A Plea For Harvesters: Rescuing the Perishing Through Prayer Matthew 9:37-38

The Power of Prayer and Salvation

In a small town nestled along the rolling hills of Minnesota, a young man named Thomas found himself entangled in a life of despair and confusion. Far removed from the teachings of the Lord, he wandered aimlessly, seeking solace in the very things that drew him further into darkness. The nights were long and cold, and the warmth of God's love seemed a distant memory. Despite his outward bravado, Thomas's soul cried out for something more, something eternal, though he did not yet know what it was.

Unbeknownst to Thomas, a woman named Grace, a devout member of Cornerstone Community Church, had been fervently praying for him. She had seen him grow up, watched as he strayed from the path, and felt an urgent burden to intercede on his behalf. Her prayers were filled with tears and unwavering faith, beseeching the Lord to break through the barriers of sin and reach Thomas's heart. Grace knew that only through faith in Jesus Christ could Thomas be saved from the impending wrath of God.

One fateful evening, as Thomas wandered through the deserted streets in a country far away from his hometown, he felt an inexplicable pull towards a church. With a heart heavy with the weight of his transgressions, he pushed open the doors and stepped inside. There, he found a men’s group praying for lost souls of their city. Kneeling in prayer, their whispered petitions filled the sacred space. Overwhelmed by urgency, Thomas fell to his knees beside the men. Grace’s prayers had reached the heavens, along with the men of that church, and in that moment, the Holy Spirit moved mightily within Thomas, revealing the depth of his need for a Savior.

With tears streaming down his cheeks, Thomas confessed his sins and placed his faith in Jesus Christ. The chains of his past fell away, and the light of God's love filled his heart. Saved from the wrath of God, Thomas embraced his newfound identity in Christ. From that day forward, he walked in the light, guided by the truth and the prayers of a faithful woman whose love and devotion had been a beacon of hope in his darkest hours, and the prayers of the men of a church who were burdened for God to joyfully advance His kingdom in their community.

The world is filled with Thomas’. Lost men and woman, wandering aimlessly way from Jesus on the road of perdition. But is the church filled with woman like Grace who beg God to rescue the Thomas’s of the world from perishing, and men burdened for their community, praying for the lost to be found?

What does it mean to be lost? Charles Spurgeon best describes the lost in his sermon “Christ the Seeker Savior of the Lost. Spurgeon says, What is meant by “the lost”?

“Well, “lost” is a dreadful word. I should need much time to explain it; but if the Spirit of God, like a flash of light, shall enter into your heart, and show you what you are by nature, you will accept that word “lost” as descriptive of your condition, and understand it better than a thousand words of mine could enable you to do. Lost by the fall; lost by inheriting a depraved nature; lost by your own acts and deeds; lost by a thousand omissions of duty, and lost by countless deeds of overt transgression; lost by habits of sin; lost by tendencies and inclinations which have gathered strength and dragged you downward into deeper and yet deeper darkness and iniquity; lost by inclinations which never turn of themselves to that which is right, but which resolutely refuse divine mercy and infinite love. We are lost willfully and willingly; lost perversely and utterly; but still lost of our own accord, which is the worst kind of being lost that possibly can be. We are lost to God, who has lost our heart’s love, and lost our confidence, and lost our obedience; lost to the church, which we cannot serve; lost to truth, which we will not see; lost to right, which cause we do not uphold; lost to heaven, into whose sacred precincts we can never come; lost—so lost that unless almighty mercy shall intervene, we shall be cast into the pit that is bottomless to sink for ever. “LOST! LOST! LOST!” The very word seems to me to be the knell of an impenitent soul. “Lost! Lost! Lost!” I hear the dismal tolling! A soul’s funeral is being celebrated. Endless death has befallen an immortal being! It comes up as a dreadful wail from far beyond the boundaries of life and hope, forth from those dreary regions of death and darkness where spirits dwell who would not have Christ to reign over them. “Lost! Lost! Lost!” Ah me, that ever these ears should hear that doleful sound! Better a whole world on fire than a single soul lost! Better every star quenched and yon skies a wreck than a single soul to be lost!”

