Sunday School at 9 am | worship at 10 am

Who are we reaching?

Who are we reaching?  That’s the question we’re considering this week in our series, Gospel Shaped Outreach.  What kind of impact are we having on our community?  Regrettably, I would have to say that we aren’t reaching many, if any at all.  That’s a problem.

 

I consider myself to be most at fault in this problem. While I repeatedly preach the gospel from the pulpit, I am not very good at personal evangelism.  Sure, I’ve tried.  I’ve taken courses in college on personal evangelism.  I’ve read several books on the subject.  I’ve gone on mission trips.  I’ve approached people in airports and malls and parks and street corners with the gospel message.  I’ve knocked on thousands of doors. I pray for my family members and neighbors to come to Christ.  As much as it pains me to say it, most of my attempts at evangelism have been colossal failures.  So this series on outreach is not just for you. It’s also for me—especially me.  

 

The session this week isn’t so much about how to reach others with the gospel as it is what motivates us to share the gospel with them. What will motivate us to reach out to our family, friends, and neighbors? 

 

We get some insight from our text this week—Matthew 9:35-39.  Jesus has been going from village to
village, teaching, proclaiming the gospel, and healing the sick.  Jesus describes the crowd as being "harassed and
helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."   In the original language, the word translated “harassed” means that they were defeated by life. The toils and struggles had punched them in the gut one too many times. They are down for the final count. Ready to quit. The word translated “helpless” conveys the idea that they were broken and without purpose. They were wandering aimlessly.   They were people without hope, without meaning,
without a reason for living.  The phrase, “like sheep without a shepherd” communicates the fact that they would follow any fad or guru or new idea or way even to their destruction. Sheep are dumb animals. They simply put their heads down and follow the sheep in front of them. If a guide or leader does not exist they will simply
wander and wander and wander until they destroy themselves. Those three thoughts, harassed, helpless, and sheep without a shepherd, are a fitting description of our society today—a society that needs our compassion.

 

On a similar occasion Jesus said to his followers, "Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for
 harvest" (John 4:35).  I don’t know much about farming, but I do understand that ripened wheat takes on a
golden hue when it’s ready for harvest. However, if reaping is delayed, the grain begins to turn a pale white, and will soon fall over on the ground. To speak of fields "white" unto harvest is to stress the imperative of getting into the fields before it is too late. There is always a sense of urgency for bringing in the harvest.

 

Jesus has been going from village to village, teaching, proclaiming the gospel, and healing the sick.  This is what we see Jesus doing.  What He saw were people who were harassed, helpless, and like sheep without a shepherd.  We need to see what Jesus saw.  Compassion and a sense of urgency.  That’s what Jesus felt when he saw the
multitudes.   We need to see as Jesus saw, and feel as Jesus felt so that we will do as Jesus did.