Well, if you have your copy of God's Word, I would invite you to turn back with me to Matthew chapter 9, which will be our text this morning. And as you are turning, let me just say how grateful I am to you all for this privilege of worshiping with you. I thank God for Pastor Theo and for his leadership in the Central Florida Presbytery. One of the things I love about being Presbyterian is that we are a connectional body. This is not Pastor Theo's church. It's not my church. This is Christ's church. And we are connected as one body to one head, the Lord Jesus Christ. And as Christians, and as Presbyterians, we want to express that solidarity we have in the gospel. And one way we do that is by serving together in the Presbyterian Church in America and in the Central Florida Presbytery. And so that's why I'm able to come here today and really continue the gospel work that Pastor Theo does week in and week out among you. I hope you know how blessed you are to have a pastor who loves God, loves His Word, and who clearly loves you. I also bring warm greetings from Ligonier Ministries and Reformation Bible College. I know many of you are aware of Ligonier and of the ministry of the late Dr. R.C. Sproul. Ligonier exists really to help as many people as possible to know the holiness of God. And we do that by providing resources, discipleship material, for Christians and churches around the world. And one way that we help disciple people is with a college. Some of you may not realize that one of the last things that Dr. Sproul did was found a college in 2011, Reformation Bible College, and it's on the campus of Ligonier and St. Andrew's Chapel and Reformation Bible College. If you are ever in North Orlando, in Sanford, Florida, Please come and visit us. We are a small campus and we have a very specific focus. We really want to focus our energies on theological education for undergraduates. Dr. Sproul's ministry very much was trying to fill the gap between seminary and Sunday school. And one way you do that is train up new leaders and focus on that very important demographic of 18 to 22-year-olds. And so there at RBC, we have about 200 students who are eager to study God's Word and theology and history and literature and philosophy. Many of them are preparing for a life as educators and servants in Christ's church, as well as Bible translators and missionaries. And so if you are interested in RBC, I would certainly love to speak with you about it, but we are grateful to God to partner together in the work of the ministry of the gospel. Well, we're here today not to talk about Ligonier, not to talk about RBC, but to talk about the Lord Jesus Christ. Is there any better topic in all the world? And I want to think with you today about not just the ministry of Christ, but the person of Christ and His ministry among you here at Grace Presbyterian Church. I want to begin with a thought experiment. If you were to describe the Lord Jesus Christ, how would you describe Him? If you had to use a word or a phrase to describe His ministry among you, how would you describe Him to someone? Let me encourage you to do this at lunch today, even you children here. I want you to ask your parents, how would you describe the ministry of Jesus? Parents, ask your kiddos. What word? One word. Give them a really hard test here. Give them one word to describe Jesus Christ and his ministry here at Grace Presbyterian Church. How would you describe him? Maybe you would say that he is a humble servant. If you've been listening to the catechisms this morning, you might say, well, Jesus is an anointed prophet, a faithful priest, an exalted king. And certainly those are all good biblical ways to describe the ministry of Jesus Christ. All of these descriptions portray aspects of Christ's work, His ministry as the mediator between God and us. But perhaps the best description that conveys the heart of Jesus in his ministry to you is this word that is found right here in Matthew chapter nine, that Jesus is a compassionate savior. He has a ministry of compassion to you. I wonder if you think of Jesus in that light. In all of his exaltation, in all of his glory, in all of his majesty, do you think of Jesus as a compassionate savior? You see, in the incarnation, the Son of God not only took upon himself human flesh, The Son of God took upon Himself human feelings." Is it okay for a Calvinist to think about feelings? We're stodgy Presbyterians. We're cold-hearted. We don't talk about mushy emotions. And yet a moment's reflection. will help you realize that Jesus himself consistently exhibits all human sinless emotions. This precious truth has actually been expounded by Christians throughout the ages. And if you just think I'm being a little too touchy-feely this morning, I would bring to your attention a very famous essay written by none other than Benjamin Breckenridge Warfield. Now, that is a name, isn't it? And he was one of the greatest American Presbyterian theologians in all of our history. He