Thomas was a lost man. I was a lost man. At some point in your life, you all were lost as Spurgeon describes it. And it was divine mercy that Thomas, and I , and you were found. One of those mercies was someone praying for your salvation. For Thomas it was a woman who was burdened to pray for him. For me, it was my grandmother who prayed for me often to be found by the grace of God. In your story of salvation, you have someone who prayed for you to know the Lord. You may not know who it was, and the person who prayed for you may not even know you are saved until you meet them in heaven. But I promise you, someone prayed for you to know the Lord because prayer is a means of grace God uses to bring his elect home.

So, my question for us this morning is, if Thomas describes the lost men, women, an children of this world, does the praying woman describe the church? Or let me put it closer to home. Does the woman describe you as a believer praying for the lost? Are you one of the men burdened in prayer for his community? Do you pray for the lost people in your life? Do you see them as potential believers? Do you pray with urgency? Do you pray for more believers to be raised up to proclaim the gospel message into their life?

This morning, as we continue our short series on characteristics of a gospel harvester, the word of God will show us that supplication is characteristic of one who evangelizes unbelievers. What do I mean by supplication?

Supplication: Pray with urgency for God to give you eyes to see the potential of unbelievers and for more harvesters to rescue the perishing.

Why does Jesus call us to pray?

There is a lot to be said about prayer, but I will give you two reasons. First, as I said before, prayer is a means God uses to draw the elect home. I’ll give you one example of how God uses prayer to save men.

In the story of Job, three of his friends come to counsel him. They do a horrible job and actually invite God’s judgment on themselves. God says to them Job 42:7

Job 42:7 ESV

7 After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.

How does God choose to satisfy his anger and save these three foolish men? God says,

Job 42:8–10 ESV

8 Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer. 10 And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

God used Job’s prayer to forgive his three friends. God could’ve done it a million different ways, but in His economy of things, God desires to use the prayers of his people to save sinners. So, as Mark Dever notes, we plead with God to remove the veil (2 Corinthians 3:18), to remove the scales (Acts 9:18), and to draw sinners to himself (John 6:44).

Secondly, there is power in prayer. Man’s persuasion does not have the power to save sinners. Sinners need the eyes of their heart opened, the veil removed, the scales dropped, and the heart to be regenerated to life (John 3). That spiritual power comes from God alone, but God has chosen to cooperate with us to save sinners. He gives us his spirit to empower us to pray, even pray for us when we can’t pray. His Son aids our prayers with his intercession, and the father answers our prayers with his power. Spurgeon sums up the power of prayer well,

987God the Holy Ghost writes our prayers, God the Son presents our prayers, and God the Father accepts our prayers. And with the whole Trinity to help us in it, what cannot prayer perform?—54.342, 343

Charles Spurgeon

So, Jesus says, pray for the Harvest. Pray for the Lord of the Harvest to send more harvesters to bring home the elect God is drawing to himself.

How shall we pray?

Matthew 9:37–38 ESV

37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Pray for eyes to see their potential

Prayer is Jesus’ main imperative in our text. We’ve seen Jesus preach to gospel:repent and believe. We’ve seen Jesus validate his gospel with works of mercy like healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and setting the captives free from demonic oppression. We’ve felt Jesus’ compassion on the crowds because they were spiritually aimless, walking in futility, harassed, and without a shepherd. Now we see Jesus instructing his disciples to something about a problem he sees his lost and aimless sheep. Jesus says,

Matthew 9:37 ESV

37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;

The harvest is full and ready to be harvested. The problem is there are not enough harvesters. Jesus says something similar to his disciples with his discussion with the woman at the well. In John’s gospel he says,

John 4:35 ESV

35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.

What I love about Jesus’s perspective on his sheep is how he sees them as potential. I tend to look at our culture and our community through the lens of frustration, maybe even despair. People who do not think like me or believe like me frustrate my worldview. My patience grows thin, and I tend to want to avoid those people. I don’t naturally see them as potential brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the living God, and coheirs of our eternal inheritance.

John Piper, as always, puts it so well, when he says,

Sermons from John Piper (1980–1989) Prayer at Harvest Time: Now!

