Matthew 9:25 - 10:1

Theme:     

Our understanding of mission must not be confined to programs and activities, it is to be based on the recognition of both God's sovereignty and human predicaments.

 

Introduction:

     What comes to your mind when I say Christmas Pageant? A very joyous and celebrative event. We come to hear and receive the good news of God's love. Now, Mission Conference. Some of your may draw a blank. Others think of speakers challenging us to be missionaries going to the mission field. Or this is also a time we are challenged to give financially towards the mission work. No one ever challenge you to give something during the Christmas Pageant, right? You see the difference between Christmas Pageant and Mission Conference? One is receiving; the other is giving. This why in many churches, you never have to worry that no one comes to the Christmas program, but always worry about who will show up if we have a mission’s conference on a week night.

March is our church’s Mission emphasis month. Throughout this month, we want to remind ourselves the importance of Mission and to help us develop a heart for missions.

We can certainly thank God for the mission program we have here. We support 15 missionaries serving in Asia, Central Asia, North and Central America. We’re helping the church in Almaty to become independent. Many individuals have come to know God through this small but significant church in Almaty.

However, there is also the tendency that we associate Missions with programs, activities and finance. This morning I want to ask you to take one step back, to look at Missions from a different perspective. We want to look at

something more basic than supporting and sending the missionaries. Mission is to be understood from the perspective of God's sovereignty and human predicaments.

The passage we read describes some of the prior events leading to the sending of the 12 disciples. We want to closely examine this, to gain insights on how to cultivate a heart for Missions.

I. Mission is founded on one's awareness of human needs.

In verse 35 we read that Jesus was "going about all cities and villages......." While going to the cities and villages, he did 3 things: teaching, proclaiming and healing the sick.

Before Jesus' coming, God was silent for 400 years. During that time, God had ceased to speak to the Israelites about their national direction and destiny.

During those 400 years, many of the OT teachings were distorted by their religious leaders. The Pharisees and the Sadducees emerged from this setting. Instead of encouraging and comforting God's people, their teachings became a heavy burden to bear. Instead of being problem solvers, they were the problem.

Now, as Jesus was going to the cities and villages, he proclaimed to them the good news that he was the son of God, the Messiah. He taught them the true meaning of God's revelation in the OT scriptures.

Jesus was not only concerned for their lack of understanding of God's word, but also for their physical well being. He healed every kind of disease.

 What do we see from this simple description of Jesus’ early ministry on earth? He was in touch with the people. He recognized their need to hear and understand God's word, to be physically healed. He was sensitive to the human predicament, keenly aware of the human needs surrounding Him. He cared for their whole being. He was actively involved in people’s lives.

     How about us? We are the ME generation. We tend to mind our own business. I always come first. My study, job and family are the most important things in life. We're enclosed in our cocoons, with little interest in what's happening in other people's life. We're involved only when our personal interest is on the line. We're oblivious to what's happening in Houston, other parts of the country, not to mention the rest of the world.

Sometimes we're like the frog sitting at the bottom of the well. Its view of the sky is a limited one, only as large as the diameter of the well. When we're unaware of human needs around us, our interest in missions will be a limited one, if any at all.

In this passage we also notice that, "Jesus going about all cities and villages..." In order for him to know those human sufferings and predicaments, he went all over the place, not just sitting in his own home praying and meditating.

 The same is true with us. In order to increase our awareness of human needs, we must make an effort to broaden our horizon. Make time to read those magazines that bring the world to us. Such as Time, Newsweek, and US News and World Reports. Then there are also publications from various mission organizations.

Some of us also have the financial resources of traveling to different parts of the world. Besides those typical tourist spots, we can take some side trips to see how the local people actually live. We can make a point to visit some missionaries serving in the cities we visit. Some of us may use our annual vacation time to join a summer mission trip.

The foundation of missions is to be in touch and to be aware of the human needs around us and around the world. 

II. Missions is motivated by Compassion for human needs.

However, there is more than just being in touch with the world. When Jesus saw the multitude, he was moved to compassion. The word 'compassion' is the strongest word for pity in the Greek language. The original word means the bowels, which describes the compassion that moves a man to the deepest depths of his being. What caused Him to have such compassion for the people? Matthew used two pictures to describe what Jesus saw.

The first picture was sheep without a shepherd. When sheep are without a shepherd, they're untended, with no proper care, insufficient food and shelter. The wild animals and the unpredictable weather will harass them. They are insecure and follow the crowd, wondering aimlessly.

The second picture was crops ready to be harvested, but there weren't enough workers in the field.

In these two pictures Jesus saw beyond their faces and recognized their spiritual conditions. It was not a pleasant picture. People without God are like sheep without a shepherd. They are left untended, helpless and harassed. People without God are also like crops waiting to be harvested, they are outside of God's kingdom. They are alienated from God and from each other. If no one cares to bring them into the kingdom, they will be lost forever. Seeing this, he was moved to the deepest depths of his being.