taught for many years at Princeton Theological Seminary, and he wrote a very important essay titled, The Emotional Life of Our Lord. Here's one of the greatest New Testament scholars, greatest theologians America has ever produced. And he wrote a little essay titled, The Emotional Life of Our Lord. And he said this. It belongs to the truth of our Lord's humanity that He was subject to all sinless human emotions." That's Benjamin Warfield. Now, don't take my word for it. Don't take Warfield's word for it. I want you to consider that a witness of the New Testament itself all throughout The New Testament and the Gospels, we see that Jesus exhibits a range of emotions in relation to his people. And so, for example, in Luke chapter 10, verse 21, Jesus prays to his heavenly father because of the joy he experiences in the Holy Spirit. And the occasion was his disciples brought news to him of their ministry. And then Jesus in the Holy Spirit rejoiced before his Heavenly Father. The ministry of the disciples was an occasion for Jesus to experience joy. Then in Mark chapter 10, Mark chapter 10 verse 14, Jesus is indignant when disciples hinder little children from coming to him. Jesus was indignant because he wanted children to have access to him. Little children today, boys and girls, do you know that Jesus delights when you come to him? He rejoices when you come and you bring your prayers and your praises to him. And Jesus was indignant when the disciples kept the children from him. Then in John chapter 10, verse 33, Jesus weeps over the grave of his friend, Lazarus, even in the knowledge of his resurrection. In John 11, 35, we have those beautiful and poignant words, the shortest text in all of scripture, Jesus wept. It's certainly appropriate to weep in the face of death. And then, of course, the greatest example of all is in Matthew 27, verse 46, where Jesus cries in agony in his moment of dereliction, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? So Jesus clearly throughout the Gospels is exhibiting profound and deep and true and right emotions as he relates to his people. Because throughout his earthly ministry, he experiences the full range of human emotions like love and joy and anger and sorrow. But if we had to pinpoint just one word that described his emotional life, toward his people, in his ministry toward them, I would actually propose this word compassion. It encapsulates his heart in his ministry toward us, in his ministry in his kingdom, in his ministry toward his sheep, and in his ministry toward the world. Here we see the compassion of Jesus exhibited in his kingdom. Here in verse 35 of Matthew chapter 9. Matthew chapter 9 verse 35, Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. And why did he do that? It's because he had compassion on them. Now here in Matthew 9.35 we have a summary of the public ministry of Jesus. So if you want to know what did Jesus' ministry look like, this is a summary of it. It encapsulates His work in Galilee. It actually provides a parallel to an earlier statement at the end of Matthew chapter 4. You have a very similar summary statement at the beginning of his Galilean ministry, and then here at Matthew 9, you have another summary of his public ministry. And so, Matthew 4, the end, to Matthew 9 at the end, you have a summary of Jesus' kingdom ministry. And what comes right in the middle of that? But the longest sermon we have recorded in all the Bible from the lips of Jesus, and that is the Sermon on the Mount. And so here in Matthew 9, we have this summary text of the kingdom ministry of Jesus. And you see his heart in action with the verbs that are used here in verse 35. Notice here, Jesus went, he taught, he preached, and he healed. That was the sum total of his ministry. He went, he taught, he proclaimed, he healed. Here we have a theology of kingdom ministry at work. Jesus went. We're told here in verse 35 that he visited, he went to all the cities and the villages. You might think of this as representing the entire scope of Jesus' ministry. Jesus not only went into urban centers, he went into the outlying communities. He not only went into downtown Orlando, he went out into bedroom communities like Ocala. That's the basic point here. He went into the highways and byways and compelled as many people as possible to come into the kingdom. And so when you read through Matthew's gospel, you see him going to Capernaum, Gadara, Chorazin, Bethsaida. He ministers all throughout the regions in Galilee, like Ocala, like Eustace, like Deberry, like Orlando, like you get the point. He continues to go to urban centers and rural communities and bringing the message of the kingdom to all he meets. He goes, just having a friend from Rafiki here today, urging you to support the work in Africa. Some of you may need to go. The people of God are people on a move. We have a savior, right, who traveled among us and who went into communities bringing the good news of the kingdom. He went. Then notice here, he