Luke 10:2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
Oh Friends, the Lovin Spoonful sure got it right when they sang about: ‘Hot town, summer in the city. Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty…’ Toronto sure is a hot town this week; what with high temps, humidity and smog alerts, too few public swimming pools, the fallout from the Summits still falling out, the Mayoral race heating up and an electricity blackout on Monday afternoon. Luckily the blackout only affected about a quarter of a million people. Apparently a hydro breaker burst into flames, for whatever reason, and short-circuited almost everything in downtown T.O. However, the systems in place to disconnect the non-working sections from the main grid seems to have worked perfectly, else we could have experienced a repeat of that infamous blackout in 2003, when an Ohio problem left a lot of North America, approximately fifty million people, in darkness. Bravo T.O! In our Bit today, Jesus is sending His disciples out to do some fieldwork, some sowing and harvesting. Now Luke is the only gospel which talks about Him sending out seventy disciples. Matthew and Mark just mention the twelve primary disciples. However, regardless of the number, Jesus is in fact sending His people out to do some missionary work, and at the very outset, He warns them: ‘The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few.’ He meant that a lot of people needed saving, but there were only a comparative few to carry out that highly important mission. Jesus also mentioned that problem to the disciples after meeting the Samaritan woman at the well and convincing her that He was indeed the Messiah. She in turn went back to the city and related her exhilarating experience, which resulted in a large crowd coming out to see and hear Jesus. And while the disciples wondered how Jesus’ physical hunger was fed, though He meant spiritual, He told them: ‘Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.’ (John 4:35) He was obviously referring to the large gathering that had come out of the Samarian city to see Him. Just imagine Jesus lifting up His hand and waving it around the crowd as he said those words. The actual harvesting of crops in the field might have been four months away, but the harvesting of men for God’s kingdom was imminent, right before their very eyes. But my Friends, unfortunately that disproportionate proportion of few harvesters to much harvest that existed in Jesus’ time, still exists today. There are lots of people in this crazy, violent, evil world ready to be brought into our God’s wonderful kingdom, but sadly not enough people to tell them about the Lord, to share Jesus’ important and dramatic story and bring them to salvation and eternal life. How sad that such a situation still exists eh. All over this world there are people in various stages of want and need, many oppressed and suppressed, who would gladly embrace Jesus and His way of life if they could only hear and see it in action. But unfortunately again, this isn’t being widely done as it should be for several reasons; among them lack of persons willing to undertake the necessary missionary responsibilities, which necessitates monetary availability, and even worse, the reluctance and/or lack of sufficient interest in the overall church to do missionary and outreach work. To a certain extent the attitude is understandable since many of the churches in the supposedly rich nations with the current ungodly wave, are struggling to stay alive and open, often experiencing falling membership and thus declining monetary power. But Friends, missionary work is not only needed in far off countries, but also right in our own home towns. Anyone who believes in Christ, tries to live a life worthy of Him and consciously spreads His Word is a missionary and there’s lots of work available. So there’s really nothing to stop us from doing God’s work wherever we’re currently planted. And as Jesus said in the Bit to those He sent out: ‘pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers unto his harvest.’ My people, the same thing is expected of us today, possibly even more so because there are a greater number of lost and unsaved people in the world today than in Jesus’ day. And since salvation can only be attained through a personal relationship with Him, then we need to reach as many individuals as possible so that they too can hear the good news of the gospel and have the opportunity to be saved. Friends, that means prayer for people to come forth to help, must be the first item on our agenda. As Bruh Paul told the Thessalonians: ‘Finally brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course (run, rein), and be glorified, even as it is with you.’ (2 Thess.3:1) It’s a responsibility of all Christians to pray for the furtherance of the kingdom by whatever means possible, including generous monetary support of our missionaries and churches, of our time in charitable work and encouragement to those in the field. Remember Friends, what we’re trying to do, bring others to Christ, is no easy task, since it flies in the face of everything the wicked world stands for. So unless we have a strong, able, motivated, encouraged and financially sound organization, we surely won’t do such a good job of furthering God’s kingdom. But then too, it’s not only organized proselytizing we need, but also the individual kind. We encounter unbelievers every day of our lives which gives us opportunity to talk about our God, and more importantly show His values in the way we conduct ourselves. So wherever we work, live, play or simply hang out, there’s always an opportunity to let God’s light shine through us. It doesn’t mean we have to be dogmatic, argumentative or forceful, Jesus never was, but we do need to get the message out in some form and fashion so that others will have the blessed chance to know the wonderful Saviour we serve and worship. Oh my people, I’m asking us all today to make a serious commitment, that every day, we’ll attempt, in some way or other, to bring Jesus’ glorious story to someone’s attention, whether it be an unsaved person, or a believer who just needs some advice, guidance and/ or encouragement. Sometimes we can do much more as individuals than we realize. Remember too, that there’s great joy in heaven for each converted sinner. We’ll close with some appropriate words from Jesus. ‘And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.’ (John 4:36) Yes Friends, before reaping there’s sowing. and the sower and the reaper need not be the same, they just have to have the same end result in mind, so that they can both rejoice when the harvest is reaped. So let’s all go out and diligently sow seeds for the kingdom, so that in due course someone will reap a bountiful harvest in Christ’s name. It’s the only way to be a true Christian. Much LOVE!…bringing in the sheaves…bringing in the sheaves…we shall all come rejoicing…bringing in the sheaves…
