July 21, 2025 • 34 mins
In this sermon from NewCity Orlando’s Preach Your Heart Out series, Pastor Benjamin Kandt explores Jesus' call to mission found in Matthew 9:37–10:5. As Jesus looks on the crowds with compassion, He calls His followers to see the harvest—people in need of the gospel—and to pray for laborers. But remarkably, those who pray become the very ones sent out. The sermon unpacks the connection between compassion, prayer, and being commissioned.
Pastor Kandt challenges listeners to reimagine their vocations, neighborhoods, and daily routines as contexts for witnessing to Christ. He emphasizes that ordinary people, not just church leaders, are the answer to the prayer for laborers. The kingdom of God advances through faithful, imperfect disciples who step out in dependence on Jesus. The call to bear witness is both a gift and a responsibility, carried out in the power and presence of Christ Himself.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Damein Schitter (00:05):
Hello everyone.
This is Pastor Damian.
You're listening to SermonAudio from New City, orlando.
At New City, we believe all ofus need all of Jesus for all of
life.
For more resources, visit ourwebsite at newcityorlandocom.
Thanks for listening.
Nadia Chong (00:20):
Your scripture reading from today is from
Matthew.
And Jesus went throughout allthe cities and villages teaching
in their synagogues andproclaiming the gospel of the
kingdom and healing everydisease and every affliction.
When he saw the crowds, he hadcompassion for them because they
were harassed and helpless,like sheep without a shepherd.
(00:41):
Then he said to the disciplesthe harvest is plentiful but the
laborers are few.
Therefore, pray earnestly tothe Lord of the harvest to send
out laborers into his harvest.
And he called to him his 12disciples and gave them
authority over unclean spiritsto cast them out and to heal
every disease and everyaffliction.
(01:04):
The names of the 12 apostles arethese first, simon, who is
called Peter, and Andrew, hisbrother.
James, the son of Zebedee, andJohn, his brother Philip and
Bartholomew.
Thomas and Matthew, the taxcollector.
James, the son of Alphaeus, andThaddeus.
Simon, the zealot, and Judas,iscariot, who betrayed him.
(01:25):
These twelve Jesus sent out,instructing them Go nowhere
among the Gentiles and enter notown of the Samaritans, but go
rather to the lost sheep of thehouse of Israel and proclaim as
you go, saying the kingdom ofheaven is at hand.
This is God's word.
Good morning.
My name is.
Rev. Benjamin Kandt (01:45):
Ben, this is God's word.
Good morning.
My name is Ben.
I'm a pastor here with New City.
I kind of my voice is on thefritz, I might have a little bit
of a cough, so that's because Ilive with three Petri dishes
that I call children, and so Iinvite you to pray for me, as
that the Lord would sustain myvoice as I preach this morning.
(02:06):
So today we're beginning a short, really quick two-part
miniseries called Bear Witness,and when Nate Claiborne heard
this, he decided to ask ChatGPTto come up with a rendition, a
graphic for us for this sermonseries, which looked like that
my favorite part is the world iswatching.
(02:27):
What will you say?
Chat GPT uses like intensity tomotivate people, apparently.
So okay, so this is not whatwe're talking about.
The word bear actually hasthree other meanings besides
large furry, carnivorous mammals.
To bear means to bring forth,like to bear fruit.
(02:50):
A tree bears fruit right.
To bear also means to bring,like you come bringing or
bearing gifts, you might say.
But to bear also means to kindof hold up under something to
endure without resistance, tokind of hold up under something
to endure without resistance,and all three of those meanings
are really important when wetalk about what it means to bear
(03:11):
witness to Jesus.
We need to be able to do allthree of those things, because
to bear witness to Jesus reallylooks like bearing a type of
fruit, bearing a gift called thegospel, and then bearing up the
weight of what it means toactually speak and tell other
people about Jesus.
And so we're going to look atMatthew 9, which is the
beginning.
The end of Matthew 9, beginningof Matthew 10 is the beginning
(03:32):
of what's called the missionarydiscourse of Jesus.
This is a significant passage inJesus's ministry and really
what I want to look at is I wantto look at what?
How does Jesus show us, how wecan bring forth witness from the
heart, so it doesn't feel likeit's this coercive thing that's
imposed on us that we ought todo but don't want to, but
something that emerges fromwithin.
(03:54):
What does that actually mean?
Now I define the word bear foryou, but I also should define
the word witness.
In Acts 4.20, it says this theysaid, for we cannot but speak
of what we have seen and heard.
Now, in that way, a witness issimilar when you're witnessing
to Jesus, you're witnessing in acourtroom, you're speaking,
you're telling about what youhave seen and heard.
(04:15):
So I wanna take the pressureoff for a moment.
When I talk about bearingwitness to Jesus, I don't mean
you have to speak the entiretyof the gospel every time you're
talking to somebody.
What I mean is there'ssomething significant just to
tell the testimony, to witnessto.
What have you seen and heardabout Jesus in your own life, in
our cultural moment?
A person's personal testimony,their own story, you can't
(04:39):
refute it.
And so there's a power to beingable to bear witness to Jesus
in that way.
Now, quick caveat.
And so there's a power to beingable to bear witness to Jesus
in that way.
Now, quick caveat.
I came to know Jesus through acampus ministry, and if you
wanted to go from junior varsityto varsity in my campus
ministry, it meant that you wentout and you shared your faith
with people.
Now, by temperament andpersonality, I'm an extrovert.
(05:00):
I've never had a hard timetalking to people.
I like a good verbal joustevery now and again.
Argument is like a good oldAmerican pastime for me.
So I never had a hard timetelling people about Jesus.
It was not a challenge.
But I want you to hear me saythat was mostly natural, not
supernatural, and digging intothis text, I realized the true
(05:23):
motive for mission.
Digging into this text, Irealized the true motive for
mission.
Believe it or not, it's notChristian status symbols.
The true motive for missionwe're going to see in the text
from Jesus himself.
So if you have a Bible or adevice or the worship of God,
get Matthew 9 and 10 in front ofyou and we're going to look at
this together.
The first point I have for youis the compassion of the King.
(05:43):
The compassion of the King.
Verse 35, says this and Jesuswent throughout all the cities
and villages.
Now I'm going to pause there.
Jesus in the gospels was a manon the move and the early church
was actually really impressedwith something in this text.
The early church picked up onthe fact that Jesus was humble
enough to go to the cities andthe villages, to Orlando and
(06:07):
Bysslot.
He went to the Manhattan andthe Manaheim I don't even know
if that's a real city, but likehe went to the places that
nobody really.
He goes to the places wherepeople wouldn't typically go.
Why?
Well, because Jesus reallybelieved that everyone, rich and
poor, important andunimpressive needed what he had
(06:27):
to offer.
And what does that mean?
Around here.
We often say all of us need allof Jesus for all of life.
All of us do, those in thecities and those in the villages
.
Well, what was it that Jesuscame to offer?
Look at verse 35 with me.
It goes like this he wasteaching in their synagogues and
proclaiming the gospel of thekingdom and healing every
(06:49):
disease and every affliction.
What does Christian mission looklike according to Jesus?
Well, mission is both word anddeed.
It's both gospel proclamationand kingdom demonstration Around
here.
We call it work and witness.
It's both of those thingstogether.
And we live in an interestingcultural moment to be Christians
(07:12):
where there was a divorcewithin the Christian church of
sorts, and in the divorce itlooks like this In the divorce,
bible-believing Christians gotto hold onto things like
evangelism those people werecalled the fundamentalists.
