‘The Society for Picking Apples.’
What Happens When the Farmer Returns? We will leave it to your imagination!
State of the Church & the Harvest:
However, this parable serves as a powerful metaphor for the church today, where only a tiny percentage of the labor force reaches the Unreached, while the majority is occupied with various other activities.
It challenges us to rethink our calling and how we do ministry in light of this disparity.
One Mission leader said:
“Your life only makes sense in the context of God’s plan to finish the Great Commission!” *
Jesus wanted us to look at the Harvest in terms of ‘Finishing His Task’ and not maintaining the status quo.
“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”
“I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” John 4:34-35
This diagram below shows why the Task is not Finished.
It shows that out of nearly 14 million workers worldwide, only 15,000 are working among the Unreached – that is only 1%!!!
The Laborers and the Perishing Harvest:
Global Missionary Concentration:
What is the Solution?
- Jesus did not ask us to pray for the Harvest.
- He did not ask us to pray for Laborers.
- He did not ask anyone to Volunteer.
- Nor did He ask us to find Laborers!
Instead, He asked us to Pray two specific types of Prayer.
A. Pray to the ‘LORD’ – of the Harvest.
First, Jesus said: “Pray, therefore, to the ‘LORD’ of the Harvest!“
This is not an ordinary prayer that anyone could pray – because it conveys unique features different from other prayers.
1. It is a prayer of Discipleship.
It is a prayer directed to the “LORD” – not focused on the need.
The Greek word ‘kýrios’ means He is the Supreme Authority, the Controller, or the Owner.
One cannot pray this prayer without being available and surrenderd to His Lordship.
Jesus explicitly tells only His Disciples to pray this because disciples are the ones who are fully surrendered to Christ’s LORDSHIP.
“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?“ (Luke 6:46)
Therefore, the real shortage in the Church is ‘Discipleship’ – Not laborers!
The Lord of the Harvest only answers the prayer: ‘Lord send me’ – NOT ‘Lord send someone else.’
In Acts 10, even the reluctant and stubborn Apostle Peter, who says: “Surely not, Lord!” (Acts 10:14) three times, surrendered to go as a laborer to the plentiful Harvest in the Gentile world of Cornelius.
2. It is not a Petition – but a Participation!
While most prayers are petitions – this is participation with the Lord of the Harvest.
Saint Augustine said: “God can work without us – but He will not.”
This prayer must shift from the Homestead needs to the Harvest field needs!
“The Harvest Field is not a Spectator Sports arena – Only Participants are allowed!”
There are hundreds of thousands of church congregations with hundreds of millions of Worshippers of Jesus Christ, who can be transformed from spectators to participants!
“And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long… You also go into the vineyard!” (Matthew 20:6-7).
3. It is a prayer that brings radical answers!
Moving the labor force from the Homestead to the Harvest Field requires radical action.
Therefore, a specific Greek word, ‘ekbállō’, is used to ‘send forth’ laborers.
It means: ‘to cast out, drive out, or send out, with the notion of violence, like casting a demon, expelling a person from society, banishing from a family, compelling one to depart, etc.’
This is not effective volunteerism! Nor is it clever human persuasion!
Radical encounters are what is needed to release laborers to the Harvest.
The most unlikely candidate was Saul of Tarsus, who said:
“Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man…the grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly.”
B. Prayer, which cooperates with the Holy Spirit.
Secondly, the above prayer for ‘ekbállō’ would not be necessary if the Church cooperates with the Holy Spirit in prayer to focus on its original Mission. Then, the Holy Spirit will recruit laborers for the Harvest.
He did this in the Antioch Church when He separated Barnabas and Saul as laborers to faraway lands. Although they were busy leaders in the Homestead, they yielded to the Spirit’s call to the Harvest field.
“So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went…” Acts 13:4.
If local Churches could transform their prayer meetings into ‘participatory prayer’ with the Holy Spirit, He would release a ‘Missionary Sending Movement’ from every Nation to all Nations to finish the End-Time Harvest.
- Will you surrender in Prayer to the Lord of the Harvest?
- Will you cooperate with the Holy Spirit to be ‘sent out’ to the Harvest?
Your Prayer:
Dear LORD of the Harvest, _____________________________________________________
Dear HOLY SPIRIT, ____________________________________________________________
Sources:
- James M. Weber in Let’s Quit Kidding Ourselves about Missions (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979).
- Claude Hickman – Traveling Team.
- Joshua Project.
- The Lausanne Movement.
- Discipleallnations.com
Await Next Week: Preparing for the GLOBAL CONCERT OF PRAYER.
50 hours of continuous united prayer presented by National AG Councils. This is Your Opportunity to Prepare Your Church to join in!