Oh Friends, the Lovin Spoonful sure got it right when they sang about: ‘Hot town, summer in the city. Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty…’ Toronto sure is a hot town this week; what with high temps, humidity and smog alerts, too few public swimming pools, the fallout from the Summits still falling out, the Mayoral race heating up and an electricity blackout on Monday afternoon. Luckily the blackout only affected about a quarter of a million people. Apparently a hydro breaker burst into flames, for whatever reason, and short-circuited almost everything in downtown T.O. However, the systems in place to disconnect the non-working sections from the main grid seems to have worked perfectly, else we could have experienced a repeat of that infamous blackout in 2003, when an Ohio problem left a lot of North America, approximately fifty million people, in darkness. Bravo T.O! In our Bit today, Jesus is sending His disciples out to do some fieldwork, some sowing and harvesting. Now Luke is the only gospel which talks about Him sending out seventy disciples. Matthew and Mark just mention the twelve primary disciples. However, regardless of the number, Jesus is in fact sending His people out to do some missionary work, and at the very outset, He warns them: ‘The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few.’ He meant that a lot of people needed saving, but there were only a comparative few to carry out that highly important mission. Jesus also mentioned that problem to the disciples after meeting the Samaritan woman at the well and convincing her that He was indeed the Messiah. She in turn went back to the city and related her exhilarating experience, which resulted in a large crowd coming out to see and hear Jesus. And while the disciples wondered how Jesus’ physical hunger was fed, though He meant spiritual, He told them: ‘Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.’ (John 4:35) He was obviously referring to the large gathering that had come out of the Samarian city to see Him. Just imagine Jesus lifting up His hand and waving it around the crowd as he said those words. The actual harvesting of crops in the field might have been four months away, but the harvesting of men for God’s kingdom was imminent, right before their very eyes. But my Friends, unfortunately that disproportionate proportion of few harvesters to much harvest that existed in Jesus’ time, still exists today. There are lots of people in this crazy, violent, evil world ready to be brought into our God’s wonderful kingdom, but sadly not enough people to tell them about the Lord, to share Jesus’ important and dramatic story and bring them to salvation and eternal life. How sad that such a situation still exists eh. All over this world there are people in various stages of want and need, many oppressed and suppressed, who would gladly embrace Jesus and His way of life if they could only hear and see it in action. But unfortunately again, this isn’t being widely done as it should be for several reasons; among them lack of persons willing to undertake the necessary missionary responsibilities, which necessitates monetary availability, and even worse, the reluctance and/or lack of sufficient interest in the overall church to do missionary and outreach work. To a certain extent the attitude is understandable since many of the churches in the supposedly rich nations with the current ungodly wave, are struggling to stay alive and open, often experiencing falling membership and thus declining monetary power. But Friends, missionary work is not only needed in far off countries, but also right in our own home towns. Anyone who believes in Christ, tries to live a life worthy of Him and consciously spreads His Word is a missionary and there’s lots of work available. So there’s really nothing to stop us from doing God’s work wherever we’re currently planted. And as Jesus said in the Bit to those He sent out: ‘pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers unto his harvest.’ My people, the same thing is expected of us today, possibly even more so because there are a greater number of lost and unsaved people in the world today than in Jesus’ day. And since salvation can only be attained through a personal relationship with Him, then we need to reach as many individuals as possible so that they too can hear the good news of the gospel and have the opportunity to be saved. Friends, that means prayer for people to come forth to help, must be the first item on our agenda. As Bruh Paul told the Thessalonians: ‘Finally brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course (run, rein), and be glorified, even as it is with you.’ (2 Thess.3:1) It’s a responsibility of all Christians to pray for the furtherance of the kingdom by whatever means possible, including generous monetary support of our missionaries and churches, of our time in charitable work and encouragement to those in the field. Remember Friends, what we’re trying to do, bring others to Christ, is no easy task, since it flies in the face of everything the wicked world stands for. So unless we have a strong, able, motivated, encouraged and financially sound organization, we surely won’t do such a good job of furthering God’s kingdom. But then too, it’s not only organized proselytizing we need, but also the individual kind. We encounter unbelievers every day of our lives which gives us opportunity to talk about our God, and more importantly show His values in the way we conduct ourselves. So wherever we work, live, play or simply hang out, there’s always an opportunity to let God’s light shine through us. It doesn’t mean we have to be dogmatic, argumentative or forceful, Jesus never was, but we do need to get the message out in some form and fashion so that others will have the blessed chance to know the wonderful Saviour we serve and worship. Oh my people, I’m asking us all today to make a serious commitment, that every day, we’ll attempt, in some way or other, to bring Jesus’ glorious story to someone’s attention, whether it be an unsaved person, or a believer who just needs some advice, guidance and/ or encouragement. Sometimes we can do much more as individuals than we realize. Remember too, that there’s great joy in heaven for each converted sinner. We’ll close with some appropriate words from Jesus. ‘And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.’ (John 4:36) Yes Friends, before reaping there’s sowing. and the sower and the reaper need not be the same, they just have to have the same end result in mind, so that they can both rejoice when the harvest is reaped. So let’s all go out and diligently sow seeds for the kingdom, so that in due course someone will reap a bountiful harvest in Christ’s name. It’s the only way to be a true Christian. Much LOVE!…bringing in the sheaves…bringing in the sheaves…we shall all come rejoicing…bringing in the sheaves…
SCRIP-BITS 