Gtcotr/ss111917
Matthew 9 NKJV
35 Then Jesus went about all
the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of
the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
36 But when He saw the
multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and
scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
37 Then He said to His
disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
38 “Therefore pray the Lord
of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
·
Jesus
was doing all He could physically do with His time and attention. He was
preaching and teaching and healing people …
·
But
when He saw the multitudes and knew that He was only One Man, Jesus knew that
He could not get to everyone who needed.
·
Jesus
needed Help and for that He needed helpers …
The
single factor limiting growth and greater success is an unwillingness or
inability to reproduce yourself and release others to do what you do. God is
willing to invest His time in you so that you can help Him succeed.
Success
is always in other people. God’s success is in you!
The
greatest investment you will ever make is an investment in others.
Parents,
let your children, nay … teach your children and make them cook and clean and
wash dishes and take out the trash and mow the yard and as they grow show them
the checkbook and the water bill and let them put air in the car tires, change
the lightbulbs, or fill the tank with gas, supervised of course, and shop for
groceries and handle paying for them.
President Ronald Reagan said, “Leadership is not about what you can
do but about what you can get others to do.”
God
is calling people to volunteer … His plan is the same plan we see Jesus working
at the end of Matthew 9. When you are doing all you can do, find some other
people, reproduce yourself in them and put them to work.
When
Jesus saw the multitudes … He was moved with compassion because they were in
need and there weren’t enough workers to meet those needs.
Jesus
said there was no lack of harvest nor harvest opportunities, rather there was a
great need for more laborers. This is the prayer Jesus asked us to pray: Lord,
send more laborers into Your harvest!
So,
what did Jesus do about it? He empowered others … the next verse:
Matthew 10:1 And when He had
called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over
unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all
kinds of disease.
The
Gospel of Luke records that Jesus broadened His appeal for even more volunteers
to empower and release to do the work needed.
Luke 10
1 After these things the Lord
appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into
every city and place where He Himself was about to go.
2 Then He said to them, “The
harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray
the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
Allow
me to tell you what God is going to do this year … it is the same thing He has
been doing every year since the creation of the world and the same thing we see
Jesus doing during His earthly life and ministry. God is calling volunteers to
help Him do His work. Volunteers are needed everywhere and in every area of the
Church, ministry and missions. From Sunday School teachers to greeters, from
missionaries to ushers and from musicians to altar workers, God’s army is an
all-volunteer army.
Every
Believer has a fair share of volunteer ministry they should offer to Christ.
Don’t worry if you don’t know how to do what is needed or what you want to do
for Jesus … I will insure you are properly trained and placed in a productive
field of service.
The
only thing limiting God from reaching and rescuing one more soul is the current
shortage of laborers. Would you be a volunteer in the Army of God? What will
you do so that God can see others reached and discipled for the cause of
Christ? Don’t worry … there’s something for everyone … You can do it … I’ll
show you how!
This
year we are endeavoring to reach Every Heart and Every Home for Jesus. Each one
of the departments and ministries of our Church will host or sponsor a
community outreach of some kind in 2018. We know the harvest is waiting for us
and all we need is more laborers we can send into the ripened fields all around
us.
Prepare
yourself and be ready to volunteer and serve in the Army of God during this
coming year. From Christmas Fest to VBS and from Pre-Teen outreach to our
elderly care, there is a best place for you to serve.
We
believe 2018 will be A Volunteer Year. That’s
what it will take to reach Every Heart and Every Home for Jesus! Let’s do it
together!
