The Method of Harvesting

SUN CITY BIBLE CHURCH MISSIONS WEEK-END

SEPTEMBER 2007

“HARVEST TIME” - MATTHEW 9.35-38

Message #1 – Saturday Evening

The Method of Harvesting

AS ONE DRIVES THROUGH THE BEAUTIFUL AGRICULTURAL AREAS OF CALIFORNIA THIS TIME OF YEAR AS WELL AS SIMILAR AREAS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, IT IS EASY TO TELL THAT WE ARE DRAWING CLOSE TO THE END OF SUMMER.  THERE ARE SIGNS ALL AROUND THAT HARVEST TIME HAS COME.  THE FARMERS OF OUR LAND HAVE ALREADY HARVESTED MANY OF THE CROPS AND THERE ARE STILL MORE THAT ARE READY FOR HARVEST.

DRIVING UP AND DOWN THE ROADS, YOU CAN SEE ROADSIDE STANDS THAT HAVE BEEN EMPTY DURING THE EARLY PART OF THE YEAR, NOW BURSTING WITH THE PRODUCE OF THE FIELDS AS THE FARMERS SELL IT TO PASSERSBY.  AS I WAS PREPARING THIS MESSAGE I HAD OCCASION TO GO TO MY BANK AND NOTICED THE TENT THAT HAD SUDDENLY APPEARED ON THE SHOPPING MALL PARKING LOT.  FARMER FENCEL WAS SELLING HIS SWEET CORN, TOMATOES AND MUSKMELONS AS WELL AS OTHER VEGETABLES FROM HIS FIELDS.

·       IT IS THE WISE FARMER WHO KNOWS THAT WHEN HARVEST TIME HAS COME HE MUST BE BUSY AND FOCUSED ON THE TASK OF HARVESTING. 

·       HE KNOWS THAT HE HAS A LIMITED WINDOW OF TIME TO HARVEST HIS CROPS.

·       HE KNOWS THAT IF HE DOES NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE HARVEST TIME, HIS CROPS WILL DIE AND ROT IN THE FIELD AND HE WILL NOT RECEIVE THE REWARD OF ALL THE LABOR OF PLANTING AND NURTURING THAT HAS OCCUPIED HIM THE REST OF THE YEAR.

THERE ARE MANY SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PHYSICAL HARVEST WHICH WE OBSERVE IN ITS PERENNIAL SEASON AND THE SPIRITUAL HARVEST WHICH GOES ON IN THE REALM OF THE SPIRITUAL, LARGELY UNOBSERVED TO THE WORLD BUT EVEN MORE VITAL TO A MAN’S WELL BEING THAN FOOD ON HIS TABLE. 

ONE IMPORTANT DISTINCTION, HOWEVER, IS THAT IN THE REALM OF THE SPIRITUAL …

·       THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR THE SOUL IS NOT MERELY A FEW WEEKS OUT OF THE YEAR … IT IS EQUAL TO THE SPAN OF A MAN’S LIFE CLOSING ONLY WHEN HE DIES AND IF HE DIES WITHOUT HAVING BEEN BROUGHT TO CHRIST HIS SOUL SHALL ROT IN THE AGONY OF ETERNITY’S TERRORS.

·       BUT NEITHER IS THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR THE SPIRITUAL FARMER CONFINED TO A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.

·       THE CROP BEING PREPARED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS A NEVER ENDING ONE.  THE FIELD IS PERPETUALLY RIPE.

·       THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR THE SPIRITUAL FARMER ALSO CLOSES ONLY WHEN HE PASSES FROM THIS LIFE INTO THE NEXT.

WE LIVE IN A DAY WHEN THE HARVEST IS AS RIPE AS IT HAS EVER BEEN.  THE FIELDS ARE BURSTING WITH AN EVER INCREASING NUMBER OF SOULS THAT ARE READY TO TRUST CHRIST.

BUT WE ALSO LIVE IN A DAY WHEN THE CHURCH, AND A GROWING NUMBER OF INDIVIDUAL BELIEVERS EXISTING AND LIVING IN THOSE FIELDS ARE EMPTY HANDED.

I AM REMINDED OF THE WORDS OF CHARLES CARROLL LUTHER WHO WROTE THESE WORDS IN THE LATE 1800s

Must I go, and empty handed, thus my dear Redeemer meet?
Not one day of service give Him, lay no trophy at His feet?

Must I go, and empty handed?  Must I meet my Savior so?
Not one soul with which to greet Him, Must I empty handed go?

Not at death I shrink or falter, For my Savior saves me now;
But to meet Him empty handed, Thought of that now clouds my brow.

