SENDING

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into the harvest field.

Matthew 9:37

This is a powerful statement by Jesus. He’s telling us something to ask the Father for. To send workers out into God's harvest field. What’s remarkable is that the word to send out means to throw out, send out, or to thrust out forcefully or with divine urgency into service. It’s the same word used by Jesus to cast out demons. It’s an expulsion. There is an urgency and power behind this request. It seems Jesus knew the reluctance of His church to go. The question I have is what would happen if we all prayed this way and God answered? What would it look like, because it seems to be a dangerous prayer? Actually, we have an example in the early church in Acts of God answering this prayer. In the Great Commission, God told the church to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. Revival broke out on the day of Pentecost. There were 3000 saved on the first day, then it grew to 5000 believers just after that. But what you notice is that it seems they all stayed in Jerusalem. There was no going out of the city. You can understand why. Revival was breaking out. Everything was happening; why would you want to go? Some persecution broke out, and so they prayed in Acts 4 Lord, grant us boldness to proclaim your gospel and stretch forth your hand with signs and wonders, and the place was shaken and they were filled again with the Holy Spirit. The church just kept growing in leaps and bounds. Then in Acts chapter 8 ‘On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the Apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.” This is mind-blowing because even then, the Apostles did not move, even though the original commission to go was given to them. All were scattered. Here we have an example of Jesus sending out. All those were expelled, thrust out. believers expelled, and guess what they were doing. Spreading the Gospel. How many. Several thousand by now, possibly. This was possibly 3 years after the day of Pentecost. There is a harvest field in Manukau. God's harvest field. What would it look like if we constantly said God send us into your harvest field.