now, a few shots are fired in some distant country and we know about it by the nightly news.
And we're already tired from people.
And as we see it again, these issues in the world, our compassion dries up in the face of human need.
Worse still is that we seem to be called on to be compassionate again and again and again and nothing ever seems to change.
We see the ads on TV of starving children and so we get one, two, three World Vision kids and yet the ads keep playing.
There are always starving children and so we harden ourselves a little bit more to the needs of people.
It's much easier to theologise about evil and suffering than to weep over it or to do something about it.
Now, desensitisation to human physical and psychological need flows over into their spiritual need.
This month we're focusing on local and global impact and I want to ask the question, is local and global impact even a possibility?
Is it even a possibility?
The need is enormous.
Over 55 million people die every year.
55 million people.
And the vast majority of them into a Christless eternity.
So many are lost.
So few are actually saved.
And yet how many times has the gospel been preached?
How many leaflets have we put in letter boxes?
How many children have sat through scripture classes?
How many mission teams?
How many doors are knocked?
And we are told here in Matthew 9 that the harvest is plentiful.
Is it?
Is it really?
See, I think Jesus was in danger of overexposure to people too.
Look at there in verse 35.
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.
Wouldn't it be great to have a couple of Jesus amongst us?
According to one Jewish historian, there were 204 villages and towns in Galilee that Jesus went amongst.
And each of these villages and towns had a population of at least 15,000 people.
And so even if the actual figure was less than the estimated 3 million people, there was still a significant population called here in Matthew 9, the crowds.
And if Jesus was to speak in two of those villages and towns a day, it would take him four months to get through them all.
Apart from the sheer energy needed to keep up with that pace, there is an enormous emotional drain of serving so many people.
The crowds, the masses.
And yet what is Jesus' response to the masses?
Verse 36.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.
See, people without Christ are like sheep without a shepherd.
They will soon run out of pasture and they will die.
Or they will get lost or they will get caught in a bush and they will die.
In the meantime, they harassed, they are bullied, they are bruised, they are beaten, they are helpless, they are exploited, they are adrift.
They are moving as a flock, as a big crowd, but knowing not why or where.
See, the unbelievers you know, your neighbours, your friends, your colleagues, may not on the surface appear to fit that description.
But do not be misled by the shell of assurance, of self-assurance.
See, if you see them with the eyes of Christ, you will realise, you will recognise, you will see sheep without a shepherd.
Behind the sinful behaviours lie frustration and exploitation and despair and hopelessness.
We are so often confused by the shell of self-assurance when we look at people.
In the same way, you would be confused on a Friday afternoon, seeing a sheep standing in the water of a dam.
Late night, the sun's falling down and you think, there's a sheep after a whole long week of grazing.
Is there taking in the water views, watching the sunset.
When in actual fact, it's stuck in a dam.
And if I don't go in and rescue it, it will die.
It's not enjoying the water views.
It's not about when you see a sheep.
But it's not about a thing.
It's not about a thing.
And Jesus' response is compassion because he sees the need.
And the word means to be moved within one's stomach, to have a gut-wrenching feeling of pity towards someone.
it's to have your stomach turn
and your emotions moved in the face of human need
do you remember the last time you felt that?
do you remember the last time when you felt such strong pity?
I suspect if I grab my baby Amelia now
and took all her clothes off
and in this cold building later on the floor there
and you heard a scream
I imagine you would feel the pity in that moment for her
and repulse at me for doing it
see I remember one such time
I remember the baby of a couple that I married
who had surgery on his heart which went really wrong
it was serious surgery but it was supposed to be routine
and I remember sitting in the room with the doctors
and the parents and the grandparents
when the specialist said
we're sorry but your son has got a 50-50 chance of survival
I felt like pulling a coin out of my pocket and flicking it
I don't like 50-50
they said we're doing all that we can
but we just don't know what the outcome will be
and the tears just flowed
parents, grandparents and even the doctors
I remember going with them and standing beside their baby's bed
I remember the tiny lifeless body
filled with cables and tubes
so that mum and dad could only just touch the toes
I remember the parents
they weren't even able to hold their child
I remember the desperate situation
I remember the knot in my stomach
I have to ask myself
