Second Advent 4.12.2011

Luke 9:57-62 Luke 10: 1-16

Compassion is mercy in action

Effective Evangelism and Ministry

Today we celebrate the 2^nd Sunday in Advent…...

When our Lord Jesus walked on the earth……. For almost 2000 years since…… there have always been people attracted to Jesus……. There have always been people curious about Jesus…….. There have always been people who wanted to show respect and honor to Jesus…….. There have been people who believed that Jesus was the Savior……. But there have always been people unwilling to follow Him on His terms……. Jesus calls on us to deny ourselves……..

Do you remember what His terms were………

Turn with me to Luke 9: 22……

Luke 9:22-26 NLT

22 “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”

23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.

Luke 9:22- 26 Neues Leben

22 »Denn der Menschensohn muss viel Schlimmes erleiden«, sagte er. »Er wird von den führenden Männern des jüdischen Volkes, den obersten Priestern und den Schriftgelehrten verurteilt werden. Sie werden ihn töten, doch drei Tage später wird er von den Toten auferstehen.«

23 Dann sagte er zu der Menge: »Wenn einer von euch mit mir gehen will, muss er sich selbst verleugnen, jeden Tag aufs Neue sein Kreuz auf sich nehmen und mir nachfolgen.

24 Wer versucht, sein Leben zu retten, wird es verlieren. Aber wer sein Leben für mich aufgibt, wird es retten.

25 Was nützt es, die ganze Welt zu gewinnen, aber dabei an der eigenen Seele Schaden zu nehmen oder sie zu verlieren2?

26 Wer sich meiner oder meiner Botschaft schämt, dessen wird sich der Menschensohn auch schämen, wenn er in seiner Herrlichkeit und in der Herrlichkeit seines Vaters und der heiligen Engel wiederkommt.

In other words…… Jesus was saying to the attracted and the curious and the interested and even the believing……. If you truly want to follow me……. Do Not just be a fan…….. Deny yourself……take up your cross……..

Remember in another place Jesus said…. A servant is not above His Master….

You say, "I am done with all my hopes and dreams……. I am tired of my failures and my sins……. I am tired of trying to earn my way into heaven……. I will do whatever It takes……. Even to die for the cause of Christ…

Not everybody was willing to do that…… Many of the curious……. Many who followed Jesus……. many of those who believed in Jesus……. were not willing to abandon everything…….. To say it's the end of me and the beginning of You……. to confess Him as Lord and follow Him wherever He went……. whatever it cost……. not everyone was willing to do that……. John chapter 6 tells us about some disciples who walked no more with Him because the stakes were too high……. the price was more than they wanted to pay….. as we open the Word of God today…….we meet some of Jesus` quote “followers “ Turn with me to Luke 9:57-62…..

Luke 9: 57-62 NLT

57 As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”58 But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”59 He said to another person, “Come, follow me.” The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”60 But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”61 Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Luke 9: 57-62 Neues Leben

57 Unterwegs sagte einer der Jünger zu Jesus: »Ich will mit dir gehen, wohin du auch gehst.«

58 Aber Jesus hielt ihm entgegen: »Füchse haben ihren Bau und Vögel haben Nester, doch der Menschensohn hat keinen Ort, an dem er sich ausruhen kann.«

59 Zu einem anderen sagte er: »Komm, folge mir nach.« Dieser jedoch antwortete: »Herr, lass mich zuerst noch nach Hause gehen und meinen Vater begraben.«

60 Jesus erwiderte: »Lass die Menschen, die nicht nach Gott fragen, für ihre Toten sorgen.7 Deine Aufgabe ist es hinzugehen und das Kommen des Reiches Gottes zu verkündigen.«

61 Ein anderer sagte: »Ja, Herr, ich will mit dir gehen, aber lass mich zuerst noch von meiner Familie Abschied nehmen.«

62 Doch Jesus sagte: »Wer eine Hand an den Pflug legt und dann zurückschaut, ist nicht geeignet für das Reich Gottes.«

We see here…… three would-be disciples…..

1^st follower

v 57,58 …….. "I'll follow wherever You go…. but the Lord then said to him, 'The foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.'"

