The cost of being Harvesters (1)

Good morning, everyone.

Please turn with me to Matthew chapter 10.

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

We're going to read from verses 16 through to 33.

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and

innocent as doves.

Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues,

and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before

them and the Gentiles.

When they deliver you over, do not be anxious about how you are to speak or what you are

to say, for you are to say what will be given to you, given to you in that hour.

For it is not you who speak, but the spirit of your father speaking through you.

Brother will deliver brother over to death, and father his child, and children will rise

against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's

sake.

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly I say to you, you will

not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.

It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.

If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those

of his household?

So have no fear for them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will

not be known.

What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.

Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?

And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father.

But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.

Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows.

So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who

is in heaven.

But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Most, I think, will be familiar with the idea of a cost-benefit analysis.

It's used very commonly in business.

And it's a really helpful process when it's done well.

And it's used to evaluate a particular decision.

And cost-benefit, just as it sounds, you add up all the costs and you put that against the

benefits.

And that's your analysis.

That helps you see the value of a decision.

Now, I introduce that because as we move into this topic this morning, I think typically

we see cost as loss.

So we say something that's really costly.

We sort of feel as if, whoa, there was a considerable loss involved in that.

But that's not always the case.

So, for example, I decide to buy a particular product and I research and I find it.

I find one in a shop and it's $100.

And I think, whoa, that's a fair bit of money.

But then, over the next couple of days, I discover there's actually a very similar product,

an identical product, but it's a better quality.

But the price tag's $200.

Now, I pay twice as much money.

It costs me twice as much.

But I get the more expensive product.

Because the benefit outweighs the extra cost.

So, what I want to set up this morning as we move into these verses is to ask the question,

what would a cost-benefit analysis, what would your cost-benefit analysis suggest

in the matter of getting involved in the work of mission or harvesting

or proclaiming the gospel of Jesus,

which is at the heart of this section we're working through at the minute

from chapter 9, verse 35 to the end of chapter 10 of Matthew's gospel.

What would your cost-benefit analysis look like?

What would it suggest to you in terms of,

will I get involved in this harvest work?

Will I get involved in mission proclaiming the work of Jesus?

Or is it too costly?

Jesus describes his mission as harvesting.

We saw that last week.

And as well as describing it as harvesting,

he invites, not just invites,

but he expects his disciples

to share in this exciting but challenging work.

And it's work we saw last week that's actually guaranteed by him.

He's the Lord of the harvest.

So the harvest is hard work,

but the outcome is guaranteed.

But here's the question as we move into verse 16.

Could anybody remain excited

about this work of mission,

this work of harvest,

when we read these verses?

They're not easy to sugarcoat, are they?

If you just start with that picture in verse 16,

sheep in the midst of wolves.

Well, coming off a farm,

I've seen firsthand what a pack of wild dogs does in a flock of sheep.

And it's gruesome.

That's the picture.

They isolate one sheep after another,

and they work together.

And literally, they rip that sheep to pieces.

And in case you think, well, maybe they're hungry.

They're not.

When they're doing that,

it's for the sheer joy of killing,

when they get in that pack mentality.

That's the picture.

And then against that,

Jesus keeps on saying,

do not fear.

Do not fear.

Do not be anxious.

Do not fear.

Now,

another question arises.

There's lots of questions.

Hopefully, I'll be able to give you some answers this morning.

Why would Jesus use such a terrifying image,

followed by several equally confronting scenarios,

if he wants to encourage his followers to get involved in this work of mission?

It doesn't seem like the way to go, does it?

I went to a cross-cultural mission seminar thing.

It was setting out all the different people came and set up their stalls.

And I was really saddened but intrigued by how many images of beautiful landscapes and smiling children.

It was almost as if the appeal was,

come and work on the mission field,

and you'll see some beautiful places,

and you'll meet some lovely people.

I didn't see any stalls who had this picture of wild dogs attacking sheep.

You just wouldn't use it for advertising, would you?

And yet, Jesus did.

So, what's the go?

Well, I think Jesus is presenting a cost-benefit analysis,

for want of another picture to help you see it.