do I feel that pity
for my unbelieving neighbours
and friends and strangers
and I think that my friends is our first need
is it not from this text
our need is to feel compassion
because of their need
if we misdiagnose the condition
we won't be pleading for the right solution
our need is to have the compassion of Jesus
compassion is a work of grace in our hearts
it's not the product of works
it is the product of prayer
earnest prayer at the throne room of God
fill me with compassion
give me love
have you become desensitised
to the crowd of shepherdless sheep
around five years ago
in this country
64% of the population
had a nominal adherence to Christianity
less than 25% of those people
actually went to church regularly
that is less than 16% of the population
went to church regularly
and even if we assume
that the 16%
who attended church regularly
we were committed to Christ
that means there's a full
which I think is a fairly wild assumption
there is a full
84% of our fellow citizens
who make no pretense
of knowing Christ
at 149.32 seconds
on Wednesday afternoon this week
the population of our country
was 22,893,569
84% of that is about 19 million people
19 million sheep without a shepherd
that's the need
these people
no matter how good they are
or how bad
are not saved
19 million sheep
without a shepherd
19 million who cannot know
the ultimate meaning of life
they cannot have
a purified
clean conscious before God
and without Christ
they have no eternal hope
there is the need
and our need is to feel compassion
because of their need
and as we begin mission month
we need to be praying for compassion
more than anything else
when confronted with the crowds
Jesus doesn't just see hopelessness
and need though
he sees potential
see it there in verse 37
then he said to his disciples
the harvest is plentiful
but the workers are few
you see Jesus saw an amazing potential
the harvest is plentiful
the metaphor changes here
unbelievers are not just sheep
who are in trouble
they are also wheat
that can be harvested
you see we need to see
with the eyes of Christ
to not only see the lostness of people
but also to see
with his eyes
to see the expectancy
and the hopefulness
of the harvest
do you look at your neighbours
and your colleagues
and your friends
and your classmates
with the real sense
that here is a potential follower
of the Lord Jesus
it has probably been so long
since the Lord has used most of us
to lead a person
from unbelief to faith in Christ
that we actually wonder
whether there is any potential left
we still know
that there is a terrible lostness
in the world
and we still feel
some compassion
when we let ourselves
think about it
but potential
we wonder
could there ever be
a harvest time
in my life
after so many years
of fruitlessness
well the answer
is
resoundingly
yes
when Jesus said
in Luke 18
that it is hard
for rich people
to enter the kingdom
the disciples responded
well who then
can be saved
it seemed
at that moment
for the disciples
that Jesus
was taking away
all potential
for harvest
for them
but actually
what he was doing
was laying
a new basis
for the potential
he answers them
what is impossible
with men
is possible
with God
you see
notice here
in Matthew 9
whose harvest
it is
it is his harvest
he is the
lord
of the harvest
the king
of the harvest
the boss
of the harvest
and it is
his
harvest field
it is his
paddock
and it is
his crop
it's not ours
and if we are
going to have
a harvest time
at St Paul's
it will not be
because there are
so many competent
communicators
it won't be
because we
door knock
ten times more
than we do now
it won't be
because we have
organised ourselves
well
the harvest we want
is impossible
for us
to do
new birth
birth is a miracle
you see my friends
in case you are
confused
or a bit
cynical
our goal
is not
a big church
our goal
is not
impressive
statistical
charts
our goal
is to see
God
do
the impossible
through failures
like
me
and you
that is the way
it has happened
in history
and that is how
it will happen
again
in God's
time
he will
perform
the miracle
of harvest
and it will
be marvellous
in our eyes
what then
should we do
should we
begin with
training sessions
to multiply
the number
of evangelists
should we
develop a
major recruitment
strategy
should we
build a few
strategically
placed
bible colleges
or should we
begin by
establishing
two or three
international
foundations
to help
pay for
everything
that we
want to
do
at some
point we
may need
to do
all those
things
but get
this point
they are
secondary
steps
considerable
effort
needs to be
poured
into the
primary
step
action is
demanded
and Jesus
calls for it
in verse 38
asks the
lord of the
harvest
therefore to
send out
workers into
his harvest
field
in sync
with his
compassion for
the lost
Jesus calls
us here to
beg
God
to plead
with God
to send out
workers into
the harvest
field
you see I
still remember
the gut
wrenching
pity
and sorrow
that I
felt for
that baby's
dad and
mum as we
stood around
that hospital
bed
I used to
go to the
hospital and
sit with
them and
pray with
them most
days and
cry with
them for
most days
I remember
pleading with
God like I
have never
pled with
God
I remember
on one
occasion
being barely
able to
hold it in
as I
walked through
the hospital