Unbelievers are not only like sheep who are in trouble. They are also like wheat that can be harvested… There is potential salvation. And if we need the eyes of Christ to see the lostness of people and the compassion of Christ to feel pity for people, then we need just as much the expectancy and hopefulness of Christ that anticipates harvest time. Do you look upon your neighbors and colleagues and classmates and associates with the lively sense that here is a potential saint?

One of the real problems with reformed theology is something called hyper-calvinism. A hyper-calvinist is fine with not evangelizing the lost or fulfilling the Great Commission. God will call whom he calls regardless if someone seeks he lost. This is heresy.

First of all, it is right to say God does not need you, but he does command you to share the gospel. Jesus made the Great Commission clear to every disciple. Second of all, you do not look like Jesus nor act like Jesus if you do not harvest like Jesus, which makes me wonder if you belong to Jesus. Those who love Jesus want to share his message of hope. Thirdly, Jesus calls for us to pray for harvesters to go and harvest. Ask the Father, the Lord of the Harvest, Jesus says, for more disciples to help those who are already harvesting the lost. Those who are already harvesting are Christians who have been laboring sowing the seed of the gospel. Thats what Jesus says in John 4:37-38

John 4:37–38 ESV

37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

So, as many of you know, I am committed to reformed theology. I am a Calvinist if you need a label. But I am equally passionate for the Great Commission. I am a firm believer that we are not only called to share the gospel, but we have been given the privilege to share the gospel knowing God will draw some to the kingdom. Therefore, brothers and sisters, those who love God and obey his command to preach the gospel, prove it with works of mercy, purpose in their hearts to do it with compassion, and see the lost as potential wheat to be harvested.

Pray for Harvesters with urgency.

Jesus says in verse 38, Matthew 9:38

Matthew 9:38 ESV

38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

The word pray is a verb that means to ask for with urgency, with the implication of a presumed need. That is why you see the word earnestly in verse 38. What do unbelievers need urgently? They need to be rescued from judgement.

The gospel begins with a message of repentance. Turn from your sin and seek God’s mercy. The Bible says,

Hebrews 9:27 ESV

27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

I want you to think about that truth.

Death is appointed

Death does not happen by chance or fate. Satan does not have any say on when we die. Death is appointed by God to every human being. Death was given by God as a result of sin. Furthermore, God has ordained your days. The Psalmist also says,

Psalm 139:16 ESV

16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Just as God decided the day you were born, God has decided a day for your death. It comes like a thief in the night. Everyone you encounter has the same destiny. And because you are not given the day of your death, you are left with a sense of urgency to get your things in order for eternity because the writer of Hebrews says, after you die, you will have an encounter with God.

Judgement is certain

You will stand before God, and the writer of Hebrews says it is a terrifying thing experience if you stand alone. He says, for those who stand alone in their sin, its

Hebrews 10:27 ESV

27 a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

Hebrews 10:30 ESV

30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”

John says this judgement will end in a lake of fire.

Revelation 21:8 ESV

8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

For Christians, Christ stands with us. He is our mediator. Hell is not a reality for us because Jesus absorbed our wrath on the cross. He bore our judgement. Unbelievers, on the other hand, stand alone in their sin. Judgement and condemnation are the wages they earn for their sin. Hell is their only reward. It’s truly a terrifying reality.

If our death is appointed by God, which means all of us will die, however, and we do not know the day we will die, and when we die we know his judgement is certain, then today is the day of salvation. The most urgent thing on your agenda today is to get your life in order with the Lord. You are not promised tomorrow, let alone the next five minutes. James says your life is but a vapor; here today and gone tomorrow.

Johnathan Edwards described an unbeliever as one hanging over the pit of hell by a spiders thread. At any moment it could sever and you will be lost forever. This means, brothers and sisters, the most urgent need in your prayer life is to pray for the salvation of the lost people in your life, who are hanging by a spiders thread over the pit of hell.

Maybe you say to me, “Pastor, I’ve prayed and prayed for my lost friends and family to no avail.” Dear brother and sister, I hear you, but you must keep praying. The urgency never ends. Furthermore, God hears your prayers and remembers everyone of them. William Gurnall wisely reminds you,

Never was a faithful prayer lost. Some prayers have a longer voyage than others, but then they return with their richer lading at last, so that the praying soul is a gainer by waiting for an answer.