And the culturally engagedChristians got to hold onto
deeds of justice and mercy.
(07:33):
Those people were called themodernists.
So there was this split.
And then in the middle therecame this new group in the early
1900s called the evangelicals,and their goal was to hold these
two together people like JohnStott and Francis Schaeffer and
they believed what God hasjoined together.
Let no man separate.
Word and deed go together.
(07:54):
They're inseparable in gospelwitness and that's why Jesus
goes around teaching and healing.
He does both.
He's proclaiming the kingdomand then he's demonstrating the
kingdom, and so here at New City, we will be about both work and
witness.
They both matter if we're goingto be true witnesses to who
Jesus is and his coming kingdom.
(08:15):
Now, well-meaning people saythings like this preach the
gospel at all times and, whennecessary, use words.
But as much as that sounds likea good tweet, it's bad theology
.
And the reason why it's badtheology is to say preach the
gospel at all times.
If necessary, use words.
It's like me saying to you hey,can you give me your phone
(08:36):
number?
If necessary, use digits.
The gospel, by definition, isnews.
It's a message.
Now, if the gospel was goodadvice, you could show the
gospel by your actions and thenyou could just say do what we
are doing.
But the gospel is not goodadvice, it's good news.
It's fundamentally about JesusChrist and what he has done and
(09:00):
what that means for us.
And so people kind of meaningwell will see a picture of
Christians feeding the poor orputting shoes on orphans and be
like that's the gospel.
No, it's not.
It's a demonstration of thegospel 100%.
But the gospel is the good news.
It's the good news of the Kingof Kings has come into your
(09:22):
hometown and he right now isoffering you access to his
saving reign through his deathand resurrection.
And anybody can get in on thisif you'll simply turn to him and
trust in him.
That's the gospel.
That is the gospel proclamation, the good news, not merely good
advice.
This matters for Christianwitness.
This matters for our mission,because that gospel is such good
(09:46):
news that it often motivatesprofound works of mercy and
justice.
So what is that motive formission?
What is the heart of witness?
Well, look with me again at thetext, verse 36.
When Jesus saw the crowds, hehad compassion for them.
40 times in the gospels Jesusis mentioned looking at people
(10:12):
and most of those times youshould go through and underline
this in your Bible when you seethis.
It says and Jesus saw, and hehad compassion, something about
Jesus seeing people around him.
It moved him in his inner being.
There's a scholar from a fewgenerations ago named BB
Warfield who wrote an articlecalled the Emotional Life of Our
(10:34):
Lord.
You can find it online for free.
It's worth the read.
And he points out that thenumber one emotion that Jesus
has shown experiencing feelingin the gospels is compassion.
Not low-grade irritation, notfrustration, not anger, because
(10:55):
people can't get in on with theagenda already Compassion.
Bb Warfield goes on to sayJesus' whole life was a mission
of mercy.
This is the heart of Jesus.
Why does this matter?
Well, the whole reason whythere's any witness at all is
because Jesus looks out on theworld and he's moved with
(11:16):
compassion.
That's the motive for mission.
That's why we do what we dowhen we go and tell people about
Jesus is because the heart ofJesus is moved for those people.
Now, compassion, calm passion,means to suffer with.
It's this fellow feeling thatJesus has for people who are
distraught and beaten down andgoing through difficulty.
(11:39):
The motive for mission is notfear or guilt, or shame or anger
because of the evil around us.
The motive for mission is notfear or guilt or shame or anger
because of the evil around us.
The motive for mission is toshare in, participate in the
compassion of Jesus for ourworld.
Now my real invitation in thissermon I've got two things the
kind of action steps I'm goingto invite you this week to ask
(12:03):
Jesus to let him see what hesees and feel what he feels
about the people around you.
That's the invitation, that'sthe action step.
You want to know what is the?
What are you going to do afterthis?
It's not you got to go give thefour spiritual laws to somebody
that doesn't know Jesus.
It's not that yet Next week.
But it is Jesus.
Would you just let me see whatyou see and feel what you feel
(12:24):
for the people around me.
I want you to have a heart ofcompassion, like Jesus has, and
that that would be the motivefor which you would speak to
people.
Because I think one of thereasons we don't talk to our
neighbors about Jesus is becausewe look at them.
Some of them, you know, middleclass, well-adjusted, seemingly
doing fine on their own, and wedon't think they really need
(12:47):
much.
In fact, some of us envy ourneighbors who are not yet
disciples because they don'thave some higher power who will
in any way infringe upon theirauthenticity.
They don't have somebodycalling them to hold on to some
countercultural sexual ethics.
They don't have somebodycalling them to hold on to some
countercultural sexual ethics.
They don't have a God tellingthem what they should do with
(13:07):
their time and their money.
So we look at them.
We always envy thequote-unquote freedom they seem
to have.
And when we look out at ourworld, we don't see what Jesus
sees.
In fact, when we look out atour world, we don't see what our
world sees Right, because inthe New York Times, lauren
Jackson, in an article calledAmericans Haven't Found a
(13:29):
Satisfying Alternative toReligion, says this peer
research shows that religiouspeople report that they are
happier and healthier.
Now here's the double-click onthe healthier piece.
People who are actively engagedin their faith are less likely
to be depressed or to die bysuicide or alcoholism or cancer
(13:49):
or cardiovascular disease.
Going further, in a long-termstudy, doctors at Harvard found
that women who attend religiousservices once a week were 33%
less likely to die prematurelythan women who have never
attended Last one.
Religiously affiliatedAmericans are more likely to
feel gratitude, spiritual peaceand have a deep sense of
(14:11):
connection with humanity thanpeople without any religious
affiliation.
Our world is seeing that to bewithout jesus is to be harassed
and helpless.
Why can't we see it?
We want to see and be movedwith compassion, like Jesus.
What did Jesus see?
Look with me at the text again.
(14:31):
In verse 36, it says when hesaw the crowds, he had
compassion for them because theywere harassed and helpless,
like sheep without a shepherd.
These two words, harassed andhelpless, they're almost like
word pictures.
To be harassed, you could say,is when life kind of has you by
the throat.
(14:51):
To be helpless is like whenlife has you pinned down.
He's looking out and he'sseeing people that seem to be
something's got them by thethroat and they're pinned down
and it moves him with compassionand Jesus sees them as they are
.
And this is the heart ofwitness, not a missionary
strategy, not some training orequipping.
That's not where we start.
(15:12):
We do those things.
Where we start is touching theheart of compassion that Jesus
has for our neighbors who areharassed and helpless.
But what does Jesus think thatthey need?
Do they need to kind of lookinside and find their true
selves and then they won't be soharassed and helpless?
No, no, in fact, that lie, thatideology, is part of the
(15:32):
reasons our neighbor is harassedand helpless.
What Jesus thinks they need issome good leaders.
He says they're like sheepwithout a shepherd.
And so what does he do?
Well, my second point is thecommission of the king.
Look at verse 37.
Then Jesus said to hisdisciples the harvest is
(15:53):
plentiful, but the laborers arefew.
Therefore, pray earnestly tothe Lord of the harvest to send
out laborers into his harvest.
What I love about Jesus is hesees all of this and, rather
than being overwhelmed ordiscouraged, he sees an
opportunity and a problem.
The opportunity is the harvestis huge.
(16:15):
The problem is the laborers arefew.
Now you might look at this andgo the harvest is plentiful.
Jesus, really Like there's justpeople all around me and where
I live, work and play, justwaiting to hear about Jesus and
they're ready to like, jump onit.
