Our lesson this morning will
conclude our study in Matthew 9. We'll be looking at verses
35-38. Matthew 9, verses 35-38. And
Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues
and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness
and 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 shepherds. Then saith He unto His disciples,
The harvest truly is plenty's, but the labors are few. Pray
ye therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth
labors into His harvest." Now there's four things in the
lesson this morning that I want you to see. I want you to see
what the Lord saw. What did he see? What did the
Lord see? And then I want us to look and
see what the Scripture said about what the Lord felt. What He felt. Sometimes we get the idea that
our God is without feelings. That He's some kind of an entity
without feelings, without affections and so on. But that's not what
was demonstrated in our Lord in whom dwelt all the fullness
of the Godhead. So we'll look at what He felt.
And then I want us to look at what He said. What He said. He had something to say. And
then we'll take a look at what He did. First of all, what did
our Savior see? It says He looked around. He
saw the multitudes. everything and everybody and
all that was going on in the commerce of this place where
he was at. It was a seaside city and a city
of much commerce and business and people busying about doing
this and doing that. And then the great multitudes
that followed him and the Pharisees, and we've been through that in
the previous lessons. All these various groups of people
gathered for different reasons to see him. What did he see? What do you see? Let me ask you
that. What do you see? We go down to
do our daily chores and business, and we drive up and down the
land, go here and there, shop and buy clothes. What do you
see? What do you see? We visit with
our children. We go to reunions. We go to the
hospitals. We see all this. What do we see?
What do we see in this world? I know people are busy and I
know they're moving about and going about, but what do you
see? What do you see in all that? I see technology. I see that,
don't you? It amazes me, some of the technology
that they have. I can, for a dollar, we can put
a message on the internet and somebody in Australia or some
remote island way out in the Pacific somewhere can hit a button
and listen to that message. Technology is astounding, the
technology of our age. But what do I see in men? Do I see an evolution of life?
Do you see things getting better? Do you see the the promise now
of a long future? Do you see longevity coming to
pass? What do you see? Do you see the
promise of something better for your children and your grandchildren?
Do you see economic growth and opportunity? Do you see an increase
in moral standards? What do you see when you look
about it? Well, the Lord saw four things,
and I believe all those who have eyes to see Eyes that have been
opened by the grace of God see these four things. I think the
first thing he saw was a world doomed. That's what he saw. Doomed. That's what brought him
here. There's no other reason for him to take upon himself
the body of a man and appear in this world except to save
those that were given him of the fathers. To save sinners. Apart from Him, this world is
doomed. He saw that. He knew that. That
was a reality with Him. That was ever upon His mind. This world is doomed. He had
no love for it. He had no possessions in it.
He took from it only what He needed to live and accomplish
His work. That's all He saw. This world was doomed and He
knew it. He knew it. He came down from Heaven's glory
to save men and women from a certain doom and destruction. In four
declarations, the Apostle Paul describes the condition of man,
this doomed world. He said, there's none righteous.
None? He said, no, not one. Didn't
he? Just in case, just in case, you
had, no, not one. He said, there's none that understandeth,
there's none that seeketh after God, and there's none good. None. A fellow told me one time, he
said, well, let's just suppose there was this good little Jewish
kid. And he used that for an example.