Oh the years in sinning wasted, Could I but recall them now,
I would give them to my Savior, To His Will I'd gladly bow.

Must I go, and empty handed? Must I meet my Savior so?
Not one soul with which to greet Him, Must I empty handed go?

OUR PASSAGE IS FOUND IN MATTHEW 9.35-38. 

 Then Jesus went 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. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

WE WILL HAVE THREE OPPORTUNITIES TO COME TOGETHER IN THESE TWO DAYS TO LOOK INTO GOD’S WORD.  IN THOSE TIMES I WANT TO SPEAK TO YOU ON THREE SEPARATE FACETS OF THIS PASSAGE:

·       THE METHOD OF HARVESTING (9.35)

·       THE MOTIVATION FOR HARVESTING (9.36)

·       THE MEANS OF HARVESTING (9.38)

THE METHOD OF HARVESTING (9.35)

35 THEN JESUS WENT 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.

I.              HE WENT

a.     ABOUT

THE TEXT TELLS US THAT JESUS WENT ABOUT ALL THE CITIES AND VILLAGES.

THE JEWISH HISTORIAN JOSEPHUS, WRITING ABOUT A GENERATION AFTER CHRIST, SAID THAT THERE WERE OVER 200 TOWNS AND VILLAGES IN THE REGION OF GALILEE, ALL WITH A POPULATION OF LEAST 15,000. 

·       THAT IS A LOT OF PLACES AND A LOT OF PEOPLE TO VISIT.  BUT JESUS CAME TO THIS EARTH IN ORDER TO MINISTER. 

·       HE WAS NOT A SPECTATOR, NOR AN UNINVOLVED PASSERBY IN THIS LIFE. 

·       JESUS WAS ALL ABOUT MINISTRY AND HIS MISSION WAS TO REACH PEOPLE WITH THE OFFER OF FORGIVENESS AND ETERNAL LIFE. 

WHILE IT CAN BE SAID THAT JESUS HAD MANY APPROACHES TO MINISTRY WITH PEOPLE THERE IS A COMMON THREAD THAT RUNS THROUGH HIS ENTIRE LIFE OF MINISTRY AND THAT IS THAT JESUS “WENT OUT” AFTER PEOPLE. 

·       IF YOU TRACE THROUGH THE GOSPEL ACCOUNTS OF JESUS THREE YEAR MINISTRY, FROM THE TIME HE WAS 30 YEARS OF AGE YOU CAN IDENTIFY AT LEAST 47 DIFFERENT CLEAR GEOGRAPHICAL MOVEMENTS OF THE LORD JESUS.  THAT’S MORE THAN ONE PER MONTH.

·       FURTHERMORE, JESUS WAS WALKING FROM PLACE TO PLACE … HE WAS NOT DRIVING THROUGH IN A CHAUFFEURED LIMOUSINE.  WALKING FROM PLACE TO PLACE WAS GUARANTEED TO BRING HIM INTO CONTACT WITH PEOPLE IN EVERY LITTLE TOWN AND VILLAGE THEY PASSED THROUGH ON THE WAY FROM ONE DESTINATION TO ANOTHER.

·       HE LAID ASIDE HIS OMNIPRESENCE AND FOR THAT REASON WAS ONLY ABLE TO BE IN ONE PLACE AT A TIME … JUST LIKE YOU … AND JUST LIKE ME.  BUT FOR THAT REASON, HE KEPT MOVING, GOING FROM PLACE TO PLACE WHERE THE PEOPLE WERE SO THAT HE COULD MEET THEIR NEEDS … JUST LIKE YOU AND I OUGHT TO DO.

·       HE DID NOT SIT BACK IN HIS OFFICE AND WAIT FOR PEOPLE TO COME TO HIM.  HE DID NOT SIT WITHIN THE SAFETY AND COMFORT OF THE CHURCH WALLS AND WAIT FOR PEOPLE TO COME THROUGH THE DOORS.  DID YOU KNOW THAT LOST PEOPLE ARE NEVER COMMANDED TO COME TO CHURCH?  BUT CHURCH PEOPLE ARE COMMANDED TO GO OUT INTO THE HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS AND COMPEL PEOPLE TO COME IN.

·       HE WENT OUT AND FOUND PEOPLE WHERE THEY WERE.  LUKE 19.10, JESUS SAID OF HIMSELF, “FOR THE SON OF MAN HAS COME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST.”

IT IS FAULTY THINKING WHICH SUGGESTS THAT WE CAN ACCOMPLISH THE TASK OF REACHING THE LOST FOR CHRIST BY PASSIVELY SITTING AND WAITING FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO WALK THROUGH THE DOOR.

