Listen to Br. Caleb Caijuat, missionary to Japan, as he preaches on Jesus seeing the multitude and having compassion on each person. Everyone is important to God, no matter where they are at in their spiritual walk. But the majority of people have yet to meet the Lord, and these are the ones for whom Jesus came to die.
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October 1, 2023
Br. Caleb Cajiuat
Missions Taught by Jesus
Outline
I. Introduction
II. The Compassion for Missions (The Savior’s Compassion)
a) The Sheep Were Fainted
b) The Sheep were Scattered
III. The Care for Missions
a) The Care to See
b) The Care to Pray
IV. Call to Mission
Sermon
Matthew chapter 9. When it comes to the area of missions, this Bible passage is a very, very common Bible passage and Matthew 9 .. if you will stand for the reading of God's word if you are able. We'll begin in verse number 35. Matthew 9:35. It says,
Mat 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
Mat 9:36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
Mat 9:37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
Mat 9:38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, I pray that you would be with this message. I pray that you would prove yourself. Lord, this is your sermon, not mine. This is your message, not mine. So, Lord use it according to your will and for your glory. We pray all this this in your holy and precious name. Amen. You may be seated.
I. Introduction
This passage is very common for missions and it's quite fitting to do so. But when it comes to missions, there's two main misconceptions. One is that it's just a paid vacation, paid for by churches across the United States and so it's not really needed. Are you just going to this country for a good time. But the other misconception is that it is a drudgery. You got to leave your home, go live out in the middle of nowhere, live in a hut eating bugs, getting chased by cannibals and it's just a terrible thing.
And in either case, the result is .. the misconception is missions, missionary work is not very needed. However, when we take a Biblical view of missions, we see there is a need for missions that every Christian should take a part of. And who better to learn about missions from the best missionary that the world has ever seen: Jesus Christ. So if you're taking notes or do you want to put a title to this message is Missions Taught By Jesus.
II. The Compassion for Missions
The first thing I want to see is the compassion for missions. In verse number 36, it says "But when he saw the multitude, he was moved with compassion on them."
a. The Savior's Compassion
We see first off the Savior's compassion. Along this line, we see that he was a studying person. It says "but when he saw the multitudes." That word 'saw' is not a passing glance. I know in college, I had a lot of books that I had to read and for a lot of them, there was a lot of skimming. Like speed reading, just trying to get through this book as quickly as possible and get as much information as I can very quickly as possible. Jesus wasn't doing that here. This word 'saw' is a decisive look. It is a purposeful look. It was a studying, a searching. He was actively looking at each person that he saw. Jesus was a people watcher. He saw their manners, their toils for the unattainable, their braggadocious piety and they're stealthy wickedness and he wept for them.
You see, when he was searching, he wasn't just looking at people just to see people. He was looking at their condition. Not only was he studying, he was sympathizing. It says, "but when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them." That word compassion comes from the French, 'compati' which means 'with suffering'. So, when he saw their condition, he saw what they were going through. He saw their struggle to worship.
He saw their braggadocious piety and how little it was for them. He saw the Romans and their multitude of gods and how they just grasped onto whatever they could. He saw that need that they had, and he had suffering with them. When he saw their condition, he didn't just shrug off and say, 'Hey, the world will be the world.' They didn't see the Romans and say 'Eh ...the Romans, they're the occupying force. Whatever. Okay.'
He was not mad at the false righteousness of the Pharisees. Nor was he angry with the Romans for the control over his people. He wasn't even disgusted at the two-face spiritual wickedness of his chosen people. When he saw the people, he was moved with compassion. He had pity on them. He was sorrowful with them because of their spiritual condition.
i. The Sheep Were Fainted
So, we see the Savior's compassion, but we see the sheep's condition. It says, "because they were fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep, having no Shepherd." We see that they were fainted.
Some of the Jews were stuck in a rut. They were just going about their daily lives doing what Jewish people do everyday. Oh, I did this sin, I have to bring this sacrifice to the temple. And a lot of what they did was just, they went about doing what we do. A lot of Japanese people are like that as well. They go to the shrine every new year because that's what Japanese people do. Every August, they have Obon, which is where they go to their family shrine or their hometown, which is where their ancestors are buried and they go to that Shrine. Why? That's what Japanese people do?
