The Harvest Is Plentiful - June 14, 2026

It is my privilege to invite you to today's sermon podcast. I have made the

Apostle Paul's prayer request my own.

When he states in Ephesians 6, 19, pray also for me, that whenever I open my

mouth, the words may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.

May today's sermon come alive to you and aid you in your understanding of God's plan for your life.

All right. about 20 years ago, a little over 20 years ago, Eula,

who has gone to be with the Lord, she, well, she didn't ask me if I wanted to go to the Ukraine.

She, most of you that know Eula, yeah, she told me I was going to the Ukraine.

And I was like, I'm not sure where the Ukraine is, but okay.

And anyways, one of the guys that I met over there, and I don't know if he'll.

Admit to knowing me and, and being a friend of mine, but I still claim his,

him as a friend, Rich Vasquez was part of that group.

And we did get to know each other, you know, 18 days, love each other,

18 days of being together and, and working. And that was good.

It was great. And one thing I know about Rich, he has a heart for God and,

and appreciate him. And And I know you've been involved in ministry ever since.

And so we're looking forward to what God has laid on your heart today. And welcome him today.

I always wanted to find out what congregation would surround Les,

because I've known Les since 2006.

And I was like, wow, what church is able to come along around him and try to

contain him or just keep him balanced? I guess. I don't know.

I am shocked completely to know that this wonderful worship that we had,

I guess two of the gals up here are his daughters, and that can't be right.

That's not Les' kids. I mean, that's crazy, right?

I was truly blessed by worship this morning. I preached in a lot of churches,

and over the last year, I think I've been in 15 churches and love visiting churches

and preaching and doing pulpit supply. But I'll tell you, if you don't know,

your worship is amazing.

And thank you very much to the worship team that led this morning.

It was very powerful for me. And yeah, I'm very excited to be here today.

I've loved the Homedale Church since I moved to Idaho in 1996.

This is the first time I've actually been able to be in a service, though.

But I've always met great people from Homedale, from the church here.

And whether it was Pastor Chuck or his family, his daughters,

his kids, Pastor Jeff, Pastor Jason Martdale, and then Josh Dringenberg.

There's just a lot of great people that have come out of this church that I've known over the years.

And so it's a great place. Truly is wonderful to be here this morning.

So I'm going to start off just to share a little bit about myself,

just so you can get to know me a little bit.

I grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Who's been there before?

Anybody? All right. A lot of you. Okay. Great place, beautiful mountains.

I moved here in 1996 to go to college over at NNC and used to make fun of people

that stayed here after they graduated because I was like, man,

the smell of the sugar beets, I don't know if I can stay.

But I ended up staying, met my wife. We got married, had our three kids,

and I never went back to Colorado.

So even though it's a great place there, Idaho truly is a great place to be

and to live here. It's gotten crowded over at my neck of the woods lately,

but in the Ampa-Caldwell area, but it's a great place. Colorado Springs was awesome.

My role here on the district, so I serve as the district NYI president.

I've done that since 2005.

I love serving with youth and young adults. And so I oversee the summer camps,

winter and fall retreat, district main event, NYC, Bible quizzing,

our Lagoon event. We have an NYI council and then also young adults and really,

really enjoy working in that role.

It's youth give you hope if you don't know. It's great to see the energy of

youth and the passion they have for life. And so I love serving in that role.

I've also served with the Idaho State Police since 2012, supporting officers.

I'm affectionately or not affectionately known as the angel of death.

I had people call me that once.

It was, I guess, just awkward would be the best way to say it.

But I am the guy that goes out in the middle of the night, mostly in the middle

of the night, and lets people know that somebody passed away.

It's a horrible job. But at the same time, it's very fulfilling because I'm

helping families and also helping the officers around this area.

So I really enjoy it. I know that sounds kind of weird to say,

but the relationships I have and the relationships I get to build with not only,

fellow police officers, but also families is really important.

And I feel like God has led me to that.

I also serve at NNU, Northwest Nazarene University. You can see that little

shirt there that that student is wearing. We are undefeated in football. Do you know why?

Because we don't have any football. That's why we're undefeated.

