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Greeneville Seventh-day Adventist Church: From November 27, 1994 to June 6, 2011, lived a merino sheep belonging to Bendigo Station, a sheep station near Taurus, New Zealand. he gained international fame in 2004 after he avoided being caught and shorn for six years. Now, Merino's sheep are normally shorn once a year, but he was in the wilderness six years. Whenever they came looking for him, they knew he was out there. Shepherds know when sheep are out. He would go hide. He was living in caves and did not want to be part of the flock, did not want to get a good shearing. his yearly haircut. I was that way as a child. My mother say time for your haircut. There's pictures I'm not proud of. I thought it was cool. But ⁓ the sheep thought it was cool for a while. He was named Shrek. after the fictional ogre in books and films of the same name. When those seeking Shrek finally found him and caught him, their hearts were moved by his condition. He was carrying the burden of six years worth of wool with sticks and leaves and briars all caught up in it. It was matted, full of debris. And his roaming around in his freedom from the flock and from getting a good haircut. had become slower and slower as he continued to carry more and more weight of his own wool. Basically, he was blind. Not because his eyes were bad, but because the wool had grown around his face. And so basically everywhere he looked, he just saw himself. That's me. That's what my dad said when he saw me. He's like, can you even see through all that hair? What a dreadful condition this animal found himself in. He had sought his own freedom from the flock and from shearing only to find bondage to his self-imposed condition. Fortunately for Shrek, someone didn't care that it was self-imposed. Somebody didn't say, well, brought it on yourself, you get what you deserve, or, you know, tough luck. You made your choices, you made your bed. That's what my mom would say, you made your bed, lie in it. Fortunately somebody did not say that about Shrek. Someone cared enough to keep seeking for him with the desire to give him real freedom once again. Turn with me to Matthew chapter nine. Here we find a word that I find quite fascinating. In fact, I was fascinated enough, I made it my sermon title, which has caused quite a stink. People are like, ⁓ I think the secretary's computer messed up. Stuff like that. ⁓ Or what is that, Chinese? No, it's Greek. And I was struggling pronouncing this word. And ⁓ Pastor Dawson came by, he saw the sermon title, ⁓ spike snits, my. Yeah, it's easy for you to say. It's a word that is consistently translated in the Bible to be moved with compassion. Shplexh nitzomai. Remember. But that's not what it literally means. The literal meaning is the inward parts, especially the nobler entrails. Did you know you had nobler entrails? Okay, the nobler entrails are the heart, the lungs, the liver, the kidneys, and these gradually have become known to... They denote our emotions. We still do that today. ⁓ he broke my heart. Did he? No, still pumping blood. Your heart's not broken. But we say that because that's kind where you feel it. My heart is broken in the nobler entrails. So next time say, my entrails are really suffering. Or we say, ⁓ he just makes me want to puke. Same thing. It's we're talking about the way we feel using our entrails. Jesus is not saying anything different here than we actually say. It sounds a little better though. So if a person felt compassion for someone, it meant to be moved in the inward parts. You feel deeply for that person. So literally, in the text we're about to read, it says, his bowels were moved. I like the word compassion better. were the origins of this word in mind. Let's look again this week at Matthew chapter nine. Starting with verse 35, I haven't kept up. I think this is the third chapter on Matthew nine. This is gonna take us forever. This is great. If you're just joining online or visiting, we're in a series of sermons on the book of Matthew, the first gospel in the New Testament. Last time, we looked at individuals who had been healed by Jesus. You remember the woman that touched the hymn of Jesus garment and the story of the little girl that died and Jesus raised again. And then it continues in verse 35, then Jesus went out 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. This makes me wonder, what did doctors feel about Jesus? He just comes in and when he leaves, 100 % of the town is cured. Were they thrilled for their former patients that they couldn't figure out how to fix? Were they out of income for a while because nobody was coming to them? Did they use this opportunity? Oh, let's see, Jesus is coming on the 23rd. We're going on vacation after that for a while. because everybody's going to be well except for the hypochondriacs. Verse 36, but when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion. You didn't say the Greek word, okay. He was moved with compassion for them because they were weary. I looked up the Greek word weary, skoulo. It means more than just being tired after a long day at work. It denotes being distressed, extremely annoyed, helpless, troubled, harassed, mangled, and even more literally skinned alive. You ever feel like that when you got home from work? I have. Then verse 36 also describes them as scattered. Comes from the Greek word, eromenoi, meaning cast down, hurled out, cast aside. thrown away. So verse 36 says, but