Jesus is saying…… don't follow Me if you expect it's going to be easy…… Don't follow Me if you expect it's going to be comfortable…… This is not about self-fulfillment……. I'm not going to guarantee you anything…… I'm not going to guarantee you health, wealth or prosperity……. In fact, I'll guarantee you this……. I don´t even have a place to call my own…..no place to rest my head….. I don't have anything to give you in the material sense……. And that man disappeared……

2^nd follower

v 59……"Follow Me…… He said, 'Permit me first to go and bury my father.'"

This was ”umgang spreche” It meant that he wanted to wait and receive his inheritance first and then he would follow Jesus….

His father wasn't even sick….. let alone dead……. We are commanded to love and honor and care for our families……

He wanted to go home and wait till he got his inheritance so he'd be able to live the way he wanted to live while following Jesus…… He wasn't willing to pay the price……

Jesus said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead……. As for you, go and proclaim everywhere the Kingdom of God."

Now is the time…… The kingdom of heaven is at Hand….. is near….

3^rd follower

v 61…. "I'll follow You, Lord…. But first permit to say goodbye to those at home."

He wanted to go back and make sure he had sorted out all his relationships…..

Jesus said to him, "No one after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the Kingdom of God."

Here were three men who were classified as disciples…… who were to one degree or another fascinated by Jesus, interested in Him, drawn to Him…… They were attracted to who He was….. curious about Him….. even to the point where they believed in Him……They knew that there was something there……..

But they were not willing to follow on His terms……. And so they walked away like those disciples in John chapter 6 verse 66…….. When the stakes became higher than they were willing to pay…… they disappeared into the background……

Some were not willing to really follow Jesus…… not on His terms…. Let´s continue on… Luke chapter 10…..

Luke 10:1 -16 NLT

1 The Lord now chose seventy other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. 2 These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. 3 Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road.

5 “Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ 6 If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. 7 Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.

8 “If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you. 9 Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’ 10 But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this—the Kingdom of God is near!’ 12 I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on judgment day.

13 “What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. 14 Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you. 15 And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead.”

16 Then he said to the disciples, “Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.

Luke 10:1 -16 Neues Leben

1 Daraufhin wählte der Herr siebzig andere Jünger aus und schickte sie zu zweit voraus in alle Städte und Dörfer, die er aufsuchen wollte.

2 Er gab ihnen folgende Anweisungen: »Die Ernte ist groß, doch die Zahl der Arbeiter ist klein. Betet zum Herrn, der für die Ernte zuständig ist, und bittet ihn, mehr Arbeiter auf seine Felder zu schicken.

3 Nun geht und denkt daran, dass ich euch wie Lämmer unter die Wölfe schicke.

4 Nehmt kein Geld mit, auch kein Gepäck, ja nicht einmal ein zweites Paar Sandalen. Und haltet euch unterwegs nicht auf, um jemanden zu grüßen.

5 Wann immer ihr ein Haus betretet, segnet es.

6 Wenn seine Bewohner des Segens würdig sind, wird er bei ihnen bleiben; wenn sie es nicht sind, wird der Segen zu euch zurückkehren.

7 Wenn ihr in eine Stadt kommt, zieht nicht von Haus zu Haus. Bleibt an einem Ort und esst und trinkt, was man euch anbietet. Zögert nicht, Gastfreundschaft anzunehmen, denn wer arbeitet, hat auch Lohn verdient.

8 Wenn eine Stadt euch willkommen heißt, dann esst, was euch vorgesetzt wird,

9 heilt die Kranken und sagt dabei: `Das Reich Gottes ist nahe bei euch.´

10 Doch wenn eine Stadt euch nicht willkommen heißen will, dann geht hinaus auf die Straße und sagt:

11 `Wir schütteln als Zeichen eures Verderbens den Staub eurer Stadt von unseren Füßen. Vergesst nicht, dass das Reich Gottes nahe ist!´

12 Ich sage euch, selbst der Stadt Sodom wird es am Tag des Gerichts noch besser ergehen als einer solchen Stadt.

13 Welche Schrecken erwarten euch, Chorazin und Betsaida! Denn wenn die Wunder, die ich bei euch getan habe, in Tyrus und Sidon geschehen wären, hätten ihre Einwohner schon längst ihre Schuld bekannt und sich zum Zeichen ihrer Reue in Säcke gehüllt und Asche auf ihre Häupter gestreut.

