“He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask Him to send more workers into His fields.’” (Matthew 9:37-38 NLT)
In yesterday’s post we looked at a scene from Jesus’ life when He had a conversation with a Samaritan woman that began with a simple request, but led to the salvation of many from her village. Today I’d like for us to consider those the Lord has placed in our “Mission field,” and how we might reach them to His honor and fame.
As we begin, I have a word from the Lord: He will never ask you or me to do anything He’s not willing and able to equip us to do. When it comes to helping others it’s essential that we shift our thinking from what we think we can’t do, to what, with the Lord’s help, we can do.
As we learned from the story of the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus obviously has insight and understanding that we don’t have, but that He will gladly give us if we’re open to receive them. Let’s draw a few crucial truths from the verses above that I pray will help us be more vigilant when it comes to speaking freely with the people the Lord puts in our path.
First, notice to whom Jesus is speaking: “to His disciples.” We can’t give “living water” to someone if we don’t possess it ourselves. If you have any doubt about your own connection with the Lord, have a conversation with Him and ask Him to search your heart and point out any wickedness in you. If you have anything hindering your walk with Him, seek His forgiveness and let Him cleanse and purify your heart and especially your motives for sharing Him with others.
Next, ask the Holy Spirit to open your spiritual eyes to the greatness of the “harvest” all around you. I realize that some reading this post may have serious issues with which you’re wrestling. Here’s some good news for you – when you allow the Lord to help you focus your attention and prayers on others, often your concerns with yourself are lessened
We can’t harvest a “crop” we don’t know exists. Until you begin to grieve for the people in your spheres of influence who don’t yet know Jesus, allowing Him to break your heart because of all the people you see every day who are headed to a Christ-less eternity, you won’t see any need to do anything about it.
As believers our tendency is to pour ourselves into those who are already saved, which is all well and good, but we can’t expend all our energy there. Yes, of course, be faithful in serving in your local fellowship, but not to the exclusion of reaching those who are lost. To a large degree that’s why there are so few “workers” to harvest.
That’s why we must “pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask Him to send more workers into His fields.” The Lord alone can equip you to reach those in your spheres of influence, but as a rule, the most effective way to reach someone is to develop a friendship.
Patience, kindness, and thoughtfulness are very important “tools” for someone who wants to see their friends and loved ones come to Jesus. It’s critical that we stay in prayer, not only praying in general for lost people, but praying specifically that our eyes and ears will be tuned to the Holy Spirit as He brings different ones into our spheres of influence. Pray for them by name!
We often feel like we’re not being effective if we don’t lead a lot of people to Jesus, but did you notice what happened when Jesus shared with just one woman? That ONE helped many in her community come to Him.
There’s a story I want to share, but I’ll wait until tomorrow.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 