There's a generation of people, of Japanese people just going through the motions of Shintoism and Buddhism. Why? Because that's what we Japanese people do. But isn't it interesting? It's not just the unsaved people that do that. It's not just the religious people of Jesus's day, it's not just the Japanese in another land. Sometimes, its church members going through the motions. Why are you at church? It's Sunday. It's what we do.
We pray three times a day morning, noon and night. We call it breakfast. Lunch and supper. That's it. Going through the motions, but not actually worshiping. You see, the Sheep were fainted.
ii. The Sheep Were Scattered
Second they were scattered. Everyone was doing, was going their own way; following whatever deity they find fits their needs at the very moment, the Romans of the day had a plenty. They saw the Jewish people that forsook their Judaism and saw what the Romans had to offer, what the gods that they did, and decided to follow after them. He saw the Romans with their Pantheon, that they were grasping at whatever they possibly could.
In Japan, they believe that everything could have a spirit. And so they will take care of that thing. See, this building might have a spirit and they will they will take care of this building because they don't want to offend the spirit. That piano over there might have a spirit and so they would take care of the piano. This book might have a spirit of this book. And so they will take care of this book. Make sure that no pages are creased, that it is nice and clean. Because they don't want to offend what possible spirit might be residing in this book.
They believe in millions and millions of spirits. They're scattered. A sheep having no Shepherd. They're hopeless. But you notice, when the Bible says that Jesus went about all the cities teaching, preaching and healing. But it was when he saw the multitude, when he saw their condition was when he was moved with compassion.
Am I saying that we shouldn't be teaching, preaching, and doing what we can for the community? No, no, no, Jesus did it? But that shouldn't be our driving real force. We should be seeing their spiritual condition. Verse two, we see not only receive, the compassion for missions, number two I want to see the care for missions.
III. The Care for Missions
Verse 37 says "Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest."
A. The Care to See
The first thing I want to see is 'the care to see'. Verse 37 starts off with "then saith he unto his disciples, the harvest is plenteous ..."
In my mind's eye, it's not just Jesus looking over the multitude and his disciples are doing whatever. I see him looking over the multitude and going, "Hey, Peter. See them down there. They're fainted and scattered abroad. Hey James, John, you see them? See the Romans over there following whatever god. They're suffering. Hey Judas. You see the people worshiping, not really worship, with their two-faced worshiping? They need God. You see, there needs to be a care to see. There needs to be a care to see in our life as well. Do you see the multitude?
There's a songwriter once wrote:
Through your eyes, dear lord, your eyes of mercy,
Your eyes of compassion,
Your eyes of forgiveness and love,
Through your eyes dear Lord,
Help me see this world through your eyes, Dear Lord.
b. Care to Pray
Do we? So we see not only a care to see, but a care to pray.
Verse 38 says "pray ye therefore the Lord of the Harvest that he will send forth laborers into his harvest." There was a care to see, Jesus says, hey, look out onto the harvest, it is truly plenteous, and there's not a lot of people working. He says, pray. Pray for someone to come across your path so that you can be a laborer in the harvest.
Pray for your church members so that they will be able to be laborers in the harvest. Pray that God would provide extra money to get to missions so that other people can be laborers in another harvest. Pray for confirmation that you are in the right harvest field. Well, Pastor would say not everyone is called to foreign missions. However, every Christian should struggle with it at one point in time. You see, praying for missionaries already on the field that their labor would bear fruit. Praying for the next-generation to answer the call to be preachers, pastors, evangelists and missionaries so that they can be laborers. Verse 38 is so incredibly important.
Pray for more laborers into his harvest. But, you know, another Pastor once said, the funny thing about about this whole praying for laborers is that at one point in time, you were part of the harvest? At one point in time, the laborers were part of the harvest. Every Christian should care enough to pray for their own personal mission as well as someone else's mission field.
IV. Call to Mission
So, we see, not only the compassion for a mission and the care for mission, but thirdly I want to see a call to mission. What can we do in the realm of missions?
There is two calls. There's a general call. We see in Acts 1:8,
Acts 1:8 ... and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
It says ye shall be witnesses. Not you might be witnesses. You could be witnesses. If you are saved, you are a witness. It is very general, you are going to be a witness. If you are saved, you have a testimony that you could be a witness to people. Every Christian has a duty to be a missionary, to tell the world that Christ died for their sins. That there is an escape from the wrath of God.