We've never lost a game. You can't lose a game if you don't play a game.

But in my role there, I actually work a lot with churches, NYI engagement.

I travel around the seven districts that make up our fields,

from Alaska to Colorado. I usually go to all the district assemblies and get

to interact with youth workers.

I also serve in the admissions offices, both graduate and undergraduate,

and I oversee visa compliance for international students at NNU.

I've been there for about 15 years. I like serving there.

My oldest son goes to school there as well.

And then church ministry. So I serve currently at Lakeview Church of Nazarene.

I'm the associate pastor of youth ministry.

I previously served at Canyon Hill and Caldwell for 23 years,

and then also served at Nampa First for six years before that.

I don't look that old, I know, but those are the churches I've served in.

And then my family. My wife is a pastor. She's also ordained.

She serves at Lakeview Nazarene.

And then I have my oldest son, Orion. He's a junior at NNU.

I have a son who just graduated high school from Middleton High School,

and he's working full-time now.

Then I have a daughter who's in eighth grade going into ninth,

Chevelle, and she's everything volleyball. That's what she loves.

And then there's a picture of my family there kind of under an umbrella.

And then my dog that everybody loves to see probably more than me,

that's Kobe. He's our mini pincher.

He's scared of everything. The wind leaves, his shadow.

I'm surprised he was able to stand there while I took the picture.

So that's a little bit about me. I think we'll go back there. Yeah.

But I just want you to know I enjoy serving.

One of the things I get to do, our district superintendent has asked me to do

pulpit supply. So I preach in a lot of different churches. Some weeks I'm in

council, Ontario, Weezer. I've been to a lot of different churches over this last year.

And we truly do have a great district. And if you don't know what a district

is. We're the Intermountain District. We have about 54 churches across our district,

and you're one of those churches. But I do love serving and preaching in all of these churches.

My sermon today is titled, The Harvest is Plentiful. And so we're going to be

reading out of Matthew 9, and we're going to read verses 35 all the way through chapter 10.

And if you go ahead and stand for me.

I'll read this out loud, and you can just follow along. I'm reading out of the NIV version.

Matthew 9, verse 35-38, and chapters 10, 1-8.

Matthew 9:35–38

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues,

proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed

and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.

Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into this harvest field.

Jesus called his 12 disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure

spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

These are the names of the 12 apostles. First, Simon, who is called Peter,

and his brother Andrew, James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John.

Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector,

James, son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus.

Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

These 12 sent out with the following instructions. Do not go among the Gentiles

or answer any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.

As you go, proclaim this message. The kingdom of heaven has come near.

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.

Freely you have received, freely give. This is the word of God.

Praise be to God. You may be seated.

To kind of give us context of where we're going today, it's helpful to understand

where we are in the story of Matthew's gospel.

By the time we reach Matthew in chapter 9, Jesus has become well-known throughout Galilee.

He has preached a sermon on the mount. He has healed lepers.

He has restored the paralyzed.

He has calmed storms. He has cast out demons and even raised the dead.

Everywhere he goes, lives are being transformed. He has healed lepers.

Matthew chapter 8 and 9 are filled with stories demonstrating both the power

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

and compassion of Jesus. The crowds are growing larger.

People are coming from every direction. Some are desperate for healing.

Some are searching for truth. Some are carrying burdens too heavy to bear alone.

Then Matthew brings us to a major turning point. Up until now,

Jesus has been doing the ministry all by himself.

He has been preaching, teaching, healing, and serving. But beginning in chapter

10, as we read, Jesus starts involving his disciples in the mission.

The mission of God was never intended to be carried out by one person.

Jesus calls ordinary people, like you and I, to participate in his extraordinary work.

That remains true today. The same Jesus who called fishermen beside the Sea

of Galilee calls believers in Homedale, Idaho.

The same Jesus who sent disciples into nearby villages sends us out into our

neighborhoods, our communities, our farms, our schools, our ranches,

and even our workplaces.

The question, therefore, before us today is not whether God is at work.

We know that God is. The question is whether we will join him.

So as we read through the passages, you're able to see the introduction of the disciples.