So, he's not trying to sugarcoat that which can't be sugarcoated.

The costs are real.

But the benefits make it a no-brainer.

So, what at first glance looks totally negative, totally repulsive,

is actually, I think, a perspective which allows courage, confidence, and opportunity

to triumph over fear and a sense of inability

when it comes to thinking about our engagement in the work of mission,

the work of harvesting,

as Jesus describes it.

Now, stepping back from the passage for a minute,

looking historically,

clearly this worked for the disciples.

Because the reality is that all the disciples,

with the exception of Judas,

mentioned in the beginning of chapter 10 here,

all of those disciples spent a lifetime,

as far as we know,

spent a lifetime on the mission field,

wandering around Asia Minor and various other countries,

speaking the good news of Jesus.

Most of them,

and the evidence here is a little bit more iffy,

but it seems like,

on reasonable balance,

most of them,

either died under arrest,

or were killed,

in the line of duty, as it were.

So, with that,

let's jump into the text

and dig into the details a little bit more.

But I'm going to jump in in two stages.

I want a big perspective in the text,

and then we're going to look at some of the detailed scenarios.

Hopefully that will help.

The first heading I want to use,

is that the Lord of the Harvest briefs his harvest workers.

Now, if you know anything about Special Forces troops,

and I know little,

but my son did a commando training course a few years ago,

and they spend weeks and weeks and weeks

preparing for any given mission.

Why?

Because the success of the mission

is largely determined by the quality of the preparation.

Each soldier in the unit

or the section,

typically 10 or 12 in a commando section.

Each soldier must have

total confidence in their commander.

Total confidence.

Each soldier must know

each part of the operation

so that any one of them,

in the event of a casualty,

can step in and do any particular task

on that particular mission.

They need to know the lay of the land.

They need to have confidence in their weaponry.

They need to know the strength of the enemy.

They need to know the point

at which counterattack may be launched.

They need to know what time frame they work on,

and so on and so on and so forth.

And when all of that is just

second nature to them,

then they're ready for mission.

I think that's what Jesus has said

to his disciples here.

Look, this is so big.

This is so different.

I want to get you ready

for that which I'm asking you to do.

This is a loving briefing

by Jesus for his stormtroopers.

Now is the time to prepare

for harvest mission.

To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

So as I said before,

Jesus, verse 16 again,

come back to that picture.

There just cannot be sugarcoating in this.

It will be really tough, says Jesus.

It will be really dangerous.

Sheep are no match for wild dogs.

I'm calling you to work

in the context of which

you can expect to be savaged.

So Jesus is sending his disciples

to do something so new to them,

so left field to what their life experience

has been thus far,

so difficult for them,

so different from anything

they've ever experienced.

And he says to them,

okay, to get ready for this,

you need to be aware of the dangers,

and then the doves and the snake thing,

that's idiomatic language,

you need to be strategic and thoughtful

as you prepare for this.

It's going to be rough,

but you need to be cunning.

That's the imagery of a snake.

And you need to be cunning

and yet maintain integrity

and gentleness towards people.

That's the image of a dove.

And now is the time

to get that sort of stuff prepared

because when you're in the battlefield,

as it were,

and I'm mixing my metaphors here

between harvest and battlefield,

but when you're on the battlefield,

there is no time.

That is not the time

to sit down and think,

well, okay,

how are we going to do this

or how are we going to think about that?

They need to listen to Jesus.

He's calling them to the task.

He's the Lord of the harvest.

He knows the end from the beginning.

So listen to me,

says Jesus.

Take your lead from me,

says Jesus.

I'll talk you through it.

Understand the cost-benefit analysis

as you go into the task

because if you don't understand that,

you just won't have the stomach for it.

It's my harvest,

says Jesus,

and I'm the one that's sending you out.

Don't forget that.

Big picture.

Now it's interesting that even though

the imagery here is quite gory,

there's no sense of panic on Jesus' part.

The harvest is going according to plan.

And if we go back and look at chapter 9,

verse 37,

Jesus says it's going to be a bumper crop.

All systems go.

Let's get into it.