not only goes, but he teaches. Everywhere he went, he taught. in their synagogues, as we're told here in verse 35. He went into their places of worship, and he taught them from the word of God, from the law, from the prophets, from the Psalms. He showed how all of Scripture is fulfilled in him, and did you know that? You can read the Law, the Prophets, the Writings, the Gospels, the Epistles, and the Apocalypse. From Genesis to Revelation, all of it is fulfilled in Jesus. And Christ went into the synagogues, much like I am coming into this place of worship today, and He opened up the Scripture and showed how all of God's Word is fulfilled in Him, and that is our job. As a Christian church, as Christian people, we are to teach all the Bible to all of God's people and show how Christ is the fulfillment of all that God teaches. That's our job. We do not withhold the Word of God from anyone. All the Bible for all of God's people all the time. That's why we're committed to Christian education in places like Africa and places like Grace Presbyterian Church in Ocala. You have a ministry to those in nursery and you have a ministry to those who are shut in and everyone in between. You go into the synagogues and you teach from the Word of God all that God's Word has for you in relation to Jesus Christ. And then we're told he went, he taught, and he proclaimed, he preached. He preached the gospel of the kingdom, the good news of the kingdom. Do you know when you go back and you look at Matthew 4, what is the very first word Jesus said in his public ministry? Have you ever thought about that? The very first thing out of Jesus' mouth, it's the word Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent. You realize repentance and faith are the two wings, as one Puritan would say, by which we fly into the arms of Jesus. That they represent the pillars of the gateway into the kingdom. The kingdom of God is for all who repent of their sins and trust in Christ as he's given to them in the gospel. Do you know that? The kingdom of God is for any person who repents of their sin, but it is only for those who repent of their sin and trust in Christ as he's given to them in the gospel. So it's inclusive. It includes anybody, no matter your race, no matter your background, no matter your level of education, whether you're young, whether you're old, whether you're rich or you're poor, male or female, doesn't matter who you are, what you've done. There is a place for you in the kingdom of God if you come through the gateway of repentance. recognizing your sin and what your sin deserves and recognizing the gift that is yours in Jesus Christ. So Jesus went and he taught and he proclaimed and then he healed. It's the significance of Christ's ministry. Everywhere Jesus went, he transformed the lives of the people he encountered. Jesus changes lives. He will change your life, friend, if you trust in him. Jesus has never rejected anyone who comes to him by faith and repentance. Did you know that? You might say, well, you don't know what I've done, pastor. You don't know what baggage I bring. Oh, I don't need to know. But friend, there is no sin too big for Jesus Christ. And he stands ready to forgive you, to heal you, to transform you. Jesus healed so many throughout his ministry. He went, he taught, he proclaimed, he healed. What is remarkable is that when you read Matthew's gospel, you'll see all kind of people that Jesus ministered to. He cared for lepers, servants, centurions, mothers, demon-possessed people, friends, tax collectors, sinners, little girls, blind men, disciples, To them and to all, he brought the good news of the kingdom. Do you recognize that? Do you recognize the wide embrace of the Lord Jesus Christ calling you to come into his kingdom? You see, that is our work as a church. We continue the compassionate kingdom work of Jesus Christ. And it really has two edges to this as a church. On the one hand, we're kingdom ambassadors, and we're to remind people who belong to Jesus that they're citizens in his kingdom, and we're to encourage and disciple and build up one another. Dear brother, dear sister, do you know that you're a citizen of Christ's kingdom? Do you know that you share an inheritance with King Jesus? Do you know that the God of heaven and earth sees you as his child and a member of his kingdom? Like, our job as a church is to remind those who belong to Jesus that they are citizens in his kingdom. But the flip side of this is as ambassadors of the kingdom, we are to remind those who do not belong to Christ that they are not part of his kingdom. You've got to know the king to enjoy the benefits of the kingdom. And that's our job as Christians, is we extend the compassionate king work of Jesus by affirming those who belong to Jesus that they are citizens of his kingdom, and also warning those who do not belong to Jesus that they are not citizens of his kingdom. And so in this, our gospel ministry in our local churches represents an extension of the