We live in a global village. The advancement of information technology has brought the world into our TV’s and computer screens. However, we need to see beyond those TV and computer imageries. When we read and hear about the rise of Islam and Buddhism in Asia and Central Asia, we need to recognize it as men’s increasing hunger for spiritual fulfillment.

In our own culture, many are addicted to the daily shows of Friends, and popular reruns like Sinefields. We are to see beyond those apparent happy faces of the X generations. Where every problem always seem to have neat and perfect answer. We are to learn to see what is behind these imageries. That this generation, without God, is without direction and security. Having rejected absolute truth, our generation despises any form of authority. We only believe in ourselves. There is no transcendent moral commands, only personal choice. Our moral standard is decided by polls and the experts’ opinions. We are impoverished in human relationships. We yearn for friends, so we come into communities, including churches, but all we find is more isolation. We are hurt and lonely. We follow the crowd, doing what everyone else is doing. We get our marching order from the media and those who are important to us. Without Christ, people are like sheep without a shepherd, or crops waiting to be harvested. We are outside of God's kingdom, alienated from God, from each other and from self.

This is the condition of the world around us. Seeing this, is the beginning of compassion. This is the foundation of mission. But there's more,

III. Missions must be based on God's sovereignty in call and sending the workers.

What next? What did Jesus do after being moved to compassion? He taught his disciples to see people as sheep without a shepherd, crops waiting to be harvested, and He also taught them to pray. What a strange timing. Why not just skip the prayer and go on to chapter 10, sending out the 12 disciples? What was the prayer about? "Ask the lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." This suggests to us that the sheep without the shepherd belong to God. The crops waiting for harvest also belong to God. And moreover, God is the one who calls and sends out the workers.

Mission is not about seeing human needs and then volunteering our services. The essence of Missions is that God is the one who does the calling and sending. You see, if we go into the local and foreign mission field out of our compassion for people’s needs, we can soon be overwhelmed by the needs around us and become discouraged. Or we can be numbed by these needs and lose our compassion. But when it is a calling from God, it will keep us going even in the midst of discouragement. But even more amazing is that, we can pray and ask him to send out workers.

 I think of a friend in the youth group in HK.. While in high school, God gave him a sensitive spirit. He was keenly aware of the human needs around him and in other parts of the world. This created a great compassion within him for the lost souls. He was fervent in his prayers for the lost. And when God showed him this passage, he began to pray regularly that God would send workers out to harvest the field.

I'm confident that many of us are aware of the various needs around us. The need for people to go oversees to proclaim the gospel, bringing the lost sheep into the fold, and harvest the awaiting crops. There's also the need for young people to go into full time pastoral ministry to feed and care for the sheep that have been brought into God's kingdom. Moreover, it is also important for us to pray that God will send workers out into the field, to bring people into His kingdom.

But do we also notice another minor but significant point in this instruction of praying for more workers? Did Jesus say, “ask God to send others into the field?" No, just ask God to send workers. Very neutral and objective. Not limit God as to whom He'd send. But to pray that He'll send workers out.

How do we pray? Sometimes I hear prayers like this, and occasionally I do the same. "Lord, please call some of the young people in our church to go into mission or full time ministry. Call some of our youths, young professionals and the early retirees. But not me or my children."

Here we learn to trust God's sovereignty in choosing and sending whom He wants. And do you know the implication of this prayer? As you pray, God may choose to call and send you or your children into the ministry. This is what happened to my friend in HK. As he prayed that God would send workers into the field, it became more and more clear that God was calling him. And he was obedient. When he finished high school, he entered the Alliance seminary. Since 1978, he has been the senior pastor of this church.

Prayer is a vital part in any mission effort. Prayer reflects our recognition of God's sovereignty in both the calling and sending of his workers.

Conclusion:

Many years ago, in Cambridge University, seven students saw the need for the world to hear the gospel. So they came together to pray regularly. They were remembered as the Cambridge Seven. Out of this prayer effort, a missionary movement was born. Hundreds of young people obeyed God' call and went to China and other parts of the world.

During this month, we have the opportunity of listening to different missionaries, pastors and mission-minded people, telling us about the needs around us and the ministries of different individuals and organizations in different parts of the world.

During this month, some of us may need to ask God to open our eyes to see the world as God sees it. He sees the world as sheep without shepherd, as crops waiting to be harvested. He sees individuals without him as lost, insecure and harassed by the power of this present world.

Some of us see but are not truly seeing. We’re to ask God to give us that compassion for the world around us. Seeing our world as God sees it, we all need to remind ourselves to pray that the lord of the universe will call and send out workers. As we learn and pray, we will all face the inevitable question: what role does God want me in world missions? 

Rev. William Hsueh    Mar 18, 2001    Houston Chinese Church,  Houston, Texas