when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered like sheep having no shepherd. Have you ever seen a sheep without shepherd? Number of years ago, we had a next door neighbor who was a single lady who didn't want to mow her small yard. I offered to mow it for her, it'd just take me five more minutes, it's just a little yard. But she was very proud and wanted to do things her own way, which was fine with me. And she fenced her yard in and bought two sheep, Bonnie and Clyde. and they were the cutest of sheep and they kept her yard in ship shape. Well, that was the plan. Sheep eat grass, grass gets mowed. Perfect! But she didn't understand sheep. Sheep also fertilize the yard. And they don't do it evenly, they do it in clumps. So they just bring the stuff here and here here here all over the yard. And sheep are also indiscriminate eaters. They not only eat the grass, they eat the flowers and other plants that she did not want to be eaten. She put them up on her porch and they go up there and eat them. She fenced off her porch. We would hear her berating her sheep, chastising Bonnie and Clyde while they just stared at her, continuing chewing the cut of their previous sins. And they were soon gone, expelled from the yard forever. And it wasn't their fault. They had no guidance. They had no direction in their lives. They did not have a shepherd that understood sheep. And that was a familiar Old Testament picture. You could read all of Ezekiel 34. Let me sum it up a little bit. God takes the shepherds to task. I don't like reading that part because it hits too close to home. And then, he doesn't just take the shepherds to task, he makes promises that are beautiful. Like this, just listen. Ezekiel 34. For thus says the Lord God, indeed I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. You're not doing it, I will. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will he seek out my sheep and deliver them from the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. and I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel in the valleys and all the inhabited places of the country. Sound nice? It gets better. I will feed them in good pasture and their fold shall be on high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down. ⁓ remember he said they were weary. They shall lie down. And there they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock and I will make them lie down says the Lord God. I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick. That could go on and on. It's a long chapter. But it's amazing. Remind you of Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd. Very similar, you know that one. The teaching had not been lost on Matthew either. After all, was he not a lost sheep of Israel? One that had not been sought after until Jesus came along to his tax booth and said, Matthew, let's go. Let's go to where you belong. You don't belong here. Matthew, follow me. And as you study the Gospel of Matthew throughout this series, it's beneficial to remember who Matthew had been and how Jesus called him back to the flock. It's a theme that runs through this whole book. Okay, verse 37 in Matthew 9. Then he said to his disciples, the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Okay, this is good news. Notice, Jesus is not telling his disciples that they have to go and do all the work. They are also to pray for more workers to help them. More under-shepherds. That is the principle that we all must abide by. That's the principle our church is built around. Okay, we have a shepherd. No, it's not me, it's him. And then he says, okay, there's you. And then, okay, then you can't do it all, so we have the elders, they can't do it all, so we have the deacons and the deacons, they can't do it all, so we have everybody else and on and on and on. It is the task for all of us to be part of. The work does not just rest on the shoulders of one or 12. Others are to help, just as the disciples were helping Jesus. And that's to be our prayer. That more help will be sent by the Lord of the harvest. Just as Jesus delegated his authority and power, we are to delegate as well. Not blindly though. Jesus didn't send out the 12 without training. And that's what follows in Matthew 10. Is training people to do, what is it? He didn't just say go, he just, here's some tips to help you along the way. Matthew 10 verse one. And when he had called his twelve disciples to him, he gave them power over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of diseases. Now the names of the twelve apostles were these. First, Simon, who's called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector. James the son of Alpheus and Labius, whose surname was Thaddeus. Did you notice Matthew called himself a tax collector? He wanted people to remember where he had come from. This is where I was when Jesus called me. And then Simon the Canaanite, wait a minute, some of you are saying, wait a minute, that's Simon the Zealot. Well this version says Canaanite, we'll get to it. And Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. So why was he called in some versions Simon the Canaanite? This is due to mistranslation in some versions because Matthew spoke, Aramaic and Aramaic word for Canaanite is almost sounds identical to the word zealot backwards Greek word for Canaanite sounded like the Aramaic word for zealot and this mishearing occurred often among those that spoke Aramaic you remember Jesus on the cross Eloi Eloi leos subachtani