14 Ja, Tyrus und Sidon werden am Tag des Gerichts immer noch besser dastehen als ihr.

15 Und ihr Bewohner von Kapernaum, ob ihr wohl an diesem Tag in den Himmel gehoben werdet? Ganz sicher nicht. Ihr werdet vielmehr hinunter ins Reich der Toten2 geworfen.«

16 Dann sagte er zu den Jüngern: »Wer eure Botschaft annimmt, nimmt auch mich an. Wer euch jedoch ablehnt, lehnt auch mich ab. Und wer mich ablehnt, lehnt Gott ab, der mich gesandt hat.«

”Now that is a very practical text……. it is loaded with some wonderful application for us…..

We have just read about some false followers……. But there were some true disciples…….

Here in chapter 10 ….. we meet 70 of them…..

We meet 70 who were sent by the Lord to prepare the way for His coming……. These are those who were willing to deny themselves……. These are those who were willing to take up the cross daily and follow Jesus…… These are those who were the genuine and the true disciples……. we abandon everything in our own lives…… we submit to Your Lordship…… whatever You want us to do we gladly do….. whatever the price….. we gladly pay….. even if it means death, we will follow You…… Genuine followers…… No excuses with these…...

These genuine followers were sent out........ sent by The Lord to be missionaries……… The twelve were chosen first….. they are unique…… We cannot aspire to be Apostles…… But this next group is important because here the Lord …… sends them out really as the first Kingdom missionaries……. And we can all see ourselves in this group……. Like the Apostles, these are ordinary people…..

Remember 1 Corinthians 1…… there are not many noble…… not many mighty…… just real ordinary people…. He chooses the weak and the nobodies …. to do His work so that no man can boast……..

And the explanation for the advance of the Kingdom will never be human…….. all of the credit goes to the Lord….. All genuine church growth…… all real growing in grace and maturity……. It´s all a work of the Holy Spirit……

If you go down to the end of verse 11…… you will see that Mission is to say …. "The Kingdom of God has come near."

That was basically their message…… We're here to tell you the Kingdom of God has come near….. What does that mean? King is here….. He's on His way….. He's coming to your village….. He's coming to your town….. We want to tell you about Him…… We want to tell you why He came. ….We want to tell you what He's done…..

That´s exactly the meaning of Advent…….. The King is coming…..

And so they were basically missionaries for the Lord Jesus Christ…… introducing the one who would bring the Kingdom of salvation…….

Special people…… are not required…… It´s all about the King…… Even today…… God does not choose Superstars to proclaim the Good News……. God chooses the little….the ordinary….

No qualifications except being a true self-denying…… cross-bearing sufferer of Jesus Christ…… And as we look at this commissioning….. it's going to take us all the way down through verse 24……. More than half of this chapter is caught up in dealing with these….

This is the account of the ministry of the 70……

OUTLINE (first section of Chapter 10)

1… Jesus starts with the essential attitudes necessary for being a Kingdom missionary……. verses 1 to 4

2… the message of the Kingdom missionary…. verses 5 to 11

3… the warning by the Kingdom missionaries…. verses 12 through 16

4…. Then the joy of the Kingdom missionaries as they see the impact of their work….. verse 17 And finally…..

5… The joy of the Lord Himself over these Kingdom missionaries…… beginning in verse 21

Let´s start with the first 4 verses….. Here in these verses….

We're going to see the essential attitudes that our Lord requires from these Kingdom missionaries.......

All of the characteristics of their ministry……. the spiritual dimensions…… the attitude….. the message……. the warnings….. their joy in ministry….. and the joy of the Lord in their service…… all applies to us……..

We're going to learn the appropriate attitude for a Kingdom missionary…..

