36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with
compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep
having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The
harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore
pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”--Matthew 9
To see videos related to this series, go to bit.ly/FBCKFlake
Encounter the plentiful
There are several passages in the Bible (almost all of them) that contain more information and inspiration than we’ll ever be able to
comprehend. This verse is one of them, found in the first six words of verse
36. “But when He saw the multitudes…”
Jesus saw the multitudes and loved the people. He was moved
with compassion for them. We drive around our neighborhoods and businesses, but
do we really see the people. And if we see them, do we truly love them? Are we
moved with compassion for others?
As our population grows, we have more possibilities than we
can fathom and more work to be accomplished than we can actually do. Do you see
those weary and scattered people? You see people that your pastor, your
shepherd, never has the opportunity to see, and even if he did, he cannot
minister to them the way you can.
Equip the prayerful
When Jesus saw the people, he turned to the disciples and
asked them to pray. There was much work to be done, and still is, but our Lord
did not say, “Get to work boys!” but rather “Get to praying!” There is a
bountiful harvest waiting, but it does no good if there are no
harvesters.
Another little verse packed with power and punch is in John
4:2, and in my version, it is even in parentheses, almost a throw-away line:
(though Jesus
Himself did not baptize, but His disciples),
Why didn’t Jesus baptize? He wanted to equip the disciples
to do the labor. We need to pray (King James says “beseech” which always put me
in the mind of “beg”). Implore the Lord of the harvest to send workers and may
every day that you go to your field of service, you begin with praying for
laborers, beginning with yourself.
Engage the purposeful
Early in the gospel of Mark, Jesus is recorded as rising
early to pray, while the people were seeking Him to preach. “Everyone is
looking for You,” the disciples said. His response was to go to the next town to preach, “for this purpose I have come,” He said.
Have you engaged in your purpose? We begin with prayer, but
we cannot stay in prayer. It is as though the disciples had to rouse Jesus from
His devotional time with His Father to bring Him back to his purpose.
Do you know what your purpose is? You undoubtedly have many
purposes, but ultimately we have simply one, and we can see that in another
purpose statement Jesus proclaimed in John 12:27-28, “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I
say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this
hour. Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from
heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will
glorify it again.”
Our ultimate purpose is to glorify God. Paul said it this
way, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to
the glory of God,” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Embrace the possible
We know that all things are possible with God. Look around our area and dream, “What is possible for our church, with God?” This passage has a parallel in John, following the encounter between Jesus and the woman at the well. The disciples had no idea what lay ahead of them while they went to get food, and suddenly just because of one woman, the entire village came out to see Jesus. While they were worried about Jesus getting enough to eat, Jesus was pointing to the disciples that the harvest was already “white unto harvest” (John 4:35). They needed to know what was possible.
Is your vision for the future too small? Are you worrying about the temporal things of this world (like the disciples were); concerned about “today’s meal”; meanwhile, God wants you to see what is possible to impact eternity? “Gather fruit for eternal life!” Jesus said. The disciples were about to gather from the labors of others, namely His witness and the woman’s testimony. And, they didn’t even have to lift a finger but were ready for the harvest.
I believe there is a harvest on the horizon. Look around! The possibilities are endless for what God has for you.
