Morning. It's great to be back among you all. All those happy smiley faces, good. Miss you all while we were away. And in case you're wondering, it was like a duck pond. That's my view anyway. You can speak to her more, she might give you a different point of view. No, it's been great. It's been great to be away. Again, you'll probably hear some things as I go through some of the conversations we're able to have, but it's great to be home with God's people. This is where I believe every Christian should be. in the place of God, in the presence of God, with the people of God, worshipping God and God alone. So it's great to be back with you all. The topic we're going to look at this morning It's very familiar to some. In fact, the passage we will look at, it's a very missional passage in many extents. It's been preached on many, many times. So perhaps some things you might hear may not be new. But a challenge came to me. That one thing that I have found no matter where I am is that there is always someone who wants to talk about God or the things of Christianity. I can always find at least one. on a ship that had 2,499 other people, they were stuck on a boat with me. And I found lots of people who wanted to talk about God. You know what I mean? It's fantastic the way, sometimes it's not the message, it's how we approach them. And I find that no matter where we go in life, no matter what we're doing, Be it from the building site, to doing shopping at Tesco's, to going on holiday, there's always someone who wants to talk about Christ and talk about Christianity, always. And so, some may want to argue, but there are those who are seeking and desire the truth. You will always get some who want to argue that their point is right, your point is wrong, but it's interesting how they never want to prove. They always want to try that, you know, the religiosity is right, but whereas I like to come down the line of a relationship with Jesus and how that impacts our daily life. So you always have those who want to argue, but they will always have some who want to seek the truth. So this morning I've given the sermon title, A Field of Wheat, Not a Field of Dreams. A Field of Wheat, Not a Field of Dreams. Now, that may provoke a few thoughts in some people. Question, who can remember as far back as 1989? Who wasn't born in 1989? Boy, you make me feel old. Right. I remember 1989. Not only was that the year that I went away, I left here to go out on missions in 1988 and 1989. But 1988 or 1989 was the year that the film that Kevin Costner acted in called The Field of Dreams. So in case you're wondering, am I going to be touching on it? No. I just thought I'd put it out there just in case you're trying to preempt anything. But it is interesting how that film is all gauged around this one phrase, if you build it, they will come. Okay, if you build it, they will come. And so while I've entitled this a field of wheat, not a field of dreams, for me it still holds true that if we as church have this desire to hold fast to God in the good times and the bad times, if we have this desire to hold fast to the truth of God, people will come and they'll want to know because it's all about God, it's not about us. Okay, so we're going to be looking at this whole concept of a field of dreams, sorry, a field of wheat. I don't desire, how can I put this? I desire to be a people of God, gathered around the word of God, holding the truth about God, calling people to belief in God. That is what I want, that's what I long for, that's my heart desire. I've often said I don't care if people forget me, I couldn't care less about that. I want them to meet Jesus. He's the important one. So for us as we unpack this passage that we will be looking at, it's not my desire to bring out any sort of thing other than to point to the fact that we are to be a people of God, gathered around the Word of God, holding out the truth about God, calling people to a full belief in God. That's what we are to do. Now, while our passage we will be looking at can be found in various forms in the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, they all record the similar sort of idea in different forms. we will be reading from Matthew. So if you take a note, you can find this in Matthew 9, verses 35 through to chapter 10, verse 1. You can also find it in Mark 6, 6 to 13, Luke 10, verses 1 to 3, and John 4, 34 to 38. But we will be reading from Matthew 9, verse 35 through to chapter 10, verse one, and you already are ahead of me and you probably know what it's all about. So reading from chapter nine, Matthew chapter nine, starting at verse 35, says this. Let me just. It says, then Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered like sheep having no shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field. And when he had called his 12 disciples to him, he gave them power over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all kind of sicknesses and all kinds of diseases. And we'll ask God's blessing on that. Let us just pray. Lord, we just wanna pray as we come to this well-known passage that you would open up our eyes that we may see and learn about you. that we may hear your call on us, that we may be overawed by you, this ancient of days, this one who is holy, this one in whom we trust. Lord, come and speak to us through this very well-known passage, we pray, amen. There's four points I have here to bring out from this passage. They're all based around sheep and shepherd. Now, if you heard the reading, if you picked up the reading, if you followed the reading, you would find out that it says that Christ had compassion on them because they were like what? Sheep without a shepherd, sheep and shepherds. So we're gonna look at this, because I think many times we jump straight into the wheat and being