Yes, that's exactly what Jesusis saying, and I experienced
(16:36):
that anecdotally, and I've gotnew research to show that that's
true too.
I've been living on thisresearch for like six months
since I read this.
This is amazing.
Listen to this.
66% of all US adults say thatthey have made a personal
commitment to Jesus that isstill important in their life
today.
66% of US adults commitment toJesus important in their life.
(16:58):
Now, listen, this is the partthat's really fun.
That's a 12% increase since2021.
Y'all, I don't know if youtrack with what that means.
This is evidence of what youcould call a spiritual awakening
in our cultural moment.
We're living in an incredibletime to be alive, what Jesus is
(17:20):
calling opportunity, that theharvest is plentiful.
I'm saying, yeah, we haveactually got research that this
is happening.
I mean to double click on thatnumber even more.
Among Gen Z men, commitment toJesus jumped 15 percentage
points between 2019 and 2025.
Millennial men were 19percentage points.
Why this is important there hasbeen a decline in people
(17:43):
committing themselves to Jesusfor decades now.
I mean, people were wonderingif the church in the US was ever
gonna recover from this.
And not only are we seeing thatdecline stop, we're seeing a
reversal, and a reversal amongthe people who are least
interested in Christianity inthe last generation young men.
This is good news.
This is Jesus' answer, beingreally clear, that the harvest
(18:06):
is plentiful.
It's happening in our midst andamong us.
I want to be ready, I want toget in on it.
What an exciting opportunity.
But there's a problem.
The problem is the laborers arefew.
The workers are minimal.
This is why we're doing aseries on bearing witness,
because this is a realsignificant issue, and now I'm
(18:29):
going to talk about some of thereasons next week.
But one of the reasons why Ithink the workers are few is
because we're so busy.
I've said for years that Ithink one of the primary
discipleship issues with thepeople of New City it's not
necessarily how you spend yourmoney or what you click on
online or the ways in which youtalk to your friends, it's
(18:49):
busyness.
Corrie Ten Boom says if thedevil can't make you bad, he'll
make you busy.
This is a real issue and it'sone of the things that prevents
us from being able to bearwitness to people about Jesus.
We just have so much going onin our lives Me too and so Jesus
tells us what's the answerTighten the screws of guilt and
(19:12):
shame Really like try harder,work better, no, no, no, it's
simpler than that.
Pray, pray.
Look at verse 38.
Therefore, that connects itright.
The huge harvest, the smallworkers, therefore, pray
earnestly to the Lord of theharvest to send out laborers
(19:34):
into his harvest.
I'm going to walk through thislike word for word, because this
verse is so important Prayearnestly, listen.
If the divine source of missionis the heart of Christ beating
with compassion for our world,then the human source of mission
is the heart of Christ beatingwith compassion for our world.
Then the human source ofmission is prayer meetings.
Like you just read the book ofActs, acts 1, acts 4, acts 13.
(19:58):
The church was born andsustained by prayer meetings.
That's why we pray everyWednesday for a couple hours.
That's why the church staffhere tithes our time in prayer
every week, because we reallybelieve this, that the work of
God has always been preceded inscripture and in history by
extraordinary unitedkingdom-focused prayer.
(20:21):
So let's give ourselves to it.
And so Jesus says prayearnestly, but who?
To whom?
To the Lord of the harvest.
I love that language.
To talk about God.
Now there's a saying this littlesidebar is only going to mean
something to a few of you, butbear with me.
There's a saying that goes worklike an Arminian, sleep like a
(20:43):
Calvinist.
There's another saying thatsays pray as if everything
depends on God and work as ifeverything depends on you.
I don't like either of thosethings.
Here's why If you believe thatGod is the Lord of the harvest,
then he cares more than anybodyabout his work in people's lives
(21:04):
.
So I would rather say work likea Calvinist, rest like a
Calvinist.
You do the work, god carriesthe weight.
What a gift.
It's so freeing when Jesus issaying that God is the Lord of
the harvest and everything we dois just jumping in on the
mission he's already up to inthe world.
God does not have a mission forhis church in the world.
(21:25):
God has a church for hismission in the world.
He has a church for his missionin the world.
He's already doing the thingand he's saying you want in,
it's your choice, you don't haveto.
You can do the boring Christianexistence of sitting on the
sidelines.
You totally can do that andyou'll be with Jesus for
eternity.
That's all right.
You could do that.
But if you want adventure, man,does God have it on offer for
you?
Join the Lord of the harvestand what he's up to in the world
(21:47):
.
That's the invitation of thistext.
And so he goes on.
He says we're asking the Lordof the harvest to send out
laborers.
Now that word send out is thesame word that shows up in verse
10, chapter 10, verse one.
Look at there.
10, verse one.
It says and he called to himhis 12 disciples and gave them
authority over unclean spiritsto cast them out, ekbalo.
(22:16):
What's going on here?
Why does God have to cast outworkers into the harvest, like
he's giving us authority to castout demons?
What is happening?
Well, I think God knows that inevery Christian church there
are people who know.
They know what's going on, theyknow the call in their life,
they know the commission of theKing.
But until the Holy Spiritlights a fire in their life to
see their friends and familymembers and co-workers who don't
(22:39):
know Jesus, to see them come toknow Him and enjoy Him, we've
got to pray God.
Would you cast them out?
Would you send them out intothe harvest?
Would you motivate them, stirthem up for an adventure?
I think that's why that word isused there, but don't gloss over
this to send out laborers intohis harvest, his harvest Again.
(23:07):
God's the one who is already atwork around us and we just get
to join in the mission.
So the question is, lord, howare you at work around me today,
like, what are you up to in thelives of the countless people I
see over the course of a week?
How are you already doingthings in your harvest?
I love it's the language.
The call here is not to go sow.
The language here is we don'thave enough people to reap.
(23:29):
The work's already been done.
We just got to go gather themin.
That's essentially the metaphorJesus is using.
So Paul in 1 Corinthians 3 saysI planted, apollos watered, but
God gave the growth.
The invitation is to befaithful, to bear witness to
Jesus and abandon the outcomesto the Lord of the harvest to do
(23:50):
what he does.
Now Jesus tells us not only topray, but then he tells us to go
where our best prayers wouldlead us.
The third and final point is thecall of the King.
Look at chapter 10, verse 1.
Chapter 10, verse 1 says andJesus called to him his 12
disciples and gave themauthority.
(24:12):
In verse 5, it says this these12 Jesus sent out.
Jesus called, and then heformed and then he sent his
disciples.
That's what he does in thistext and there's hints of the
harvest that Jesus has in thenames of these sent ones here.
Let's look at this more closely.
Look at verse 2.
(24:33):
It says the names of the 12apostles are these it says first
Simon, who is called Peter, andAndrew, his brother.
Jesus calls people to himselfthrough families.
If you know the story in John 1, andrew goes and finds Simon,
peter, his brother, and says hey, dude, I think we found the
Messiah.
My sister is the one whofaithfully bore witness to Jesus
(24:58):
in my life.
That's why I'm standing hereright now.
Through families, jesus callspeople to himself.
Some of you, it's your parentsor grandparents, some of you
just the recognition that yourdining room table might be the
most fruitful mission field inyour life.
But second, look at the nextgroup.
Here it says and James, the sonof Zebedee, and John, his
(25:19):
brother.
Jesus calls us through coworkers.
There's a little bit of astretch, bear with me.
In Mark 1, 19, it says thatthey were quote in their boat
mending the nets.
These are fishermen.
They're just doing their thingon their daily job and Jesus
comes along and calls them tohimself.