William Gurnall

Pray for more Harvesters

Matthew 9:38 ESV

38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

The laborers are not angels sent out for eschatological judgement. Jesus is not asking for us to pray for more angels to send messages to prophets. No, Jesus is calling us to pray for more Christian men, women, and children who love God and obey his command to preach the gospel, prove it with works of mercy, purpose in their hearts to do it with compassion, see the lost as potential wheat to be harvested, and feel the urgent need to rescue the perishing.

In 1869, Fanny Crosby wrote a hymn called, “Rescue the Perishing.” In her own words, she says,

“As I was ad­dress­ing a large com­pa­ny of work­ing men one hot Au­gust ev­en­ing, the thought kept forc­ing it­self up­on my mind that some mo­ther’s boy must be res­cued that ve­ry night or per­haps not at all.

So I re­quest­ed that, if there was any boy pre­sent, who had wan­dered away from mo­ther’s teach­ing, he would come to the plat­form at the con­clu­sion of the ser­vice.

A young man of eight­een came for­ward and said, Did you mean me? I have pro­mised my mo­ther to meet her in heav­en; but as I am now liv­ing that will be im­pos­si­ble.

We prayed for him; he fi­nal­ly arose with a new light in his eyes; and ex­claimed tri­um­phant­ly, Now, I can meet mo­ther in heav­en; for I have found her God.

In No­vem­ber, 1903, I went to Lynn, Mas­sa­chu­setts, to speak be­fore the Young Men’s Chris­tian As­so­cia­tion. I told them the in­ci­dent that led me to write Res­cue the Per­ish­ing, as I have just re­lat­ed it.

After the meet­ing a large num­ber of men shook hands with me, and among them was a man, who seemed to be deep­ly moved.

You may im­ag­ine my sur­prise when he said, Miss Cro­sby, I was the boy, who told you more than thir­ty-five years ago that I had wan­dered from my mo­ther’s God. The ev­en­ing that you spoke at the mis­sion I sought and found peace, and I have tried to live a con­sis­tent Chris­tian life ev­er since. If we nev­er meet again on earth, we will meet up yon­der.

The power of the gospel to save sinners. Fanny Crosby, a fellow harvester, proclaiming the good news to a group of men compelled with compassion for a young man to hear the good news. A young boy, a Thomas if you will, who had walked away from the faith he was taught, who without a doubt had a mother praying for him until her death, now finds himself at a gospel meeting hearing the gospel and having fellow laborers pray over him, is born again.

Rescue the per­ish­ing, care for the dy­ing, Snatch them in pi­ty from sin and the grave; Weep o’er the err­ing one, lift up the fall­en, Tell them of Je­sus, the migh­ty to save.

Rescue the per­ish­ing, care for the dy­ing, Jesus is mer­ci­ful, Je­sus will save.

Though they are slight­ing Him, still He is wait­ing, Waiting the pe­ni­tent child to re­ceive; Plead with them ear­nest­ly, plead with them gen­tly; He will for­give if they on­ly be­lieve.

Rescue the per­ish­ing, du­ty de­mands it; Strength for thy la­bor the Lord will pro­vide; Back to the nar­row way pa­tient­ly win them; Tell the poor wan­d’rer a Sav­ior has died.

Rescue the per­ish­ing, care for the dy­ing, Jesus is mer­ci­ful, Je­sus will save.

Oh, may FBCL be all about rescuing the perishing!

If we are going to reap the harvest of lost souls God has prepared in Litchfield, Hillsboro, Witt, Gillespie, Mount Olive, Staunton, and our surrounding area, then we must pray with urgency for the power of God to move and draw these sinners home. Pray for God to give us eyes to see the potential saint in every unbeliever he brings into our circle. Pray for God to give us the courage to proclaim the full gospel message of repent and believe. Pray for God to inspire our hearts to be willing to sacrifice our time, talents, and treasures to validate this message with works of mercy. Pray earnestly for God to give us whatever gifts we need to fulfill the Great Commission. May God raise more praying Fanny Crosby in our midst! May God rasie up more praying women burdened for our sons and daughters! May God raise up more praying men who are burdened for the lost souls in our community! May God make FBCL all about rescuing the perishing!