My first point today is compassion comes before commission.

One of the most important truths in this passage that we read is the order of events.

Jesus does not begin by talking about strategy. He does not begin by discussing

staffing shortages or recruiting volunteers. He begins with compassion.

Verse 36 tells us.

Everything else in the story flows from that moment. Before there is commission, there is compassion.

Before there's ministry, there's mercy. Before there's a harvest,

there is a Savior whose heart is broken for people.

The word Matthew uses for compassion is one of the strongest emotional words

of a New Testament. It describes being moved deep within one's being.

Jesus didn't simply notice the crowds. He felt for them. He saw their confusion.

He saw their loneliness and spiritual hunger. He saw their burdens.

He saw people trying to navigate life without a shepherd, and his heart broke for them.

As Nazarenes, we believe holiness is more than just avoiding sin.

Oftentimes when I work with teens, it's always what you can and can't do, right?

Even young people, even older people. We live in boundaries.

Holiness is being transformed into the likeness of Christ. John Wesley taught

that God's sanctifying grace fills our hearts with perfect love.

A holy heart begins to love what God loves. A holy heart begins to care about

people the way Jesus cared about people.

Even the people you don't like. Even the people you don't love.

Sometimes those are people, even in your own families, that can be the hardest to love and care for.

The measure of our spiritual maturity is not simply how much scripture we know.

It's whether our hearts are becoming more like the heart of Jesus.

Those of you involved in farming or ranching understand something very important, a rancher's eye.

A good rancher notices things, a good farmer notices things,

like when their calf is lagging behind, or when an animal isn't eating,

or notices when something is wrong long before anyone else sees it. Why?

Because they care. Someone who has invested time, energy, and sacrifice into a herd pays attention.

Jesus looks at people the same way. He sees things others miss.

He sees the burdens behind the smiles.

He sees marriages that are struggling. He sees young people trying to find purpose.

He sees older people and young adults carrying grief.

He sees people searching for hope and calls his church to see people through his eyes.

Sometimes we can't see the burdens that people carry. Sometimes we come to church

and we smile, or you see somebody at the store or at their house and they smile.

You don't really know what's going on in their life, and maybe they don't want people to know.

And that's okay. Privacy is not a bad thing.

But when you are able to notice, then maybe you're able to care,

and you should care, and love, and show compassion.

My second point, the harvest is plentiful. After seeing the crowds,

Jesus says something remarkable.

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

Notice what Jesus does not say. He doesn't say the harvest might be plentiful someday.

He does not say the harvest could be plentiful if circumstances improve.

He says the harvest is plentiful. The opportunity is already there.

God is already working. The fields are already ripe. The problem is not the

harvest. The problem is the shortage of workers.

For people living in ranching and farming, this image is probably more powerful.

Harvest season has always been a race against time, right?

When wheat is ready, when crops are ready, you cannot wait indefinitely.

When onions are ready, they need to come out of the ground.

When the hay is cut, weather becomes a factor.

You don't want it to rain on your hay, right? You got to get the work done.

The opportunity has a window, though. Miss the window and something valuable

can be lost. Maybe you've experienced that.

Jesus is telling his disciples that people all around them are ready to hear the good news.

God is already preparing hearts. You don't have to do that. God is preparing

hearts with the work of his Holy Spirit.

Many of you might remember, if you're old like me, the farm crisis of the 1980s.

Maybe you remember that.

Across the West and Midwest, family farms faced incredible challenges.

There were years where neighbors had to step in and help other neighbors.

Families shared equipment. Communities organized support for farming.

Churches came alongside struggling farmers. Everyone was on one team.

People understood that no one should face challenges alone.

What is remarkable is that many communities survived because people recognized

a need and responded. They didn't just sit idly by.

They didn't simply talk about helping. They showed up.

That's exactly what Jesus is calling his disciples to do in this passage.

The spiritual needs around us are enormous.

People need hope. People need purpose. People need forgiveness.

And people need Christ. The harvest is plentiful.

A farmer once described harvest season this way. During harvest,

I watched the weather forecast constantly. Every day matters.

He explained that there are moments when conditions are just right. The crop is ready.