THE FAMILIAR COMMISSION GIVEN TO THE DISCIPLES AND THE EARLY CHURCH ASSUMED THAT THEY WERE GOING … “AS YOU ARE GOING, THEREFORE, MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL THE NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, 20 TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU; AND LO, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN TO THE END OF THE AGE.” AMEN.

AND THEN THERE ARE THE WORDS OF JOHN 20.21:  “SO JESUS SAID TO THEM AGAIN, “PEACE TO YOU! AS THE FATHER HAS SENT ME, I ALSO SEND YOU.”

THE FATHER SENT THE SON INTO THE WORLD … TO SEEK THE LOST.  BASIC TO HIS METHOD OF OPERATION WAS THAT HE WENT OUT AMONG THE PEOPLE … SEEKING THEM OUT.  HE, IN TURN, SENDS US IN THE SAME FASHION … INTO THE WORLD … TO SEEK THE LOST AND SHARE WITH THEM THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL.

WE SHOULD ALSO NOTE THAT JESUS WAS NOT EXCLUSIVE ABOUT WHERE HE WENT:

b.    HE WENT EVERYWHERE

ALL THE CITIES AND VILLAGES … LARGE AND SMALL.  JUST IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW WE SEE HIM:

·       IN THE COUNTRYSIDE – MATT. 5.1

·       IN THE SYNAGOGUES HERE IN 9.35

·       ON THE MOUNTAIN - 5.1

·       ON THE BEACH - 4.18

·       IN A BOAT - 8.23

·       IN A CEMETERY - 8.28

·       IN PRIVATE HOMES - 8.14 AND 9.19

THERE WAS NO PLACE THAT JESUS WOULD NOT GO AND NEITHER SHOULD WE BE RELUCTANT TO GO ANYWHERE CARRYING THE GOSPEL MESSAGE.

WE GET SQUEAMISH ABOUT GOING TO THE INNER CITY,

·       TO THE REMOTE VILLAGE, TO THE SMALL TOWN,

·       TO THE FOREIGN COUNTRY,

·       TO THE NORTHERN COLD OR THE SOUTHWESTERN HOT,

·       TO THE LOWER CLASS OR THE UPPER CLASS,

·       TO THE EDUCATED OR THE UNEDUCATED

·       TO THE MUSLIM, THE JEW … TO THE HISPANIC, THE BLACK …

·       TO THE ELDERLY OR THE VERY YOUNG.

NOT JESUS … JESUS WENT EVERYWHERE AND SO OUGHT WE.  DID HE NOT COMMAND:

·       MATTHEW 22.9 - THEREFORE GO INTO THE HIGHWAYS, AND AS MANY AS YOU FIND, INVITE TO THE WEDDING.

·       ACTS 1.8 - BUT YOU SHALL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME UPON YOU; AND YOU SHALL BE WITNESSES TO ME IN JERUSALEM, AND IN ALL JUDEA AND SAMARIA, AND TO THE END OF THE EARTH.”

·       DID NOT ISAIAH PROCLAIM PROPHETICALLY ISAIAH 45.22 - “LOOK TO ME, AND BE SAVED, ALL YOU ENDS OF THE EARTH! FOR I AM GOD, AND THERE IS NO OTHER.

THERE IS A GREAT NEED ACROSS THE LAND AND AROUND THE WORLD FOR BELIEVERS TO GO AND TO SEEK THE LOST IN EVERY COMMUNITY AND SUB-COMMUNITY AND IN EVERY STRATA OF SOCIETY. 

·       APART FROM SUCH AN EFFORT, WHILE WE SIT BACK AND WAIT FOR THEM TO COME TO US, MILLIONS WILL REMAIN UNREACHED AND ENTER INTO A CHRIST-LESS ETERNITY.

BUT LISTEN, FRIENDS, LET’S NOT TALK ABOUT GOING ACROSS THE LAND AND AROUND THE WORLD WITHOUT ACKNOWLEDGINGAS WELL THAT THERE IS A GREAT NEED HERE IN SUN CITY FOR THE BELIEVERS WHO ARE SUN CITY BIBLE CHURCH TO GO AND TO SEEK THE LOST IN EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD AND DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP. 

·       APART FROM SUCH AN EFFORT, WHILE YOU SIT IN THE PEWS AND WAIT FOR THEM TO COME THROUGH THE DOORS OF THIS CHURCH BUILDING, THOUSANDS, PERHAPS TENS OF THOUSANDS MAY BE UNREACHED AND ENTER INTO A CHRIST-LESS ETERNITY.

NOW NOTICE WHAT JESUS DID WHEN HE WENT OUT TO THE PEOPLE.  HE DID THREE THINGS: TEACHING; PREACHING; AND HEALING.

