"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. 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. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest."—Matthew 9:35-38.

Tonight I am speaking on the subject "The Strangest Prayer Ever Prayed." I was thinking about this text while I was in the office, and thinking about having discussed this subject while I was in Texas or Oklahoma—I don’t remember which. I recalled that when I said I was discussing the subject, "The Strangest Prayer Ever Prayed," people raised their eyebrows as if to say, "Is such a thing in the Word of God?" But it is. In the text before us we have the strangest prayer ever prayed, and in the first seven verses of the 10th chapter you have the strangest answer ever received. This is the subject for this evening’s discussion.

The Holy Spirit tells us that Jesus went over the countryside and into various villages teaching in the Jewish synagogues. Jesus went about preaching the Gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and disease among the people. Jesus was busy. He was busy healing the diseases and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom.

I believe the Bible makes a distinction between the Gospel of God, the Gospel of the grace of God, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Gospel of the kingdom of God. I believe all four aspects of the Gospel are present in God’s infallible Word. The Gospel of Matthew is the Gospel of the kingdom.

The word GOSPEL in the Greek is "evangelo," and it means good news, tidings of great joy; thus, we reach the conclusion that the good news is the telling of the kingdom. John the Baptist preached the Gospel of the kingdom and said, "The kingdom of God is at hand."

Jesus in his three and half years of ministry goes from city to city, village to village, and in many instances from house to house, and in a sense is giving the people a bird’s eye view of the kingdom in all its glory. We are in the spiritual phase of the kingdom now, and when Christ comes back we shall live in the kingdom age, and the Jews once again will be the heralds of the kingdom of God; for it will be said, "No longer is the kingdom at hand, but the kingdom is HERE for Jesus is on His throne."

But in the text before us Jesus is teaching that the kingdom, in its spiritual phase, is here. In the 17th chapter of Luke it says, in the original, that the kingdom is "among you." Now Jesus is not talking about the militant kingdom, but the kingdom in the spiritual phase being among people, because He is in the midst of the people.

We might further add that the kingdom is one thing, and the church is quite something else. Various denominations, or religious organizations take the position that the kingdom and the church are one and the same thing, but the Bible doesn’t teach such a thing as that. The Bible nowhere teaches that.

Today when we talk about the kingdom we are not talking about a militant kingdom, but we think of it as that spiritual phase into which men enter by way of the New Birth. The kingdom of Heaven, as taught in the Bible, has as its objective the bringing in of the kingdom of God on earth, that God might be all and in all. So Jesus went from place to place teaching that the kingdom, in its spiritual phase, was among the people to whom He preached. He went about healing their diseases and sickness—this one thing always touched the heart of the Master when He saw the vast multitudes that came to Him for, "He had compassion on them; for they fainted, and were like sheep having no shepherd."

We want to notice the word "shepherd." If the Bible teaches one thing in the world, it teaches that Jesus is a compassionate Christ, and God’s people can be assured of one thing: no matter what the trouble to which they be subjected, Christ knows about it and sympathizes with His people in their sorrows.

Three times in the Bible we see Jesus weeping. One time is found in Hebrews 5:7 where we find Him weeping over a lost WORLD, a world FOR which He was soon to die; in the 19th chapter of Luke, verses 41, 42, we find Him weeping NOT over the world but over a lost CITY, a city IN which He was soon to die; and in John 11 we find Him weeping NOT over a city but over the loss of a friend.

Notice how it expanded. In John 11, He is seen weeping at the grave of Lazarus. This is the shortest verse in the whole Bible, "Jesus wept," but it is pregnant with meaning. Jesus wept over the grave of Lazarus, His friend, and today when God’s people are bereaved over the loss of a loved one, Jesus is sympathetic with our sorrows. Here in John 11, Jesus is weeping over ONE person; in Luke 19, we find Him weeping over a lost CITY, and in Hebrews 5:7 we see Him weeping over a lost WORLD. It started with one man and reached the whole world.