The equipment is prepared. The crew is available. But a storm is coming.

When that happens, nobody says, let's wait a couple weeks.

People don't just sit on their laurels. Nobody says, maybe next month.

Everybody understands urgency. The opportunity is now.

Combines may run from sunrise until well after dark because everyone understands that timing matters.

Jesus is teaching the same principle about people. There are moments in people's

lives when they are especially open to God.

Usually that's in the form of a crisis, a loss, a disappointment,

a health scare, a new child, a retirement, a major life transition.

At those moments, hearts are often more receptive to God's grace than ever before.

Just as farmers learn to recognize when the crop is ready, Christians must learn

to recognize when God is preparing a heart.

That means you have to listen. If you're like me, I talk a lot.

My wife does not talk a lot. My wife is very introverted.

We balance each other out pretty well, but I have to learn how to listen and

not just talk the whole time.

It's only taken me about 25 years to figure that out.

But we have to learn how to listen, to watch, to be present without always just

talking or always just giving advice that we think we have to give.

Maybe just listening or praying in silence.

Those opportunities will make themselves available to you.

My third point, prayer comes before action.

I really enjoy spending time in prayer because it kind of slows me down because

I like to run 8 million different ways all the time.

As you can see from a little bit about me, I like to handle or juggle a lot

of different jobs or things that I need to do.

But I've learned the older I get how important prayer is. And I heard that when

I was a young person in the church, but I was just always on the go, right?

Prayer comes before action.

Jesus gives the surprising command, And ask the Lord of the harvest,

therefore, to send out workers into the harvest fields.

The first command is not to go. The first command is to pray.

Why? Because effective ministry begins with dependence upon God.

Prayer changes our perspective. Prayer aligns our heart with God's heart.

Prayer reminds us that this is God's harvest, not ours.

That people belong to Him. That the mission belongs to Him. It's not our agenda, not our mission.

And often we go and we begin praying for workers. we discover that God intends

us to be part of that answer.

We're part of the answer, not all of the answer. Many believers have prayed,

Lord, reach out to our community, save our children, revive our churches.

Those are great prayers.

But Jesus teaches us to pray instead, Lord, send workers. And sometimes his

answer is, I will. I'm sending you.

My next point, Jesus uses ordinary people. In chapter 10, Jesus calls 12 disciples.

You saw the list. We have a fisherman, a tax collector, a political zealot,

an ordinary man. These are not religious superstars.

They didn't go to college.

They didn't go to seminary. They didn't get a doctoral degree or a master's degree.

They're not scholars. They're not wealthy. They're ordinary people whom Jesus transforms and sends.

That should encourage every person in this room.

God has always used ordinary people. That's the power of God's word.

When we read Scripture, when we read the great stories in this great Bible that

we have, we see how God uses ordinary people. That's not by accident.

Maybe when we read this, we should be encouraged and develop the courage to

go out and do things that God is calling us to do.

Moses was a shepherd. David was a shepherd. Amos was a farmer.

Peter was a fisherman. God delights in working through people who simply say yes.

One of the greatest misconceptions in a church is that ministry belongs only to pastors.

According to the New Testament, every leader is called to ministry.

Every Christian is called to be a witness. Every Christian is called to serve.

Every Christian is called to participate in the mission of God.

It doesn't matter how old you are. It doesn't end when you hit 62 or 65.

In fact, when you're 62 to 65, you should be sharing your life story with those around you.

Working with youth for so many years, one of the things that I love doing in

the churches I've worked in is partnering adults with teenagers to where they

can hear stories and they can hear testimonies.

Because young people, even older people, want to know why you're a Christian

today. What did you go through in your life?

The hardships, the lessons you learned, the things you're ashamed of?

What did you go through in your life? And now you're still worshiping God.

You're still a believer.

Even though you may have doubts, you have questions, things don't make sense.

You've lost people in your life through no fault of their own.

Why are you still loving God? Young people really want to know why.

Why are you genuinely a believer?

They can read about that in scripture, but they want to hear it from you.

I guarantee there's youth that would love to hear your testimony,

especially the parts that you don't want to share, the shameful parts.