Opposition and hostility,

while fully expected by Jesus,

does not mean,

does not mean that either Jesus

or the success of the harvest

is somehow or other in doubt

or in trouble.

And so what's left then?

Well, what's left is this.

that the very things that are expected

ahead of us

do not generate the same amount of fear.

Let me just use an illustration of that.

A couple of years ago,

I went and did the Southwest Trail

in Tasmania,

Southwest Coast Trail,

90 kilometers.

Some really hard climbs,

some really exposed areas,

tough weather.

I was quite fearful

about doing it with my son

who is also the one

who's done his commander training.

So he's super fit

and I'm,

well,

you know,

Matt's already covered that this morning.

But in preparation,

I got the maps out

and I looked at the topography.

I saw where the climbs were.

I knew what days,

what climbs would be on,

what time would take me.

I read the track notes

that you can find on the web

and it tells you

what sort of terrain you're in,

how long it'll take to climb,

where the shelter spots are,

et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

And when I got to do the track,

it was quite manageable.

Why?

My fears settled

because I knew what was coming.

I had prepared for it.

My friends,

if we listen to the words of Jesus,

we can have full confidence

in the Lord of the harvest.

He has actually provided us

ahead of time

as what we might call

a harvest manual.

The track notes,

the topographic maps,

in a sense.

The things we need

to prepare ourselves

for what lies ahead.

And if you look at the language

throughout these verses,

verse 16,

I'm sending you.

Verse 18,

on my account

or for my sake,

you will such and such.

Verse 19,

when this happens,

da, da, da, da.

Verse 22,

because of me,

da, da, da, da.

Jesus is stepping us

through the mission.

When this happens,

make sure you're thinking that.

When that happens,

make sure you're hanging

on to this truth.

And at all time,

keep looking to me,

the Lord of the harvest.

If we expect to be targeted

for speaking the gospel,

then we can't,

at the same time,

be blindsided

when that

incoming round

comes to us.

We won't be,

therefore,

devastated.

We won't be debilitated

because we've been prepared

for it.

We're expecting it.

And we know

what we need to be thinking

to counter it.

So Jesus says,

identify with me,

identifying with me

means opposition

will be normal for you.

Identifying with me

means opposition

will be normal for you.

Being a disciple of Jesus

can be described

in many ways,

but one way,

it's just to say,

is to identify with Jesus,

living under his rule,

expressing his likeness

to those around us.

And verse 32 and 33,

in this passage,

in choosing to serve Jesus,

we are automatically

choosing at the same time

to be on a collision course

with our culture.

The two choices

are made in one choice,

as it were.

Our culture is determined

to find life apart from Jesus,

so therefore,

by definition,

if we choose Jesus

and choose to build a life

around him

and in him

and through him,

then we're choosing

to be opposed

to our culture.

And we can expect

a clash.

If you look at the details then,

verse 24 and 25,

sharing in the mission

of Jesus,

oh,

I got a fright there

because the verse

didn't line up.

It's the wrong chapter.

I mean,

that helps.

Verse 24 and 25,

a disciple is not

above his teacher,

nor a servant

above his master.

It is enough

for the disciple

to be like the teacher

and for the servant

like his master.

If they've called

the master of the house

Beelzebub,

how much more

will they malign

those of his household?

Sharing in the mission

of Jesus

is to step

into the role

of the suffering servant.

Is to follow

the pathway

that Jesus followed,

which was the pathway

of suffering

and then glory.

Verse 17 and 18.

Beware of men,

for they will deliver

you over to courts

and flog you

in their synagogues

and you'll be dragged

before governors

and kings

for my sake

to bear witness

before them

and the Gentiles.

Like Jesus,

we can expect

all sorts of people

to try and silence

our testimony

from the informal,

subtle exclusion

from family

or conversations

at work

to the much more

formal,

judicial exclusions

of courtrooms

and punishment.

And at times

that means

we'll be cast

as criminals

when the things

that we see

vile in society

are venerated

and applauded

and protected.

We'll be the subject

of unjust accusations

and I think

in the not too distant future

imprisonment.

Physical and verbal

balance

and so the list

can go on.

And verse 21.

You will be hated

by all

for my name's sake.