If you're going to do evangelism…… if you're going to be a missionary…… if you're going to proclaim the Kingdom of God…… if you're going to tell people about the King……. the Lord Jesus Christ…… It must start with our hearts…..our attitudes……

You can train people for years……. you can give them all kinds of information……

Effective evangelism is only done by highly motivated people……. Understand that…….

It's not about training, it's about motivation……. It's not about what you know, it's about what you feel…….. We must be moved by compassion for the lost……..

V1….. the LORD chose and sent them 2 by 2……. There was a law in the Old Testament…… it said that any testimony to be validated as true must be confirmed in the mouth of at least two witnesses……. And so when reports were made as to what happened…… when messages were given to the towns and the villages about Jesus…… somebody is going to say…. "Well how do we know this is true?" Well here we are….. two witnesses to tell you this is true….

This is the Messiah,….. this is the One who speaks for God…. this is the One who raises the dead…… casts out demons….. heals the sick…… The kingdomof Heaven is at hand…… The King is here……

And so they are sent ahead of Him, it says, to every city and place where He Himself was going to come…… They are much like John the Baptist back in the seventh chapter of Luke in the twenty-seventh verse it says…… "John the Baptist was the one who was heralding the coming of Jesus Christ. He was the one about whom it was written, 'I send My messenger before your face who will prepare your way before you.'"

They are then to proclaim the good news of the gospel of salvation through the King, the Messiah, the Savior……. So they are not unlike us…… This is our responsibility as well…. We are the force of Kingdom missionaries in our day…… We're not telling people about a Messiah who is coming…. we're telling people about a Messiah who has come…..

The ministry is the same…… We are sent out …..to go into all the world and proclaim the Good News….. who go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature….. We are among that force that goes and makes disciples of all nations…… We are among those who go in Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost part of the earth…..

And so the instruction and the interaction that Jesus has with them is very helpful for us….. because we are called to the same responsibility……. We are witnesses to Christ in the world…… That's really the reason we're here…...

We've been saved and that's partly to enjoy fellowship with God and with each other….. but the fellowship is imperfect here, it's not satisfying to us or God……

We are saved to worship…. but the worship isn't all it should be…… it's not perfect…… these things would be better in heaven…… neither does it satisfy our hearts or His…….

Why does He leave us here?

Why not perfect fellowship….. and perfect worship now……?

Because there's one thing you'll never do in heaven and that's evangelize lost people……. that's why we're here…..

We are still here so that we can tell the GOOD News….. Proclaim freedom from sin and death…… to a lost and very confused world….

Now, if we're going to do evangelism….. we're going to have to start with the motives….. And let's go the heart of the matter…… The first necessary motive…. the first element of the Lord's preparation for these people is compassion......

1… compassion.

The basis of all effective evangelism is compassion….. It isn't training, it is compassion….. It is a deep profound sense of sympathy because of the desperate condition of the unconverted…… It is a heart-wrenching concern over the lost…… And that's what comes out in our Lord's words, let's look at verse 2……..

Luke 10: 2 NLT Neues Leben

2 These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.

2 Er gab ihnen folgende Anweisungen: »Die Ernte ist groß, doch die Zahl der Arbeiter ist klein. Betet zum Herrn, der für die Ernte zuständig ist, und bittet ihn, mehr Arbeiter auf seine Felder zu schicken.

“The harvest is great….. but…..

We simply don´t believe it…… we say…… The land is dark and Godless…… Jesus says….. the harvest is great…….

We say…… the soil is hard…… Jesus says….. the Harvest is great…..

The harvest is huge, it is huge….. The workers are few…..

Now if that sounds familiar to you, it's because it's not the first time the Lord said it….. Turn to Matt 9: 35-38…..

Matthew 9: 35-38 NLT

35 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

Matthew 9: 35-38 Neues Leben

35 Jesus zog durch die Städte und Dörfer der Umgebung. Er lehrte in den Synagogen und verkündete die Botschaft vom Reich Gottes. Und überall, wo er hinkam, heilte er Menschen von ihren Krankheiten und Leiden.

36 Er hatte tiefes Mitleid mit den vielen Menschen, die zu ihm kamen, denn sie hatten große Sorgen und wussten nicht, wen sie um Hilfe bitten konnten. Sie waren wie Schafe ohne Hirten.