Because as they navigate life and they hit those landmines, they're going to

want to know, well, this person was able to get through it. Maybe I can.

Think about, kind of a side, kind of changing gears here.

You saw the picture that I had up earlier of Colorado Springs.

It was a great place to grow up.

I lived in the city, but my grandparents lived out on a farm in Ellicott,

Colorado, outside Colorado Springs. It's not really a town. They had a store

and a gas station and a school.

And my great-grandparents had homesteaded, or great-great-great-grandparents, homesteaded some land.

And I remember going out there growing up, and there was never irrigation.

I didn't know about irrigation until I came to Idaho.

And I was like, wow, that's awesome. We get free water to water our grass, but you pay a small fee.

And then I started thinking over the years, I wonder how much irrigation water

the farms use and the ranches. What a great thing to have.

In Colorado, at my grandparents' farm, there was just windmills,

wells, things like that. There was no irrigation.

There was never any lush trees and greenery.

The farm I was on was so dry and the wind blew all the time.

And it was just, I came here and I was like, wow, they know how to farm.

When you think about irrigation systems, or at least when I did,

I started thinking about this as I was preparing my sermon today.

I live in Nampa, kind of over by Costco area, not that that matters,

but off Middleton and Eustick, and there's farms all around that used to be around that area.

And there's the area of farming right behind my subdivision.

And so part of me gets sad every time I see a subdivision get built because

all that land, all the irrigation is gone, right?

Now people just water their lawns like me. I'm one of those guys.

But when we think about irrigation, the water begins somewhere else, right?

It comes from reservoirs, rivers, and canals. The ditch is not the source.

The pipe is not the source. The pivot is not the source.

Their purpose is simply to carry the water where it needs to go.

That's a beautiful picture of the Christian life. We are not the source of grace. Jesus is.

We are not the source of salvation. Jesus is. We simply carry what we've received.

God's love flows through us to others. I want you to remember that. It's not about us.

Holiness and mission belong together. Jesus concludes with these words,

Freely you have received, freely give.

The disciples had received everything from Jesus. They received grace,

forgiveness, truth, and love.

Now Jesus tells them to give away what they have received. This is where Wesleyan

theology speaks powerfully to us.

Sometimes people think holiness is mainly about Christians do not do what they do and do not do.

But Wesley understood holiness differently.

He taught that holiness is perfect love. It is the work of God's grace transforming

our hearts until the love of God fills every part of our lives.

A holy person is not simply a person who avoids sin. And it's someone who loves

God completely and loves others deeply.

Notice how it didn't say they have to go to college. They have to go...

And be a Christian for years and years and years. A holy person is someone who

loves God completely and loves others deeply. It's pretty simple.

That's exactly what we see in Jesus. Jesus was holy, and because he was holy, he was compassionate.

And because he was compassionate, he served those around him,

even the people he didn't love.

Because he served, lives were transformed. For Wesley, holiness and mission were never separated.

One of Wesley's convictions was that genuine holiness always expresses itself

in loving actions towards others.

A heart filled with God's love cannot remain indifferent to the needs of people.

I'm guessing most of you would help somebody if you knew they needed it,

because you live your lives that way.

A sanctified believer cannot look at the lost world and simply shrug.

A holy church cannot ignore the harvest.

The more we become like Christ, the more we care about the things Christ cares about.

The more we're filled with his spirit, the more we participate in his mission.

This is why the Church of Nazarene has always emphasized both holiness and evangelism.

The early Nazarenes planted churches in difficult places, not the easy places.

They ministered among the poor.

They established rescue missions. They cared for children. They preached salvation.

They ministered to those in the gutters, those who were alcoholics,

when other denominations and churches wouldn't help those people.

They proclaimed entire sanctification. Why? Because holiness was never intended

to stay inside the church walls.

Holiness always moves outward.

Holiness always serves. It always loves. It always reaches. It's not the finish

line of a Christian life.

It prepares us for greater service. God cleanses our hearts so that we can love

more fully, God sanctifies us so that we can serve more effectively.

God transforms us so we can join him in his mission.