So Jesus has

some very specific

scenarios

but then he sort of

steps back

and says,

well look,

actually,

the truth of the matter

is that there'll just

be a randomness

to people who hate you.

People who've got

no other reason

to hate you

except that

you use the word

Christian.

We've experienced that.

It's just,

there's no rationale

to it,

except that

I'm a Christian

therefore I've got

to be

the subject

of hatred.

Verse 22.

That was verse 22

I was looking at

there more.

Yep.

Verse 21.

Got myself back

to front here again.

We can expect

the hatred

of family.

How many times

have we seen that?

One family member

becomes a Christian

and they're just

excluded,

if not formally.

They're excluded

by sniggering

behind the scenes.

Innuendo.

And sometimes

just the hatred

against Christ

will actually

override

the strong

binds

of family.

and in their

most extreme

cases

will actually

result in

total exclusion

or even

in cases

of murder.

Brothers and

sisters,

various levels

of opposition

will be

normal.

It is

enough

for the

disciple

to be

like the

master.

in some

ways you

can read

that

statement,

that sentence

as a

statement

of

privilege.

In that

context,

go back

to what I

said earlier

about verse

16,

in that

context

we must

be smart,

we must

be sober,

and we

must be

gospel-shaped

as we

plan how

to respond

to these

sorts of

things.

And that

takes me

into the

next point

where the

Lord of the

harvest calls

us to

trust him

as well as

to serve

him.

In chapters

8 and 9,

we worked

through a few

weeks ago

now,

the context

of nine

miracles.

miracles.

And in

those two

chapters we

were confronted

with a

theme of

faith across

the different

miracles.

And some

involved in

those circumstances

and situations

were commended

for great

faith.

And the

disciples

particularly were

called out for

a lack of

faith.

And as we're

working through

that, I

wanted to find

a word that

would pick up

the idea of

faith there.

I describe

faith as the

ability to

see past

what you can

see.

To see past

immediate

circumstances

to something

that's true

behind those

circumstances.

So there was

uncleanness,

there was

sickness,

there was

death,

there was

storm,

there was

demon possession.

So faith

meant being

able to see

past those

immediate

things to

the Jesus

who actually

had the

power and

the compassion

and the

authority to

control and

change those

things.

Well I think

it's the same

here.

The word

faith isn't

used but I

think it's

the same

concept here.

As Jesus

sends out his

disciples to

the work of

harvesting,

he called

them to

great faith.

That is,

he presents

scenarios here

and as he

presents these

scenarios he's

saying to them

keep looking

at me.

Look through

your

circumstances

when they

arise in

front of you.

Look through

your circumstances

and see the

Lord of the

harvest behind

each one of

those circumstances.

The Lord of

the harvest who

will use each

of those

circumstances

towards the

success of

the harvest.

Now,

just let me

prop here for a

minute and say

I'm not for

a moment

advocating that

we should go

yay,

suffering and

persecution.

That would just

be stupid in

the extreme.

Nobody in the

right mind would

enjoy the

opposition and

suffering listed

here.

There will be

anxiety.

There will be

fears.

Jesus' point

here is that

when those

anxieties and

fears threaten

to overwhelm us

and debilitate us,

then he says,

look through

them.

Keep your

eyes on me.

Keep looking

at me.

Not only have I

gone before you

down this pathway,

but I am actually

the answer to your

fears.

I am the one

who will actually

set you free

from fear and

allow courage

and confidence.

I will set you

free from saying,

no, I don't want

to go there.

I'm not going to

risk putting my

head up to speak

for Jesus.

I'll get it

blown,

clean off.

To opportunity

to speak

of the Lord

of the harvest.

If we keep

our eyes on

Jesus,

then we will

have opportunity

to bring

gospel truth

to each

circumstance.

Fear will be

dispelled in

favor of courage,

confidence,

opportunity,

and yes,

even

privilege.

If you're into

history at all,

countless

thousands

of believers

have died

in the most

gruesome

circumstances

expressing

their sense

of privilege.

Hard to

believe.

Maybe it's

an outworking

of the Holy

Spirit saying,

I will give

you words to

say in your

darkest moment.