ready for harvest, and I believe that is true, but I also believe there's a heart here of Christ that is being shown to us that sometimes we can miss. And that is that when Christ looks at people, he's moved with compassion. He's moved with compassion. He's not moved with anger. He's not moved with judgmentalism. He's not moved with hatred. He's moved with compassion because they are like sheep without a shepherd. And I think that's where we're gonna spring from. So the four points, if you're taking notes, are these. The shepherd of the field, the sheep in the field, the sheaves of wheat in the field, and the sent harvesters into the field. So first of all, the shepherd in the field. It's very interesting here that we see that Christ is followed by his disciples. They went through all the towns and villages teaching in their synagogues. I love the way the gospel writers will say this, that Matthew records that he's proclaiming the good news of the kingdom. where Mark is, I think it's Mark who is saying that he would go about from villages in a circuit, teaching. So you can almost picture they went in a bit of a circuit around teaching and preaching. Those are two words that we don't often divide, honestly, or we don't often bring out, and Christ did both of them. He proclaimed, or he preached the gospel, the kingdom, and he taught. We have to ask, what was he doing? So Matthew and Mark record Christ and the disciples healing the sick and casting out demons. We'll not be spending so much on that, but I still believe God is a God who can do whatever He wants to do. Our God is sovereign, and so that will never hinder my prayer in any sense. situation I am in. I seek God to come and glorify His name. But Christ is teaching. He's teaching in the synagogues. What is He teaching about? The good question is, we have to ask that, what is He teaching about? It's very common in In synagogues, I don't know if you've ever been in one, I've had the pleasure of being in a few, but they would normally go and they would get what's known as the ark behind them, they have all the scrolls and they would bring out the scroll and they would lay it out and they would read from the scrolls and then they would roll them up and put them away and then they would teach from what they've read. And so it's very common, we see this in Christ's life, that when they got the book of Isaiah, the scroll of Isaiah, and he said, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he's anointed me to preach the good news. And he says, today this is being fulfilled in your hearing. And they didn't like that. But he taught, he taught from Scripture. So here, we're gonna see what did he teach. It wasn't just what the scroll said, but often and many times, it was how the Word of God was fulfilled in, how the written Word of God was fulfilled in the living Word of God. It was always about him and how he had come to fulfill. So he taught about who he was, who he was. He was the Messiah. He was the one that they were waiting for. He was the one that they longed for in that sense, the Messiah. But even today, the Jews are still looking for the Messiah because they reject Christ. And so he would sit and teach about how the word of God is fulfilled in him, how he has been sent from the Father. His teaching would be revolved around who he is in relation to them. And that brings up many questions. for us. Each person we engage with, each person we talk to, we meet on the doors, we meet in the shops, or we meet at work, or at school, each person has an idea, a thought about Christ. Perhaps they don't think much about him, perhaps they think he's a fairytale or whatever, but they still think, they're still thinking about him in some way. And so it's incumbent upon us as Christians, as followers of Christ, to be able to say, let me introduce you to my God. I want to tell you about my God. I want you to come and meet the person I love. So Christ here teaches about who he is. Who he is in relation to God's plan of salvation. Who he is in relation to the whole concept of Messiah. Who he is in relation to the scrolls and the word of God and how he is the fulfillment of the law. He didn't come to abolish the law but to fulfill the law. Of course there's many debates over that. Again, he taught on about what he had come to do. I believe he would teach many times in all his parables and miracles and how he would teach the crowds and even in the synagogue. I believe at times he would teach about what he had come to do. He had come to be the sacrifice for our sins. The whole purpose for Christmas that we're gonna be looking at soon, the whole purpose of Christmas is not to give us a tree, in that sense, but to point us to the tree of Easter. He came to die for our sins. And I believe here Christ would have taught about what he had come to do. And I think it's very important that we understand this, that it's all about who he is and what he had come to do. and what the end goal was. And again, I believe, although he may not have said it, in fact, I don't believe he would have said it here, but I can almost picture in his mind, he's thinking, I've come to create a people. He's speaking to the Jews, his chosen people. This is a people of, these were a people who at once weren't a people. They didn't exist before God called Abraham and made a covenant with Abraham. and God worked out his plan with Abraham and they became his chosen people. But God had in mind that it wouldn't just be the Jews, it would be Jews and Gentiles together in the church as his people. And so I'm sure here he's thinking about that. I wonder if he stood and asked, and I get it, please forgive me if you think I'm sort of picturing things a bit too much, but I sometimes wonder when he talked about who he is and what he had come to do, if he was just