As you think about the people in your community, you know the needs around you.

You know the people that you're probably sick of seeing maybe because they constantly

need help and maybe they don't help themselves ever.

Sometimes those are the people you should be praying for in your prayers.

So what does this look like around your areas, around your families, your inner circles?

The harvest field is full. That includes your neighbor down the road.

Maybe somebody that you work with.

Maybe it's somebody you see at the gas station or the store every week.

Or somebody who sits alone at a restaurant. Maybe at school.

Maybe it's a new family that moved into this area. Yeah.

Or somebody who stopped going to church here. Maybe they still live around here,

but they don't go here to church. They don't go anywhere.

Maybe it's a friend carrying a burden that no one else sees.

The harvest field is not somewhere else. It's around you.

And if your eyes are open and you're seeing through the lens that God sees,

if you take some time and pause and listen and watch, you'll probably see those needs around you.

The Lord of the Harvest has placed us in this community for a reason.

Perhaps the greatest question we can ask today is not who will go,

but Lord, how are you calling me to go?

Because the answer to Jesus' prayer for workers may be sitting in the sanctuary today.

Maybe God is calling you to encourage someone. Maybe God is calling you to mentor,

a young person, to share your story.

Maybe God is calling you to teach a Sunday school class or to be involved in

children's ministry or other ministries.

Maybe God's calling you to pray for the neighbor that you don't really know,

for someone that you want to get to know.

Maybe God's calling you to share your testimony, to invite someone to church.

The harvest is plentiful, and the workers are still needed.

And the Lord is still calling. Even though we read this in Matthew,

it doesn't mean that it's ended. The 12 disciples are long gone.

So how can you go out and use what you have to help those around you?

In conclusion, Jesus looked at the crowds and saw people who were harassed and

helpless like sheep without a shepherd.

That description still fits many people today. People are searching for meaning.

People are struggling with a lot of different issues.

People carry burdens, but they're also looking for hope. How can you bring them hope?

And Jesus still has compassion for them just like we should.

The fields are ripe. The mission is urgent. May we be a church that sees people the way Jesus sees them.

Even if they believe differently, they look differently. They smell funny. They look funny.

And may we freely give because we freely received. In the name of the Father,

and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let's pray. And then I think we have some music coming up.

Lord, as we come today, I know it's not always easy, even for myself,

to reach out sometimes to those that I know might need a helping hand.

Sometimes my human emotions get in the way.

Sometimes I just don't listen or see what's going on around me because I'm too busy.

I'm too busy looking at my phone. I'm too busy doing things I think are important.

But Lord, I pray that you'll remind us today to spend time in prayer,

to spend time looking outside the walls of our homes, our church,

to those around us. We know the harvest is plentiful.

Lord, we know that you've given us everything we need right now in our lives to help other people.

We don't have to have been a Christian for years. We don't have to go to seminary.

We don't have to be a pastor to do this.

We know you call each and every one of us today, God.

We know that we are your hands and feet, No matter if we like it or not,

people will either see you in us or they won't.

By the way we react, by the way we love, by the way we care for those,

especially the people we don't like, especially the people that we disdain,

those who believe so differently.

Maybe they believe in only what the world believes. Lord, I pray that we'll

be able to show your love and care for them.

And God, I'm thankful to be here today. It's by your grace that I'm here.

And God, I just ask that you would be with this church, be with the board,

the pastors, be with Pastor Mike, as they minister and love and care for those in this community.

God, I pray that you would continue to be with the youth of this church,

the children, the teens, the young adults.

This summer as we have camps and NYC and other things going on.

I pray for the kids that are here in this community that aren't going to go to any of those things.

Maybe they don't have the money. Maybe they don't have the knowledge of yet

what it is to even go to a church. I pray that this church will reach out and

make a difference to young families, to young people today, this week.

I'm just thankful for all that you blessed me with today in my life, God. Amen.

I want to thank you for joining today's sermon podcast. You can find a copy

of today's sermon as well as other sermons and the sermon outline from today

on our church's website,

www.mvcnaz.org.

It is my prayer also that you will seek out a church home that recognizes the authority of the Bible.