For countless

thousands of

those words

have been,

praise God

that I've been

counted worthy

to suffer with.

it's a little

bit foreign

to me,

I have to

be honest

and say to

you,

I have not

experienced

that,

but I sure

hope that

will be real

for me if

the day

comes when

I do have

to face

it.

I sure

hope and

I sure

pray.

So let's

jump into

four points

very quickly

and then I'm

done.

Four detailed

points now

looking through

each of the

scenarios.

We're never

on our own

in this

harvest field.

Verses 18,

19 and 20.

Now imagine

the fear.

So he's talking

there about

dragging them

before courts

and governors,

religious courts,

religious professors

cross-examining

them and so on

and so forth.

Imagine the fear

that would take

hold of these

twelve guys

whom we said

last week

were uneducated,

probably even

uncouth,

very ordinary

fishermen.

That's all

they'd ever known.

The biggest

argument they

had to have

was with a

fish.

And here

Jesus is

saying you're

going to be

dragged before

courts and

you're going to

be there to

give testimony

to me.

Imagine the

fear.

Before all

sorts of

powerful

officials,

hostile

courts,

how could

they possibly

have any

consistent

compelling

testimony to

Jesus,

let alone

one that

would stand

up against

an intimidation

of public

trial and

cross-examination?

how could

it possibly

be possible?

Too many

possibles in

there.

Look through

the circumstances

says Jesus

and remember

that the

Holy Spirit

will be your

unseen resource

at that

moment.

The supernatural

enabling of my

Holy Spirit

will give you

both words

and physical

strength,

not just

to be

there but

to be

compelling

as you

testify to

me.

Truth

dispels

anxiety

and fear

and means

the people

who otherwise

would not

hear the

gospel get

to do so.

There they

are in

these courts.

The courts

were meant

to silence

them and

the court

officials are

actually hearing

the gospel.

We see that

right through

the book

of Acts.

These same

disciples hold

before the

Jewish religious

courts,

hold before

Roman courts,

before even

the emperor

himself,

Roman provincial

leaders and so

on and so

forth and they

speak with such

passion and

conviction and

clarity that

blow me down,

they get the

better of their

learned court

officials.

Who silences

who?

Well read Acts

and you'll find

out.

We're never

alone in the

harvest field.

Number two,

apparent defeat

becomes new

opportunity,

verses 22 and

23.

Now I'm not

quite sure

exactly about

this but this

is my best

take on these

two verses.

In verse 16

and then verse

10 to 15

last week,

Jesus gives

his disciples

freedom to be

strategic and

intentional in

their work.

Without context

in the background,

I think the

point here in

verse 23 is

that at

times his

disciples must

just be content

to say,

look, the

most faithful

thing for me

to do today

is to pack

up and move

to another

village.

Such is the

hostility and

the persecution

here that

there's nothing

to begin.

I'm just

going to flee.

I'm going to

move on while

I can still

move on.

and the

reason they

can do that

is because

security is

in Jesus,

not in the

actual place

of doing

the harvesting.

so when the

time comes to

flee to a

new place,

then Jesus

said,

don't flee

thinking that

you've been

defeated,

even though it

might feel and

look like defeat

as you're

fleeing,

rather,

in a sense,

relax and

move to a new

relocation because

a new relocation

is a new

opportunity,

a new village,

a new setting

to speak the

truth of the

gospel,

the truth

of Jesus.

Don't fear

being hated,

don't fear

fleeing as

refugees.

In serving

Jesus,

you're actually

more secure,

more stable

than those

you're fleeing

from.

And again,

we see that

worked out in

Acts chapter 8.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

Remember,

the Christians

were very

reluctant to

leave Jerusalem,

even though

that's the

brief that

Jesus had

given them.

What was it

that forced

them finally

to leave

Jerusalem?

Persecution.

And it

says in

Acts chapter 8,

Acts 8 · chapter mention

as they

left and

wandered

around various

places looking

for somewhere

to bank

down,

they gossiped

the gospel.

Who would

have thought

persecution

brought in

the harvest?

Well,

who would

have thought

Jesus thought

it?