and they're like is he calling Elijah because that's what they thought he was it no he's speaking Aramaic he's My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The other strange thing in verse four is that Judas was sent out as well. What? Didn't Jesus know the heart of Judas? Yeah, but he sent him out as well, giving him every opportunity to follow Jesus. Even though it didn't work out. You know, this doesn't mean that somebody's previous good work is no longer good just because they leave God. There are so many pastors and teachers and evangelists that have given up on God and walk away, ⁓ he baptized me. Does that mean my baptism's invalid? No. That's between you and God. Not the person that got you wet. People can leave. When I'm working with somebody, sharing with them things from the scripture and they're deciding to be baptized and join the flock, I always tell them, do not look at me because I will disappoint you. Look at Jesus who does not. He never fails. Verse five, these 12 Jesus sent out and commanded them saying, do not go into the way of the Gentiles, do not enter the city of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. I hope you can see that this command was not for all time. Because later Jesus would show his disciples that they were also to go to the Gentiles and the Samaritans and the whole world. Even verse 13 of Ezekiel 34 that I read earlier said of the Good Shepherd says this, and I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and will bring them to their own land. So Jesus is, God's even promising in the Old Testament, I'm bringing them out from every. But this command though was to go first to the Jews. One purpose is had they gone to anybody else, the chances of the Jews listening to them would have been nil. ⁓ they're out there with the Samaritans, sinners. But if he went to the Jews first, then they go, ⁓ now they've got more workers, more disciples to go out. So Jesus is very wise in telling them this. This is being wise as serpents, as we shall see later. Verse seven, and as you go preach, say the kingdom of heaven is at hand. But he doesn't just say preach, he says heal the sick. Okay, well we know the health message. We're to be sharing that, the right hand of the gospel. Cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons, freely you have received, freely give. Gospel's not for sale. Just as you receive it, share it with others. Yet as we are about to read, a worker is worth his keep. The power of the gospel is for rich and poor alike. You remember in the book of Acts, Simon Magnus tried to buy some divine power so he could do these things too. It didn't work out so well for him. We'll have a sermon on him one day. Verse nine, provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts. What? Go out without your credit card? Nor bag. What? Nor bag for your journey? Don't take two tunics, nor sandals, nor staff, for a worker is worthy of his food. Now whatever city or town you enter in, inquire who within is worthy and stay there till you go out. so just go stay with strangers. They'll feed you, don't you worry about it, you're worth your keep. I will take care of my sheep, you, just like you're gonna take care of other sheep. Okay, why a worthy person? If they stayed in the home of a person with a good reputation, It would add to the respectability of their mission. I saw this when we lived in Kenya. Respect for your mission was helped if you drove a clean, nice car. Strange, I had to kind of get used to that. You can even see that in some cultures around here in the United States. One has to sometimes tread the edge of looking presentable without promoting a prosperity gospel. Be presentable, be clean, be neat. Verse 12, see these are all tips going out, Jesus is training. And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. So as you may be seeing, some of Jesus' instructions to his disciples were very much in tune with the culture of the Jews to whom he was being sent. They had a culture of hospitality. You are not even to turn an enemy away from your table or a place to rest. The principle of understanding cultures carries over into whatever culture we are sent. We're sent to the culture of Green County. Are we able to talk to the Greene Countians? Whatever they're called? I don't know. That's who we are. This is our culture. We should be able to reach people, understand where people have come from. And rules change, but principles do not. Understand the culture. Remember what Paul told us? That he became whatever culture he was working in. Missionaries today are trained to understand the culture of the people to whom they are being sent. We have our own mission institute. from the general conference that does that. And then we have, they meet with you when you come back too, try to help you blend back in with your old culture that you no longer understand. Those that try to force their own culture onto the people often meet with disaster. Of course, sinful things in their culture must be addressed, but in a way that they will understand. Sometimes cultural things are unhealthy. It's easier to teach the children to change than the elderly. Have you noticed? It's a lot easier to teach a young person than an old person. I try to help Pastor Dawson learn some things. He tries to help me, it doesn't work this way. He's frustrated with me, I know it, because like, ⁓ I'm so stuck in a rut. But no, and that's way it usually is. On our first trip to Kenya, as well, we