Sunday Sermon

1. Sermon by Dr. Pothana

2. The Harvest Is Plentiful
Matthew 9:35-38

3. Matthew 9:35-38
35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching
in their synagogues, and 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 on them, because they fainted,
and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is
plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38 Pray ye therefore
the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into
his harvest.

4. The Harvest is Plentiful
Message Thesis: When we have a harvest mindset,
we will see the condition of the harvest.
Message Objective: We must see the harvest
through the eyes of Jesus.

5. Harvest
In the natural: The season for gathering crops.
In the spiritual: The time to win the lost!
A time to lead people to Jesus.

6. We Must See What Jesus Saw!
Jesus saw that the harvest was:
Plentiful---
Perplexed---
Perishing---
Precious---
A Priority---

7. Matthew 9:35-38
35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching
in their synagogues, and 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 on them, because they fainted,
and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is
plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38 Pray ye therefore
the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into
his harvest.

8. Jesus saw that the harvest was:
Plentiful: Present in large amounts!

9. We must see them as Jesus sees them:
Many people are lost.
Many people are seeking.
Many people don’t know what to do.

10. The Harvest Is Plentiful
Matthew 9:35-38

11. What’s the number one thing?

12. 1 Corinthians 10:31
31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or
whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

13. …He had compassion for them,…
• Compassion – to have mercy, to have sympathy for, or to have pity.
• The desire to free someone from their suffering.
• Matthew 22:37-39
37 And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is
the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.

14. What do people without Jesus looklike?
• Jesus could see their spiritual condition (spiritual eyes).
• We can only see the behavior, speech, or countenance.
• What do others see when they look at us?

15. …because they were harassed and helpless,
•Harassed – Bullied by Satan.
•Uses power to harm or intimidate those who are
weaker; to persecute; to torment.
•Helpless – unable to defend yourself; defenseless.
•NKJV – “weary and scattered”.

16. …like sheep without ashepherd.
• Sheep without a shepherd – no leader, no protector, no
provider.
• The Jewish leaders had failed in their responsibility.
Ezekiel 34:4-5
4 The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have
not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed
you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought,
and with force and harshness you have ruled them. 5 So
they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they
became food for all the wild beasts.

17. Matthew 9:37-38
37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is
plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray
earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out
laborers into his harvest."
•There are a lot of lost people in the world!

18. Why must we pray earnestly for laborers to besent?
• The seeking of God in prayer releases the blessings of God.
• “Asking is the rule of the Kingdom.” - Charles Spurgeon
• James 4:2c You do not have, because you do not ask.

19. Matthew 10:1
1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them
authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to
heal every disease and every affliction.
• Jesus called the disciples to him as an initial answer to the
prayer for Lord to send workers.
• Authority = specific power from God (healing & casting out
demons).

20. Matthew 10:2-4
2The names of the twelve apostles are these: first,
Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother;
James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the
tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and
Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot,
who betrayed him.

21. Disciple vs. Apostle
•Called disciples in Matthew 10:1
• Used broadly to refer to anyone who believed in Jesus and
was a follower (student).
•Called apostles in Matthew 10:2
• Those commissioned (qualified) to be Jesus’ special
representatives.

22. Why give the apostles thisauthority/power?
1. Toclearly show that He and His kingdom were
sovereign over the physical and spiritual realms,
the effects of sin and the efforts of Satan.
2. Toannounce the Messiah’s arrival.
3. Toauthenticate Jesus and His apostles who
preached His gospel.

23. Qualifications of the 12 chosenapostles?
• Fisherman – at least 4, maybe 7
• Zealot – a radical trying to overthrow the government.
• Tax collector – a traitor to his fellow Jews and a friend of
the Roman government.
• Tradesmen or craftsmen.
• 1 Samuel 16:7b
7b "For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the
outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."

24. Qualifications of the 12Apostles
• 1 Corinthians 1:20-21
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe?
Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made
foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the
wisdom of God, the world did not know God through
wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we
preach to save those who believe.
• 1 Corinthians 1:27
27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the
wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the
strong;

25. The Task for theApostles
•Role of the Shaliah – Official representative for the
Sanhedrin, the ruling council of Israel.
• Spoke for the Sanhedrin with their authority, but not with
his own opinion, but the Sanhedrin’s opinion.
•The apostles were Jesus’ “Shaliah”.
•They were His delegates.
•They spoke with His authority, delivered His
message, exercised His authority (power).

26. Matthew 10:5-7
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, "Go
nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of
the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, 'The
kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

27. …go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
• Initial mission was restricted to Israel.
• The ministry was only to the Jewish people with this
first assignment.
• Romans 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the
power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,
to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

28. Matthew 10:8
8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out
demons. You received without paying; give without
pay.
•Power over disease, death, demons.
•Leprosy considered disease that was a sin (unclean)
that only God could heal.

29. “…you received without paying; give withoutpay.”
•The apostles had been chosen by Jesus, and they were
to share the gospel freely.
•They were not to use their powers of healing or
raising the dead for personal gain.

30. …sheep without a shepherd.
•Ministry of Shepherd
1. Biblical Preaching, Discipleship, and Corporate
Prayer (Acts 6:1-6)
2. Shepherd, Pastoral Care, Spiritual Leader (Ephesians
4:11-13)
3. God-guided Leadership/Vision, Servant-leader
(2 Timothy 4:1-5)

31. Jeremiah 3:15
15 “‘And I will give you shepherds after my own
heart, who will feed you with knowledge and
understanding.