We have, reasonably, simon,peter and Simon and Andrew and
(25:41):
James and John.
They were both, they were allfishermen.
They were kind of co-workers.
They were partners together.
There's this way in which Jesusworks through our workplaces to
bear witness to Jesus, tohimself.
The third one Philip andBartholomew.
Jesus calls us throughfriendships.
Through friendships, philipbrings Bartholomew, who's also
known as Nathaniel, to Jesus inJohn 1.
(26:04):
And this is his beautiful butsimple invitation Come and see.
Come and see this guy.
You're not going to believe it,but they were friends and he
went and told his friend comeand see Jesus, come and see what
he looks like.
This is how Jesus calls peopleto himself, there and then and
here and now.
And so the principle here andwe're going to do more work on
(26:24):
this next week the principle issimply that the gospel spreads
naturally through networks ofrelationships.
One of the reasons why I'm socommitted to the fact that my
job as a pastor is to equip thesaints to do the work of
ministry.
It's because there are peoplein your network of relationships
that I will never meet, that Iwill never, even if I were to
(26:47):
meet them, have an open ear totalk to them about what Jesus
means in my life.
So, until the, I just want toput clericalism to death.
The fact that I'm the one whogets to do the work of ministry
and you all get to all get togive money and sit there and
watch.
That's not Jesus' method.
Jesus' method is that thesaints are spread throughout our
(27:08):
city bearing witness to him inall of your networks of
relationships, and that's how hecalls people to himself.
Look with me at verse one again.
It says and he called to himhis 12 disciples and he gave
them authority.
Verse 5, these 12 Jesus sentout.
We call form and send disciplemakers.
That's our mission here at NewCity and we like to think we get
(27:31):
it from Jesus.
And the reason why is becausewitness is not enough.
You see, we need not justwitness but disciple making.
That's what Jesus actually doeshere.
In 935, jesus does the Jesusstuff.
And then in 10, one throughseven, the disciples do the
Jesus stuff.
I'm borrowing that phrase fromJohn Wimber.
This is what I mean.
(27:52):
Look at 935.
It says this Jesus is quotehealing every disease and every
affliction.
Look at 10, one.
The disciples are to quote healevery disease and every
affliction.
Look at 10.1.
The disciples are to quote healevery disease and every
affliction.
Look again at 9.35.
Jesus is quote proclaiming thegospel of the kingdom.
Look at 10.7.
The disciples are to quoteproclaim as you go, saying the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Do you see how the disciplesmimic the mission of Jesus?
(28:15):
What I think is happening hereis Jesus is multiplying his life
through others.
He's still doing that today,like this is the genius of Jesus
.
He knew that even he himselfwas not enough for the whole
harvest.
The only way that the harvestthat this world-changing
(28:36):
revolution that he started inthe first century would actually
play out, the only way is if hecalled and formed and then sent
other people to continue doingthe work that he started doing.
This is why, in John 17, jesuscan say to the Father I
completed the work that youaccomplished me to do or gave me
to accomplish.
Wait what?
He didn't go to the cross yet,jesus why?
(28:57):
Because he passed on thismission to his disciples, to the
next generation and the nextgeneration and the next
generation.
And here we are, about 2,000years later, standing in that
true apostolic succession fromJesus through his apostles,
disciples to disciples, todisciples, till today, and we
get to join in and he invites usto share in what is an
(29:21):
incredible opportunity.
It's astonishing to me thatJesus staked the hopes of his
world revolution on these 12dudes and on you and me,
continuing it to this day.
I want to close by looking atverse seven.
It says this and proclaim asyou go I love that as you go, I
(29:42):
love that as you go, just asyou're doing your thing,
everyday life, with gospelintentionality and proclaim as
you go, saying the kingdom ofheaven is at hand.
What does that mean?
Well, last night I was coughinga lot while I was sleeping and
I reached over to my nightstandand I found my water and I took
it and I said behold, the wateris at hand.
That's not true, but you trackwith what I'm saying.
(30:06):
So for something to be at handmeans it's near enough to grab,
it's close, it's in proximity.
And so for the kingdom to be athand means it's reachable, it's
accessible.
The kingdom of God is God'scomprehensive and definitive
vindication of creation from thepower of evil.
That's what the kingdom is.
So in verse one it says and hecalled to his disciples, his 12
(30:26):
disciples, and gave themauthority over unclean spirits
to cast them out and to healevery disease and every
affliction.
You see, jesus came to conquerthe devil and to cure the world.
That's what he came to do, andhe's still doing it through us.
Let me tell you a quick story toclose.
A few years ago mybrother-in-law was at Barnes
(30:47):
Noble here on Colonial and hewas in the spirituality section
and he ran into a guy there,long, dark hair.
Guy's name was Christianforeshadowing, and Christian was
looking in the Easternmysticism section.
Now my brother-in-law alreadyknew that I had done some study
into Eastern mysticism so Icould understand it.
So he told Christian hey, man,you should meet my
(31:09):
brother-in-law, ben.
So we made this connection.
Christian and I began meetingup every week at Dandelion Cafe,
RIP, and we would sit down andwe would read 1 John together
and talk about Jesus.
And he would talk to me abouthow, you know, jesus was really
about aligning your chakras andthis, that and the other.
And I was like, no, he wasn't.
Actually, this is what he wasabout.
(31:29):
Look at the text.
And we had this pleasantrelationship back and forth.
But then a friend of mine,unbeknownst to him and
unbeknownst to me, was prayingone morning and since that, the
Holy Spirit said to him go tothis coffee shop and look for a
man with long dark hair.
Listen, if that makes younervous, he's not a Presbyterian
(31:51):
.
So the Holy Spirit can do thatwith him.
It's cool, it's cool, it's allright, it's fair game.
The Holy Ghost isn't bound inthat situation.
Okay, he's not Presbyterian.
So, my friend Cameron, he goesto this coffee shop.
Lo and behold, he sees a manwith long dark hair and he goes
up to him and says hey, I don'tknow if this is weird, but I was
(32:13):
praying this morning and Ithink I'm supposed to talk to
you.
It was my friend, christian.
So Cameron goes up and meetsthis guy, christian, and starts
talking to him, sharing Jesuswith him.
Cameron and I eventually makethe connection.
It was insane when we made theconnection.
Now, meanwhile, christian doesthe same thing with Cameron.
It's kind of this like new agey, I'll get a little Jesus, but I
want a little Buddha too, typething.
(32:34):
And until he goes to aayahuasca ceremony which is when
you take some psychedelics tohave a spiritually transcendent
experience goes to a ayahuascaceremony and his eyes are open
and he literally sees demonsclimbing all over the place and
it terrifies him.
It terrifies him Now.
Was he having a bad trip?
(32:54):
Or was he seeing reality forwhat it is?
I don't know.
But he literally leavesimmediately, goes home, blazing
his bed, shaking with terror,and he starts crying out to the
name of Jesus.
And these are his words.
A bright and warm light floodedmy room and I was able to calm
(33:15):
down and rest that night.
Christian goes to Cameron andtells Cameron the story and
Cameron leads him in repentanceand faith in King Jesus.
I wish it was me, it wasCameron.
It's all good, I'm not upsetabout it.
Evangelism's a team sport.
Here we go.
(33:37):
I tell you that story, becauseJesus is still about this work.
This is still what he's up toin the world conquering the
devil and curing the world'sills and he wants to work with
us and through us in thatjourney.
And so, listen, if you want alittle adventure, a lot of
adventure and a little danger,then I'm inviting you to hear
the call of this compassionateking into his compelling
(34:00):
commission.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, we thank you.
