10/16/2017
Are you praying for God to call you to some great task for the kingdom? Do you have a desire to do wonderful things for our Holy Father? Well stop trying to determine how He can best use you and pray instead that God give you the strength to labor in His field... to bring in His harvest.
“Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."”
Matthew 9:37-38 ESV
Quite often we perceive our skills and natural abilities to be a blessing that God Himself should recognize and use, but they are not nearly as wonderful to Him as we might think them to be. Jesus selected every disciple to become an Apostle, not to preach about how we can better obey the law, or live in this world we find ourselves in, but ultimately to go out into it and spread His gospel.
If a Pastor isn’t, first and foremost, preaching the gospel from the pulpit, and calling for those wishing to be saved to come forth, then He has missed the primary call of Jesus. If we praise God for having provided us with shoes and neglect to thank Him for sending us on a journey in them to save a soul, then we have missed the calling. If we have fed the hungry, given water to the thirsty, welcomed a stranger, clothed the naked, or visited the sick and imprisoned, and not taught them of the gospel of Jesus Christ... then we have missed the call.
All of these things and more were taught to the twelve disciples, but none of this became their ultimate calling... the call is to spread the gospel to all the world! The things we do in the world around us are all just tools to accomplish that calling... that mission. Which disciple did Jesus send into the world to feed the hungry? How about to clothe the naked, or these other things? The answer is... None, yet all of them were taught that this is how we as Christians behave and present ourselves.
This bothers you doesn’t it? Last Sunday you preached a wonderful and powerful sermon about loving one another, then either neglected to make an alter call, or mentioned salvation casually in Passing. You worked at the local food bank and served 500 meals, but didn’t tell a single soul about Jesus Christ. You went to the bedside of a sick or dying person and provided comfort, but never offered them eternity. You gave a man drink who was thirsting, and never mentioned the living water of Jesus. You missed the ultimate call.
There is an age old saying for such things... “He couldn’t see the forest for the trees!” If you are like me, then you often find yourself concentrating on the trees and miss entirely the vastness and magnificence of the forest. We do this by concentrating on a single work for the kingdom of God and miss the call that brought us there in the first place, or by searching for how to best use our talents. God gives us the gifts we need to win souls, the things we bring to the table are good, but those things we are so proud of don’t determine the success of God’s mission through us.... they are just scrub brush that keeps us from seeing the forest.
Don’t get me wrong, it is very important to learn and teach how to be more like Jesus, and to increase one’s self in faith and sanctity, but our primary calling is always to spread the gospel! Do you really know the heart of every man or woman who sits in your church? How about in your Sunday School class, or your midweek bible study? If you are teaching, always make provision for salvation, and invite those around you to discuss that with you. Always invite strangers to Christ, and the prodigal sons to return. Do you really know who they are? Maybe one of those prodigal sons is a man who you have thought of as a saint for many years... do you really know his heart today?
I am not being holier than thou here... this has convicted me, and I find myself guilty as well. I am prayerfully wondering how many times I have taught and walked out of my classroom... leaving a heavy ladened soul behind, or a man who’s faith was waning and needed encouragement in the gospel.
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."”
Matthew 11:28-30 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for calling me into your field at harvest time. Thank you for placing me in a position where I can be of service to you by preaching or teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Circumcise my heart Father, and by doing so, make me painfully aware of the souls in need around me. Give me insight Lord into the suffering of those who are hurting, or those who bear a load of guilt and sin that could crush them. Lead me to pray with the faint and encourage them in their faith. If I do anything for you Father, let it be centered on bringing or returning to you the souls I come in contact with each day. If I preach, let none of my sermons end without a call to your grace, and let my spirit feel the call of the missionary as strongly today as when I first believed. If I feed the hungry let me speak to them of the manna that you provide in your Son Jesus. If I visit the sick, let me dab there forehead with more than cool water... lead me in prayer with them regarding the still waters of salvation. Always Father, always, help me to stay focused on my one true call... to deliver the gospel to the world... one sermon at a time, one meal at a time, one cup of water, one visit to the sick or imprisoned, or one piece of clothing at a time. Then Father, give me the words in prayer to pray with them that will quicken their souls, and bring them swiftly to you.
Rich Forbes