We were a

bit slow to

learn it,

perhaps.

many were

saved as

a result.

Number

three,

the truth

will come

out,

that life

with Jesus

is much

better than

life in

this world.

And again,

26,

27,

28,

it's hard

to know

exactly what

the application

should be

or how to

understand it,

but this

is what I've

come up with

this week.

So it

goes like

this,

verse 26,

have no fear

of them,

for nothing

is covered

that will

not be

revealed or

hidden that

will not

be known.

What I

tell you in

the dark,

say in the

light.

What you

hear whispered,

proclaim on

the housetops.

I think it

goes something

like this,

that the

enemies of

Jesus think

they can get

away with

mistreating

and abusing

Jesus'

harvesters.

Why?

Because those

sorts of

things often

happen in

the secret

or discreetly.

But I

think the

point here

is not

so.

That every

action one

day will

be made

public and

they'll be

called to

account for

them.

And so

what does

that mean

for Christians

who are

perhaps in

history,

if you want

to step

back and

look at

history,

perhaps

being

severely

abused

if not

butchered?

Well,

it means

this,

that they

can rest

in their

suffering.

It is

enough to

be like

the master.

They can

rest in the

suffering knowing

that one

day both

the truth of

the gospel

and their

own faithful

witness to

Jesus will

be brought

to light

and that

the deeds

of their

enemies will

be judged

accordingly.

in other

words,

we don't

have to

worry

about

justice

or

injustice

or

validation

or even

protecting

life

itself

because the

Lord of

the harvest

sees

everything.

And

ultimately

that's where

it takes

us,

verse 28

I think.

The gospel

perspective

in verse

28 is

this,

that we

need in

situations

of unjust

accusation

and unjust

treatment,

unjust

accusations,

whatever the

word is,

I don't

know,

unjust,

unjust,

I'm confused.

In those

situations we

can just

in a sense

let it

go.

We don't

need to

fear the

enemies of

the gospel.

We sit

loosely to

life because

we see life

in this

world,

physical life

here and

now in this

world as a

temporary

life.

And we

see this

world as

something we

don't really

belong.

And we're

actually waiting

for the

forever life

that is the

real life

for us

in the

world to

come.

So therefore

we don't

need to

fear the

enemies of

the gospel

because they

don't have

ultimate

power.

They think

they have

ultimate

power but

in actual

fact they

have very

limited

power.

The most

they can

do is

just take

my life

physically.

They can't

actually get

close to

my spiritual

life,

my forever

life.

And again

if you look

back through

history that

has absolutely

caused rage

from those

who have been

butchering

Christians in

the most awful

ways because

they knew

jolly well that

having inflicted

the worst

horrors they

could on

that person

that person

in a sense

was defying

them.

There was

something they

couldn't get

to.

Jim

Elliot,

missionary to

Indian

tribes in

South America

once said,

he is no

fool who

gives up

that which

he cannot

keep in

order to

gain that

which he

cannot lose.

I think

it was only

months after

that that

Jim Elliot

was murdered

by the

Indians he

had sought

to gospel

for so many

years.

And I

think the

story is

that I

think there

was nobody

had been

responded to

Jesus before

he was

murdered.

But strangely

to us

anyway,

not to the

Lord of the

harvest,

that tribe

of Indians

became

Christian,

many of

them,

observing

Elliot as

he died.

Again,

who would

have thought?

And again,

the answer

is,

well,

the Lord

of the

harvest

thought that.

We're just

a bit slow

to catch

up on that

gospel

perspective.

Lastly,

your father

cares deeply

for you

and controls

every detail

of your

life.

Look at

verses 29

through to

31.

Jesus

tells his

disciples,

and it's a

funny verse

here,

Jesus tells

his disciple

that a

sparrow

does not

die

apart from

your

father.

Now,

it seems

to me like

the sentence

stopped

abruptly

there.

Apart

from your

father's

what?

I think

the word

we have to

supply there,

and we're

meant to

supply there,

apart from

your father's

will.

will.

The point

is simple,

I think.

God's

will

determines

the

lifespan

of a

sparrow

whose

relationship

to God

is simply

creature

to

creator.

