I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Matthew, chapter
9. Matthew, chapter 9. I would like to consider this
morning A few verses out of the latter part of chapter 9, verses
35 to 38. And then in the second service,
I would like to pick up in chapter 10 of Matthew and look at verses
1 to 15. dealing with this entire passage
of Scripture in one service, and then truly felt impressed
to the Lord not to do that. There were some truths that I
wanted us to consider, and I'll do the first portion. Matthew
chapter 9, let me just read verses 35 to 38. And Jesus went about
all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues
and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness,
every disease among the people. 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. Then saith he unto his disciples,
The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray
ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth
laborers into his harvest." You know, it's marvelous to just
read and consider the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Almighty
God made flesh dwelling among men. And that which He did was
preach the gospel. That's what He did. Jesus went
about all the cities and villages teaching in the synagogues and
preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Now, as he went, the scripture
sets forth this marvelous truth. In verse 36, it starts off with
this word, but. He was going about preaching
the gospel of the kingdom, but When he saw the multitudes, he
was moved with compassion on them. Now, it would stand to
reason that when he was going about in verse 35, all the villages,
the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching
the gospel, the kingdom, healing every sickness, every disease
among the people, There were people there. There were people
listening to the Lord. He was preaching and teaching. And there were people that were
listening. But something changes in verse
36. But when he saw the multitudes,
He was moved with compassion. The multitudes that he looked
upon and had compassion. There was a particular emphasis
put in that verse upon the multitudes that he saw. And the scripture
says, when he saw them, He had compassion. He was moved with
compassion. Now, I know this. Moses asked
the Lord a special request. Would you show me your glory?
Would you show me that which is your pleasure? That which
moves you? And this is what the Lord said
in Exodus 33, 19. My glory is to have mercy and
compassion on whomsoever I will. I will have mercy on whom I'll
have mercy. I'll have compassion on whom
I'll have compassion. So as the Lord was going about
in verse 35, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the
gospel of the kingdom, healing the sicknesses, the diseases.
There was a group of people referred to here as the multitudes. And when he saw them, he was
moved with compassion. You remember when the Lord was
being crucified. And there were many that were
there that day. A lot of them were just wagging
their heads. He saved others. Himself he can't
save. He called out. He said he's calling
for Elijah. Maybe Elijah will come and help
him. Making fun of him. But the Lord made this statement.
He said, Forgive them, for they know not what they do. Let me
ask you this. Based on this part of his prayer
in John 17 verse 9, he said, I pray for them that thou hast
given me. I pray not for the world. but
I pray for those that you've given me." Whenever the Lord
said from the cross, Father forgive them for they know not what they
do, who do you think he was praying for? He was praying for just
like these, the multitudes that moved him to compassion. He was
praying for those that he had everlastingly loved. He was praying
for his sheep When he was there preaching, teaching in the synagogues,
the cities, the villages, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, the
scripture bears out, he saw some, referred to here as the multitudes,
that moved him to compassion. Moved him to look upon them that
he had everlastingly loved. He's not moved with compassion
except on those that He will have compassion upon. His people. There were those
in that place that obviously, and I'm going to show you how
I know this, that did not yet know Him, but He knew them. They were in the multitudes upon
whom passion was shown. But they had fallen in Adam.
They were fallen creatures, but creatures of his mercy, vessels
of mercy, lost sheep that ravished his heart with one look out of
Song of Solomon from their eyes. There were in the multitudes
Those that He had compassion on who were of His bride. Those
that the Father had given them, those that He had betrothed Himself
to. And His heart burned for them. But here's the reason. Verse
36, When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion
on them, because they fainted and were scattered abroad as
sheep having no shepherd." The scriptures bears out that he
looked upon these that he had everlastingly loved, and there's
the key to it right there. Now without that word of him
having compassion upon them, I wouldn't know who they were.
But I can tell you this, based on His Word, I will have mercy. I will have compassion on whomsoever
I will. When the Lord is pleased to show
mercy and compassion, let me tell you what He's going to do.