We thank you that you did notleave us to our own devices.
We thank you that you came fromheaven to earth to be with us,
to shape us, to change us, tocatch us up into your work in
the world.
Lord Jesus, would you, by yourspirit, now move, lead us, guide
(34:24):
us.
We want to bear witness to you.
We want to faithfully join inthe work that you're already up
to in the world.
You are our king.
Share your compassion with us.
We pray In your name, amen.
Hello everyone.
This is Pastor Damian.
You're listening to SermonAudio from New City, orlando.
At New City, we believe all ofus need all of Jesus for all of
life.
For more resources, visit ourwebsite at newcityorlandocom.
Thanks for listening.
Nadia Chong (00:20):
Your scripture reading from today is from
Matthew.
And Jesus went throughout allthe cities and villages teaching
in their synagogues andproclaiming the gospel of the
kingdom and healing everydisease and every affliction.
When he saw the crowds, he hadcompassion for them because they
were harassed and helpless,like sheep without a shepherd.
(00:41):
Then he said to the disciplesthe harvest is plentiful but the
laborers are few.
Therefore, pray earnestly tothe Lord of the harvest to send
out laborers into his harvest.
And he called to him his 12disciples and gave them
authority over unclean spiritsto cast them out and to heal
every disease and everyaffliction.
(01:04):
The names of the 12 apostles arethese first, simon, who is
called Peter, and Andrew, hisbrother.
James, the son of Zebedee, andJohn, his brother Philip and
Bartholomew.
Thomas and Matthew, the taxcollector.
James, the son of Alphaeus, andThaddeus.
Simon, the zealot, and Judas,iscariot, who betrayed him.
(01:25):
These twelve Jesus sent out,instructing them Go nowhere
among the Gentiles and enter notown of the Samaritans, but go
rather to the lost sheep of thehouse of Israel and proclaim as
you go, saying the kingdom ofheaven is at hand.
This is God's word.
Good morning.
My name is.
Rev. Benjamin Kandt (01:45):
Ben, this is God's word.
Good morning.
My name is Ben.
I'm a pastor here with New City.
I kind of my voice is on thefritz, I might have a little bit
of a cough, so that's because Ilive with three Petri dishes
that I call children, and so Iinvite you to pray for me, as
that the Lord would sustain myvoice as I preach this morning.
(02:06):
So today we're beginning a short, really quick two-part
miniseries called Bear Witness,and when Nate Claiborne heard
this, he decided to ask ChatGPTto come up with a rendition, a
graphic for us for this sermonseries, which looked like that
my favorite part is the world iswatching.
(02:27):
What will you say?
Chat GPT uses like intensity tomotivate people, apparently.
So okay, so this is not whatwe're talking about.
The word bear actually hasthree other meanings besides
large furry, carnivorous mammals.
To bear means to bring forth,like to bear fruit.
(02:50):
A tree bears fruit right.
To bear also means to bring,like you come bringing or
bearing gifts, you might say.
But to bear also means to kindof hold up under something to
endure without resistance, tokind of hold up under something
to endure without resistance,and all three of those meanings
are really important when wetalk about what it means to bear
(03:11):
witness to Jesus.
We need to be able to do allthree of those things, because
to bear witness to Jesus reallylooks like bearing a type of
fruit, bearing a gift called thegospel, and then bearing up the
weight of what it means toactually speak and tell other
people about Jesus.
And so we're going to look atMatthew 9, which is the
beginning.
The end of Matthew 9, beginningof Matthew 10 is the beginning
(03:32):
of what's called the missionarydiscourse of Jesus.
This is a significant passage inJesus's ministry and really
what I want to look at is I wantto look at what?
How does Jesus show us, how wecan bring forth witness from the
heart, so it doesn't feel likeit's this coercive thing that's
imposed on us that we ought todo but don't want to, but
something that emerges fromwithin.
(03:54):
What does that actually mean?
Now I define the word bear foryou, but I also should define
the word witness.
In Acts 4.20, it says this theysaid, for we cannot but speak
of what we have seen and heard.
Now, in that way, a witness issimilar when you're witnessing
to Jesus, you're witnessing in acourtroom, you're speaking,
you're telling about what youhave seen and heard.
(04:15):
So I wanna take the pressureoff for a moment.
When I talk about bearingwitness to Jesus, I don't mean
you have to speak the entiretyof the gospel every time you're
talking to somebody.
What I mean is there'ssomething significant just to
tell the testimony, to witnessto.
What have you seen and heardabout Jesus in your own life, in
our cultural moment?
A person's personal testimony,their own story, you can't
(04:39):
refute it.
And so there's a power to beingable to bear witness to Jesus
in that way.
Now, quick caveat.
And so there's a power to beingable to bear witness to Jesus
in that way.
Now, quick caveat.
I came to know Jesus through acampus ministry, and if you
wanted to go from junior varsityto varsity in my campus
ministry, it meant that you wentout and you shared your faith
with people.
Now, by temperament andpersonality, I'm an extrovert.
(05:00):
I've never had a hard timetalking to people.
I like a good verbal joustevery now and again.
Argument is like a good oldAmerican pastime for me.
So I never had a hard timetelling people about Jesus.
It was not a challenge.
But I want you to hear me saythat was mostly natural, not
supernatural, and digging intothis text, I realized the true
(05:23):
motive for mission.
Digging into this text, Irealized the true motive for
mission.
Believe it or not, it's notChristian status symbols.
The true motive for missionwe're going to see in the text
from Jesus himself.
So if you have a Bible or adevice or the worship of God,
get Matthew 9 and 10 in front ofyou and we're going to look at
this together.
The first point I have for youis the compassion of the King.
(05:43):
The compassion of the King.
Verse 35, says this and Jesuswent throughout all the cities
and villages.
Now I'm going to pause there.
Jesus in the gospels was a manon the move and the early church
was actually really impressedwith something in this text.
The early church picked up onthe fact that Jesus was humble
enough to go to the cities andthe villages, to Orlando and
(06:07):
Bysslot.
He went to the Manhattan andthe Manaheim I don't even know
if that's a real city, but likehe went to the places that
nobody really.
He goes to the places wherepeople wouldn't typically go.
Why?
Well, because Jesus reallybelieved that everyone, rich and
poor, important andunimpressive needed what he had
(06:27):
to offer.
And what does that mean?
Around here.
We often say all of us need allof Jesus for all of life.
All of us do, those in thecities and those in the villages
.
Well, what was it that Jesuscame to offer?
Look at verse 35 with me.
It goes like this he wasteaching in their synagogues and
proclaiming the gospel of thekingdom and healing every
(06:49):
disease and every affliction.
What does Christian mission looklike according to Jesus?
Well, mission is both word anddeed.
It's both gospel proclamationand kingdom demonstration Around
here.
We call it work and witness.
It's both of those thingstogether.
And we live in an interestingcultural moment to be Christians
(07:12):
where there was a divorcewithin the Christian church of
sorts, and in the divorce itlooks like this In the divorce,
bible-believing Christians gotto hold onto things like
evangelism those people werecalled the fundamentalists.
And the culturally engagedChristians got to hold onto
deeds of justice and mercy.
(07:33):
Those people were called themodernists.
So there was this split.
And then in the middle therecame this new group in the early
1900s called the evangelicals,and their goal was to hold these
two together people like JohnStott and Francis Schaeffer and
they believed what God hasjoined together.
Let no man separate.
Word and deed go together.
(07:54):
They're inseparable in gospelwitness and that's why Jesus
goes around teaching and healing.
