The Need of the Hour

Matthew 9:35–38 ESV

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

The Promise

The harvest is guaranteed.

Revelation 7:9–12 ESV

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

God will fulfill His mission to redeem His people.

This promise goes all they way back to the garden.

Gen. 3:15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.””

Therefore, we should expect people to come to faith.

Remember the power is not in the person, or the method, but its the Spirit working through the message.

Rom. 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

“Sharing the gospel is like walking around in a thunderstorm and handing out lightning rods. You don’t know when the lightning will strike or who it will strike, but you know it will strike - the lightening rod of the gospel. And when it does, that person’s lightening rod will be charged with the power of God and he or she will believe.” - Donald Whitney, The Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, pg. 126

We should expect three responses:

Acts 17:32-34 “Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.”

People will mock.

People will be interested.

People will believe.

The Problem

There is a need for laborers.

Notice what Jesus says is needed for the harvest, laborers, not programs or events. People set on the mission of God.

“Men are God’s method. The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men… What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Spirit can use - men of prayer, men mighty in prayer.” - E.M. Bounds, Power through Prayer

“The fact is, most people come to faith through the influence of family members, small-group Bible studies, or a conversation with a friend after a church service: Christians intentionally talking the gospel. But when you take a cold, hard look at programs, things just don’t add up. For one, there is an inverse economic bang for the buck: the more money spent on the programs, the less fruit from evangelism. So, for example, when people under twenty-one (when most people come to faith) were asked how they came to be born again, only 1 percent said it was through TV or other media, while a whopping 43 percent said they come to faith through a friend or family member.... moms lead more people to Jesus than do programs.” - Mack Stiles, Evangelism

What is a laborer?

A laborer is a disciple of Christ who is actively engaged in the process of evangelizing, establishing, equipping, and exporting.

What holds us back from being a laborer?

Time; Family; Career; Comfort; Lack of skills/training; Fear

Satan

Satan cannot touch your salvation if you are in Christ, but he can try to sideline you to stop the spread.

He goes into containment mode.

The Puritan pastor, Richard Sibbes, wrote, “Man’s nature desires pleasure, profit, or whatever appears good, and this can divert us from heavenly delights. Satan knows that nothing can prevail against those who are trusting in Christ, therefore he studies how to direct our attention to earthly pleasures.”

The Provision

How do we get more laborers?

We ask God for them;

We call them (we cast vision) and train them.

Prayer is essential.

Jn. 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Ps. 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”

“Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure.” - D.L. Moody

Jesus shows them the need, then He equips and empowers them to meet that need.

This is discipleship.

2 Tim. 2:2 “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”

OJT

Prayer Time

Ask the Lord to raise up laborers at our church who would faithfully proclaim the gospel.

Ask the Lord to make you a laborer who would joyful sacrifice “good things” to be engaged in kingdom work.

Ask the Lord to provide people who will profess Christ during our, “on the job training”.

Pray for people by name whom you would like to see profess Christ (i.e. family members, friends, co-workers, etc.)