kingdom work of Jesus Christ. So see here, you have the heart of Jesus for his kingdom. Next, in verse 36, you have really the compassion of Jesus exhibited toward his sheep. Look again at verse 36. When Jesus saw the crowd, he had compassion on them. because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. Now the word for compassion is actually most frequently applied in the Bible to Jesus himself. Isn't that amazing? It's most frequently applied to Jesus. The word conveys a deep, heartfelt, loving kindness. It's not all that dissimilar from the kind of emotion that you feel when you see a person in need, right? When you see somebody on the side of the road, or when you hear a report of somebody who has nothing, or you hear reports of people, say, in Houston, who have lost so much because of storms. And you hear of people with profound need, and you have deep-seated compassion. The struggle for so many of us, though, is that we feel helpless. We can't be moved to action to do anything about it to lighten the load. Well, not so with Jesus. Jesus demonstrates more than human pity. He exhibits divine compassion for people who are in trouble. So throughout Matthew's gospel, every time the word compassion is used, he's driven toward his people to care for them. And so, for example, in Matthew 14, verse 14, Jesus has compassion on the hungry, and he feeds the 5,000. In Matthew chapter 15, you have a similar story in verse 32, and Jesus has compassion again on the hungry, and he feeds 4,000. And then in Matthew chapter 20, verse 34, Jesus has compassion on two blind men, and he heals them. Here, he has compassion on his people who have no shepherd, no leader, and he pastors them, he shepherds them, he cares for them. Now, throughout the Bible, the metaphor of sheep without a shepherd is used to describe the pastoral care that God gives to his people in the absence of good leadership. Throughout Scripture, the image describes God's relationship to Israel, and give you just a couple of examples. In Numbers 27, verse 17, Moses prays that God would give Israel a man of God to lead them into the promised land, and so God gives them Joseph so that they would not be like sheep without a shepherd. So Joseph is an answer to Moses' prayer that Israel would have a shepherd to lead them in the promised land. Then as we read in Ezekiel 34, God himself is the shepherd of his people. He leads them, protects them, cares for them, provides for them. And then in John chapter 10, John chapter 10, Jesus himself says in verse 11, I am the good shepherd and I lay down my life for my sheep. How do you know that Jesus loves you as his sheep? Well, as the good shepherd, he dies in your stead. The shepherd dies in the place of the sheep, and that's how he cares for them. He died for his sheep, that his sheep will always have access to God. And so as Christians, we demonstrate the compassion of Jesus by caring for the sheep, by caring for one another. Remember what Jesus told Peter? If you love me, what do you do? Feed my sheep. One of the ways we exhibit the love of Jesus, the ministry of Jesus, the compassion of Jesus for his sheep, is by caring for one another. So that you look down the pew, right, in any direction, and you see an opportunity to extend the heart of Jesus for his people. Your, where is this? Like your guide for how to love people as Jesus loves his people and shows compassion for them is actually this prayer sheet. A prayer sheet is a battle guide for showing the compassion of Jesus for his sheep. It's sheep care. It's operation lost sheep. You want to account for every single sheep in your fold. Do you know where they all are? Do you know where your members are? Are you caring for them? How are you praying for them? How are you serving them? How are you loving them? So the greatest ways that you extend the heart of Jesus is by caring for one another, not harboring bitterness toward each other, not bickering amongst each other, but caring for one another. And you might say, well, I don't have a place in this church. Or are there people here in this church that you can love? Can you write them a thank you note? Can you send them a text to say I prayed for you as I was reading Psalm 100 today? Can you make them a meal? Can you care for each other? It's sheep care. And in sheep care, you're extending the heart of Christ, the heart of the shepherd for his people. So care for parents, children, spouses, neighbors, church members, elders, deacons, volunteers, care for one another. So you have the ministry of Christ and his kingdom, the ministry of Christ among his sheep, and then you see the ministry of Christ, his compassion for the world. This is in this last portion in verse 37. Then Jesus said to his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore to send out workers into his harvest. You all know this, it's preached so often in missionary conferences and it's an important one for us to think on. A crop of wheat needs workers to fill the barn with