37 Deshalb sagte er zu seinen Jüngern: »Die Ernte ist groß, aber es sind nicht genügend Arbeiter da.

38 Betet zum Herrn und bittet ihn, mehr Arbeiter zu schicken, um die Ernte einzubringen.«

Jesus was going about all the cities, all the villages, and this is in Galilee…… And He was teaching in their synagogues….. He was proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom, healing every kind of disease, every kind of sickness. "

And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for them……. Because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd……

Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.'"

That statement was born of His compassion…..

Everywhere the Lord went in His ministry……. He was moved with compassion…….

IF you go through Matthew, you see Matthew 14:14 ….. Matthew 15:32, Matthew 18:27, Matthew 20: 34, and it will say, "The Lord was moved with compassion, the Lord felt compassion." In Luke…….

Luke 7:13….. And in other places in Luke….. "The Lord was moved with compassion…… These are just a few examples…… The Lord moved through His ministry literally overcome with compassion……

Now the word used is the strongest word for compassion in the Greek language…... It refers to a deeply-felt sympathy….. It refers to a deep pain that comes from empathy or affection….. You feel this one…… It actually comes from a root word that has to do with abdominal pain…... You feel it in the pit of your stomach….. Jesus was a man of sorrows…..

We are celebrating the first Advent of the Messiah….. That wonderful scene of Jesus born in a manger…..it´s a powerful picture….. No one in the scripture tells us more about the coming of Jesus than the prophet Isaiah…. The 9^th chapter tells us of this miracle birth…… God Come in the likeness of men…… a child is born…

Isaiah 9: 6- 7 NLT

6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment (Compassion) of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

Isaiah 9: 5- 6 Neues Leben

5 Denn uns wurde ein Kind geboren, uns wurde ein Sohn geschenkt. Auf seinen Schultern ruht die Herrschaft. Er heißt: wunderbarer Ratgeber, starker Gott, ewiger Vater, Friedensfürst.

6 Seine Herrschaft ist groß und der Frieden auf dem Thron Davids und in seinem Reich wird endlos sein. Er festigt und stützt es für alle Zeiten durch Recht und Gerechtigkeit. Dafür wird sich der Herr, der Allmächtige, nachhaltig einsetzen.

Joy to the World……The LORD is come…….

But…..This baby Jesus was born to die……. And Jesus did it willingly…… Jesus said…. No man takes my life from me…… I lay it down……Jesus gladly laid down His life…… he was moved with compassion…. pity for us…… He came to die in our place…….

Isaiah 53:3- 6 NLT

3 He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!

5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.

6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

Isaiah 53:3- 6 Neues Leben

3 Er wurde verachtet und von den Menschen abgelehnt - ein Mann der Schmerzen, mit Krankheit vertraut, jemand, vor dem man sein Gesicht verbirgt. Er war verachtet und bedeutete uns nichts.

4 Dennoch: Er nahm unsere Krankheiten auf sich und trug unsere Schmerzen. Und wir dachten, er wäre von Gott geächtet, geschlagen und erniedrigt!

5 Doch wegen unserer Vergehen wurde er durchbohrt, wegen unserer Übertretungen zerschlagen. Er wurde gestraft, damit wir Frieden haben. Durch seine Wunden wurden wir geheilt!

6 Wir alle gingen in die Irre wie Schafe. Jeder ging seinen eigenen Weg. Doch ihn ließ der Herr die Schuld von uns allen treffen.

Matthew…… uses the strongest possible word for compassion….. one that indicates that the Lord had a deep ache….. a pain in His stomach over the future condition of the lost….. as well as their present state….. Look back at that passage in Matthew…….

It says He saw them as distressed and downcast, eschul monoo and ara monoo), those two words mean worn out……. Exhausted…… thrown down……. totally helpless……..

Psalm 111:4 says, "The Lord is gracious and full of compassion," that's describing God, and here is God in human flesh and His heart is literally aching……back to matt 9:37, 38…….

He is so overwhelmed with sympathy for them that He says to His disciples…….