were visiting a Maasai village, we were helping out there, and a well was drilled. They didn't have water anywhere near, they were so thrilled to see the water bubbling up out of the ground, out of nowhere. ⁓ they were so excited. the little children ran and they drank and drank and drank. ⁓ this is wonderful. Thank you. The old men walked up to it. They felt it. They didn't drink it. Yeah, water is not for men. We drink cows. We drink their blood and their milk mixed together. Cows drink water, we drink cows. But guess what? We didn't try to teach them. They're so stuck in their ways, but the children got lessons at VBS on drinking water every day. So you can change children. The adults, God will have to work. Verse 14, and whoever will not receive you or hear your words when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Again, a cultural reference, a common saying back then was, may you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi. Which means you're following your Rabbi so closely that as he kicks up dust along the road, you get covered. And if you shake the dust off from that Rabbi, that means you reject his teachings. And so Jesus is saying, if they reject, you shake the dust off and move on. And you don't just totally give up on them, but you pray, Lord, send somebody else at a better time. But I'm not gonna spend my time here where I could be somewhere else where people appreciate it. Verse 15, surely I say unto you, It'll be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in that day of judgment than that city. Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The gospel worker is to be wise in the ways of the enemy without using his tactics. He is not to be of a character like Jesus. We want to be like Jesus. We don't want to be like the enemy. the enemy coerces it and pushes it. No, be like Jesus. Verse 17, but beware of men for they will deliver you up to the councils and scourge you. What does it mean to be scourged? It means you get a whooping. scourge you in the church, says, in the synagogues you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. We can already see this beginning in the book of Acts. It happened very quickly. Verse 19, but when they deliver you up, do not worry. Don't worry about what you're going to say, how to speak, for it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak. Has that ever happened to you? Something come out of your mouth that's full of wisdom and truth and you go and that person's going wow and you're going wow I wish I thought that up. It just came out. That's what it's talking about. I will do this for you. For it is not you who speak but the spirit of your father who speaks in you. Now brother will deliver up brother to death and a father his child and children will rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death. and you will be hated by all for my name's sake but he who endures to the end will be saved when they persecute you in this city flee to another for assuredly I say to you you will not have gone through all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes so basically if you're persecuted here don't stick around go to where you can be used you're not running away from persecution you're just running to where you can work well it's not working out here I'm going over there But that second part of the verse confounds me. You will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. What does that mean? Well, one thing I teach those who go out and give in Bible studies, don't be afraid to say, don't know. I studied this all week, I still don't know for sure. I've come up with seven different main theories and lots of minor ones. And it's working out in my head that maybe this... Maybe about three of them combined in there. I'm still working on it, but right now I don't know. It's a tough nut to crack, but you can work on that one too. Verse 24. A disciple is not above his teacher nor a servant above his master. It is not enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household? Therefore do not fear them. for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known." And it goes on through here, basically saying, I know the number of the hairs on your head. What are you worried about? Don't worry, do not fear, for you are more valued to God than many sparrows that he watches over. With verses like these, how can gospel workers live in fear at all? God has every situation in his hands. I get it. I knock on somebody's door I've never been to, my heart's going, I'm little worried here, a little scared. I don't know what kind of reception I'm gonna get. Well, God says, don't worry. I've got you, no matter what reception you get. How can gospel workers live in fear? Our eternity is secure in Jesus. It's an amazing shepherd that never steers us wrong. Verse 32, therefore whoever confesses me before men, I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven. Whoever denies me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Have you noticed that? You know, we're saying peace on earth, good will, torments, man, it's in the Bible. But Jesus says, my presence has brought a sword. I've noticed that. The more I focus in speaking and interacting with people with the gospel of Jesus and his love, the more it brings out the true character of people, for good or bad. I was like, mm-hmm. we'll stir something up, you start preaching about the love of Jesus. Because there's something inside of man, I don't have that so I need