thinking, God, just ask me what I hope what I'm wanting to do. Because he wanted to build a church. A church. Not churches. He wanted to build a church. One people. Made of all tribes, nation and tongues to worship him. To bring his glory to the world. So Christ was going round the villages. He was going round all the villages. Going round on a circuit we're told by Mark. Teaching about who he was and what he had come to do. He was teaching Scripture, as I said, as they would open up the scrolls and read from them. And this is why I would encourage each and every one, and I do it, and I've done it ever since I've been here, and since I preach, I encourage all Christians everywhere, if I dare say, put your phone down and get your Bible out. Read it, hold it, see how it will engage with one another. And you can almost picture Christ going, here's the scroll, but don't you see how this connects to this bit? Don't you understand that this is fulfilled here? You can almost picture him teach from the scrolls, not just a nice homily or a nice thought, but actual truth in relation to who he is and what he had come to do. So he taught the Scriptures, and then also how can man be born again? We see this type of thing when he speaks to Nicodemus. You have to be born of the Spirit. The Word and the Spirit, we need both and we've touched on this before. Here, he wants to bring life, not religiosity. He wants to bring life, not just a list of do's and don'ts. The Jews didn't need any more do's and don'ts. They already had too many do's and don'ts. You think of all the laws that were in the Old Testament. They didn't need any more. They needed this concept of being born again, being brought into community. They needed to understand what it is. Not a religiosity, but a relationship. Not just some dry obedience, but a living faith. that sprang from understanding who Christ is. And I believe a true living faith will always spring from knowing who Christ is. To understand who Christ is will impact our prayer life, will impact our witnessing, will impact the way we live, it'll impact all of us because we're getting to know who he is and that has an impact on He then went around preaching, preaching the good news of the kingdom. What is the kingdom of God like? I don't know if you've ever sat and thought about that. What is the kingdom of God like? Scripture always talks about either the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God, and there's two real distinctions. There's the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God, kingdom of heaven. And I've said this before, that We have all the hope because Christ is there and we're going to see Christ. We have life because Christ is there and through Christ we have life. We'll have every tear wiped away. There'll be no more crying. There'll be no more stress or worry. Wouldn't it be great to go to a place where there's no more stress? There'll be no more politics. Oh boy, that's heaven in and of itself, eh? It's just, just think about what's there and then flip it. The alternative is where Christ is not. There will be loneliness, there will be tears, there'll be no hope, there'll be no life, there'll be no joy, there'll be none of that. And so Christ went around teaching and preaching about the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven. He called them into a relationship, into a kingdom. And here's the thing, I'm sure I've said it before and I'm sure you've heard it said before that the thing about a kingdom is it has a king. Are you impressed with such deep wisdom? But how often do we live Christian's life as if Christ is our buddy, our pal, he's not our king? You know, I come into the presence of the king of kings. I come into the presence of the one who conquered death and rose again. I come into the one who's the ancient of days, who sits enthroned above the circle of the earth. He's a king. He's a king. And so here he is presenting himself as he preaches the kingdom of God. He's calling people to come and accept him as king, as Lord, as savior, as number one in their life. Put him first in their life. And that's a hard thing to do. A hard thing to do. Put him first. I'm not gonna come and say it's easy, but it is the cost we pay. and we should pay it happily, because he gave everything for us, so we should give everything for him. We should put him first in our life, in all ways. He also would proclaim who is part of the kingdom of God, and let a man be born again. Only those who are born again, born of the Spirit, made alive in him. Only those who've received life from him. We're not talking about good people. Because I've said it time and time again, there are many atheists that are good people. But scripture will say being good is never good enough. Doesn't scripture say that all our good works are like what? Filthy rags. All our good works. So being good, while that's a wonderful thing to be, isn't good enough. We have to be right. We have to be made holy. We have to be made just. Take that bill and have it paid over the top of it. To get the debt that we owe God and have it paid in full because of what Christ has done for us. Only when we accept Him as Lord and Savior, only when we say we will follow You, because You are our King, You are our God, will we know what it is to be born again. Only when He is the purpose and center of our life, only those who are born again. I used to joke when I was on OM that one thing God will never ask for when you appear before Him is your church attendance card. Anybody ever remember those, you'd come in, you'd get your Sunday school card stamped at the door? Anybody remember that? Now, coming to church, great thing. Trust me, I would love to see this church full. I would love to see people wanting to be in the presence of God. I would love to see people