And I said, well, wait a minute. There's no need to suppose that
because there's none good. There's no need to create this
scenario, this argument. It's leading to nowhere because
there's none good. And if that's not enough to sink
your ship, Paul fires two more rounds to finish the job. He
said, destruction and misery are in your ways. In your ways. You think about that, in a man's
ways, destruction and misery. And there is no fear of God before
his eyes. I'm telling you, this world he
saw, and those around him in that great city, and all that
was going on, he saw a doomed world. But he wasn't discouraged
by what he saw, but he was moved to compassion because he saw
in this depraved world of men the master's field. The master's field. All might
be despair. Somebody asked, Brother Winston
asked him one time, well, what do you think about him? That's
right after I'd first come here. And he said to him, well, same
old story, gloom and doom. Well, that's all there is out
here. And I would despair. I would despair by that. I would
have despaired as a sinner seeking the Lord. And I would despair
now as a preacher trying to preach to dead sinners. I would despair
except I know what the Lord saw here I see. This depraved world
is the master's field. Now where the master has a field,
he has seeds sown. He intends to harvest a crop. He intends to take from that
the labor of his own hands. Over there in John it said, the
father had planted a garden. He's the husband man. He planted
a garden. He intends to reap a crop. He
intends to raise something. He intends to benefit from something. And he's going to have it. The
master's field. I know they're all fallen. I
know they're all depraved. They're all dead. They're pictured
as dead, dry bones in the Scriptures. But the master has a field. Among
this depraved world, this whole depraved world, is the master's
field. This world is precious to God
and being preserved by Him because it is indeed the very harvest
field of His design. He sees this world as it's doomed
and damned to certain judgment. But he does not despair because
he sees also within the multitudes a people chosen of God and precious. It's not the weeds and thistles
that give hope to the reaper, it's the grain. That's what puts
him in. You go out into a cornfield.
My dad was old school and we couldn't use anything. We had
what they call a corn knife, a big old machete-looking thing
about this long. We had to go out there and cut
that corn by hand, pick the ears, chop the corn, tie it up in shocks,
and through the field we went, which is, I'm sure, how they
did it back in this day. But there was weeds out there
and thistles and all kinds of things out there in that corn,
but none of those things were a hindrance to us. But that's
not what put us out there. That's not what kept us going.
It was the corn. We were reaping the crop. We
worked hard for it. And it came in and we saw it
and we harvested it. We benefited from it. Within the great multitudes he
ministered to, he saw the master's sheep lost and wandering, confused
and in danger, lured away by the wolves, left prey to the
hirelings. What did he see? He saw sheep
Ain't that what the scripture says there? He saw sheep without
a shepherd. He didn't see goats without a
shepherd. He didn't see wolves without a shepherd. He saw sheep. Whose sheep did he see? I only
hear him talk about one kind of sheep, his sheep. You see
if you can find something else in the Scripture. Can you find
anything? You've read the Bible plenty
of times. Have you found anything in there about somebody else's
sheep? Just his sheep. His sheep. He saw his sheep with
no shepherd. Sheep with no shepherds. Faint.
That's what they do. They give up. They throw up their
hands and they lay down to die. Sheep without a shepherd. They've
got no direction, they've got no one to protect to them, no
one to sing to them in the night or lead them in the day. And
he said they were scattered. They were scattered. His sheep
were scattered. I can't quote it exactly, but
over in the book of Peter, he writes that general epistle of
Peter. Is it 1 Peter 1 where he says
to the The elect of God are scattered. Scattered abroad throughout all
Cappadocia, all over Asia. They were scattered. Scattered.
That's what the Lord said. His sheep was scattered. Here
a little, there a little, some over here, some over there. His
sheep. I'm going to tell you something.
I hope you'll listen. It's not the will of God for His sheep
to be scattered. Everything that I've ever read
in here about him as the shepherd shows him gathering the sheep
to himself. He gathers them together, together,
together. And that's what you find. You
find it all the way through the New Testament epistles. He's
gathering his sheep together. He puts them in one pole. As
I look around today and I look with the eyes of grace that God's
given me, Nothing more moves my heart to the ministry than
to see the sheep of Christ scattered in this evil, wicked world. They're
scattered. They're scattered. One here,
and one there, and one over here, and one over here. They're scattered. Brethren,
scattered sheep will faint. Scattered sheep are prey for
the wolves. Scattered sheep were in danger.
He left the fold and went down to get the lost sheep, didn't
he? Why did he do that? Because it was in danger. And
he picked it up. He didn't know its way back.