II.             HE TAUGHT

THE TEXT SAYS HE TAUGHT IN THEIR SYNAGOGUES AND WHILE IT DOES NOT TELL US HERE WHAT IT WAS THAT HE TAUGHT THERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF HIM DOING JUST THAT IN LUKE 4.  THIS TOOK PLACE IN HIS HOME TOWN OF NAZARETH. WHEN HE TAUGHT IN THE SYNAGOGUE IN NAZARETH HE APPLIED THE OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES PERTAINING TO THE MESSIAH … TO HIMSELF.  HE READ FROM ISAIAH:

LUKE 4.18-19
18 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE HAS ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR; HE HAS SENT ME TO HEAL THE BROKENHEARTED, TO PROCLAIM LIBERTY TO THE CAPTIVES AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET AT LIBERTY THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED; 19 TO PROCLAIM THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”

THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME 

IT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT PROVIDES THE NECESSARY POWER FOR THE KING OF THIS SPIRITUAL KINGDOM TO DEFEAT THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS AND RESCUE THE VICTIMS OF SATAN WHO ARE HELD IN BONDAGE TO SIN.

THE SAINTS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WERE GIVEN THE GIFT OF THE PERSON AND POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TO ACCOMPLISH CERTAIN TASK ON BEHALF OF GOD.

JOHN THE BAPTIST AND JESUS WERE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT TO MINISTER ON BEHALF OF JEHOVAH.

AT THE END OF HIS MINISTRY JESUS TOLD HIS DISCIPLES IN THE UPPER ROOM " AND I WILL ASK THE FATHER, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER HELPER, THAT HE MAY BE WITH YOUR FOREVER; THAT IS THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH...HE ABIDES WITH YOU, AND WILL BE IN YOU. (JOHN 14.16-17).  WE HAVE THAT SAME SPIRIT AT WORK IN US TODAY!

BECAUSE HE HAS ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.

JESUS WAS THE "ANOINTED SERVANT OF THE LORD" HE WAS A PREACHER OF GOOD NEWS, THE GOSPEL, TO THE POOR: THOSE WHO WERE PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY, AND SPIRITUALLY BANKRUPT, STRUGGLING TO BE RIGHT WITH GOD BUT FINDING ALL THEIR STRUGGLES STILL LEFT THEM ESTRANGED FROM GOD.

THEN JESUS CAME AND SAID, “BLESSED ARE THE POOR (THOSE WHO ARE SPIRITUALLY BANKRUPT) FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. (MATT. 5.3) 

·       THE GOOD TIDINGS OF CHRIST IS THAT SALVATION REQUIRES ABSOLUTE RIGHTEOUSNESS

·       THE GOOD TIDINGS OF CHRIST IS THAT SALVATION IS OF FAITH, NOT WORKS

·       THE GOOD TIDING OF CHRIST IS THAT SALVATION IS FOR THOSE WILLING TO RECEIVE IT

AND AS PEOPLE BELIEVE THE GOOD NEWS AND BELIEVE ON HIM THEY ARE GIVEN ACCESS TO THE KING AND ALL HIS RESOURCES.

HE HAS SENT ME TO HEAL THE BROKENHEARTED

CHRISTIAN AUTHOR MAX I. REICH TELLS OF PASSING A REPAIR SHOP IN THE WINDOW OF WHICH WAS A SIGN READING: “WE MEND EVERYTHING EXCEPT BROKEN HEARTS.” HE STEPPED BACK AND ENTERED THE STORE, AND WHEN A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG JEWESS CAME FORWARD TO SERVE HIM HE SAID: “I SAW YOUR SIGN, AND WANT TO ASK WHAT YOU DO WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE BROKEN HEARTS.” “OH!” SHE SAID, “WE SEND THEM TO THE HOSPITAL.”

MANY IN OUR WORLD ARE BROKEN AND WOUNDED.  THEIR LIVES ARE A SERIES OF ONE PAINFUL EXPERIENCE, FAILURE AND DISAPPOINTMENT AFTER THE OTHER.  THEIR LIVES CANNOT BE PUT BACK TOGETHER.  BUTJESUS COMES AND PICKS UP THE PIECES OF A BROKEN LIFE AND INFUSES IT WITH VALUE AND PURPOSE AND WHOLENESS AGAIN.

TO PROCLAIM LIBERTY TO THE CAPTIVES

JESUS, THE MESSIAH, HAS THE POWER TO SET FREE THOSE WHO WERE HELD CAPTIVE BY SATAN IN THE BATTLE FOR THE HEARTS AND SOULS OF MEN AND WOMEN IN EVERY GENERATION SINCE ADAM.