Matthew 9: 37-38 NLT

37 He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

Matthew 9: 37-38 Neues Leben

37 Deshalb sagte er zu seinen Jüngern: »Die Ernte ist groß, aber es sind nicht genügend Arbeiter da.

38 Betet zum Herrn und bittet ihn, mehr Arbeiter zu schicken, um die Ernte einzubringen.«

Jesus understood the sovereignty of God…… He understood the doctrine of election and the doctrine of predestination…… He understood that the names of those who were chosen by God were written in a book before the foundation of the world…… Jesus knew that all of them would be redeemed……. But I want you to get the picture here, folks…..

As well as He understood that, that had no negative impact on His grief over those that were lost…… You always balance out the doctrine of predestination…… with the doctrine of human free will…….

Here is our Lord Jesus literally in gut-wrenching agony over these lost people….. He is not indifferent……

If we truly belong to Jesus…..If we have had our sins forgiven……If we have been saved from eternal hell because of Jesus compassion and love…..We will not be indifferent to the lost and dying people all around us…. We need Jesus´compassion….. we are here to make a difference……. Jesus said….Go out into the world…..We have been sent on a Mission…….

Jesus has great compassion for the lost….. and He knows that the Father will gather them by using us........ because they can't hear without a preacher……. And so as He looks and feels compassion……. He says the harvest is plentiful, the workers are few…… and He switches metaphors from the sheep metaphor to the harvest metaphor…..

Now what are we talking about when we talk about harvest here? What does He have in mind?

Go back to Luke chapter 10 now because we're down to that same phrase…… What does He mean the harvest is big, the harvest is great, the harvest is plentiful?

This is not the field of John 4:35, Jesus and the field with the Samaritan woman, that's a different picture all together. What is this harvest that He is talking about?

Joel chapter 3: 12…… Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon grew dark. The stars lost their brightness as the Lord roars from Zion…….

That's the harvest….. It's the harvest of the final judgment…..

The great last days harvest……..separating the wheat from the tares…..That's why the compassion of the Lord is excited….. He sees these people on a path to devastation…… He sees them not only in their difficult current condition….. but to their disastrous future…...

He looks ahead…. and He sees many who will be deceived and destroyed by false teachers… false shepherds. And His heart aches for them….. because they're headed for the final harvest…… and for many it is a harvest of judgment……. The New Testament follows that imagery….. The Lord Himself in Matthew 13:30 talks about the wheat and the tares growing together and He says they will grow together until the harvest…… And the time of harvest will come, I'll say to the reapers, "Gather up the tares, bind them in bundles to burn them. But gather the wheat into My barn."

The harvest is the end of the age when the angels gather together God's people and put them into His Kingdom, that's the barn, and gathers together the ungodly and they burn forever in hell…….

That's the harvest…… It´s not exactly the harvest that we often think about…… these unredeemed, unconverted people, deceived and left destitute by their false religious leaders and fake shepherds, are headed toward a harvest of judgment and it is a massive harvest…….

You can study more in chapter 14 of Revelation…..

The Lord looks at the people and He is literally sick in His stomach because He sees the future all the way out to the great horrific wrath of the final harvest……. And to compound the matter, back to verse 2, the laborers are few…….

So this is where evangelism begins….. Do You understand the massive issue…… How can you be content to do nothing? How can you be content to sit idly by? Evangelism begins with a compassion born of a proper assessment of the massive character of the problem…….. Unbelievers depressed and destitute…. confused and headed toward divine wrath….. destroyed by false shepherds and on their way to a fiery hell….. You know….. you have people in evangelicalism today who don't even want to talk about hell….. but that's where all evangelism starts…. Judgment is certain….. Repent the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand……

If you would like to be delivered from hell, come to Jesus."

R.C. Sproul wrote a little book….. Saved From What?

Well…….. "Salvation saves you from hell."

Now we come to a second essential motive…..

2…. Prayer look at Luke 10 verse 2……

Luke 10:2 NLT

2 These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.

Luke 10:2 Neues Leben

2 Er gab ihnen folgende Anweisungen: »Die Ernte ist groß, doch die Zahl der Arbeiter ist klein. Betet zum Herrn, der für die Ernte zuständig ist, und bittet ihn, mehr Arbeiter auf seine Felder zu schicken.