to fight against it. ⁓ I need to make sure that I've got all my ducks in a row instead of, ⁓ I better make sure I love Jesus. Yeah, that's why we're doing a series on steps to Christ at prayer meeting. Because right now, the way this world is going. We need Jesus. We need Jesus more than ever before. we can see from his instructions to his disciples that the gospel will disrupt peace. Did you also notice the shift in language in these last verses and some others there? This is meant for a broader audience than just his 12 disciples, words describing his gospel workers like whoever and anyone. That's you and me. We can face hard times too. Verse 40, he who receives from you receives me and he who receives me receives him who sent me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward and whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple assuredly I say to you he shall by no means lose his reward. Somebody knocks on your door, them a cup of cold water. I love how Jesus refers to his disciples as little ones. Did you catch that? Little ones. Are these disciples little ones, literally? No, these are burly fishermen and other jobs, massive muscles. These are not physically little ones, but Jesus is looking at them. These are my sheep. These people are like a sheep without a shepherd. Go out to my other little ones. They're beaten down and harassed and skinned alive and exhausted without direction and scattered. Jesus the Good Shepherd is the only answer for the problems of this world. Violence, pestilence, natural disasters, war. If you peeked at the news this morning, we're war again. Don't worry about it. ⁓ yeah, we're concerned. But that's not the answer. Politics is not the answer. We think, ⁓ if I can only get this person in office or that person out of office, that's not the answer. The answer is the good shepherd and the one who can take something bad and work it together for good. Spend more time concentrating on that than what you see on the news. Because there's a couple of verses in Revelation 14. Maybe you've heard them before. Starting in verse six, then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting, what? That's good news. Having the everlasting good news to preach to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. Saying with a loud voice, fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment has come. And worship him who made heaven and earth. the sea and the springs. But the job of spreading the gospel is not just given to the angel of Revelation 14. Are your inner parts moved when you see the multitude without guidance? ⁓ Do you have compassion? If you don't have Jesus in here, you don't have true compassion. True compassion doesn't just say, poor thing. True compassion says, how can I help? What can I do to alleviate your suffering? What can I do about it using the principles that Jesus taught? On April 15, 2004, Shrek was captured. And on national TV on April 28, he was shorn by a professional. You can watch it on YouTube. Just don't go to the next video because it's going to lead you into the abyss. ⁓ The shearing was amazing. His fleece contained enough wool to make 20 large men's suits. His fleece weighed 60 pounds. An average Merino fleece weighs about 10 pounds. How much weight are you carrying? Because you haven't allowed God to come in and say, let me trim you up. Let me get this excess weight off of you. Because if it's still on you, how can you go out and reach others? You're still carrying the burden around. Some of us insist on carrying the burden, just like Shrek. We'll do anything to keep carrying that burden, thinking that we're free. but we're carrying around enough of ourselves that that's all we see anymore. We just see ourselves where the shepherd sees who we really are and what we have the potential to be. God takes our lives then and uses them to help others. I don't know what Shrek was preaching after that, but he might've said, stay with the flock. You don't wanna end up looking like me. Those of you that have carried that fleece and let it go, thank you for sharing your testimonies. Helping the rest of us say, I don't wanna go down that path. But if you have, and if you know someone who has, God the Good Shepherd wants to reach in there and do a little shearing. I watched this on YouTube, and that shearing, that sheep received a few nicks and scratches and cuts. But. If watch that, he was exceptionally calm, gentle, and cooperative as he was freed from his bondage. Don't fight what Jesus is doing in your life, even if he nicks you a few times, because he has a salve to put on that too. And when Shrek was sheared, he once again rejoined the flock and ran with. Dear Heavenly Father, there are people sitting in this sanctuary right now that are carrying burdens that some of us can't even comprehend. And some of them are not their own birds, they're carrying burdens for others, maybe a relative, a friend, or a child. Things that they're going through. And there's others here who have been relieved of burdens, like that overweight sheep. Maybe you can use them to help those know how to get rid of their burdens too. We know that as the Good Shepherd, you are the answer. That we are to cast our burdens upon you. And we want to do that not just for our sake, so that we can have the freedom of movement to go out into our wonderful community and help people find where to relieve their burdens. Help us to be good disciples, to be good shepherds. In Jesus' name, amen.