hungering after God. But church attendance doesn't get you saved. Church attendance does not get you saved. Even reading scripture doesn't fundamentally mean you're Christian, because Satan quotes scripture. He knows scripture. He can twist it better than anybody on the planet. What gets us saved is being born again. And so we see here the shepherd in the field, he points to himself, he points to the kingdom of God, he points to how we can be part of the kingdom of God. And then he demonstrates the kingdom of God. He heals and he casts out demons. If we don't have a lot of time to get into this, because time is already gone, but here's the thing, he demonstrates. There is a proclamation and a demonstration of the kingdom of God. A proclamation and a demonstration of who he is. And I believe God calls each and every one of us, each and every one of us, to proclaim and to demonstrate who he is. Now, I can already hear the questions at the door. But Rodney, I'm not like you. Praise God for that. That's all I can say. But God made you you. And you have the ability to speak to, I've said this before, you have the ability to speak to people that I can't, that I find very hard to connect with, but you connect with them. And you can proclaim and demonstrate the kingdom of God and who Christ is better than I can, better than some other people can. So each and every one of us are called into the harvest field. to bear witnesses to the kingdom of God, to bear witnesses of the king, to proclaim and to demonstrate the kingdom of God. Then we have the sheep in the field. This is the second point we have. The interesting thing is here is that when he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them. They were harassed like sheep without a shepherd. They were led astray. Here is the thing we know, and I've said this before when we looked at the iambs. The sheep have a lead sheep. That's interesting, trying to use sheep as plural and singular. The sheep have a lead sheep, okay? They're not really dumb animals, as we sometimes, well, they are dumb, but they're not dumb, a bit of a contradiction. Because have you ever seen sheep in a field? They are impossible to keep in the field. We used to live near Shropshire, near Oswestry, and no matter how many times the shepherd put the sheep in the field, they would always find a way out. You'd find them all over the place, on the roads and car parks and everything. They would always get out. Sheep are very resourceful in that way. But sheep have a lead sheep. And wherever the lead sheep goes, the rest of them go. Sheep can be easily led astray. Very easily led astray. And so when Christ looks at the people, he doesn't think, boy, aren't you a dumb lot. That's not what he's thinking. He's going, you're just like sheep, you're being led astray. You're Harris, like sheep without a shepherd. You're drifting this way and drifting that way. Someone comes up and goes, I know the way, and you follow that person. And today, more than any other day, we have access to so much rubbish when people are trying to say, this is the way. And they bombard us with so much information. And people are led astray. And I believe we need to come back and go, come, not just meet my king, but meet my shepherd. Meet my shepherd. You know, I don't have to worry, because he's the ancient of days. There's nothing new under the sun. He's seen it all. And I can relax. And he will bring me to calm waters and green pastures. I don't have to worry about the shadow of death. Boy, because he's conquered that one. I can sing songs as I walk through that valley because of my shepherd. This is what he is saying here. These people have no hope. And all you have to do is look at the people we meet every day and you see them. You see some people that don't have hope. Some people cover it up very well, but we are called to bring them into the presence of our shepherd, of our king, and say, come, you'll not be harassed. We'll point you to the truth. The truth is Jesus. If you sit and study from him and learn from him and follow him, you'll walk in light, because he is the light. You'll not have to worry about being deceived or misled, because in him is truth. There's no darkness in him. There's this wonderful picture in this passage here. And so he is concerned about how they are to walk in truth. He was led with compassion. As I said, he didn't look on them with fear or with anger or with judgment, it was compassion. One of the most dangerous prayers, I believe, Any Christian can pray is, apart from, Lord, give me patience, that's a difficult one, is, Lord, give me a heart like yours. Let me see people the way you see them. Oh, good boy, your heart will be broken with compassion for people. We would never see people the same ever again if we prayed, Lord, give me a heart like yours that I see people the way you see them. Because this passage says he was moved with compassion. He was concerned for their well-being. And so I believe here it's a call for us to see people the way Christ sees people. If the truth is not the thing that transforms lives and will influence lives, then something else will. If the truth of the Word of God does not inform, transform life, then something else will. That's why I'm very keen on let's see what the Word of God says. Let's come back to the Word of God. It's not man's wisdom. We don't want man's wisdom or man's philosophies. We want the Word of God, because the Word of God is the thing that transforms. And we have to understand as we look at people that we are moved with compassion that if they're not following Christ, they're following something else or someone else. If they're not following the truth of Scripture, they're following something else. Something else will always shape. That's why the people are harassed like sheep