America is in a Peculiar place…
Since the turn of the century and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost in the Azusa street revival … over 600 million people have come to call themselves Pentecostal.
In retrospect the Catholic church took over 1500 years to reach the same 600 million member mark.
Our world however is in a peculiar position for while more people are hungry for God, and are tapped into spiritual issues many of the churches of America have remained the same size and have not reflected the surge of spirituality in our world today.
Jesus Christ said it quite simply …. The harvest is plenteous… but the labourers are few.There are plenty of people in the field but few that are gathering them out of the field.
There are multitudes who are hungry to be harvested… but few who have the wherewithal to go into the field to gather them.
Let Me Start off by saying that Our World has never been more ready for revival than now…
The Public Eye has never been on the church and religion like it is today.Our world it could be said is simply waiting for the Church to get into the Reaping Process.The true Apostolic Church of the living God is larger than it has ever been…
just a few years ago our numbers were relatively unknown.It was estimated that there might be 10 million Apostolic Holy Ghost filled people in America and few elsewhere. Recent Studies show us that there is rather 30 million plus One God Apostolic Holy Ghost filled people in our World,though that number grows outdated everyday.There is Revival in Our World Like there has never been before….
The Harvest is Plenteous…. There are many who are Hungry… there are multitudes who are simply waiting to be harvested.
The Bible Says that in Matthew Chapter 9 Jesus found himself in the Midst of his Ministry, Preaching and Teaching the Kingdom of God. He was Laying Hands on the Sick and watching them Recover, he was healing people of every sickness and disease brought before him.And in the Midst of His Ministry the Bible Says that Jesus looked and saw the multitudes…
Matt 9:36
36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
In the Midst of doing a great work Jesus took the time to see….
He was Surrounded by the Sick but He Saw…
He was Preaching the Power of the Kingdom but he still Saw…
He was teaching the Unlearned but Still He Saw the Multitudes!
He was able to see past his immediate realm of Ministry, He had the ability to look past what his hand was currently involved with to see the Big Picture Surrounding him.
And While indeed those that were Close to him had needs He Saw also the multitudes… and was moved with Compassion…because they fainted….
Jesus Caught Sight of the Big Picture and it Changed his Heart Immediately…For He was Moved to Compassion by what He saw.
Understand what Jesus Saw when he looked across the great multitudes that were waiting for the Master….
First He Saw That there were Multitudes More… than his ministry was touching…
Secondly He Saw that they were Weak and Harrassed by Life… they needed his ministry desperately…
And Thirdly He Saw that in the Midst of this great waiting multitude there was only One who was laboring the Help Them… himself
And Being Moved With Compassion for them Jesus Turned to His Disciples… and Cried Out…
“The Harvest is Plenteous….. But the Laborers are Few…. Pray Ye therefore that the Lord of the Harvest would Send Forth Laborers into the Harvest!”
And this is the Paradox of a Plenteous Harvest…
This term “Plenteous Harvest” Indicated that there was great potential for the in gathering…
There weregreat ungathered multitudes … waiting to be harvested from an untouched field.
And While It Was Encouraging that there was such a Plenteous In Gathering was Prepared…
While It was Encouraging that there was plenty of room for revival…
In the Same Instant It was a Tragedy that such a great Harvest Is Left in Limbo because of the Absence of Laborers..
On One Hand God’s Heart is filled With Joy @ the Waiting Masses
And On the Other Hand God’s Heart Breaks at the thought of Such a Great Harvest that had No laborers.
This is the Paradox of a Plenteous Harvest…
There is Great Potential For Revival and Harvest…. But that Potential is Untapped and Untouched.
The Fields Are Ready … But they Are Untouched….
The Multitudes Are Gathered in Waiting… But they have Not Been Ministered to.
Potential is a word that is often used and rarely
Achieved.
Potential is a paradox itself…
It Means that there is a Strong Possibilty of achieving a goal, but reveals implicitly that the goal has not Yet been Attained…
And Jesus Turned to His Disciples and Said… The Harvest is Plenteous…. There was great potential in the faint weakened crowd that awaited the savior….
But God’ s heart was moved to Compassion because they were Left in Limbo…
There was plenty of Room for Revival, Great Potential for an In Gathering But it was literally untapped, and untouched.
Let me Stop here and say that though our world, and our community has better potential for revival than it has ever had before…
God will never be satisfied With potential without progress…
God is never Satisfied to leave the Multitudes untouched and untapped…
The Harvest Was in the field…. But God’s Desire was that Laborers Would be Sent to Bring it into the House!
God is Never Satisfied with Potential… For What Good is a Plenteous Harvest if it is Never Harvested!
