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“Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Matthew 9:38
As you recall in this text a few verses before verse 38, we see that great multitudes had been following Jesus after He had been about all the villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel and healing every sickness. The passage says He was moved with compassion for them because they were scattered like sheep having no shepherd. If we are going to be like Jesus, there are a few things we notice about how He felt and acted and what He said and did. First, we notice He saw the multitudes. When He saw them there were three things He noticed. He saw their need. The reason why Jesus saw their needs is because He had compassion. Friends, the truth is that unless we have compassion for people, we won’t have a desire to understand other people’s needs and do something about them. Secondly, Jesus saw their lost condition. He knew they were without God and without hope in this world or eternity. Jesus saw the crowd as sheep without a shepherd. We all know that sheep need a shepherd to point them in the right direction. I truly believe that we will never see a person’s lost condition unless we see people around us as individuals who are wandering around and headed for a place of eternal damnation. Thirdly, Jesus saw their potential. He saw every one of them as a precious soul with unlimited potential. Don’t you know that when He saw us before we trusted Him to be our Savior, He saw our potential? I am stunned at Christians today who look down on someone because of their social economic status or the color of their skin. I have actually heard people say about others who are lost that they will never change. The sentiment is because they didn’t have a good home life or because of their race or culture. I would remind all of us that people won’t change unless they have Christ living in their hearts. We just simply need to have compassion for people who are lost and quit getting wrapped in our own lives trying to make sure our own needs are met. I would add one other thought. In verses 37 and 38 of this passage, Jesus said to his disciples that the harvest is plenteous, but the workers are few and then He added, pray to the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth laborers into the harvest. Guess what, I truly believe the disciples prayed that prayer and they became laborers. In Matthew 10:5 we read that Jesus sent them out. There is one thing that is certain, when we begin to pray for laborers, I believe God will impress upon our hearts to be the laborers. The problem isn’t with the harvest. People may say that people won’t respond because they are gospel-hardened or indifferent. I truly believe people are hungry for the gospel and they will respond if it is presented to them in the power of God’s spirit. The real problem I perceive is just as Jesus proclaimed, “The laborers are few”.
This year’s theme for the annual meeting on September 8th is from this passage. I believe we all need to be reminded and encouraged to be laborers in the harvest field around us. There are approximately 70 percent of our communities that need the Lord. I am praying that as we gather and hear God’s word preached, God will move in our lives, and we will be more intentional in sharing the Gospel. I am excited that Evangelist David Burton will be with us preaching from the text I just shared with you. We will also have Jeff Cleghorn with us, and he will be leading our time of worship. You won’t want to miss this annual meeting. The meeting will be held at First Baptist Church of Unadilla. You will find more information in the flier in this newsletter.
Bro. Gary
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