without a shepherd. They're being led this way and that way with no clear direction. But Christ wants us to bring people into a relationship with the shepherd and with the king. The third point, just one other thing I want us to say is this, while he says about sheep without a shepherd, they're like sheep without a shepherd, let's not think they're just, they're sort of harmless, Larry the lamb type things just frolicking about in a field. He also says in one of the other passages, I'm sending you out like lambs among wolves. There's a hatred against the truth. There's a hatred against Christ. You don't have to look very far these days to see such hatred against Christ and against Christianity. But the reality is this, we are still sent out to introduce people to Christ, our shepherd and our king. Then we get the third point, we have the sheaves of wheat in the field. I think this is very important. Christ didn't say, well, perhaps you might get some, or there might be a few, but he didn't say that. He says, the harvest is plentiful. I think it's a mark, he says, the harvest truly is great. It also goes, do not say four more months until the harvest. The harvest is ready now. The harvest is ready now. One of my biggest joys since we were away, every sea day we had, we used to have to go, there was a Christian fellowship that we'd meet. And it was, going from New York to Southampton was great, because you're at sea all the time. So we met every morning. But at the end of every time we met, myself and this other guy would sit and talk about Jesus, constantly. We would always talk about Jesus. We'd talk about the word of God. We'd talk about the truth. We could have spent hours just talking about Jesus because there was a hunger in him and he wanted to know. So don't say four more months. There are people out there who are hungry and want to know. The harvest is plentiful. It's not one little ear of corn here or one little ear of corn there. The harvest is plentiful. And I believe once we understand that it's about who Christ is, shepherd and king, it's about the proclamation and the demonstration of the kingdom of God and calling people to repent, I believe wholeheartedly that we will see a harvest like we've never seen before. Because Christ said the harvest is plentiful. Don't sit around going, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, after Christmas. No, the harvest is plentiful now. In your school, in your workplace, as I say, as you're going around the shops, people will always want to talk. But are we wanting to talk? Are we too busy? It's a challenge on my own life, not just on yours. So don't say four more months. The harvest is plentiful right now. We are not to say, we'll just wait for a bit longer. We're not to say, oh, this is just for a select few, you know, for those who just like to talk and can't shut up, or are very forceful, or, you know, don't mind doing door-to-door or whatever. We're not to reduce this to a select few. One thing you don't read in any of the Gospels is that Christ said, guys, I know I'm speaking to you all, but this is just for the 12. He didn't say that. In fact, I believe it is in John where he sends out 72. Okay, so while he's speaking, he picks a bigger group and he sends them all out, two by two. And so here's the reality. Let us not reduce this and just say this is for a select few. This is for us, all of us. This is for you and for me. And I say it again and again, I don't want you to try and mold yourself in the way that myself or John or somebody else would do it. I want you to let Christ speak through you to your friends where you are. Just do it. See what Christ will do. Talk about the Jesus you know, the king that you have, the shepherd you follow. This is for all of us. He says this, ask the Lord of the harvest therefore to send out workers into the harvest field. Here's the interesting thing, Christ is speaking to the disciples, yes? Yeah? And he says, okay, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into the field. So they ask God and he goes, okay, you 72, you're going out. They were the answer to their prayer. Interestingly. The ones who were told to ask the Lord of the harvest were the answer to the prayer that they were asking the Lord of the harvest of. And so here's the reality. When you look at the word ask, A-S-K, A is to ask, speak to God, listen to God, intercede on behalf of the need. We speak to him. S, seek, to continually seek ways for the harvest to be brought in. We are to be actively seeking ways to bring the harvest in. Knock, that's the K. Knock on heaven's door. Knock on every heart door. Knock on every other door we can think about. ASK, ask, seek, knock. It's not three separate things, it's one thing. But 3.3 particular actions. And so here, I believe what Christ is saying to us, saying to me and saying to us is this, if you wanna ask me to send harvest, what are you doing? Are you asking me? Are you actively involved in praying? Are you actively seeking me? Are you knocking on those hearts doors of people you meet? People just want someone to sit and talk to. They won't, I was gonna say, anybody ever rang up for assistance and all you get is the machine? I bet you all you say is, if only I had someone to talk to. People want someone to talk to. Why can't they talk to us about God? Why can't they speak to you? So, lastly, I want us to think about the scent harvesters into the field. He called his disciples, he sent out the 72, and he gave them authority. He gave them authority. I don't wanna spend a lot of time on this, because we've touched on it many, many times before, and it's this. When the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will receive power, authority. If we're alive, if we're born again of the Holy Spirit, we have that authority in us. We