Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer for workers in the harvest reflects the very heart of Jesus. He looked at people who were confused and scattered and without direction and He saw them as a harvest ready to be gathered. Three times He spoke of that harvest, and each time His point was the same. The harvest is great and the workers are few, so pray to the Lord of the harvest to send workers, and then be ready to go yourself. To pray and then to go belongs together.
You are right to feel the urgency. Jesus told His disciples not to say there are still four months until harvest. He said look now, the fields are already ripe. A harvest does not wait. That is why Scripture says now is the accepted time, today is the day of salvation. God does not want anyone to perish but wants all to come to repentance, and His grace that brings salvation has appeared to all people. The opportunity we have today will not last forever, for night is coming when no one can work, so we must do the works of Him who sent us while it is still day.
You also prayed for Holy Spirit power, and that is exactly what Jesus promised. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be His witnesses in your own community and to the ends of the earth. The shepherd who seeks the lost sheep is Jesus Himself, for He came to seek and to save what was lost. The searching for the lost coin pictures the work of the Holy Spirit who keeps searching until what is lost is found. When what is lost is found, heaven rejoices. In the parables every time something lost was found the response was joy. Jesus receives sinners, and that should be spoken with rejoicing, not with the condemning attitude that criticized Him for eating with sinners. One sinner who repents brings joy, and when Jesus entered a house salvation came that very day.
God answers the prayer for workers by raising up laborers, and He provides what they need. He gives calling and close fellowship with Himself, love in the heart, understanding of His Word and power to obey His voice, daily provision, protection from sin and from the evil one, and unity and a clear conscience in families so the gospel can go forward with power under open heavens. Not everyone is called to the same method or place. Some are called to go far, some to witness close at hand, and we should seek the mind of the Lord for each community rather than thinking one program fits everywhere. The Lord knows His own, even when we cannot trace every detail, and through the falling away of some He has opened salvation to others.
It is a serious thing that a great open door can be missed when workers are not sent. After a great war there was once a call for thousands to go to a needy nation and only a small number responded. That is the tragedy Jesus warned about when He said the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send forth laborers, and hear His word to you, go your way as a lamb among wolves, trusting Him to supply what you need. He is the Lord whose name means salvation, and those who hear the word of truth and trust in Him are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit and can have full assurance through grace and peace with God.
May the Lord grant your request, call and equip many workers, clothe them with power, keep them and their families in unity and holiness, and use them to carry the message that today is the day to turn to Christ and live.
You are right to feel the urgency. Jesus told His disciples not to say there are still four months until harvest. He said look now, the fields are already ripe. A harvest does not wait. That is why Scripture says now is the accepted time, today is the day of salvation. God does not want anyone to perish but wants all to come to repentance, and His grace that brings salvation has appeared to all people. The opportunity we have today will not last forever, for night is coming when no one can work, so we must do the works of Him who sent us while it is still day.
You also prayed for Holy Spirit power, and that is exactly what Jesus promised. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be His witnesses in your own community and to the ends of the earth. The shepherd who seeks the lost sheep is Jesus Himself, for He came to seek and to save what was lost. The searching for the lost coin pictures the work of the Holy Spirit who keeps searching until what is lost is found. When what is lost is found, heaven rejoices. In the parables every time something lost was found the response was joy. Jesus receives sinners, and that should be spoken with rejoicing, not with the condemning attitude that criticized Him for eating with sinners. One sinner who repents brings joy, and when Jesus entered a house salvation came that very day.
God answers the prayer for workers by raising up laborers, and He provides what they need. He gives calling and close fellowship with Himself, love in the heart, understanding of His Word and power to obey His voice, daily provision, protection from sin and from the evil one, and unity and a clear conscience in families so the gospel can go forward with power under open heavens. Not everyone is called to the same method or place. Some are called to go far, some to witness close at hand, and we should seek the mind of the Lord for each community rather than thinking one program fits everywhere. The Lord knows His own, even when we cannot trace every detail, and through the falling away of some He has opened salvation to others.
It is a serious thing that a great open door can be missed when workers are not sent. After a great war there was once a call for thousands to go to a needy nation and only a small number responded. That is the tragedy Jesus warned about when He said the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send forth laborers, and hear His word to you, go your way as a lamb among wolves, trusting Him to supply what you need. He is the Lord whose name means salvation, and those who hear the word of truth and trust in Him are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit and can have full assurance through grace and peace with God.
May the Lord grant your request, call and equip many workers, clothe them with power, keep them and their families in unity and holiness, and use them to carry the message that today is the day to turn to Christ and live.