He's going to have mercy and compassion on whomsoever He will.
And that which he's pleased to do is going to be brought to
fruition. He's going to have that which he's everlastingly
loved, pleased. But here they were, he saw them
as he was preaching and he recognized them. He's always known them. They've always been his. He told
Jeremiah, before I formed you in the belly, I knew you. He looked on them and here's
what was happening to them. They fainted. It is they were
burdened with the ceremonies of religion and the traditions
of men. He watched them, saw them where
they were, sinking down under the weight of their hopelessness
and ignorance. Here they were, his own. frail creatures of the dust that
he had everlastingly loved and had compassion upon and not ready
to die. They weren't ready to die. Here
they were, they were being abused by these Pharisees, these false
teachers loving to hear what they were hearing, loving to
have their ears tickled. I'm going to tell you something.
Again, I'll go back and let me just put myself in their position. Before, the Lord was pleased
to call me out of darkness. And I was sitting under false
religion. And I loved it. I loved to hear what I was hearing.
I believed it. I was, you know, But to know
that the Lord would look upon me in that state, I didn't know
Him. I didn't know Him. And that Almighty
God would look upon me and have compassion upon me, and see me
in that state, fainting. And the Scripture says they were
scattered abroad. Now I do know this, that God's
sheep are referred to as scattered. out of every nation, kindred,
tribe, and tongue. James said this in James 1, James,
a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes,
the twelve spiritual tribes of Israel that are scattered abroad
out of all the places in the earth. Just think, Almighty God,
out of every nation, people, tribe, and tongue has a people. Out of all these places, out
of every family, out of every nation, every community. God's got a people he's going
to save. And they're scattered, I understand that. But this word
right here, they fainted, burdened down, hearing what they were
hearing, listening to the preaching that they were listening to.
I know something about this. And scattered. Scattered. laid to the side with no sympathy
from those that preached to him. No one watching for their souls. That's what it means. He had
compassion upon them because they fainted and were scattered,
scattered. Oh, the compassion of the Lord
Jesus Christ for his people. Hebrews 4.15 says, For we have
not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of
our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are,
yet without sin. Beholding those that he's eternally
loved, those that he's had compassion upon before they ever knew him,
Before they ever heard the gospel, before the Spirit of God ever
called them out of darkness, the Lord said, I have loved you
with an everlasting love. I've always loved you. Who are
these multitudes that He had compassion upon? I'll tell you
who they are. They're the blind Barnimaeuses. It's on the side of the road.
It's sitting there, and by the grace of God hears someone say,
Jesus of Nazareth is passing by. And the Spirit of God says
to blind Bartimaeus, that's not just a man. That's the Messiah. And blind Bartimaeus, by the
grace of God, cries out, Jesus, thou Son of David, Have mercy
on me. These multitudes that he has
compassion upon, I'll tell you who they are. They're the Zacchaeuses. That by the grace of God, Almighty
God, would move grace before grace, provenient grace, and
would move Zacchaeus to climb up in a sycamore tree. And the
Lord would pass that way. The Lord knew where Zacchaeus
was. The Lord put Zacchaeus up that tree. And the Lord passed
right underneath that man and stopped and looked up and said,
Zacchaeus, come down. I'm going to your house today.
And told those that started murmuring, he'd go into the house of a publican,
a tax collector, And he said, salvation has come to this house
today. For this man right here is the
son of Abraham. This is one of my own. Who are
these multitudes that he has compassion upon? It's like the
woman with the issue of blood. And the spirit of God would draw
her to have a desire to say this, if I can get to him. If I can
get to Him, not anything else, if I can get to Him, if I can
touch the Him of His garment, I'm going to be whole. Who are these multitudes? It's
vessels of mercy, just like me, that Almighty God would look
upon me and have mercy and compassion on one such as I. When he saw the multitudes, he
was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted and
were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith
he, verse 37, unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous,
but the laborers are few. Here's what he's saying. The
harvest is plenteous. There's many, many that will
be found in the harvest. There's many that I shall call
by grace. How many are there? Well, the
Lord said to Abraham, He said, Abraham, won't you look up? Won't you look at the stars?
and tell the stars if thou be able to number them. And he said
unto him, So shall thy seed be." What? Just merely natural Jews?
