Seeing through the eyes of a Servant!!
Seeing Like Jesus!!
Good afternoon world. I hope all is well in your individual life.
Today has been pretty relaxing for me. I went off with my wife and youngest son for lunch and then came home to finish preparing my message for tonight.
Tonight I will be bringing the message in a small church in town, Meadowbrook Baptist Church. They are having a revival and this is the last night. This church was started four or five years ago and they have been struggling ever since. I believe in my heart that it is the Lord’s will that this church contiune preaching the WORD.
Preaching the Word is one thing, but there are many more things that are needed if our churches are to be successful in the harvest of God’s children.
The text for my message comes from Matthew 9:35-38.
As I searched God’s Word, these words of Jesus caught my eye and my heart.
Good afternoon world. I hope all is well in your individual life.
Today has been pretty relaxing for me. I went off with my wife and youngest son for lunch and then came home to finish preparing my message for tonight.
Tonight I will be bringing the message in a small church in town, Meadowbrook Baptist Church. They are having a revival and this is the last night. This church was started four or five years ago and they have been struggling ever since. I believe in my heart that it is the Lord’s will that this church contiune preaching the WORD.
Preaching the Word is one thing, but there are many more things that are needed if our churches are to be successful in the harvest of God’s children.
The text for my message comes from Matthew 9:35-38.
As I searched God’s Word, these words of Jesus caught my eye and my heart.
Read the passage for your self and see what it says to you.
Intro: “What do we need more than anything else?” One major goal as a Christian is we need to become more like Jesus. I think most of us would agree. If we are going to be laborers for the harvest, and be like Jesus we need to understand what He saw and felt and what He said and did. Matthew 9: gives that picture.
1) WHAT JESUS SAW: (Vs. 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.
Reading this verse we can read and see what He saw.
Intro: “What do we need more than anything else?” One major goal as a Christian is we need to become more like Jesus. I think most of us would agree. If we are going to be laborers for the harvest, and be like Jesus we need to understand what He saw and felt and what He said and did. Matthew 9: gives that picture.
1) WHAT JESUS SAW: (Vs. 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.
Reading this verse we can read and see what He saw.
He saw multitudes of lost: Everywhere Jesus went, great multitudes followed Him. He saw them not as a hindrance, but as an opportunity for witness and ministry.
He saw their needs: Right here and all America is filled with people in need. The homeless, jobless, helpless, and hopeless. How about you? Do you have needs? Do people you know have needs? Are you doing all you can do to help Christ supply the needs for the people in your life? Are we supplying the needs for the people in our community? Spiritual needs, telling them about Jesus.
He saw their potential: He saw every one of them as a precious soul with unlimited potential. Satan also knows the potential of God’s children as well as the souls that are not saved. This is why the old devil does all he can to make us lazy in witnessing and does his best to keep the unsaved away from someone who might me trying to spread the good news.
One day we will have to stand before a Holy God and give account for what we did that we should not have done and also for what we did not do that we should have done. (Boy that’s a mouth full but so true.)
2) WHAT JESUS FELT: (Vs. 36) When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Define compassion: Deep awareness of the suffering of another, coupled with the desire to relieve it. (Lost, blind, lame, dead in spirit, prideful, hypocrites, liars, etc.)
He felt their lost condition: He saw them as, sheep having no shepherd. He knew they were without God and without hope in this world or eternity.
Jesus came to be the Good Shepherd, the One who could show people how to avoid life’s pitfalls. In John 10 Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me.”
He saw their needs: Right here and all America is filled with people in need. The homeless, jobless, helpless, and hopeless. How about you? Do you have needs? Do people you know have needs? Are you doing all you can do to help Christ supply the needs for the people in your life? Are we supplying the needs for the people in our community? Spiritual needs, telling them about Jesus.
He saw their potential: He saw every one of them as a precious soul with unlimited potential. Satan also knows the potential of God’s children as well as the souls that are not saved. This is why the old devil does all he can to make us lazy in witnessing and does his best to keep the unsaved away from someone who might me trying to spread the good news.
One day we will have to stand before a Holy God and give account for what we did that we should not have done and also for what we did not do that we should have done. (Boy that’s a mouth full but so true.)
2) WHAT JESUS FELT: (Vs. 36) When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Define compassion: Deep awareness of the suffering of another, coupled with the desire to relieve it. (Lost, blind, lame, dead in spirit, prideful, hypocrites, liars, etc.)