SO MANY ARE ENSLAVED TODAY – CAPTIVES OF DRUGS, ALCOHOL, DEPRESSION, IMMORALITY … SLAVES OF SIN AND THE DEVIL. THEY WANT TO ESCAPE THEIR BONDAGE – THEY’VE TRIED AND FAILED AND TRIED AND FAILED – AND GIVEN UP IN DESPAIR. THEY CAN’T BREAK FREE – BUT JESUS COMES WITH THE POWER TO RELEASE THE PRISONERS OF SATAN AND SET THEM FREE:

AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND

IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, THE DISCIPLES POINTED TO A BLIND MAN, WANTING JESUS TO TELL THEM IF HE WAS BLIND BECAUSE OF HIS OWN SIN OR THE SIN OF HIS PARENTS.

·       JESUS SAID NEITHER BUT HE WAS BLIND SINCE HIS BIRTH "...IN ORDER THAT THE WORKS OF GOD MIGHT BE DISPLAYED IN HIM. AND THEN HE SAID “I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD."

·       JESUS THEN HEALED THE BLIND MAN, WHO LATER BECAME A BELIEVER, BUT THE PHARISEES ACCUSED JESUS OF BEING A SINNER BECAUSE HE HEALED ON THE SABBATH.

·       JESUS LATER SAID "FOR JUDGMENT I CAME INTO THIS WORLD, THAT THOSE WHO DO NOT SEE MAY SEE, AND THAT THOSE WHO SEE MAY BECOME BLIND." (JOHN 9)

·       JESUS HEALED THE PHYSICALLY BLIND (JOHN 9) AS A SYMBOL OF WHAT HE WANTED TO DO FOR THE SPIRITUALLY BLIND. (SEE ACTS 26. 18)

TO SET AT LIBERTY THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED

OUT LORD WAS REFERRING TO THE DELIVERANCE OF ALL THOSE WHO HAD BEEN CRUSHED OR OPPRESSED AND LEFT WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO HELP THEMSELVES ANY LONGER.

·       THE ROMANS AS WELL AS THE LEADERS OF THE JEWISH RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY CRUSHED PEOPLE WITH THEIR POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS LAWS AND CUSTOMS.

·       JESUS CAME IN ORDER TO LIFT UP ALL THOSE WHO COULD NO LONGER LIFT THEMSELVES UP ESPECIALLY IN THE REALM OF SATANIC INFLUENCE.

·       HE SAID, "COME TO ME ALL WHO ARE WEARY AND HEAVY LADEN, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST. TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU, AND LEARN FROM ME, FOR I AM GENTLE AND HUMBLE IN HEART; AND YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. FOR MY YOKE IS EASY AND MY LOAD IS LIGHT.:" ( MATT. 11.28-30)

TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD:

FOR 700 YEARS THE FAITHFUL REMNANT WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO MESSIAH'S COMING AND TO HEAR HIM "PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD"

JUST AS JESUS TAUGHT IN THE SYNAGOGUE IN NAZARETH, I AM SURE HE WAS SAYING TO THE PEOPLE IN ALL THE TOWN AND VILLAGES "EVERYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH THE YEAR OF JUBILEE … THE DAWNING OF THE MESSIANIC AGE, THE FREEDOM FROM THE FEAR OF SIN, DEATH, SATAN, HAS AT THIS MOMENT ARRIVED IN YOUR PRESENCE.   GOD IS GRANTING SALVATION TO ALL HIS PEOPLE AS WELL AS THE GENTILE NATIONS. IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE "DAY OF SALVATION" TO ALL THOSE WHO PLACED THEIR FAITH IN JESUS AS THEIR LONG-PROMISED MESSIAH.

PAUL LATER DESCRIBED THIS 'FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD' AS "HE DELIVERED US FROM THE DOMAIN OF DARKNESS, AND TRANSFERRED US TO THE KINGDOM OF HIS BELOVED SON, IN WHOM WE HAVE REDEMPTION, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS." (COL. 1.13-14)

AT THIS POINT JESUS ROLLED UP THE SCROLL, GAVE IT BACK TO THE ATTENDANT, AND SAT DOWN AND THE EYES OF ALL IN THE SYNAGOGUE WERE FIXED UPON HIM. 

·       TYPICALLY IN THE SYNAGOGUE, THE SCRIPTURES WOULD BE READ WHILE STANDING AND THEN AFTER HE SAT DOWN THE READER WOULD THEN OFFER A WORD OF EXPLANATION OR COMMENTARY.

·       JESUS SIMPLY SAID, BY WAY OF EXPLANATION.  "TODAY THIS SCRIPTURE HAS BEEN FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING."