He does both.
He's proclaiming the kingdomand then he's demonstrating the
kingdom, and so here at New City, we will be about both work and
witness.
They both matter if we're goingto be true witnesses to who
Jesus is and his coming kingdom.
(08:15):
Now, well-meaning people saythings like this preach the
gospel at all times and, whennecessary, use words.
But as much as that sounds likea good tweet, it's bad theology
.
And the reason why it's badtheology is to say preach the
gospel at all times.
If necessary, use words.
It's like me saying to you hey,can you give me your phone
(08:36):
number?
If necessary, use digits.
The gospel, by definition, isnews.
It's a message.
Now, if the gospel was goodadvice, you could show the
gospel by your actions and thenyou could just say do what we
are doing.
But the gospel is not goodadvice, it's good news.
It's fundamentally about JesusChrist and what he has done and
(09:00):
what that means for us.
And so people kind of meaningwell will see a picture of
Christians feeding the poor orputting shoes on orphans and be
like that's the gospel.
No, it's not.
It's a demonstration of thegospel 100%.
But the gospel is the good news.
It's the good news of the Kingof Kings has come into your
(09:22):
hometown and he right now isoffering you access to his
saving reign through his deathand resurrection.
And anybody can get in on thisif you'll simply turn to him and
trust in him.
That's the gospel.
That is the gospel proclamation, the good news, not merely good
advice.
This matters for Christianwitness.
This matters for our mission,because that gospel is such good
(09:46):
news that it often motivatesprofound works of mercy and
justice.
So what is that motive formission?
What is the heart of witness?
Well, look with me again at thetext, verse 36.
When Jesus saw the crowds, hehad compassion for them.
40 times in the gospels Jesusis mentioned looking at people
(10:12):
and most of those times youshould go through and underline
this in your Bible when you seethis.
It says and Jesus saw, and hehad compassion, something about
Jesus seeing people around him.
It moved him in his inner being.
There's a scholar from a fewgenerations ago named BB
Warfield who wrote an articlecalled the Emotional Life of Our
(10:34):
Lord.
You can find it online for free.
It's worth the read.
And he points out that thenumber one emotion that Jesus
has shown experiencing feelingin the gospels is compassion.
Not low-grade irritation, notfrustration, not anger, because
(10:55):
people can't get in on with theagenda already Compassion.
Bb Warfield goes on to sayJesus' whole life was a mission
of mercy.
This is the heart of Jesus.
Why does this matter?
Well, the whole reason whythere's any witness at all is
because Jesus looks out on theworld and he's moved with
(11:16):
compassion.
That's the motive for mission.
That's why we do what we dowhen we go and tell people about
Jesus is because the heart ofJesus is moved for those people.
Now, compassion, calm passion,means to suffer with.
It's this fellow feeling thatJesus has for people who are
distraught and beaten down andgoing through difficulty.
(11:39):
The motive for mission is notfear or guilt, or shame or anger
because of the evil around us.
The motive for mission is notfear or guilt or shame or anger
because of the evil around us.
The motive for mission is toshare in, participate in the
compassion of Jesus for ourworld.
Now my real invitation in thissermon I've got two things the
kind of action steps I'm goingto invite you this week to ask
(12:03):
Jesus to let him see what hesees and feel what he feels
about the people around you.
That's the invitation, that'sthe action step.
You want to know what is the?
What are you going to do afterthis?
It's not you got to go give thefour spiritual laws to somebody
that doesn't know Jesus.
It's not that yet Next week.
But it is Jesus.
Would you just let me see whatyou see and feel what you feel
(12:24):
for the people around me.
I want you to have a heart ofcompassion, like Jesus has, and
that that would be the motivefor which you would speak to
people.
Because I think one of thereasons we don't talk to our
neighbors about Jesus is becausewe look at them.
Some of them, you know, middleclass, well-adjusted, seemingly
doing fine on their own, and wedon't think they really need
(12:47):
much.
In fact, some of us envy ourneighbors who are not yet
disciples because they don'thave some higher power who will
in any way infringe upon theirauthenticity.
They don't have somebodycalling them to hold on to some
countercultural sexual ethics.
They don't have somebodycalling them to hold on to some
countercultural sexual ethics.
They don't have a God tellingthem what they should do with
(13:07):
their time and their money.
So we look at them.
We always envy thequote-unquote freedom they seem
to have.
And when we look out at ourworld, we don't see what Jesus
sees.
In fact, when we look out atour world, we don't see what our
world sees Right, because inthe New York Times, lauren
Jackson, in an article calledAmericans Haven't Found a
(13:29):
Satisfying Alternative toReligion, says this peer
research shows that religiouspeople report that they are
happier and healthier.
Now here's the double-click onthe healthier piece.
People who are actively engagedin their faith are less likely
to be depressed or to die bysuicide or alcoholism or cancer
(13:49):
or cardiovascular disease.
Going further, in a long-termstudy, doctors at Harvard found
that women who attend religiousservices once a week were 33%
less likely to die prematurelythan women who have never
attended Last one.
Religiously affiliatedAmericans are more likely to
feel gratitude, spiritual peaceand have a deep sense of
(14:11):
connection with humanity thanpeople without any religious
affiliation.
Our world is seeing that to bewithout jesus is to be harassed
and helpless.
Why can't we see it?
We want to see and be movedwith compassion, like Jesus.
What did Jesus see?
Look with me at the text again.
(14:31):
In verse 36, it says when hesaw the crowds, he had
compassion for them because theywere harassed and helpless,
like sheep without a shepherd.
These two words, harassed andhelpless, they're almost like
word pictures.
To be harassed, you could say,is when life kind of has you by
the throat.
(14:51):
To be helpless is like whenlife has you pinned down.
He's looking out and he'sseeing people that seem to be
something's got them by thethroat and they're pinned down
and it moves him with compassionand Jesus sees them as they are
.
And this is the heart ofwitness, not a missionary
strategy, not some training orequipping.
That's not where we start.
(15:12):
We do those things.
Where we start is touching theheart of compassion that Jesus
has for our neighbors who areharassed and helpless.
But what does Jesus think thatthey need?
Do they need to kind of lookinside and find their true
selves and then they won't be soharassed and helpless?
No, no, in fact, that lie, thatideology, is part of the
(15:32):
reasons our neighbor is harassedand helpless.
What Jesus thinks they need issome good leaders.
He says they're like sheepwithout a shepherd.
And so what does he do?
Well, my second point is thecommission of the king.
Look at verse 37.
Then Jesus said to hisdisciples the harvest is
(15:53):
plentiful, but the laborers arefew.
Therefore, pray earnestly tothe Lord of the harvest to send
out laborers into his harvest.
What I love about Jesus is hesees all of this and, rather
than being overwhelmed ordiscouraged, he sees an
opportunity and a problem.
The opportunity is the harvestis huge.
(16:15):
The problem is the laborers arefew.
Now you might look at this andgo the harvest is plentiful.
Jesus, really Like there's justpeople all around me and where
I live, work and play, justwaiting to hear about Jesus and
they're ready to like, jump onit.
Yes, that's exactly what Jesusis saying, and I experienced
(16:36):
that anecdotally, and I've gotnew research to show that that's
true too.
I've been living on thisresearch for like six months
since I read this.
This is amazing.
Listen to this.
66% of all US adults say thatthey have made a personal
commitment to Jesus that isstill important in their life
today.
66% of US adults commitment toJesus important in their life.
(16:58):
Now, listen, this is the partthat's really fun.
That's a 12% increase since2021.
Y'all, I don't know if youtrack with what that means.
