Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, February 14, 2016 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Valentine's Day MESSAGE 6 in White Unto Harvest Sermon Series on Evangelism LORD, Lay Some Soul Upon My Heart Matthew 9:35-38 (NKJV) Today as we continue with our White Unto Harvest sermon series, I would like for you to please turn with me in your Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter nine. And let's read verses 35-38. Matthew 9:35-38 (NKJV) 35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. *****************************************************
I N T R O D U C T I O N Today is Valentine's Day. When we think about Valentine's Day we think about Valentine's Cards...and boxes of chocolate...and red roses...and those little candy hearts with romantic sayings on them. Valentine's Day is a celebration of LOVE and PASSION and ROMANCE. It is a day when we let the one who is nearest and dearest to us know just how much they mean to us. But on this Valentine's Day I want us to think about a different kind of love, and that is our love for lost souls. ********** When it comes to loving those who are lost, all of us here falls into one of two categories: You either have PASSION FOR THE LOST or YOU HAVE LOST YOUR PASSION. Bro. David Kester writes... GOD LOVES THE LOST! And because He loves the lost, He seeks them. He searches the highways and byways, the city streets and the back alleys. He looks among the criminals and the drunkards; He combs through the prisons and the rehabilitation centers. He sits with the sinners, and eats with the tax collectors and prostitutes because He loves them. GOD HAS A PASSIONATE HEART FOR THE LOST. Jesus described His ministry with these simple words: I came to seek and to save that which was lost. He came looking for us; for the sin sick, the dead and the dying. And when He finds the lost, He binds their wounds; He cleanses their disease; He makes the spiritually dead alive again, all because of His great love for us. Love seeks, love searches, love pursues. Love is not dissuaded by rejection, refusal, rebuke or ridicule. GOD'S LOVE NEVER FAILS! (Bro. David Kester is minister of the Church of Christ in Cleveland, Minnesota)
In our scripture text JESUS is out searching for the lost. v. 35 says, Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. Notice Matthew says, Jesus went about all the cities and villages. That means Jesus searched for the lost in the larger, more populous cities such as Capernaum and Jericho and Jerusalem, but He also searched for the lost in the smaller, humbler, rural towns and villages that were sparsely populated. The point is this: Jesus' passionate love for the lost took Him to where the people were regardless of the size or population. A lost soul is a lost soul regardless of whether he lives in a large city or in a remote country village. As we look more closely at this passage we learn from JESUS' example what it means for you and me to have passion for the lost. First of all... I. We Must SEE The Lost As Jesus SAW Them (v.36) v. 36a But when He saw the multitudes... 1. We have all been in big crowds before, whether at a ball game, or a race, or a crowded store at Christmas time. And you know when you are in a crowd of people like that you see people and yet you don't really see them. You see the crowd as a whole, but you don't see each and every person in that crowd as individuals.
2. When Matthew says, But when He saw the multitudes... that little word saw is very significant. It means, Jesus didn't see them as a crowd, He saw them as INDIVIDUAL SOULS. He looked into each and every face. He focused on each and every individual. But He didn't just see their outward appearance, He saw inside their hearts. He saw the emptiness and brokenness. He didn't even see them as sinners, He saw them as souls. 3. When Jesus saw that woman caught in adultery He didn't see her as a scandalous woman, He saw her as a lost soul. When Jesus saw Zacchaeus, He didn't see Him as a cheating tax collector, He saw Him as a lost soul. When Jesus saw the Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar, He didn't see her as an immoral woman who had five failed marriages, He saw her as a lost soul. When Jesus saw that sinful woman who anointed His feet in the home of Simon the Pharisee, He didn't see her as the local prostitute, He saw her as a lost soul. And when Jesus saw the multitudes here in our text, He didn't see them as a nuisance or an inconvenience upon His time, He saw each and everyone as lost souls. 4. If you and I are to have a passion for lost souls we must SEE THE LOST AS JESUS SAW THEM. We must look beyond the outward appearances and realize that each and every person we know and each and every person we meet is a soul that JESUS died for on the cross.
But not only must we SEE the lost as JESUS SAW THEM... II. We Must FEEL Towards The Lost What Jesus FEELS (v.36) v. 36 a, b But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them... 1. I have told you this before, but it is worth repeating. The Greek word for compassion is the word splagchnon or splagchnizomai which means to feel emotion in the depths of one's bowels or the depths of one's gut. 2. When Jesus saw this multitude of hurting, empty, lost souls He was moved with compassion for them down in the depths of His gut! 3. Jesus didn't just feel sorry for these people or just feel sympathy towards them. He felt what they felt. He felt their intense sense of lostness and emptiness and hopelessness, coupled with a deep desire to do something about it. That is what is compassion is. That is what compassion does! It moves us towards the one we feel compassion for. 4. Do you know JESUS feels this same kind of compassion for your lost loved ones and friends. The thought that your lost loved one or friend could perish for all eternity just absolutely breaks the heart of Jesus. 5. The question is, DO WE FEEL THAT SAME COMPASSION, THAT SAME ANGUISH IN THE DEPTHS OF OUR BEING FOR OUR LOST LOVED ONES AND FRIENDS?