grain and without laborers, the crop cannot be reaped, the crop cannot be enjoyed. The point, I think, is simple. There are people who are ripe for inclusion in the kingdom and we need to go to them. We need to pray for them. We need to pray that workers would be sent up to go into God's harvest. That's what gives us confidence in evangelism. The harvest belongs to Him, and He has people that are ripe for inclusion into the kingdom. Maybe you're not called to go, but maybe God is calling you to pray for the ones who will go. Right? You either pray for them, or you go. Those are your options here, and Jesus is absolutely clear. And throughout the history of the church, interestingly enough, prayer is actually a prelude for revival. Prayer is a prelude for God working in the midst of His people. God delights, delights to bring in harvest through the prayers of His people, gathering together, praying that God would bring a harvest. It's a powerful supernatural work that we do. And supernatural work requires supernatural means. Us gathering together and giving God no rest to bless the work of this church by raising up people from this church to go into the harvest to do the work of Christ and his kingdom. That's what we do. We gather together and we pray. We pray for elders, pray for deacons, pray for leaders, pray for pastors, pray for missionaries, pray for educators, pray for moms, pray for dads, pray for grandparents, praying for each other that we would go out and represent Christ in his harvest field. You see, in prayer, we exhibit the heart of Jesus for the world. For the world. We can't do a whole lot. Some of us are limited by what we can do and where we can go. but we certainly can come together and pray down the dew of heaven upon the work of this church. Pray that God would bless this congregation. Pray that God would bless the congregations of Ocala. Not just this church, but every church in this area. You know, one of the best ways to evaluate the health of a church is not to look at the numbers in attendance or the number in the budget. Those are important, but they're not the only metric. Maybe the best metric for measuring the health of the church is listening to the priority of your prayers. Do our prayers reflect the priorities of Jesus for his church? Are we praying what Jesus has told us to pray? He is the head of the church. He gives us marching orders. Are we following his orders? Are we praying? that God would raise up workers for his harvest. That is your job, friends. You have a responsibility to exhibit the heart of Jesus for the world by gathering together and praying that God would send workers into the field. You can start by praying for Rafiki, by the way. What a wonderful ministry, a partner ministry just an hour or so away from here. And so, may the Lord raise up workers from this congregation who will labor in the harvest. And as you carry out the work of the gospel here at Grace Presbyterian Church, you, my friends, are called to manifest the compassionate heart of Jesus in your ministry in this congregation as you continue his work for his kingdom, for his sheep, and for the world. Let's pray. Our gracious God and heavenly Father, we thank you for this remarkable account of the compassion of Jesus Christ. Oh Lord, we pray that you would encourage and strengthen and minister to your sheep, and that if there are any here that do not know you, we pray that you would give them no peace until they do. So bless this dear congregation. We ask now in Jesus' name and for His sake. Amen. As we respond to the preaching of God's Word, we're going to sing one of my favorite hymns from Charles Wesley. It's oh-four-thousand tongues to sing, but this last stanza is a great one to pray as you respond to the preaching of God's Word. Sometimes we feel helpless as we're confronted with what God's Word says, and this last stanza is a prayer, asking God to help us in this work. My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim. to spread through all the earth abroad the honors of thy name. And so let's stand and sing to God's praise. Oh, 4,000 tongues to sing. Oh, for a thousand times to sing my great Redeemer's praise, the glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace. Jesus, the name that charms our fears, that bids our sorrows cease. Tis music in the sinner's ears, tis life and health and peace. He breaks the power of cancelled sin, He sets the prisoner free. His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me. Hear when ye deaf, is praise ye dumb, your loosened tongues employ? Ye blind, behold your Savior come, and weep ye lame for joy. My gracious master and my God, assist me to proclaim, to spread through all the earth abroad the honors of thy name. Friends, now look up to receive this word of blessing from God to you by the Spirit and through the work of Christ. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forevermore. Amen. Amen. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Thank you.