This means that we need to reach those who are across the globe as well as across our neighborhood. This means we need to reach whoever, however .. I've seen many Christians especially in Bible College, go spiritually blind to the world around them because it's so focused on my own spiritualness that they don't have eyes to the world. 1st John 2:6 tells us
1 John 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
Meaning, if a Christian says, I am a Christian, Christ liveth in me, which means I also got to walk as Christ walked. Well, if we put that into a little bit of logic, if Christ saw the multitudes and was moved with compassion, shouldn't we also be moved with compassion? So we see not only a general call, but there's also a specific call in Acts 13:2. The Bible says
Act 13:2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
There's a specific Mission field that we are all called to. Kristan and I, we are called to Japan. That is our specific call. Brother Mann, you've been called to Lee, Massachusetts. That is your specific mission field. Some individuals are called to a specific place to be a witness. In 2008, I surrendered to go into full-time Christian service. And I didn't know exactly where God had called me to go. But the next four years, God used missionaries on deputation and furlough to get my heart and mind towards missions. In February 2012, a missionary from Japan came through and God was like - God was using that missionary to say, 'Hey, will you surrender to go to Japan?'
And for the first time in four years, I said 'no'. You've had other missionaries come through to the other parts of the world .. that this is just going to be like all those other missionaries. I'm not going to surrender. I'm not going to go. Well, that was strike one.
Because that summer I was able to go to The Wilds Christian Camp and my counselor just so happened to be a missionary's kid from Japan. And again, it was like God was saying "Seriously, Caleb will you surrender to go to Japan?" And again I said "God, you've had other people enter into my life, my violin mate in orchestra was a missionary's kid to Taiwan and I thought you wanted me to go there for a while. So if this is just going to be like all those other people no, I'm not going to surrender. Well, that was strike two.
Halfway through the summer, that missionary came through again and again God burn in my heart 'Kaleb, seriously will you surrender to go to Japan?' And again I told God 'no'. Well, I was able to go back to the Wild's at the end of the summer. And God got a hold of my heart saying 'Caleb, you know exactly what I want you to do and where I want you to go, but you're being too stubborn and selfish to go.' That may not have been what was preached, but that's what I got from the message.
And so that Thursday night I said 'You know what? Fine, you want me to go to Japan? I will go to Japan.' And ever since then God was like, 'All right. You surrendered. I'm going to make that undeniable.' I went to Bible College, met my wife Kristan. And before we got married, before we graduated, we had to do an internship with a missionary on the field. Well, God had called me to Japan, so I'm going to go to missionary in Japan. And I was able to spend 10 weeks in Japan.
And there, God made it undeniable that Japan is where God wanted us to go. And I just want to leave you with this verse. I had a conversation with an unsaved Japanese man. That's where he told me about that they will worship the spirit of things. And I came back from that conversation going, 'Lord, how? How on earth do you want me to minister here? I know the Romans road, this doesn't translate. How do you want me to do this?"
And I was reading. and the very next morning, I was reading in my Bible, Isaiah 45. When I got to verse six, it's kind of like God said, 'All right, stop here. Really take a look at this verse."
Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Japan is known as the Land of the Rising Sun. So when I read that, it's like "That they may know in the Land of the Rising Sun that there is none besides me. I am the Lord. There is none else." And that was the proverbial nail in the coffin of we can't not go now. I have to go, we have to go back to Japan. Why? So that they may know. Why does God teach missions? Why did Jesus himself teach missions. That they may know that there's only one way to get to heaven. Why is there compassion for Missions? That they may know. Why is there a call for Missions? Why should we care about missions? That the world may know about Jesus Christ.
Let's bow our head in a word of prayer. Dear, Heavenly Father. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to preach. I pray if there's anyone here that's says, Brother Caleb, I don't have a compassion for missions. I don't have a care for missions, I don't have a call for missions because I'm still part of the harvest. But I want to get that right. If there's anyone that would say brother Caleb, I am not saved. I bet you that you would come forward and Pastor will show you from the Bible how you can be saved.
If there's anyone here that would say, brother, Caleb. I don't have the correct compassion for missions. I don't have the correct care for missions. I haven't been answering the call for missions, but I want to get that right. If you will come forward and get that right with God.
Dear, Heavenly Father. Help us to have the correct compassion, care and call for missions. Help us to be laborers and to see the harvest field. Lord we love you and pray all this in your holy and precious name. Amen.