ILLUSTRATON ONE I want you to imagine the unimaginable for just a moment. Imagine your house is on fire and you have managed to escape. And as you stand out in the front yard watching your house burn you start counting heads and all of your family is safe except for one. There is still one loved one inside that burning house. Are you just going to stand idly by and watch your loved one perish inside that house? Or are you going to do everything possible to save them? ILLUSTRATION TWO Or let's say you have been involved in an automobile accident, and you and all but one of your family members have gotten out of the car safely, but one of your loved ones is still trapped inside the burning wreckage. You can hear their desperate cries from inside the car, Save me! Save me! Would you just coldly ignore their desperate cry or would you do everything you possibly could to save them? 6. Brothers and sisters, if we would do everything we possibly could to save their lives from the flames, shouldn't we have an even greater desire to save their souls from the eternal flames? 7. We need to feel the same compassion and the sense of urgency that Jesus felt towards the lost. WE MUST SEE THE LOST AS JESUS SEES THEM. WE MUST FEEL TOWARDS THE LOST WHAT JESUS FEELS.
III. We Must KNOW About The Lost What Jesus KNEW (v.36) v. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 1. That phrase is one that is found often in the Old Testament scriptures. Moses once prayed that God would appoint a successor to his own ministry, someone who would lead the people of Israel, that the congregation of the LORD may not be like sheep which have no shepherd. (Numbers 27:17) The prophet Zechariah described the lost souls of Israel in a similar way. Zechariah 10:2 (NKJV) For the idols speak delusion; The diviners envision lies, and tell false dreams; they comfort in vain. Therefore the people wend their way like sheep; they are in trouble because there is no shepherd. 2. As Jesus looked out across this great multitude of people this is what He knew about them. He knew they were like poor sheep. He knew they were wandering through life lost with no direction, just like sheep wander when they don't have a shepherd to lead them and guide them. These people had no one to care for their souls...no one to help them...no one to lead them to the safe pastures of salvation.
3. Think about that the next time you are in a crowded shopping mall...or the next time you are in a crowded movie theater...or a crowded football stadium or basketball arena. 4. And think about that the next time you are around your lost loved ones and friends. They are lost sheep wandering through life without a shepherd. They are wandering through life with no one to care for their souls and they just need someone to point them to JESUS CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD! WE MUST SEE THE LOST AS JESUS SEES THEM. WE MUST FEEL TOWARDS THE LOST WHAT JESUS FEELS WE MUST KNOW ABOUT THE LOST WHAT JESUS KNOWS. KNOW FEELS. KNOWS And finally... IV. We Must WANT For The Lost What Jesus WANTS (v. 37) v. 37 Therefore pray the LORD of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 1. As Jesus looked out across that multitude He likely saw blind people who needed to see...deaf people who needed to hear...lame people who needed to walk... lepers who needed to be cleansed...and perhaps even demon-possessed people who needed to be set free. 2. And out of His great compassion JESUS wanted physical healing for those who were hurting. But do you know what He wanted even more than their physical healing? He wanted to give them eternal life. He wanted to save their souls. That was His most passionate desire!
3. It is interesting that Matthew changes the metaphor from lost sheep needing a shepherd to a field of grain needing to be harvested. 4. The fact that the fields are white unto harvest reveals the sense of urgency the LORD has about saving lost souls. There is no time to be idle. There is no time to delay or to procrastinate. The harvest is ready now! Now is the day of salvation. Not tomorrow...not next week...or next month...or next year...but now! The fields are white unto harvest NOW and we must diligently pray for the LORD to send laborers out into His harvest field. *********************************************************************** C O N C L U S I O N Each Lord's Day throughout this series we have been singing a song at the close of the service, Lord Lay Some Soul Upon My Heart. We are only familiar with the first verse of that song, but I want you to listen to the words of the song in its entirety. Lord, lay soul upon my heart, And love that soul through me; And may I bravely do my part To win that soul for Thee. Some soul for Thee, some soul for Thee, This is my earnest plea; Help me each day, on life s highway, to win some soul for Thee.
Lord, lead me to some soul in sin, And grant that I may be Endued with power and love to win that soul, dear Lord, for Thee. Some soul for Thee, some soul for Thee, This is my earnest plea; Help me each day, on life s highway, to win some soul for Thee. To win that soul for Thee alone will be my constant prayer; That when I ve reached the great white throne I ll meet that dear one there. Some soul for Thee, some soul for Thee, This is my earnest plea; Help me each day, on life s highway, to win some soul for Thee. Has the Holy Spirit laid some soul upon your heart? Perhaps its your husband, or your mom or dad. Perhaps it is your brother or sister. Maybe it is your son or daughter or your grandchildren. Or perhaps it is one of your dear friends who is sitting home right now giving no thought to his or her eternity. Is the Holy Spirit convicting you to reach out to them with the love of Jesus Christ? This week, why don't you call them or send them a card or write them a passionate heartfelt letter to let them know you love them and you care about their soul. Or perhaps even go see them. Pray that the LORD will help you to SEE THEM AS JESUS SEES THEM...and to FEEL TOWARDS THEM AS JESUS FEELS...and to KNOW ABOUT THEM WHAT JESUS KNOWS...and to WANT FOR THEM WHAT JESUS WANTS FOR THEM. LORD LAY SOME SOUL UPON MY HEART, AND LOVE THAT SOUL THROUGH ME. AND MAY I BRAVELY DO MY PART TO WIN THAT SOUL FOR THEE!