This is evidence of what youcould call a spiritual awakening
in our cultural moment.
We're living in an incredibletime to be alive, what Jesus is
(17:20):
calling opportunity, that theharvest is plentiful.
I'm saying, yeah, we haveactually got research that this
is happening.
I mean to double click on thatnumber even more.
Among Gen Z men, commitment toJesus jumped 15 percentage
points between 2019 and 2025.
Millennial men were 19percentage points.
Why this is important there hasbeen a decline in people
(17:43):
committing themselves to Jesusfor decades now.
I mean, people were wonderingif the church in the US was ever
gonna recover from this.
And not only are we seeing thatdecline stop, we're seeing a
reversal, and a reversal amongthe people who are least
interested in Christianity inthe last generation young men.
This is good news.
This is Jesus' answer, beingreally clear, that the harvest
(18:06):
is plentiful.
It's happening in our midst andamong us.
I want to be ready, I want toget in on it.
What an exciting opportunity.
But there's a problem.
The problem is the laborers arefew.
The workers are minimal.
This is why we're doing aseries on bearing witness,
because this is a realsignificant issue, and now I'm
(18:29):
going to talk about some of thereasons next week.
But one of the reasons why Ithink the workers are few is
because we're so busy.
I've said for years that Ithink one of the primary
discipleship issues with thepeople of New City it's not
necessarily how you spend yourmoney or what you click on
online or the ways in which youtalk to your friends, it's
(18:49):
busyness.
Corrie Ten Boom says if thedevil can't make you bad, he'll
make you busy.
This is a real issue and it'sone of the things that prevents
us from being able to bearwitness to people about Jesus.
We just have so much going onin our lives Me too and so Jesus
tells us what's the answerTighten the screws of guilt and
(19:12):
shame Really like try harder,work better, no, no, no, it's
simpler than that.
Pray, pray.
Look at verse 38.
Therefore, that connects itright.
The huge harvest, the smallworkers, therefore, pray
earnestly to the Lord of theharvest to send out laborers
(19:34):
into his harvest.
I'm going to walk through thislike word for word, because this
verse is so important Prayearnestly, listen.
If the divine source of missionis the heart of Christ beating
with compassion for our world,then the human source of mission
is the heart of Christ beatingwith compassion for our world.
Then the human source ofmission is prayer meetings.
Like you just read the book ofActs, acts 1, acts 4, acts 13.
(19:58):
The church was born andsustained by prayer meetings.
That's why we pray everyWednesday for a couple hours.
That's why the church staffhere tithes our time in prayer
every week, because we reallybelieve this, that the work of
God has always been preceded inscripture and in history by
extraordinary unitedkingdom-focused prayer.
(20:21):
So let's give ourselves to it.
And so Jesus says prayearnestly, but who?
To whom?
To the Lord of the harvest.
I love that language.
To talk about God.
Now there's a saying this littlesidebar is only going to mean
something to a few of you, butbear with me.
There's a saying that goes worklike an Arminian, sleep like a
(20:43):
Calvinist.
There's another saying thatsays pray as if everything
depends on God and work as ifeverything depends on you.
I don't like either of thosethings.
Here's why If you believe thatGod is the Lord of the harvest,
then he cares more than anybodyabout his work in people's lives
(21:04):
.
So I would rather say work likea Calvinist, rest like a
Calvinist.
You do the work, god carriesthe weight.
What a gift.
It's so freeing when Jesus issaying that God is the Lord of
the harvest and everything we dois just jumping in on the
mission he's already up to inthe world.
God does not have a mission forhis church in the world.
(21:25):
God has a church for hismission in the world.
He has a church for his missionin the world.
He's already doing the thingand he's saying you want in,
it's your choice, you don't haveto.
You can do the boring Christianexistence of sitting on the
sidelines.
You totally can do that andyou'll be with Jesus for
eternity.
That's all right.
You could do that.
But if you want adventure, man,does God have it on offer for
you?
Join the Lord of the harvestand what he's up to in the world
(21:47):
.
That's the invitation of thistext.
And so he goes on.
He says we're asking the Lordof the harvest to send out
laborers.
Now that word send out is thesame word that shows up in verse
10, chapter 10, verse one.
Look at there.
10, verse one.
It says and he called to himhis 12 disciples and gave them
authority over unclean spiritsto cast them out, ekbalo.
(22:16):
What's going on here?
Why does God have to cast outworkers into the harvest, like
he's giving us authority to castout demons?
What is happening?
Well, I think God knows that inevery Christian church there
are people who know.
They know what's going on, theyknow the call in their life,
they know the commission of theKing.
But until the Holy Spiritlights a fire in their life to
see their friends and familymembers and co-workers who don't
(22:39):
know Jesus, to see them come toknow Him and enjoy Him, we've
got to pray God.
Would you cast them out?
Would you send them out intothe harvest?
Would you motivate them, stirthem up for an adventure?
I think that's why that word isused there, but don't gloss over
this to send out laborers intohis harvest, his harvest Again.
(23:07):
God's the one who is already atwork around us and we just get
to join in the mission.
So the question is, lord, howare you at work around me today,
like, what are you up to in thelives of the countless people I
see over the course of a week?
How are you already doingthings in your harvest?
I love it's the language.
The call here is not to go sow.
The language here is we don'thave enough people to reap.
(23:29):
The work's already been done.
We just got to go gather themin.
That's essentially the metaphorJesus is using.
So Paul in 1 Corinthians 3 saysI planted, apollos watered, but
God gave the growth.
The invitation is to befaithful, to bear witness to
Jesus and abandon the outcomesto the Lord of the harvest to do
(23:50):
what he does.
Now Jesus tells us not only topray, but then he tells us to go
where our best prayers wouldlead us.
The third and final point is thecall of the King.
Look at chapter 10, verse 1.
Chapter 10, verse 1 says andJesus called to him his 12
disciples and gave themauthority.
(24:12):
In verse 5, it says this these12 Jesus sent out.
Jesus called, and then heformed and then he sent his
disciples.
That's what he does in thistext and there's hints of the
harvest that Jesus has in thenames of these sent ones here.
Let's look at this more closely.
Look at verse 2.
(24:33):
It says the names of the 12apostles are these it says first
Simon, who is called Peter, andAndrew, his brother.
Jesus calls people to himselfthrough families.
If you know the story in John 1, andrew goes and finds Simon,
peter, his brother, and says hey, dude, I think we found the
Messiah.
My sister is the one whofaithfully bore witness to Jesus
(24:58):
in my life.
That's why I'm standing hereright now.
Through families, jesus callspeople to himself.
Some of you, it's your parentsor grandparents, some of you
just the recognition that yourdining room table might be the
most fruitful mission field inyour life.
But second, look at the nextgroup.
Here it says and James, the sonof Zebedee, and John, his
(25:19):
brother.
Jesus calls us through coworkers.
There's a little bit of astretch, bear with me.
In Mark 1, 19, it says thatthey were quote in their boat
mending the nets.
These are fishermen.
They're just doing their thingon their daily job and Jesus
comes along and calls them tohimself.
We have, reasonably, simon,peter and Simon and Andrew and
(25:41):
James and John.
They were both, they were allfishermen.
They were kind of co-workers.
They were partners together.
There's this way in which Jesusworks through our workplaces to
bear witness to Jesus, tohimself.
The third one Philip andBartholomew.
Jesus calls us throughfriendships.
Through friendships, philipbrings Bartholomew, who's also
known as Nathaniel, to Jesus inJohn 1.
