The Lost – A Whitened Harvest

Introduction: Last week I spoke about what the oil running down Aaron’s beard was all about. It was about the separation of objects and especially people for God’s use.

Transition:

In the Book of Matthew, after Jesus taught about matters like praying, not judging others, the ‘golden rule’, the problem with worrying, and some other things, In Matthew 8 we read the account of a Man with Leprosy that Jesus heals (8:1-4). 

Read 8:1-3
Read 8:14-15

8:28-34 – Narrative of the demon-possessed individual whose demons were transferred to a herd of pigs who ran down a steep hill and were drowned.
8:18 – The child who was dead is brought back to life (‘Why are you crying, the child is only asleep’.
8:27-31 – Jesus heals two blind men followed by Jesus shouting, ‘Son of David, have mercy on us’. (They were healed.
8:32 – A demon-possessed man who couldn’t speak was brought to Jesus and was healed. (Where PHarisses said he cast out demons because he was one).

Chapter 8 – Healing, Healing, Healing

In Matthew 10, but it begins in 9:

1. The Need for the ‘Called’ – Matthew 8:37

9:37 ‘He said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is great/plentiful, but the workers are few’. (NLT)

John 4:35, ‘Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest ‘? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!’ (NKJ)

The harvest is a common biblical theme associated with the kingdom of God (Isaiah 27:12; Joel 3:13; Amos 9:13; Matthew 7:16–19; 9:37; 13:24–30; Luke 10:2; Revelation 14:14–16).

• When the fields are “white” for harvest, it means they are “ripe” or “ready” to be harvested. When grain is fully sprouted and in peak condition for gathering, it approaches the color of white. A ripe grainfield looks like a sea of white.

Application: Sometimes we hold back from sharing the gospel or praying for the sick, etc. because we think that those particular individuals ‘are not ready.’ But we never know! They might be!

———————Back to Matthew 9—————-

Because there is a ripened harvest prepared by God himself… Jesus says,

9:38, ‘So pray, to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into the fields.’

Pray =
Ask =
Send = thrust forth – ‘The harvest is a common biblical theme associated with the kingdom of God (Isaiah 27:12; Joel 3:13; Amos 9:13; Matthew 7:16–19; 9:37; 13:24–30; Luke 10:2; Revelation 14:14–16). When the fields are “white” for harvest, it means they are “ripe” or “ready” to be harvested. When grain is fully sprouted and in peak condition for gathering, it approaches the color of white. A ripe grainfield looks like a sea of white.

‘Those who are fittest for the work are generally most backward to the employment’. –Adam Clark

1 Corinthians 1:18-29 -, NKJ – ‘For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence. (1Co 1:18 KJV)

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence. (1Co 1:18 KJV)

Adam Clark

• The man who is forward to become a preacher knows little of God, of human nature, or his own heart.
• It is God’s province to thrust out such preachers as shall labor, and we must entreat him to do so.
  
  
• A minister of Christ is represented as a day labourer: he comes into the harvest, not to become lord of it, not to live on the labor of others, but to work, and to labor his day.

• Though the work may be very severe, yet, to use a familiar expression, there are good wages in the harvest home; and the day, though hot, is but a short one.
  
  
• How earnestly should the flock of Christ pray to the good Shepherd to send them pastors after his own heart, who will feed them with knowledge, and who shall be the means of spreading the knowledge of his truth and the savor of his grace over the face of the whole earth!

Question: What does it mean to be spiritually lost? What is the evidence or fruit of the loss? What is the current status of the lost (alienated and enemies)? What is the eternal hope/future for the lost?

One line in the familiar hymn “Amazing Grace” says, “I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.” We may have sung it a thousand times without realizing what lost means.

The term lost is used in the Bible and in Christian circles to refer to people who have not yet found eternal life in Christ. Jesus said, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

• Those who are spiritually lost are separated from God and unable to find their way back to Him.
  
  
• To be lost is to have wandered away and to be helpless to find the way back.

Illustration: A hiker may be lost when he takes the wrong path and does not know how to return to the right one. A child may be lost when he wanders too far from his parents and does not know where they are.

• Human beings are spiritually lost because we have wandered away from God and we do not know how to find Him again.

Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his way, and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

The Bible compares human beings to sheep (Psalm 23; John 10:11–14) because sheep are, by nature, defenseless.

• They are not overly bright and tend to follow a leader, regardless of where that leader is taking them.
• Sheep need a shepherd to survive. A shepherd protects them from attacks, guides them to good grazing, and keeps watch so that none are lost.
• Sheep tend to wander from the herd and can become easy targets for predators.

In a spiritual sense, people are prone to wander and become easy targets for our enemy, Satan. Without Jesus, our Good Shepherd, we are spiritually lost and unable to find God on our own.

Jesus told a parable about a lost lamb to explain the Father’s heart for lost people (Luke 15:3–7).

• The Good Shepherd was willing to leave the ninety-nine sheep in the fold to go in search of the one lost lamb.
• The lamb would never have found the Shepherd on its own.
• This parable demonstrates God’s tender concern for every individual. He stops at nothing to find those who need Him and bring them safely into His presence.
• Just as lost sheep cannot find the Shepherd on their own, lost people cannot find God on their own (Psalm 53:2–3; Romans 3:11).
  
  

Application: Religion is man’s attempt to find God on his own.

• Religion creates a goal, which may be a deity or a higher plane of existence, and then declares certain steps necessary to reach that goal.
• Because of religion, most people consider themselves not lost.

Illustration: Imagine a hiker who has lost his way. After hours of fruitless searching for the right path, he decides to set up camp in an unknown forest and declare that he is now home. He will no longer try to be rescued. Although he still does not know where he is, familiarity with his immediate surroundings gives him the illusion of being found.

Christianity does not follow that pattern. Christianity teaches that it is futile for the lost to attempt to find God, and that’s why God sent Jesus to find the lost.

• God did for us what we could not do for ourselves (Romans 5:8).
• Even when we do not even realize we are lost, He knows our condition.
• So the Son of God left heaven to find us and bring us home (Philippians 2:5–8; Matthew 18:11; John 3:16–18).

• We are born lost because we have a sinful nature inherited from our first parents (Genesis 3) that drives us to rebel against our Shepherd (Romans 3:23).

• We were created to be at home with Him, walking in harmony and obedience. But because of our sin, we are lost (Isaiah 59:2). The gulf between us and God is impossible for us to bridge, and we cannot find our way back into His presence.

• Spiritually lost people are bound by their sin and condemned to hell (Luke 12:5; Romans 6:23).

• But when the lost place their trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a bridge opens up before them.

• Because of God’s mercy and love, the lost can come home (1 Peter 2:25).

• Every human being is either lost or found. We all belong to one of those two categories. The first step in becoming found is to admit that we are lost. We agree with God that our sin deserves punishment, and we acknowledge that the punishment Jesus suffered was sufficient to pay for it. We humbly receive that gift through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9). In a divine exchange, God transfers our sin to the cross and transfers Christ’s righteousness to our account (Colossians 2:14). We then enter into a new relationship with God as His beloved children. We are no longer lost. We have been found, forgiven, and given a fresh start (2 Corinthians 5:17). That’s why Christians can joyfully sing, “I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see.”

1. The Authority of the ‘Called’

1. The Uniqueness of the ‘Called’