Just because Abraham was a Jew and natural Jews? No. The spiritual
sons. The spiritual seed. How many? How many will there be in the
harvest? Revelation 7-9 says, A number which no man can number
of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before
the throne and before the Lamb clothed with white robes and
palms in their hand. Now, I'll tell you this, in any
one given span of time, in any one section, of the ages. We look around and here's what
the scripture reveals there to be. A small remnant. Just a remnant. A remnant. Just, I've told you before, I
remember as a kid watching my mama. She'd make clothes and
stuff like that and go down to order the material, take a pattern
and order the material and it would say like, you know, it's
going to take three and five-eighths of a yard, whatever. And she
got through, you could, a few little old strings, just a few
little strings is all it is, just, you know, what was that,
what's it good for? Nothing, nothing, just throw
it out, just, just the remnants, that's all they are. That's the
way Almighty God refers to His people. Unless the Lord had left
us a small remnant out of the masses of humanity in any one
given time, unless the Lord had left us a small remnant and elect
a chosen people, those that He had eternally purposed, I'm going
to have compassion on you. Was there anything in that remnant,
that small remnant that God Almighty saw was worthy of him showing
compassion? What were they like? They were
just like everybody else. Just rotten sinners. Dug out of the
same pit. There wasn't one good thought
that they ever had. There wasn't one good word that
they had ever spoken. But he said, I'm going to have
mercy and compassion on whomsoever I will. But out of every nation,
kindred, tribe, and tongue, in any one period, there's that
small remnant. And often you're going to find
this to be so. I've witnessed this. Maybe one
out of a family. Maybe one. Maybe two, maybe. But as a general rule, now you
think, how many of you sitting here could say, My mama, I know
I'm using you a lot, Granny, I'm sorry, but my mama had 11,
there was 11 brothers and sisters, as far as I know. My dad, there was nine brothers
and sisters in my dad's family, nine brothers and sisters. I'm going to have mercy and compassion
on whomsoever I will. Why would the Lord show mercy
to one such as I, or you, by the grace of God? That's the
only reason. Then saith he unto his disciples,
the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray
ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth
laborers into his harvest. The laborers, the preachers,
those that he calls out for the preaching of the gospel, it's
absolutely necessary to hear the preaching of the gospel of
Christ, the gospel of God's free grace. These laborers, they're
few, and I'll tell you this, when you ask them of the few
that God calls out, those that minister, all of God's people
are truly ministers. You may not stand behind a pulpit,
but there's a place, there's a ministry. They're few, and
they always see themselves, my experience has been that they
always see themselves as weak, frail, 2 Corinthians 4-7, we
have this treasure. What treasure? The treasure of
the gospel. That Almighty God would teach
us the truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. We have this treasure
in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and
not of us. And not a whole lot. How hard is it to find a place,
just pick a state, just pick a state. How many as a general
rule, places do you find where the gospel of God's free and
sovereign grace, where God Almighty gets all the honor and all the
glory and all the praise and the recipients of His mercy get
none of it? How many places can you find
in any one state? Not many, not many. Somebody
says, there's churches all over the place. I know that. The Lord's
preaching in a bunch of them. Preaches in cities and villages
and synagogues and teaching. But when He saw the multitudes... It's not that the Lord couldn't
raise up great numbers of laborers. But I do know this, He raises
up men according to His will, according to His purpose, His
pleasure. His ways are not our ways. God
was going to give Israel deliverance from the Midianites through a
man named Gideon. You remember this story. I'll
just tell you what happened for sake of time. Started off, he
had 32,000 men. 32,000 men. And the Lord said, to Gideon. He said, that's too
many. And here's the reason, lest Israel
vaunt themselves against me, saying, mine own hand has saved
me. The Lord told Gideon, he said,
I want you to tell all the men, 32,000 of them there, that's
what I want you to tell them. Any of y'all afraid, y'all go
home. 22,000 left. 22,000 men were afraid. They left. Got 10,000 men left. And the
Lord said, that's too many. Bring them down to the water
and I shall give you my choice concerning the men. He said,
let everybody go down there and get them a drink of water. 10,000 men went down to drink out of
the water. Out of the 10,000 men, 300 of them went to the edge of the
water and dipped their hand down in the water and brought their
hand up and lapped like a dog the water. And all the others got down on
their knees, the scripture said, and put their mouth in the river
and started drinking. The Lord said, by the three hundred
men that lapped, will I save you and deliver the Midianites
into thine hand and let all the other people go, every man unto
his place. God's ways are not our ways.