(26:04):
And this is his beautiful butsimple invitation Come and see.
Come and see this guy.
You're not going to believe it,but they were friends and he
went and told his friend comeand see Jesus, come and see what
he looks like.
This is how Jesus calls peopleto himself, there and then and
here and now.
And so the principle here andwe're going to do more work on
(26:24):
this next week the principle issimply that the gospel spreads
naturally through networks ofrelationships.
One of the reasons why I'm socommitted to the fact that my
job as a pastor is to equip thesaints to do the work of
ministry.
It's because there are peoplein your network of relationships
that I will never meet, that Iwill never, even if I were to
(26:47):
meet them, have an open ear totalk to them about what Jesus
means in my life.
So, until the, I just want toput clericalism to death.
The fact that I'm the one whogets to do the work of ministry
and you all get to all get togive money and sit there and
watch.
That's not Jesus' method.
Jesus' method is that thesaints are spread throughout our
(27:08):
city bearing witness to him inall of your networks of
relationships, and that's how hecalls people to himself.
Look with me at verse one again.
It says and he called to himhis 12 disciples and he gave
them authority.
Verse 5, these 12 Jesus sentout.
We call form and send disciplemakers.
That's our mission here at NewCity and we like to think we get
(27:31):
it from Jesus.
And the reason why is becausewitness is not enough.
You see, we need not justwitness but disciple making.
That's what Jesus actually doeshere.
In 935, jesus does the Jesusstuff.
And then in 10, one throughseven, the disciples do the
Jesus stuff.
I'm borrowing that phrase fromJohn Wimber.
This is what I mean.
(27:52):
Look at 935.
It says this Jesus is quotehealing every disease and every
affliction.
Look at 10, one.
The disciples are to quote healevery disease and every
affliction.
Look at 10.1.
The disciples are to quote healevery disease and every
affliction.
Look again at 9.35.
Jesus is quote proclaiming thegospel of the kingdom.
Look at 10.7.
The disciples are to quoteproclaim as you go, saying the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Do you see how the disciplesmimic the mission of Jesus?
(28:15):
What I think is happening hereis Jesus is multiplying his life
through others.
He's still doing that today,like this is the genius of Jesus
.
He knew that even he himselfwas not enough for the whole
harvest.
The only way that the harvestthat this world-changing
(28:36):
revolution that he started inthe first century would actually
play out, the only way is if hecalled and formed and then sent
other people to continue doingthe work that he started doing.
This is why, in John 17, jesuscan say to the Father I
completed the work that youaccomplished me to do or gave me
to accomplish.
Wait what?
He didn't go to the cross yet,jesus why?
(28:57):
Because he passed on thismission to his disciples, to the
next generation and the nextgeneration and the next
generation.
And here we are, about 2,000years later, standing in that
true apostolic succession fromJesus through his apostles,
disciples to disciples, todisciples, till today, and we
get to join in and he invites usto share in what is an
(29:21):
incredible opportunity.
It's astonishing to me thatJesus staked the hopes of his
world revolution on these 12dudes and on you and me,
continuing it to this day.
I want to close by looking atverse seven.
It says this and proclaim asyou go I love that as you go, I
(29:42):
love that as you go, just asyou're doing your thing,
everyday life, with gospelintentionality and proclaim as
you go, saying the kingdom ofheaven is at hand.
What does that mean?
Well, last night I was coughinga lot while I was sleeping and
I reached over to my nightstandand I found my water and I took
it and I said behold, the wateris at hand.
That's not true, but you trackwith what I'm saying.
(30:06):
So for something to be at handmeans it's near enough to grab,
it's close, it's in proximity.
And so for the kingdom to be athand means it's reachable, it's
accessible.
The kingdom of God is God'scomprehensive and definitive
vindication of creation from thepower of evil.
That's what the kingdom is.
So in verse one it says and hecalled to his disciples, his 12
(30:26):
disciples, and gave themauthority over unclean spirits
to cast them out and to healevery disease and every
affliction.
You see, jesus came to conquerthe devil and to cure the world.
That's what he came to do, andhe's still doing it through us.
Let me tell you a quick story toclose.
A few years ago mybrother-in-law was at Barnes
(30:47):
Noble here on Colonial and hewas in the spirituality section
and he ran into a guy there,long, dark hair.
Guy's name was Christianforeshadowing, and Christian was
looking in the Easternmysticism section.
Now my brother-in-law alreadyknew that I had done some study
into Eastern mysticism so Icould understand it.
So he told Christian hey, man,you should meet my
(31:09):
brother-in-law, ben.
So we made this connection.
Christian and I began meetingup every week at Dandelion Cafe,
RIP, and we would sit down andwe would read 1 John together
and talk about Jesus.
And he would talk to me abouthow, you know, jesus was really
about aligning your chakras andthis, that and the other.
And I was like, no, he wasn't.
Actually, this is what he wasabout.
(31:29):
Look at the text.
And we had this pleasantrelationship back and forth.
But then a friend of mine,unbeknownst to him and
unbeknownst to me, was prayingone morning and since that, the
Holy Spirit said to him go tothis coffee shop and look for a
man with long dark hair.
Listen, if that makes younervous, he's not a Presbyterian
(31:51):
.
So the Holy Spirit can do thatwith him.
It's cool, it's cool, it's allright, it's fair game.
The Holy Ghost isn't bound inthat situation.
Okay, he's not Presbyterian.
So, my friend Cameron, he goesto this coffee shop.
Lo and behold, he sees a manwith long dark hair and he goes
up to him and says hey, I don'tknow if this is weird, but I was
(32:13):
praying this morning and Ithink I'm supposed to talk to
you.
It was my friend, christian.
So Cameron goes up and meetsthis guy, christian, and starts
talking to him, sharing Jesuswith him.
Cameron and I eventually makethe connection.
It was insane when we made theconnection.
Now, meanwhile, christian doesthe same thing with Cameron.
It's kind of this like new agey, I'll get a little Jesus, but I
want a little Buddha too, typething.
(32:34):
And until he goes to aayahuasca ceremony which is when
you take some psychedelics tohave a spiritually transcendent
experience goes to a ayahuascaceremony and his eyes are open
and he literally sees demonsclimbing all over the place and
it terrifies him.
It terrifies him Now.
Was he having a bad trip?
(32:54):
Or was he seeing reality forwhat it is?
I don't know.
But he literally leavesimmediately, goes home, blazing
his bed, shaking with terror,and he starts crying out to the
name of Jesus.
And these are his words.
A bright and warm light floodedmy room and I was able to calm
(33:15):
down and rest that night.
Christian goes to Cameron andtells Cameron the story and
Cameron leads him in repentanceand faith in King Jesus.
I wish it was me, it wasCameron.
It's all good, I'm not upsetabout it.
Evangelism's a team sport.
Here we go.
(33:37):
I tell you that story, becauseJesus is still about this work.
This is still what he's up toin the world conquering the
devil and curing the world'sills and he wants to work with
us and through us in thatjourney.
And so, listen, if you want alittle adventure, a lot of
adventure and a little danger,then I'm inviting you to hear
the call of this compassionateking into his compelling
(34:00):
commission.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, we thank you.
We thank you that you did notleave us to our own devices.
We thank you that you came fromheaven to earth to be with us,
to shape us, to change us, tocatch us up into your work in
the world.
Lord Jesus, would you, by yourspirit, now move, lead us, guide
(34:24):
us.
We want to bear witness to you.
We want to faithfully join inthe work that you're already up
to in the world.
You are our king.
Share your compassion with us.
We pray In your name, amen.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com