have that power in us. God, Christ, give that power to his disciples to go out and to heal the sick, to cast out demons, to demonstrate the kingdom of God. Let us not limit God. Let us give God a free reign and be part of what he's doing. He give them authority, he give them power. But here is the interesting thing about this. He said go, so they had to go, and of course we could get on to Matthew at the end, go into all the world that's continually going. This isn't a one-time deal. You know, I've done my bit for the century. I'm now finished. This is an ongoing thing. We go and we keep going. So we're constantly looking for someone to speak to. wherever we are. They had to go and proclaim and to demonstrate and to move in this authority. But here's the interesting thing. They were sent out into the harvest field, but we're not told that they planted the seed. Have you ever noticed that? They were going to harvest in a field where they had not planted. So what does this mean? This means we're all part and parcel of the same team. Some plant, some water, some harvest. But as Scripture says, we all get together at the end and we all celebrate. It's not, well I've planted, it's my harvest. No. Some plant, some water, some harvest. They sent out, I remember somebody once saying when I was in O.M., I don't quite know how they figured this one out, but they were saying that it takes about a thousand links in a chain between someone who doesn't know about Christ to someone who will accept Christ. About a thousand links in the chain and he says, And you don't know what part of the link you are. You don't know where in the chain you actually are. You could be at the beginning, you could be at the end. You don't know. But the fact is, we're all part and parcel of the same team. We're all part and parcel of the one action. You have to plant before you get the harvest. You have to water before you get a harvest. And then you have to harvest. It's all part and parcel of the one action. So here's my plea to each and every one of us this morning. The harvest is plentiful. We can't go out and we can bring in people who are hungry to know about God. But perhaps we need to dig the ground up on some of them. Perhaps we need to break that hard soil up. Perhaps we have to plant the seeds for a bit and then let somebody else water. You don't know where you are, but the fact is we are sent out to do a job. So the one who sows the seed, the one who waters the seed, and the one who harvests all celebrate together when the harvest is brought in. And so I wanna encourage us as we've looked at this, that we are called to go. We are sent out to bear witness to the king and to the shepherd. We are there to meet people where they are, to proclaim and to demonstrate the kingdom. We are to constantly be going where people are, that we can talk to them about Christ, that we can encourage some to follow Christ. bring them to a position where they need to make that decision to follow Christ or not. So, the challenge for us is this, as we've looked at this passage, that the harvest is plentiful. It's a field of wheat. It's not a field of dreams. We're not just selling dreams. We're going out into the harvest field to bring in the harvest. We're out there to find the people and bring them in. to be moved with compassion because Christ, our king and our shepherd, was moved with compassion. And so in this passage, we've seen the shepherd of the field, Christ. and how he pointed everything to him. We've seen the sheep in the field, they're harassed, they're being buffeted about and yet we are to be moved with compassion to bring them into the truth, bring them to the shepherd. The sheaves of wheat in the field, they're there and they're white and they're ready for harvest. People are wanting to know about God. And lastly, they sent harvesters into the field. Sent harvesters. We are sent not to fill up our days or to make us busy, but to harvest. And there's a harvest out there and it's plentiful. So let us not say four more months. Let's lift up our eyes and look out, because the fields are white on the harvest. Amen. We're gonna finish with our final hymn, Just As I Am. And it's the one with the chorus bit, the bridge bit in it, that I can't remember at the minute. O Lamb of God, I come to thee. O Lamb of God, I come to thee. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave I come wounded to be healed. I come desperate to be rescued. I come empty to be filled. I come guilty to be pardoned. I come loved. I come cursed to love. And I'm welcome. Your cross, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. I come broken to be mended. I come wounded to be healed. I come desperate to be rescued. I come guilty to be pardoned, but above I still love, and I'm welcome with open arms. I come empty to be filled. I come guilty to be pardoned by the Lord of Christ the Lamb. The call is come just as you are. The invite goes out unless a man is born again. He cannot see the kingdom of heaven unless you've received the cleansing of the blood of Christ. You walk in his resurrected life. He is your king, he is your shepherd. If you say I come broken, Let us introduce you to a man who can heal you. Lord, we just wanna thank you for this time that we've had in your presence around your word as church together. And we ask, Lord, take away anything that's not from you. We don't want that. We want only your truth. And we ask that your spirit would take your truth and apply it to our hearts, that we would be the harvesters you want us to be. No matter where we are, we would be moved with your compassion for people. And we'd see you build your church. Lord, if anybody is here who does not know you, we pray, Lord, they would not leave this place without finding life in you. We ask this in your name, amen. Amen.