The Lord Himself is in charge of the Harvest…..andOur compassionate Lord seeks to rescue people from wrath….. through the prayers of believers who ask Him for more messengers to work in rescuing souls destruction……

This is the wonder of the gospel, pray for workers…..

How often do you do that? How often are you on your knees saying, "God send more, send more?"

When we pray and ask the LORD to send workers into the harvest….. we are moved by the Holy Spirit to open our mouths to tell the Good News….. We begin to realize that we must Take them that message……. they can't hear it without a preacher……someone proclaiming the Good News….. Compassion and prayer are essential……

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If we are going to make a difference in this lost and dying world…… we need to understand the emergency……. People around us are dying every day….. without hope….. without receiving God´s mercy….. Compassion is mercy in action…… Later on in this chapter we will study the story of the Good Samaritan…… That man showed mercy to his enemy……. He showed true compassion …….Beloved brothers and sisters…..We are still here so that we can be His Voice…. His missionaries…… Moved by hearts of compassion…… opening our mouths……. Binding up their wounds….. Telling them of the unfailing Love of God…… telling them the truth……. Judgment is certain….repent….the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand…….

2 Cor 5: 11- 21 NLT

¹¹ Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. ¹² Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us,^[b] so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. ¹³ If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. ¹⁴ Either way, Christ’s love controls us.^[c] Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.^{[d] 15} He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. ¹⁶ So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! ¹⁷ This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

¹⁸ And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. ¹⁹ For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. ²⁰ So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” ²¹ For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,^[e] so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

2 Cor 5: 11- 21 Neues Leben

11 Weil wir wissen, dass der Herr zu fürchten ist, arbeiten wir hart, um andere zu gewinnen. Gott weiß, dass wir aufrichtig sind1, und ich hoffe, ihr wisst es auch.

12 Versuchen wir jetzt schon wieder, uns selbst zu loben? Nein, sondern wir geben euch einen Grund, stolz auf uns zu sein, damit ihr denen etwas entgegensetzen könnt, die sich mehr um Äußerlichkeiten bemühen als um ein ehrliches Herz vor Gott.

13 Wenn es scheint, als wären wir außer uns, so ist das zur Ehre Gottes. Und wenn wir besonnen sind, geschieht es zu eurem Besten.

14 Was immer wir tun, tun wir, weil die Liebe Christi uns bewegt. Weil wir glauben, dass Christus für alle gestorben ist, glauben wir auch, dass unser altes Leben vorüber ist, das wir früher führten.2

15 Er starb für alle, damit diejenigen, die sein neues Leben erhalten, nicht länger für sich selbst leben. Sie sollen vielmehr für Christus leben, der für sie starb und auferstanden ist.

16 Deshalb haben wir aufgehört, andere nach dem zu beurteilen, was die Welt von ihnen hält. Früher habe ich irrtümlich auch Christus so beurteilt - als sei er nur ein Mensch gewesen. Wie anders sehe ich ihn jetzt!

17 Das bedeutet aber, wer mit Christus lebt, wird ein neuer Mensch. Er ist nicht mehr derselbe, denn sein altes Leben ist vorbei. Ein neues Leben hat begonnen!

18 Dieses neue Leben kommt allein von Gott, der uns durch das, was Christus getan hat, zu sich zurückgeholt hat. Und Gott hat uns zur Aufgabe gemacht, Menschen mit ihm zu versöhnen.

19 Denn Gott war in Christus und versöhnte so die Welt mit sich selbst und rechnete den Menschen ihre Sünden nicht mehr an. Das ist die herrliche Botschaft der Versöhnung, die er uns anvertraut hat, damit wir sie anderen verkünden.

20 So sind wir Botschafter Christi, und Gott gebraucht uns, um durch uns zu sprechen. Wir bitten inständig, so, als würde Christus es persönlich tun: »Lasst euch mit Gott versöhnen!«

21 Denn Gott machte Christus, der nie gesündigt hat, zum Opfer für unsere Sünden, damit wir durch ihn vor Gott gerechtfertigt werden können.