WITH THESE SIMPLE WORDS, JESUS WAS INFORMING HIS HOMETOWN FAMILY AND FRIENDS THAT HE WAS THE LONG AWAITED MESSIAH OF ISRAEL. 

·       HE WAS AT THAT MOMENT THE TOTAL FULFILLMENT OF THE ISAIAH PASSAGE FIRST PROCLAIMED SOME 700 YEARS EARLIER.

·       HERE STANDING BEFORE THEM WAS THE LONG HOPED FOR EMMANUEL: THE GOD ANOINTED, SPIRIT FILLED MESSIAH.

·       ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS FALL ON THEIR KNEES AND WORSHIP HIM AND THEN ASK HIM HOW THEY COULD SERVE HIM.

INTERESTINGLY, IN HIS READING FROM ISAIAH, THE LORD STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SENTENCE

·       VERSE 2 of ISAIAH 61 READS "TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD, AND THE DAY OF VENGEANCE OF OUR GOD".

·       HE NEVER READ “AND THE DAY OF VENGEANCE OF OUR GOD.” BECAUSE THIS WAS THE DAY OF SALVATION, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SPIRITUAL HEALING WAS AVAILABLE FOR ALL IN THAT SYNAGOGUE AS WELL AS FOR ALL WITHIN THE NATION OF ISRAEL WHO WOULD PLACE THEIR FAITH IN HIM AS THEIR LONG AWAITED MESSIAH.  

·       THE DAY OF VENGEANCE WOULD COME ONE DAY UPON ALL WHO WOULD REJECT JESUS AS MESSIAH.

SOMETIMES PEOPLE LOOK AROUND AT THE CONDITION OF THE WORLD AND ASK "WHY DOESN'T GOD DO SOMETHING?"

·       THE ANSWER IS, BECAUSE HE IS GIVING PEOPLE EVERYWHERE A CHANCE!

·       WHEN HE STARTS JUDGING, HE WILL JUDGE THE WHOLE WORLD -- EVERYBODY IN IT, WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

·       ONLY THOSE WHO HAVE TRUSTED HIM WILL ESCAPE THE PENALTY OF THAT JUDGMENT. 

THE COMMA BEFORE THE PHRASE JESUS DID NOT READ THAT DAY IN THE SYNAGOGUE HAS BEEN CALLED "THE LONGEST COMMA IN HISTORY."

"THE YEAR OF THE LORD'S FAVOR" NOW COVERS ALMOST TWO THOUSAND YEARS OF TIME, BUT IT WILL BE FOLLOWED BY "THE DAY OF VENGEANCE OF OUR GOD."

THAT IS THE HEART OF JESUS' TEACHING FROM THE BIBLE AND THAT IS WHAT WE MUST TEACH TODAY.  HE SAYS THAT ALL THE PROMISES OF THE SCRIPTURES POINT TOWARDS HIM. HE IS THE LONG-AWAITED, GOD-APPOINTED KING, THE MESSIAH, THE ONE AND ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.

III.            HE PREACHED

AS WELL AS TEACHING IN THE SYNAGOGUES, MATTHEW SAYS, JESUS WENT ABOUT "PREACHING THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM."

IN MATTHEW 4.17, THE TEXT TELLS US THAT "FROM THAT TIME ON [THAT IS, FROM THE BEGINNING OF HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY] JESUS BEGAN TO PREACH, "REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS NEAR." THAT IS THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM.

·       THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

·       THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS GOD'S RULE, GATHERING HIS PEOPLE FROM ALL THE NATIONS, DESTROYING ALL THAT WANTS TO DESTROY THEM, AND RESTORING THEM TO A RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM - A RELATIONSHIP OF TRUST AND LOVE AND OBEDIENCE.

WHY IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD NEAR? BECAUSE THE JESUS IS THE KING OF THE KINGDOM, AND THE KING HAS ARRIVED TO BEGIN HIS REIGN.

·       WHERE JESUS IS, THERE IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

JESUS SAYS THE KINGDOM IS NEAR. BUT THE KINGDOM HAS NOT YET FULLY AND FINALLY ARRIVED, FOR TWO REASONS.

FIRST, JESUS AT THIS PARTICULAR POINT IN TIME HAD NOT YET FOUGHT THE DECISIVE BATTLE AND WON THE VICTORY THAT WILL BEING IN THE KINGDOM.

·       THAT BATTLE STILL LAY AHEAD OF HIM AT CALVARY. 

·       THE FORCES OF THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS AND DEATH WERE DEFEATED ONCE AND FOR ALL THROUGH THE WORK OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS. BUT HERE IN MATTHEW 9 THAT GREAT BATTLE STILL LIES AHEAD.