foyer out
to the car
park and
I remember
opening my
car door and
hopping in my
car and I
could not
hold it in
any longer
I remember
grabbing hold
of the steering
wheel and
sobbing and
pleading with
God to
save
pleading with
him to
save
life and
I remember
by the time
that I got
home pleading
with God all
the way home
in such a way
that my shirt
was wet with
tears
the word here
is to
plead
it's to
beg
that the
Lord of the
harvest will
cast out
workers
begging God
to throw
workers out
into the
paddock
literally
the begging
is linked
with compassion
it comes out
of compassion
it is the
action that
follows the
feeling of
compassion
isn't it
strange though
for a thing
to plead
for God
to raise
up workers
it is
strange that
the farm
hands
should be
told to
beg the
owner of
the farm
to send
out more
workers into
the harvest
surely
Jesus doesn't
mean to imply
that God
doesn't know
that there's a
shortage of
harvesters
or surely
he doesn't
mean that God
doesn't care
whether the
harvest comes
in
why then
are the
farm hands
told to
beg the
farmer for
more help
I think
something very
important is
happening here
there is one
possible answer
and it may be
the only answer
certainly the only one
that I could come
up with
God has
willed
that his
miraculous work
of harvesting
be preceded
by this
kind of
prayer
before he
does a
great work
he moves
his people
to pray
greatly
for that
work
I wish
I could
say that
I've always
been faithful
to this
call to
prayer
to my
great shame
I have
not
but I'm
convinced
that the
really great
issues
before us
will be
settled
on our
knees
that doesn't
mean we
don't do
anything
except
prayer
it does
mean
it does
mean
that we
should do
nothing
without
prayer
it is
true that
God often
uses means
it is also
true that
we often
focus on
the means
and forget
the really
significant
work must
be God's
work
otherwise
it will
all come
to naught
Jesus'
compassion
issues in
prayer and
in a call
for us
to pray
and it
may be
that if
we fail
to pray
it is
because
our
compassion
is
defective
or it
may mean
that we
are
compassionate
but we
are
naive
and we
have
misdiagnosed
the real
problem
that is
we don't
clearly
understand
the
utter
plight
of the
lost
and if
this is
the case
if we
don't
truly
understand
the
utter
plight
of the
lost
we
will
throw
all of
our
efforts
or the
vast
majority
of our
efforts
into the
secondary
solutions
even the
best
secondary
solutions
that we
can find
and we
will spend
our time
arguing
over
the
best
secondary
solutions
that we
can find
while not
pleading for
the primary
solution
pleading for
God to
do his
work
and so
my friends
we begin
mission month
2012
and the
global
task is
huge
the needs
seem endless
the local
task is
huge too
forget about
the global
task
the local
task is
huge
I want
to talk
about
harvest
time here
at St
Paul's
because if
we are
not engaged
in harvest
time here
at St
Paul's
I want
to be
frank with
you
we will
never be
truly
engaged
with harvest
time in
Africa
we will
never be
truly engaged
with harvest
time in
Africa
in fact
I said
to you a
number of
months ago
one of the
signs of a
declining
church is
that we
actually put
our efforts
into harvest
times in
Africa and
everywhere else
rather than
our local
local harvest
we have a
mission objective
of 500 in
attendance by
the end of
2012 and
our mission
objective is
not to steal
sheep from
someone else's
paddock but
for lost sheep
to find their
shepherd
our objective
is for people
to be rescued
by the Lord
Jesus so let
me be
absolutely
frank with
you if
by the
end of
2014 we
have 600
people in
services every
Sunday but
our records
show that we've
only baptized
people in the
last three
years about
20 people in
the last three
years I would
sit back and
say we have
not succeeded
I will not
call it a
success
even though it
will look like
it
let's pray
about harvest
time at
St Paul's
I don't know
what God will
do amongst
us I don't
know if
2012 or
13 or
14 is the
season of
harvest amongst
us it may
not be I
know as your
pastor that I'm
not broken
enough yet and
I'm not
yielding enough
yet and I'm
not compassionate
enough yet and
I'm not praying
enough yet maybe
we have to wait
until 2025 but
maybe not
firstly we must
pray for our
own hearts I
read an
interesting article
this week that
said atheists
give to need
because of
compassion and
Christians are
motivated by
doctrine or
reputational
concerns
atheists give
because they're
moved in the
gut with
people's needs
we do it
out of duty
and our
praying can be
the same
turn up to
prayer meetings
run through the
prayer sheet
for this next
month we
pray for global
mission because
we ought to
rather than
pleading with
God because
of the vast
needs rather
than because of
compassion
and so pray my
friends that our
hearts my heart
senses the need
feels the
compassion
sees the
potential and
stays fervent in
pleading with
God to throw
out worker after
worker after
worker into the
harvest field
secondly pray for
persons you know
outside of
Christ that they
might come to
their shepherd
there is a power
at our disposal in
prayer that we have
only begun to tap
and I'm praying that
all the members of
our church apply
themselves to
prayer this month
to pray to
plead earnestly
as if your
nearest and
dearest were
desperately ill
amen