By

comparison,

we relate

to God

as father

and child.

So it's a

how much

more

argument.

If God

cares for

the details

of a

sparrow,

how much

more does

he care for

the details

of his

child?

Again,

we do

not need

to fear.

if we

can see

through

the

circumstance.

We feel

abandoned.

We feel

as if

in the

middle of

ministry,

well,

God's so

busy around

the world,

he doesn't

even see

this that

I'm

experiencing

and enduring.

Not so.

God's

sovereign power

and will

guards and

determines

every moment

of your

life and

my life.

and our

moment and

method of

death.

Your

father is

equally

caring in

the hardest

times as

in the

easiest

times.

In

whatever part

of the

harvest field

you may

find yourself

in.

He will

never deny

or abandon

his child.

Picking

up this

verse,

David Livingstone,

missionary to

Africa,

once said,

we are

immortal

until God

has done

with us.

That would

allow courage

to come to

the surface,

wouldn't it,

over fear?

Corrie

Ten Boom,

the same,

didn't use

exactly their

words,

but the same

idea as she

expressed her

faith in

front of the

Nazis day

in and day

out in a

concentration

camp.

Friends,

we need to

learn to

trust God

as well as

serve him.

I think that's

been my

problem over

the years.

I've been

busy trying

to serve,

but I

haven't quite

been as

busy trying

to make

sure I

trust him

in every

situation.

we need

to keep

our eyes

on Jesus.

We need

to always

have our

eyes on

Jesus,

because that's

who we're

looking through

the circumstances

to see.

And only

that, I

think,

will give

us the

perspective

to be

faithful and

engaged

with

excitement

in the

harvest.

So,

wrapping up,

and I

know I've

gone way

over length,

so you've

been very

kind that you

haven't actually

worked out yet

only, but

I just want to

wrap up with a

couple of

thoughts.

Where has

your cost-benefit

analysis of

what Jesus is

calling you to

hear in the

harvest,

where has that

left you or

taken you?

what's your

mindset when

it comes to

engaging in

the harvest,

as Jesus

invites you to

and expects

you to,

as his

child?

Do you

find yourself

wanting to

get involved

in witnessing

for Jesus,

but you just

can't find

yourself getting

past how

much you'd

have to give

up to do

so?

Basic comfort,

personal freedom,

reputation,

money.

Is that

where you're

stuck?

Do you

find that your

anxiety and

fear renders

you silent?

When you know

jolly well,

it's not a

lack of

opportunity,

even though we

often say that.

It's actually

fear.

We render

us silent

when we

should speak.

Are you

stuck being

debilitated and

crushed by

previous attempts

at witnessing

because you

think they've

not worked out

well for you

or because the

person you

spoke to in

the end didn't

become a

Christian?

Or perhaps

worst case

scenario is you

actually know you

actually mucked it

up.

I didn't say

what I should

have said or I

said too much

in the wrong

way.

Is that where

you're stuck?

By your own

failures in the

past?

Well my

friend, can I

just say to you

this morning, if

that's you, then

can I suggest you've

taken your eyes

stuffed Jesus?

And that's a

lonely place to

be, I think.

I know because

I've been there.

You've stopped

listening to him.

You're probably

trying to serve

Jesus in the

harvest mission

without having

learned to

trust him.

cost benefit

analysis that we

could remember

of Jesus in

his saving of

you.

Massive cost

to deal with

the sins of

David Calderwood.

Benefit.

Jesus doesn't

get the benefit.

I get the

benefit of his

death.

And the

scripture tells

me I've been

filled.

Jesus was

rich and he

became poor

and I get the

riches of his

blessing.

I'm filled

daily with the

riches of his

blessing to

overflowing.

So when I see

Jesus and look

at Jesus, I

can be free to

allow those

blessings to

overflow for the

sake of Christ.

Pray the

Lord of the

harvest might

send you into

the harvest

field with

new faith,

new ability to

see the Lord of

the harvest behind

every immediate

circumstance of

persecution or

suffering.

And pray that

you might learn

to trust.

Pray with me

now.

Lord, we

thank you for

your kindness.

That in a

passage that