Jesus, therefore, is a compassionate Christ. He has compassion upon the multitudes today just as in the long ago. He was moved with compassion because they fainted. Now it doesn’t mean they swooned away and lost consciousness, that isn’t the meaning of the word "faint." It is the same word as found in Luke 18:1 where Jesus said that men ought always to pray and not to faint. It means that we are not to GIVE up, and the passage before us means that the people had actually lost heart and hope; they had given up; they had fainted.

There is nothing as tragic as an individual, city or nation that has given up. For example, if the people in certain nations in Europe had given up they would not be free today. When the premier of France deceived them and they were over-run by Germany, they kept up the fight for freedom. They were determined to regain their freedom, and they organized into underground groups. Through their own perseverance, determination and the power of God they threw off the shackles. They were not the kind of people to give up.

It is a tragic thing when people throw up their hands and quit; we can’t afford to give up. We have members in this church who would have, no doubt, been buried today had they given up, but they were determined and held on and did not faint. We had one member who actually lived almost two years after the doctors had said that she could not live. She was the kind that prayed, saying, "I will not give up." She was determined to live to a certain time—and she did. She fought day and night to live: she would not give up.

But that isn’t like some folk. Some people actually left this church when I became ill. Because they thought that it was all over with me, they left the church; but the church didn’t miss them. In fact, those who left didn’t mean anything to the church anyway. Can you feature this? They thought that I might die and they had better get out of the church right then. So they jumped out like rats leaving a sinking ship; they gave up; and, like rats leaving a sinking ship, they left the church.

In the passage before us the people had fainted, they had given up, and Jesus had compassion on them, saying they were like sheep without a shepherd. God’s people are like sheep, and Jesus identifies Himself over and over again as the Shepherd of the sheep. He points out that He loves His sheep and gave His life for them. When His sheep come to know Him in the free pardon and forgiveness of sins, He said in John 10:27, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. Jesus said, "I KNOW my sheep; they HEAR my voice, and they FOLLOW me."

Jesus saw the multitudes and had compassion on them. He turned to His disciples and said in John 4:35, "Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." The field is the world in Luke 8 and also here in John 4. Jesus points out the "harvest is plenteous, but the labourers are few." What does this mean? Does it mean that Heaven is going to be vacant as I have heard some say? Beloved, to say a thing like that is blasphemous. Do you think that Christ is not going to reap His harvest, even though the labourers be few?

We are told there are two billion people in the world. In short, they have taken a census and they tell us there are two billion. Suffice it to say that you can number the peoples of the nations of the earth, but in Revelation 7 we see a group in Heaven that no man can number. They had palms in their hands and worshipped the Lord. They were so numerous that John said, "No man can number them." Yet people say that Heaven will be for rent. But EVERYONE for whom Christ shed His blood will be saved and without the loss of ONE.

But Jesus said, "Pray ye therefore that the Father will send out labourers into his harvest."

You know, there are not many labourers for the Lord today. People will get out here and labor in every kind of occupation in the world, but they will not do one thing for the Lord. May I say this tonight—for it is on my heart, and I must say it because it is a fact: if folk were as careless with their jobs as they are with Christ’s work, they would not have a job long; they would be fired—everyone.

One of the reasons that people are careless and negligent with God’s work is because there is not enough love in their hearts for Christ. Beloved, you know that is true; why not just admit that the reason you don’t serve the Lord as you should is because you just don’t love Him as you should. Jesus said, "If you LOVE me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). And in verse 23, Jesus said, "If a man LOVE me, he WILL keep my commandments." And the RESULTS will be? "I will come and make my abode with him," said Jesus.

