One of our challenges for 2014 is to learn and live
all 50
commands of Jesus. Jesus told us that following his
commandments is a way to love him and a way for his love and his joy to fill
our lives (John 15:9-12). In his Great Commission, Jesus tells his
followers to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything he
commanded us (Matthew 28:19-20). So each week in this year we are
learning and living one command of Jesus. Here is our command for this
week...
Week 16:
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching
in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every
disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion
on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like
sheep without a shepherd. Then he 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 field,"
(Matthew 9:35-38).
Application:
What kinds of things do you pray for? Think about it for a second … In an average
day, what are the things you pray for? I
notice that I tend to pray mostly for God to help me and help people I care
about. There is nothing wrong with these
kinds of prayers, but in this passage Jesus gives us a prayer request that we should
have at the top of our prayer lists every day.
He asks us to pray for God to send out more and more people to join God’s
work in the world.
Jesus saw the greet need and the great opportunity in the
world. In his ministry he saw so many people
who were in need of God’s compassionate touch.
He likened it to a field that was ready for the harvest. The only thing needed was more workers. The more workers, the more they could take
advantage of the opportunity.
I wonder what analogy Jesus might use today. Imagine customers flooding a department store
and the manager looking for workers to meet the demand. Imagine a pond filled with fish and a
fisherman looking for more polls and fishermen to take advantage of the
opportunity.
The analogy might change, but the situation has not. There are countless people in our world who
need the compassionate touch of God in their lives. I don’t know if we always see it this
way. We might feel like the world is not
interested in God. But Jesus says, “the
harvest is ripe!” God has been preparing
the soil. Hearts are searching and
ready. All that is needed is more workers
to bring in the harvest. The more
workers we have, the greater impact we can make.
Almost every day I catch a glimpse of what Jesus is
describing. Working with the church and
with the police department, I see so many people hungry, searching, and desperate
for the compassionate touch of God in their lives. The more people we have to help, the greater
the impact we can make. I know this, and
yet I seldom pray for God to bring more people to join the mission. When I have, God always provides. I am not sure why I forget to ask for what
God wants to give.
So I issue a challenge this week. Would you pray every day for God to bring
more workers for the harvest? Pray for
your church and for your ministries, that God would provide the people and the
resources to do the work he has called us to do. Can we do this for a week?
And if we pray, we need to be willing to answer the call –
to join the work and help bring others along with us. In Matthew 9 Jesus asks the 12 disciples to
pray. In Matthew 10 he sends the 12 out
on mission. Not long after Jesus would
send out 72. How is God is calling you
to join the work? Who is God calling you
to invest in, mentor, and bring along with you?
Share your comments and application ideas…
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