He felt their lost condition: He saw them as, sheep having no shepherd. He knew they were without God and without hope in this world or eternity.
Jesus came to be the Good Shepherd, the One who could show people how to avoid life’s pitfalls. In John 10 Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me.”
People are waiting to hear from you as a witness of the Main Shepherd.
He felt their future pain: He feels for them (Us) because He knows what the future holds. Jesus told us in His Word that something is coming “Like a thief in the night.” (What is it that is coming? Think about it, look it up in the Word) He knows about the future pain!!!
3) WHAT JESUS SAID: (Vs. 37-38) 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.
Notice three things Jesus said:
1) The harvest is plenteous: Many people have a tendency to believe the problem is in the harvest. They believe that people are gospel-hardened, uninterested, and unreceptive. Just the opposite is true. People are hungry for the gospel and will respond favorable if it is presented to them in the power of God Holy Spirit!!
Jesus looked at the crowds following Him and referred to them as a field ripe for harvest. Many people are ready to give their lives to Christ if someone would show them how. Jesus commands us to pray that people will respond to this need for workers.
Often when we pray for something, God answers our prayers by using us. Be prepared for God to use you…to show another person…the way to Him.
2) The laborers are few: The problem is not in the harvest, but with the laborers. We have many churches and many members, but we have few laborers who will go out into the harvest sharing their faith boldly and bringing people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
He felt their future pain: He feels for them (Us) because He knows what the future holds. Jesus told us in His Word that something is coming “Like a thief in the night.” (What is it that is coming? Think about it, look it up in the Word) He knows about the future pain!!!
3) WHAT JESUS SAID: (Vs. 37-38) 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.
Notice three things Jesus said:
1) The harvest is plenteous: Many people have a tendency to believe the problem is in the harvest. They believe that people are gospel-hardened, uninterested, and unreceptive. Just the opposite is true. People are hungry for the gospel and will respond favorable if it is presented to them in the power of God Holy Spirit!!
Jesus looked at the crowds following Him and referred to them as a field ripe for harvest. Many people are ready to give their lives to Christ if someone would show them how. Jesus commands us to pray that people will respond to this need for workers.
Often when we pray for something, God answers our prayers by using us. Be prepared for God to use you…to show another person…the way to Him.
2) The laborers are few: The problem is not in the harvest, but with the laborers. We have many churches and many members, but we have few laborers who will go out into the harvest sharing their faith boldly and bringing people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
3) We need to pray: Pray ye therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that He will sent forth laborers.
I do not believe Jesus said this to complain about the lack of workers or to criticize the people because they were not working faithfully. He commanded that we pray for them just as fervently as we pray for church members and for the lost.
4) WHAT JESUS DID: Matthew 10:5, These twelve Jesus sent out…
4) WHAT JESUS DID: Matthew 10:5, These twelve Jesus sent out…
He sent them out: He wants to send some disciples out right now. The same disciples He had asked to pray for more laborers became laborers themselves. These are the ones Jesus sent forth house to house, home to home, sharing the good news and winning souls.
Think about it…somewhere along the line, He sent someone out for you and you became united in Christ.
He gave us liberty: Another word for liberty is privilege. We are not to use our liberty or privileges as children of the living God to serve ourselves. Liberty is to be used to serve others. There is freedom in serving but bondage in slavery. Some of us are still living in slavery to self. A slave is one who has to serve while a servant is one who lives to serve.
He became a Servant: Matthew 20:26-28, “Who desires to become great among you, let him be your servant…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
He did not come to be served but to serve. He was the Son; He was free; He owed no one anything; He was subject to no man. Yet He chose to use His liberty and freedom to serve all of us.
The highest title God ever allows in His church is, “Servant.” I must ask myself and you must do the same. Am I willing to serve people as Jesus did?
Conclusion: What have you done with Jesus? If He is your Lord and Savior, He might just want to send you into the field of the harvest because the field is ripe for harvest!!
All glory and honor to Him in the highest.
All glory and honor to Him in the highest.
Maybe this little message will touch some dear heart and they will go forth into the field of the Harvest and serve Jesus as He serves us.
posted by Fisherman For Christ at 6/23/2006 04:13:00 PM
1 Comments:
Hi, Bobby,
I'm Diane, I have you linked on my blog now. I think I told you I'm Southern Baptist. I just wondered how the revival went Friday night. After hearing this sermon, surely there were some saved and some rededications.
Keep up the good work, and we'll keep reading and commenting. :-)
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