Did you know that people give every excuse in the world for not serving the Lord? They give every conceivable excuse, but I have NEVER heard a GOOD one yet. We are talking about alibis for not serving the Lord, for not being actively engaged in the Lord’s work. People give every excuse for not working for the Lord, but ask them why they aren’t on their jobs with their employer, and they will tell you one of two things: either they are too sick, or got fired. But ask them why they aren’t serving the Lord, and they will give you every excuse under the sun. "Aunt Jenny got sick; she hurt her toe, and of course, I have to stay home; that is, unless something else comes up for me to go to—but I can’t go to church."

Now they don’t go to see Aunt Jenny, she lives too far away, but of course they have to stay home anyway. There has been more lies told to God than anything else. People just don’t want to labor for the Lord; they can do anything else, go anywhere else; but they can’t go to church, and they can’t work for the Lord. They don’t WANT to work for the Lord. That is the truth and you know it. They are desirous of having their own way and will only serve Him when they have "time," and for most, they never SEEM to have the time.

People treat God as if He were a beggar, but God is NOT a beggar. In the matter of tithe and stewardship of time and money, they treat God as if He were a beggar, begging for their time and money—but GOD is not a beggar: He OWNS everything, and He owns YOU.

People think that God is a beggar, and if they give Him one hour of time on Sunday morning, they think they have done God a favor. Is that right or wrong, brethren? It IS the truth and you KNOW it. God is NOT a beggar seeking your favor, but I’ll tell you one thing, YOU had better seek the favor of GOD, that’s what you better do. God doesn’t care anything about YOUR favor, but YOU had better seek the favor of GOD.

Then let us go on. Jesus said, "The labourers are few . . ." That is the truth. The Master said for the disciples to "Pray the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth labourers into his harvest." He said to these disciples for THEM to pray that God might send forth labourers into His harvest. It was the LORD’S harvest, and it was the LORD who was to SEND out the labourers. If God doesn’t send you, you aren’t worth anything.

"But," someone will say, "He didn’t send ME." Well, He might not have SAVED you either. Did you ever think of that? You don’t have to take my word for it, it is in the Bible. Everyone who is saved is CALLED to SERVICE. That is why you are sanctified, set apart for service. It is in the Book and you don’t have to take my word for it. When someone does something for God they puff up and think they have done God a favor, but we are saved to SERVE Him: "Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are GOD’S" (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

But I want you to notice this: it is the Lord’s harvest and He said, "Pray ye the Lord of the harvest that HE send forth labourers into his own harvest."

Then let us see if He did. The disciples prayed earnestly and diligently about it. Now in connection with Matthew 9:38 we find in the first verses of Matthew 10 that Jesus called His disciples and He sent THEM out. They were the ANSWER to their own PRAYER; they prayed about it, and the Lord sent them out.

Now prayer doesn’t change the mind of God; it just gets you ready to receive the blessings of God. Read the 10th chapter of Matthew, the first seven verses. They prayed, and God gave them power and sent them out. God can use every boy, girl, man or woman in His service who will recognize His Lordship and is determined to follow Him. You start praying for labourers and you will BECOME one, just remember that. When you start to pray earnestly for labourers you will become one yourself.

One of the things that has worried me through all the years of my ministry is that I have been afraid to pray earnestly for foreign missionaries; it is because I was afraid I might become one myself. I was afraid that if I prayed hard enough the Lord might say to me, "YOU go." You listen to me now. We are getting down to the milk in the coconut. I haven t prayed too hard; for God might say, "You go over there yourself." If you pray for labourers God will make you one for sure. God will use you just as sure as you do it. The thing is, do you WANT to do it? Do you want to become obedient to Christ?

But first, I would ask you, are you SAVED? If not, I pray the Holy Spirit will make you conscious of your need, and that you will accept Christ as your personal Saviour. We never try to take the place of, or try to do the work of, the Holy Spirit. When God gets ready to save you He will reach in from among the masses and pluck you out. The Gospel wasn’t designed to save the world anyway; it was designed to take out from among the masses "a people for his name" (Acts 15:14). But if you have been made to see your condition in the sight of God, may you accept Christ tonight. Amen.