And this is the Reason that the Church Must Pray…
God is saying there are better possibilities than there has ever been…
There is a greater Harvest field than there has ever Been
Our Community is ready for an Apostolic Revival... like it has never been ready before
That’s why We Must Pray that Laborers would be sent forth into the Harvest.
Why Must We Pray for Laborers… because if you will stop for a moment to Look past the Ministry at Hand You Will See a Multitude that is in need…
they wander as sheep with no shepherd… they have no direction.
And Jesus Never realized that they were there… until he looked past what he was currently doing …
"And When He Saw the multitude he was moved to Compassion."
Ladies and Gentleman We Must never lose sight of the multitude, No Matter the Power and Depth of the Ministry we have Now…
Our Mind Must always return to the multitude…
For the Greatest Part of the Harvest is Not Yet in Our Hands…
Though we have gathered and grown a Little, the Greatest Part of the In Gathering is not yet in our hands…
And Though the Harvest is Great… it is largely ungathered.
What Wisdom and Knowledge Jesus spoke with when he turned to His Disciples and Asked them to pray therefore that the Lord of the Harvest would send forth labourers into the harvest…
pray that laborers are sent…
Jesus addresses this divine request to his disciples… of whom all but one would go on to labor in various fields of harvest, reaping nation after nation of revival…
From Least to Greatest, the Eleven Faithful would move on from this paradoxical scene in Matthew 9 with an understanding of the need for laborers…
Well known or quietly mentioned all of them would be the answer to their own prayer...
James the Son of Zebedee… became A Bishop of the Early Apostolic Church and an epistle writer to the beloved of God… he was a laborer
Philip became a missionary to the land of upper Asia … he was a laborer..
Matthew became the gospel writer and gave his life to the work in Ethiopia and Parthia… he was a laborer
James the Brother of Jesus became the overseer and Pastor of the churches in Jerusalem.. he was a laborer
Andrew the brother of Peter preached the gospel to many Asiatic nations… he was a laborer
Peter Became the day of Pentecost preacher and bridged the gap between God and gentiles at Cornelius house… he was a laborer…
Jude became an epistle writer… and died in edessa as a martyr for his missions work… he was a laborer…
Bartholomew Preached in several countries, and having translated the Gospel of Matthew into the language of India, he propagated it in that same country… he was a laborer
Thomas Called the doubter, preached the Gospel in Parthia and India and stirred the pagan priesthood to rage… he was a laborer
Luke The evangelist, was the author of the Gospel which goes under his name. He travelled with Paul through various countries
Giving his life to missions alongside Paul… he was a laborer…
Simon the Zealot… preached the Gospel in Mauritania, Africa, and even in Britain, he was a laborer too…
It goes to show that one will not pray for laborers to be sent for long until they become a laborer themselves…
These disciples who undoubtedly tapped into the heart of God, and felt his passion for a plenteous harvest, would soon fulfill the prayers that God had asked them to pray.
I Submit then that the church that prays for laborers is likely to become a church that is full of laborers.
The Church that taps into the God’s Heart concerning the Potential for Revival...Will soon become a church full of people in the field… gathering in the great harvest that awaits us.
The Right Response to the Paradox of a Potential Harvest then is always to Pray for Laborers to Be Sent…
A Church that prays for no laborers will be filled with no laborers….
A Church that is not moved when God is moved will never realize its Plenteous Potential…
For the Harvest is Plenteous… But the Laborers are few.
John 4:35-37
35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
Mark it down in the word of God …that God has already ploughed the ground and planted the seed…
The Heart and Mind of Our Community is already being effected by God…. They are already hungering after the things of God…
God Has Sown…. We Must Reap…
God Has Planted We Must Pluck Up…
God has Prepared a Plenteous Harvest… we must pray that Laborers are sent into it!
It Is God’s Will for his Church to be Filled with the Harvest of his Planting…It is God’s will to see us Grow.We Must meet him in the field… And Help him reach beyond those Who are at hand.
We Must Realize our Plenteous Potential… and see the multitudes become the ministered to!
One Man said
“Everyone’s Work Soon becomes No one’s work”
We must make it our personal Mission to get into the Harvest… As God intended for us to be!
We must Not let the Plentiful Harvest Remain So… But it is God’s will for this church to gather in all that he has prepared!!
Closing
There are
8 things that will keep the Harvest Plenteous….
1. Don’t allow any new people in leadership
2. try to reach people only in stable situations
3. emphasize quality and not quantity
4. don’t be friendly to visitors
5. don’t advertise your church
6. make growth entirely a work of the holy ghost
7. say that the days of revival are past
8. don’t pray for growth