TODAY, HOWEVER, THE KINGDOM IS STILL NOT FULLY AND FINALLY ARRIVED.

·       WHILE SIN AND SATAN AND DEATH WERE DEFEATED AT THE CROSS, THEIR FINAL SENTENCE HAS NOT YET BEEN CARRIED OUT. 

·       THEY ARE MORTALLY WOUNDED BUT THEY ARE STILL IN THEIR LONG DRAWN OUT DEATH THROES.

·       THEY STILL LASH OUT BUT THEIR DAYS ARE STRICTLY NUMBERED.

WHEN JESUS RETURNS, THEN THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS WILL BE UTTERLY AND FINALLY DESTROYED.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WE CAN ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD TODAY. OUR EXPERIENCE OF IT IS STILL PARTIAL, BUT OUR CITIZENSHIP IS SECURED.

·       IF WE PLACE OUR FAITH IN THE KING WHO HAS COME AMONG US, AND RECEIVE BY FAITH THE GIFT OF LIFE AND FORGIVENESS THAT HE PURCHASED BY HIS DEATH, HE WILL FORGIVE OUR REBELLION AND WELCOME US AMONG HIS PEOPLE.

·       THAT IS REPENTANCE AND FAITH. THAT IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CHRISTIAN.

AS THE APOSTLE PAUL SAYS IN COLOSSIANS 1.13-14, IF YOU HAVE REPENTED, THEN GOD OUR FATHER HAS "RESCUED US FROM THE DOMINION OF DARKNESS AND BROUGHT US INTO THE KINGDOM OF THE SON HE LOVES, IN WHO WE HAVE REDEMPTION, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS."

SO JESUS, THE KING OF THE KINGDOM, WENT THROUGH ALL THE TOWNS AND VILLAGES, "PREACHING THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM", AND CALLING PEOPLE TO REPENT, AND BELIEVE, AND ENTER THE KINGDOM, AND SUBMIT THEIR LIVES TO HIM AS KING.

IV.           HE HEALED

WHAT ELSE WAS JESUS DOING? HE WAS "HEALING EVERY KIND OF DISEASE AND SICKNESS". WHY DID HE DO THAT? WELL, BECAUSE, AS WE WILL SEE IN TOMORROW MORNING’S MESSAGE, HE HAD COMPASSION FOR PEOPLE, AND HE ALSO THE POWER TO HELP THEM. SO HE USED IT.

BUT WAS THERE MORE TO IT THAN THAT?  I BELIEVE SO. 

EVEN THEN NOT EVERYBODY WAS HEALED, AND THOSE THAT WERE HEALED EVENTUALLY FELL ILL AGAIN AND DIED. NONE OF THEM IS AROUND TODAY.

 BUT FOR A SHORT TIME THE KING WAS PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN HIS WORLD AND HE HAD COME TO OPEN A WAY FOR THEM TO ENTER AND TO INVITE THEM TO ENTER INTO HIS KINGDOM.

·       THESE HEALINGS WERE SOMETHING OF A VISUAL AID.  THEY NOT ONLY VALIDATED HIS CLAIMS BUT THEY ALSO GAVE A FORETASTE OF WHAT LIFE WILL BE LIKE WHEN THE KINGDOM COMES IN ITS FULLNESS. 

·       NO MORE SIN. NO MORE DISEASE.  NO MORE DEATH.  NO MORE SORROW AND TEARS.  NO MORE EVIL. 

·       THAT IS THE PROSPECT THAT AWAITS THE CITIZENS OF THE KINGDOM. "

JESUS WENT THROUGH ALL THE TOWNS AND VILLAGES, TEACHING IN THEIR SYNAGOGUES, PREACHING THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM AND HEALING EVERY DISEASE AND SICKNESS." THAT WAS WHAT HE DID.  TOMORROW MORNING WE WILL DISCOVER WHAT WAS BEHIND WHAT HE DID.  BUT THIS EVENING

THE QUESTION IS: WHAT ARE WE DOING?  WHAT IS SUN CITY BIBLE CHURCH DOING?  WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

IF WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST IN THE WORLD TODAY THEN THERE ARE SOME SERIOUS QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ANSWERED.  SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS ARE PHRASED IN A POPULAR CHRISTIAN SONG THAT I HEAR FROM TIME TO TIME:

"IF WE ARE THE BODY"
IT'S CROWDED IN WORSHIP TODAY
AS SHE SLIPS IN TRYING TO FADE INTO THE FACES
THE GIRLS’ TEASING LAUGHTER IS CARRYING FARTHER THAN THEY KNOW -- FARTHER THAN THEY KNOW

BUT IF WE ARE THE BODY
WHY AREN'T HIS ARMS REACHING?
WHY AREN'T HIS HANDS HEALING?
WHY AREN'T HIS WORDS TEACHING?
AND IF WE ARE THE BODY
WHY AREN'T HIS FEET GOING?
WHY IS HIS LOVE NOT SHOWING THEM THERE IS A WAY?

