Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
Matthew 9: 37-38
Until Jesus returns for His church, there remains the need for us as believers to be workers in God’s Kingdom to bring in the harvest of souls for Him. The motivation to do so should be out of love for God and love for people as we are told in the greatest commandments of Matthew 22:37-39. Love is primarily a function of our heart/soul and should be empowered by the Holy Spirit in us. I am sad to share that it seems like this is lacking in people today who claim to be followers of Christ and believers in the gospel message. It seems like many folks who go to Bible teaching churches are content to just live for themselves and do what makes them happy with little concern for the eternal destiny of others. What could be the problem? Let me take a stab at it here. When I first became a Christ follower in 1985, I immediately became a passionate witness for Jesus. I told everyone I knew about Him and what had happened in my life. At the church I was baptized in, I quickly became involved in visiting folks in their homes to share the good news as that is how I found salvation. What surprised me most was that few other people in that church were involved in sharing their faith or even desired to do so. In my zeal to reach people and get others involved, I spoke about it and practiced it, but I did not follow what Jesus taught in the above verse. The way to best reach people for salvation and then get them involved in serving the Lord is prayer, not just busy work or religious activity. I was very committed, busy and ambitious for God’s Kingdom, but my prayer life was woefully lacking, and I now see this stunted any real progress. The transformation of souls is not by mere activity or sharing of information, but by the spiritual impact empowered by prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. If you’ve ever tried to change someone by reminding them often, even nagging them, or by hopefully being a good example, you will know this does not usually work well. Change in a person is a matter of the heart, not just the mind, and it is a spiritual matter that requires us to do the spiritual work of prayer. It is taking the time to block out all worldly matters and focusing of Jesus and His Word and letting the Spirit of God in us direct our communion with Him. Of course, you can only do this if you are a true Christian who has God’s Spirit and not just a wannabe. The harvest of people for salvation is still white unto harvest in our world; we need to become the people of prayer who cry out to the Lord for His calling of workers who rely on His Spirit to bring revival and salvation. Will we choose to be the servants God desires or will we continue on in comfort and self-gratification? Let’s be sure we all choose wisely as time is running out before Christ’s return!
Love in Christ,
Pastor Gary Houdek