He picked it up and he carried it back and he laid it back into
the fold. Scattered sheep. That's what
he saw. Scattered sheep. And then thirdly, he saw a people
trusted to his care. These were his sheep. and they've
been trusted to His care. As a man in a human body, our
Lord could not in His ministry help those outside where the
providence of God had called Him. He didn't try to call sheep
in Australia. He called them in the land where
He was at, in the city that He was at. He journeyed from here.
I must needs go through Jericho. I must needs pass through Samaria.
Why? Because he had sheep there. He
had sheep there. You can't minister somewhere
where you haven't been. You just can't do it. We minister where the Lord puts
us. I talked to a fellow the other day, a long time, and he
believes himself to be called of God to preach. And I like
what he has to say. I like his doctrine. I like all
those things. But there's one thing we're in
disagreement about, and that is that he needs a shepherd.
He needs a shepherd. You can't be a shepherd until
you've been shepherded. You just can't do it. The Lord
saw these people trusted to His care. And as a man in a human
body, we go where the Lord puts us. I didn't set up in Lexington,
Kentucky, Danville, Kentucky in my bedroom and say, now, where
do I want to go? Let's see, there's a little group
out in San Diego, and there's a little group down in Tennessee,
and there's one down in Arkansas, and one here, and then just cash
lots or something and roll the dice or pick a number. I didn't
do that. I waited on the Lord to open
the door, and He opened the door. Now I don't have to sit here
and wonder, was it me that brought me here or the Lord? I don't
have to wonder about that anymore. I know where He brought me, and
I know who brought me. And so the Lord ministers to
those where He's at. And He could and He did help
them around Him. God uses preachers to evangelize
the world as He sees fit. But their first responsibility
is to that group where He's put them. That's their first responsibility. And then fourthly, He saw the
opportunity of grace. I know there's preachers who
will disagree with me in that term, but here's a need. Here's a field. It's the Father's
field. He intends to have a harvest.
Here is a stewardship. You remember that day he stood
up and read from Isaiah and he said, this day is this Scripture
fulfilled in your ears? That was his calling to the ministry.
He said, this day, this day is this being fulfilled. There is
a stewardship. And the result is an opportunity
of grace. I'd hate to think I'd just go
out here on the street corner and start and start preaching
to the air or go over here by a lake somewhere and just start
preaching to the fish or something. That's not how God works. God
opens an effectual door. Sure, I have inclination. Paul
had an inclination. He wanted to go down here and
preach. And the Holy Ghost forbid him from going down there. Instead,
he went over here. Well, the person who lived down
there happened to be over here. And when the Lord sent him over
there, Lydia was converted. And that's how that works. Has God opened a door for me
here in Taylor, Arkansas? Then I have an opportunity of
grace. Isn't that how you see it? An
opportunity of grace. God doesn't send His preachers
into the woods to gather corn. He sends them into the field,
and He sends them where they're needed. It's His field. I know there's a good place in
the field. There always is. My daddy raised that corn and
that was a good place. Now, there wasn't any weeds or
anything. Boy, that was a great place to
cut corn over there. But that's not where he needed
everybody. He needed them over here where the work was. And
so that's where he puts them. And he puts them in this field
as he sees fit. And I'm going to show you that
in just a few minutes. But that's what the Lord saw. He looked
around and He saw these things. And then secondly, let's look
at what He felt. Having seen these things, it said he felt
compassion. Compassion. Compassion is a word
I believe only understood through an experience of grace. Until
you've been the object of compassion, I don't think compassion is something
that you can know. At least not know it in the depth
that he sets it forth by the grace of God. poor lost soul,
bankrupt, guilty, this filthy beggar in prison in a nature
of sin, cursed by the holy law of God, held without parole by
the justice of God. Oh, I tell you, if God ever put
you there, you'll understand compassion. He had compassion.