Few with God is much. How much you got here to eat?
We've got five loaves and two fish. Tell everybody to sit down.
And the Lord blessed it. And Almighty God fed 5,000 men
plus the women and children. And then they picked up the fragments,
the stuff that was left over, 12 baskets. The harvest truly is plenteous. The laborers are few. What are
we commanded to do? Verse 38, Pray ye therefore the
Lord of the harvest that he will send forth laborers into his
harvest. What do we do? Despair? I just
don't see very many preachers. I don't see many being raised
up young preachers. What do you do? Ask Him. Ask
Him. He is the Lord of the Harvest.
He's the Lord of the Harvest. And He's telling them, He said,
this is what I want you to do. I want you to pray. I want you
to pray. And you pray the Lord of the
Harvest that He will send forth laborers. Now I can tell you
in closing, the Lord has promised. Jeremiah 3.15. And I will give you pastors according
to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding."
Now the Lord's already promised that He's going to send preachers.
How many preachers are there going to be? As many as Almighty
God's pleased to send. He's going to call them out,
He's going to teach them, He's going to qualify them, He's going to
equip them spiritually, and He's going to send them exactly where
He wants them to be. And they're going to preach the
gospel. And how many is God going to call out? As many as He's
everlastingly loved. All that the Father's given me,
they're going to come to me. How many is going to be missing
in the day of God's calling all of His people to Himself and
the world and judgment? How many is going to be missing
that He's everlastingly loved? None. None. But what do we do? He said, you pray. Last scripture,
turn to Ezekiel 36. Ezekiel 36. I love this passage
of scripture. Ezekiel 36. I'm going to read
verses 28 to 37 and stop. Ezekiel 36, verse 28. Listen to the promise. And you
shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. Now there's
a promise. This is what you're going to
do. He's going to send his people and he's going to send them into
that place of promised land. This is what he's going to do.
This is what I'm going to do for you. You shall dwell. You shall be my
people. I will be your God. I will also
save you from all your uncleanness. I will. Call for the corn and
we'll increase it and lay no famine upon you. I will multiply
the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field. You shall
receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. Then shall
you remember your own evil ways and your doings that were not
good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities
and your abominations, not for your sakes do I this, saith the
Lord, be it known unto you. Be ashamed and confounded for
your own ways, O house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord God, in the
day that I shall cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will
also cause you to dwell in the cities. The waste shall be builded,
the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in sight
of all that pass by. And they shall say, This land
that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden, and the waste
and desolate ruined cities are become fenced and inhabited.
Then shall the heathen that are left round about you shall know
that I, the Lord, build the ruined places and plant that which was
desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken it,
and I will do it. Thus saith the Lord God, I will
yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it
for them. And I will increase them with
men like a flock. You know what I know for a fact? I know for a fact that the Lord
is going to bless the preaching of the gospel to the saving of
His people. I know that. I know that the
gospel is the power of God and salvation. I know that. I know
that He's promised. He's promised He's going to save
His people. And you know what we do? We pray, Lord, would You
bless the gospel. Lord, would you call out your
own? Would you save your elect? Lord, would you have mercy upon
us today, for Christ's sake? Amen.