A TRAVELER IS FAR AWAY FROM HOME
HE SHEDS HIS COAT AND QUIETLY SINKS INTO THE BACK ROW
THE WEIGHT OF THEIR JUDGMENTAL GLANCES
TELLS HIM THAT HIS CHANCES ARE BETTER OUT ON THE ROAD

JESUS PAYED MUCH TOO HIGH A PRICE
FOR US TO PICK AND CHOOSE WHO SHOULD COME
AND WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST
JESUS IS THE WAY

CHARLES CARROLL LUTHER CONCLUDED HIS HYMN IN THE LATE 1800s WITH THESE WORDS:

O ye saints, arouse, be earnest.  Up and work while yet 'tis day;
E'er the night of death o'er take thee, Strive for souls while yet you may.

Must I go, and empty handed? Must I meet my Savior so?
Not one soul with which to greet Him, Must I empty handed go?

SOMEDAY THERE WILL BE A DAY OF ACCOUNTING FOR HOW WELL WE HAVE USED THE TIME AND THE OPPORTUNITIES IN THIS LIFE.  WE DO NOT LACK FOR NEITHER TIME … NOT OPPORTUNITIES … WHAT WE LACK IS THE WILL AND THE COMMITMENT TO DO SOMETHING WITH THEM INSTEAD OF WASTING THE TIME WAITING FOR THE OPPORTUNITIES TO COME TO US.

MY PRAYER FOR YOU AND FOR MYSELF IS THAT WE WILL NOT BE CONTENT TO DO SO ANY LONGER.

I CLOSE WITH THIS WORD TO ANY WHO MAY BE HERE THIS EVENING WHO HAVE NOT YET COME TO CHRIST.  THE MESSAGE IS THE SAME NOW AS IT WAS THEN:

·       SALVATION REQUIRES ABSOLUTE RIGHTEOUSNESS

·       SALVATION IS OF FAITH, NOT WORKS

·       SALVATION IS FOR THOSE WILLING TO RECEIVE IT

PERHAPS YOU FEEL AS THOUGH YOUR LIFE IS A BROKEN WRECK.

HE CAME TO HEAL THE BROKENHEARTED

PERHAPS YOU FEEL TRAPPED AND ENSLAVED TO THINGS THAT YOU KNOW ARE WRONG AND THAT YOU CANNOT OVERCOME. DOES IT FEEL AS IF YOU ARE SOMEHOW IMPRISONED?

HE CAME TO PROCLAIM LIBERTY TO THE CAPTIVES

PERHAPS YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE WANDERING IN BLINDNESS.  DO YOU FEEL AS THOUGH YOU ARE UNABLE TO SEE WHAT YOU NEED TO SEE?  ARE THE SUPPOSED REALITIES OF WHAT YOU BASE YOUR LIFE ON MERE SHADOWS AND PHANTOMS?  IS YOUR WORLD SHROUDED IN DARKENSS?

HE CAME TO BRING RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND

PERHAPS YOU DON’T HAVE THE WILL OR ENERGY TO FIGHT ANYMORE OR TO TRY.  THE PRESSURES ARE TOO GREAT.   YOU ARE READY TO GIVE UP ON LIFE.

HE CAME TO SET AT LIBERTY THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED

JESUS WANTS TO HEAL YOUR BROKENNESS.  HE WANTS TO FREE YOU FROM THE CHAINS OF YOUR SIN AND GUILT.  HE WANTS TO OPEN YOUR BLIND EYES AND SHOW YOU A WORLD AND GIVE YOU A LIFE THAT IS SO FULL AND BEAUTIFUL THAT IT WILL AMAZE YOU.  WHAT YOU'LL SEE, FIRST AND FOREMOST, IS JESUS, THE SERVANT KING, THE REAL ONE, THE BEAUTIFUL ONE; AND YOU'LL LIVE IN FREEDOM IN HIS WORLD, HIS KINGDOM.

HE WILL DO THAT FOR YOU TONIGHT IF YOU WILL TRUST HIM.  IF THAT IS YOUR NEED, PLEASE TALK WITH PASTOR KING, LESTER, OR BOB BELL, MYSELF OR SOMEONE HERE WHO CAN SHOW YOU TO THE SAVIOR.