He had compassion. And I tell you this, you've got
no other plea to Him except to hunt for His compassion and hope
for His compassion. There's nothing in you to warrant
it. A poor lost beggar. A poor sinner. But God, who is rich in mercy
for His great love, wherewith He loved us, even when we were
dead in trespasses and sins. Huh? Compassion. Compassion. Oh, what a compassion He shows
in His kindness. Now He raised us up together
with Christ and made us to sit together in heavenly places in
Christ Jesus so that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding
riches of His grace in His kindness, compassion toward us through
Christ Jesus. And oh, what compassion He shows
in His kindness. I'll tell you something else
He felt. He felt compassion. He felt necessity. Necessity. There is a necessity that's laid
on the heart of a compassionate minister. It's a necessity. It's not a matter of might. It's not a matter of should.
It's a matter of necessity. Paul said, necessity is laid
upon me. Yea, woe is unto me if I preach
not the gospel. Necessity. What's that mean?
That means it's necessary. Necessary. Where is the soul
who's made to feel the compassion of the grace of Christ, but will
not give himself to the ministry? Huh? Where's that at? You won't find that. Just won't
find it. He felt compassion and he felt
necessity. And thirdly, he felt an irresistible
unction. It said he was moved. He was moved. Oh, my soul. Moved. Thousands, thousands have
seen. They've seen the need. You sit
down, we'll talk about the ministry and talk about the call to the
ministry and all of that, but they're not moved. Noah was moved with fear, wasn't
he? And built the ark. He didn't
sit around and talk about the ark. He didn't talk about, well,
you know, The Lord talks about building an ark and maybe we
ought to start one. I don't know. Let's take a vote
on it. We'll have a business meeting and see if we want to
build. Now, God just moved him. He moved him. How does he do
that? With an irresistible unction. Moved him. He was moved. Now, we've looked
at what he saw and talked about what he felt. Now, let's listen
to what he said. He said, the harvest is plenteous.
Do you believe that? I wonder sometimes if I believe
that. Huh? Russell, the harvest is plenty.
There's corn in the master's field. There's wheat in the master's
field. Old Lydge was down there in that
cave and he bowed his head and he said, Lord, just take me home.
He said, I alone am left. The Lord said, you're not the
only one. He said, I've reserved to myself
7,000 souls who have not bowed the knee to Baal. You're not
alone. The harvest is plenteous. It's
just that we ain't seen the wheat yet. That's what it is. That's what makes us so skeptical. We haven't seen the corn. We
haven't seen the wheat. We see one here and one there.
Plenteous. He talks about this seed. The
seed that's gathered in Christ as a number that no man can number. Like the stars of the sky and
the sands of the seashore. The harvest is plenteous. God's field is fully planted
and all that He planted will be harvested. I planted some
corn this year and I planted it at the wrong time. And I got
one corn stalk, and then I got a great, nothing, a bunch of
weeds. And then I got another corn stalk,
and then another big patch, and then two more corn stalks down
at that end. And I don't even want to know
why I left them to grow. It's all spotted. There's just
one here, and one there, and one over here. That's not how
God's field is. Every seed which my heavenly
father hath not planted, it'll be rooted up. But his seed, all
his seed gonna grow, every bit of it. and he's going to harvest
every bit of it. I just wonder sometimes if I
really believe that. God has a people even in this
day of apostasy and false religion, in this day of great deception
and universal antichrist intimidation, yet he hath reserved to himself
a people. What else did the Lord say? He
said, the labors are few. There are multitudes of zealous
men and women who think they are labors, who are going about
to establish their own righteousness, who encompass sea and land, the
Lord said, to make one proselyte like unto themselves. And when
they have made him, he is twofold more their child of hell than
they are. They think they are labors. Everybody that preaches
is not a laborer. Not a laborer. God's laborers
are skilled. He skills them. He equips them. He teaches them. And there's
few of them. Few who are called and equipped
and directed of God. Brethren, simply desiring to
preach does not constitute a call. It's part of the call. And it's
a good part. Paul said he that desires these
things, he desires the office of a bishop, he desires a good
thing. That's a good thing. But will
God put him there? I don't know. I don't know. But that's how it begins. It
begins with an unction. But desiring to preach, wanting
to minister does not constitute a call to the works. There's
always a huge sacrifice involved in this calling. A giving of
one's self. A giving of one's future and
welfare. A giving of one's family and
children and grandchildren. A laborer goes into whatever
spot in God's field he's put. Brother Dom was asking Kathy
how she felt about coming down to Arkansas after we'd been here
for a little bit. And she said, I'm okay with it.
