Brown's Daily Word 6-2-08

The Barna Research Group has been involved in gathering and analyzing information concerning the church since 1984. Many of its findings are startling and eye-opening. For instance, they have found that 33% of Americans are unchurched; they have no church affiliation whatsoever. Jesus said, “The harvest truly is plenteous.” There are people to reach; there is a work to be done. The danger within the church is that we don’t see this as the most important work. Almost everything else comes before this work of reaching these unchurched millions with the Word of God. Jesus found himself in a similar situation, recorded in Mathew 9: 35-39. I always thought what He has to say about the subject to be interesting because everything He says is truth. He saw the multitudes. He did not focus just on the disciples or his inner circle of friends but he looked out and saw the multitude. When He looked out, He was moved with compassion. That word compassion means moved to love, mercy, and pity. In other words, He did not merely see them, but He saw their need. They fainted and were scattered abroad just like sheep without a shepherd. He saw that they would soon run out of pasture and starve and that they would get lost and caught in some thicket and die. In the meantime they were helpless. Pleasures run out, the good times run out, self-sufficiency runs out, health will fail, death is inevitable, and judgment is sure. Jesus said that harvest is truly plenteous. Jesus saw the potential. He did not focus on the hopelessness of the situation, but he focused on hope. Jesus did not pity and do nothing but he said get the sickle and harvest them. Jesus did not see them as always being in that situation but He saw them being transformed. He saw the lost being saved. He saw sinners becoming saints. He saw the guilty being set free. He saw the unforgiven being forgiven. He saw the hell-deserving getting grace. Instead of moaning and groaning about the bad state of affairs he magnified the expectancy, the sense of hopefulness, that is anticipated in the harvest. The problem of lack of harvest is not in the harvest itself; the harvest is plenteous. The problem of the lack of harvest is not in the Lord, he still saves. The problem is that ”the laborers are few.” The problem is that not many are interested and involved in gathering the harvest. The play on words is obvious. Plenteous or large, and few or small. Do you know why reapers are few? It is because it involves labor. Now notice what Jesus says, “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.” Pray. The first thing to do is pray. Why must we pray? It is imperative that we pray because this is the Lord’s work. That which is impossible with men is possible with the Lord. Only He can heal the lame. Only He can raise the dead. Only He can heal sickness. Only He can cause dead ears to hear and dead tongues to speak. It is His power, and we must tap into that power. Moreover, through prayer we will gain the compassion we need to see the harvest through the heart and mind of the Lord of the Harvest. It is through prayer that we will see that there is great potential in the harvest, and it is through prayer that we will ask for the Lord of the Harvest to send forth laborers. How can we ask God to send forth someone else without first saying, Lord, send me?
In Christ, Brown