And he said, well, good, because I was thinking about sending
him over to Ireland. Always a great sacrifice, always. And I'll tell you this, that
man must be made humble so that when unruly men and women challenge
him, he can correct them without causing permanent separation.
I'd ask to humble him. It's the hunger. And it requires
diligent study. Study, Brother Don said, and
I can't think of a better term, is a discipline. It's a discipline. Yes, I desire to study. Yes,
my heart is in the study. But it's a discipline. You have
to set a time, and you have to go in there, and you have to
unplug the phone, and shut the door and ignore everything else
that's going on and just you and God and the Word of God and
sit in there and study and study and seek God's Word to you. See that's how God, He'll first
speak to me if He's going to speak. He'll speak to me. And
I guarantee you if He don't speak to me, whatever I prepare is
not going to speak to you. It might be a good study. It
might be worth listening to. But it's not going to tickle
your heart. And it's not going to satisfy
that appetite. It's a discipline. God speaks
to His preachers through His Word. And they, in turn, speak
to His people through that same Word. Now watch this. Here's what He
said about these labors. These labors are few. But the
crop is plenty. Now what are we going to do about
it? What are we going to do about it? Are we going to start a preacher
factory? Are we going to start a seminary
somewhere and start fitting them out? How are we going to fulfill
this need? Listen. Pray ye therefore that
the Lord of the harvest send labors into his field. Oh, there's
a Lord of the harvest. Huh? Boaz was the lord of the
harvest, wasn't he? The kinsman redeemer. One lord
over this harvest, over this great field, and he and he alone
can add or subtract from the labor. You know, several of our
missionaries and at least one of the pastors that I know have
preacher schools in place, and they train these young men who
believe themselves to be called into the ministry. And these
things all have their place. That's a good thing. clawing
at it or mocking it in any way, shape, form, or fashion. But
going to this school and participating in this school does not guarantee
your place in the ministry. The Lord of the harvest must
separate, skill, train, and equip his labors and send them where
he'll have them to go. He rules and reigns over His
field, and He calls men as He sees fit. Now before, I've already
run out of time, but let me see if I can't squeeze this in. Let's
see here what the Lord did. What did He do? He did two things. First, it says back in verse
35 that He Himself went about all the cities and villages teaching
in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and
healing all their sicknesses and diseases. He preached himself,
John. He didn't sit back on a chair
and say, well, here's what we need to do. I need to start a
school. I'll be the president. And I'll start a school and we're
going to send this one out and that one out and this one out.
No. He preached. That's what he did. He preached. He went everywhere and preached.
He himself ministered and labored in the field. And to me, there's
no greater evidence that the preaching of the gospel is the
means that God has ordained to call out His elect and the personal
commitment of Christ to the ministry. He preached. If it wasn't necessary,
surely He wouldn't have preached. This is the one with the power.
This is the one ordained, set apart of God. And He preached. And He taught preaching. And
He promoted preaching. And He prayed for preaching.
And He Himself ordained gospel preachers. What did the Lord
do? It says over here in the very
next chapter, the first verse. I don't want to get into next
week's lesson, but He said He separated twelve of His disciples,
He equipped them, He taught them, He ordained them, and He sent
them out to preach. That's what He did. He sent them
out to preach. May the Lord be pleased to do
that in this place. Thank you.