UPHOLDING GOD'S STANDARD

“Then He also said to the multitudes, whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, a shower is coming, and so it is. And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather', and there is. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time”? Luke 12:54

Meteorologists and even we can take a look at the sky and tell when it’s going to rain, and automatically, this can alter one’s plans. Jesus was amazed that we can read the physical times and are able to tell what’s going to happen, but spiritually, we cannot discern the times.

“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart”. Luke 18:1-8.

If we will not faint in these times, we must pray. Praying is expedient.  Prayer does not have a substitute. Praying is an act of your faith in God. Jesus also said, if we don’t want to fall into temptation, we must pray. No one can outgrow been tempted, but you can outgrow falling into temptation. The higher you go, the more you will be tempted. In order not to fall into temptation, you must watch and pray. Praying should be our lifestyle.  Your response will always be different concerning things you are praying about. If you keep making excuses for why you do not pray, you will remain in that state.

The judge in this passage complained that the widowed woman will wear him out if he didn’t quickly grant her request even though he did not fear God nor regard man.  The enemy’s plan is to wear us out, to bring us to the point where we doubt God’s word. Now, if the woman did not give up on an unjust judge, we have no excuse to give up on a JUST GOD. MEN OUGHT ALWAYS TO PRAY.

"I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" 

This was Jesus’ question-will He find faith when He returns? Will He find men who are totally sold out to Him, who have not redefined His word, principles and standards? We are not forsaken people, we are not helpless. If there are people that will pray, God will answer. For Jesus to ask such a question shows that before He comes, faith will be scarce. Put in another way, He is simply asking if He will still find men in the faith. Every one of us ought to live by faith because whatever is not of faith is sin. Faith is simply obedience to God’s word. Speaking by faith is not telling a lie but you are simply saying what God’s word says. Faith is rising up to take responsibility and God honours it. Faith is not living in self-denial. Anybody walking by faith is a responsible person. God will not do what you ought to do. Jesus is looking out for faith. We have to understand that in the coming days, our faith will be attacked. When you are not praying, when you do not see God as your all in all, your faith will shift.

“…the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you…And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass… For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake…And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another…And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will wax cold…” Matthew 24:3-22.

We see in verse 3, the disciples asked a threefold question;

1.       Tell us, when will these things be?

2.       And what will be the sign of Your coming,

3.       and of the end of the age?

The you in that passage is not referring to an individual alone but to the body of Christ. You cannot relax in these times because all is well with you. Whatever affects your brother, affects you. Thus, because of these happenings, the love of many shall begin to wax cold. We are in the times where the events taking place can turn one into a self-centred person, the times can make you think differently, and unconsciously, other things will start taking the place of God. The unfolding events can begin to turn one into a wicked person, these times can harden one’s heart, and we can also start questioning our faith in God. Faith is a ONE WAY TICKET.

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth…” 1 Timothy 4:1-11.

The doctrines of demons will not teach you about demons but will simply distort your views and shift your attention from Christ. This plays out when you have alternatives to prayer, taking your attention away from the truth etc. These times try to distort God’s standard for marriage and food. There are all kinds of doctrines creeping in now that gives room for divorce and all sorts concerning marriage. When it comes to food, moderation is key. The gospel of dieting and healthy eating is spreading fast. It appears we seem to have more dieticians on the pulpit these days. It is so easy to think that you are in good health because you are eating certain types of food. You are not alive because you are eating healthy. It is God that sustains you. If you are not careful, your faith will shift from God to things.

Men and women ought to give themselves to some form of bodily exercise, and exercises are deliberately done. It has some profit especially as one is getting older, however, if you are not careful, as you are doing these exercises religiously, your faith will shift from God to these exercises. If men will give themselves to God as they do to these physical activities, their lives will be so much better and the benefits are in the now and hereafter. It is the God factor that makes the difference in the life of any man. YOUR CONFIDENCE MUST NEVER SHIFT FROM GOD. Any time, it seems as if your confidence is shifting from God to something else, pause and repent and begin to acknowledge God first as your SOURCE. The principles we religiously follow with regards to our diet and exercises, we must bring to bear on our spiritual life. What is your daily routine concerning reading, studying your bible, praying, worship etc?

“…Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints…” Jude 1:1-20. 

Jude was enjoining believers to contend for the faith: to fight to keep the faith. He would not have told them so if the standard of faith had not dropped. As believers, we have to fight to uphold the standard. 

The fact that something is generally accepted does not make it right. The present happenings have come to compete with the kingdom culture. This is the real fight, to keep the faith. The standard of the kingdom has not changed.

“Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set”. Prov. 22: 28

There is no modern Christianity or modern Jesus. The principles of God’s word remain the same. Holiness cannot be redefined; faith does not have a new definition. Make up your mind to fight to uphold the Faith. Stick to God’s standards. The fact that it doesn’t seem popular does not mean it is not true. Things may change, but we must remain guided by the principles of God’s word. “Thus says the LORD: Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16.

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit”. Jude 1:20

You can’t pray in the Holy Ghost amiss. When you consistently pray in the Holy Ghost, you will be strengthened and stay alert and awake. You will receive prayer points from the Spirit.

You don’t compromise what is sustaining your life. When you win the internal fight, the external fight is a walkover.

There’s a fight, there’s a war and the real fight is the fight to keep the faith, it is a fight not to lower the standard of Faith.

 God is able to keep us as we stay with Him.

COMMUNICATING THE GOSPEL 2

“Then Elisha said, Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD: 'Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria. So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, "Look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?" And he said, "In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it…” 2 Kings 7: 1-20

Note: The fact that you doubt God’s word does not mean it won’t come to pass, it simply means it won’t come to pass in your life. Your experience is a product of what you choose to believe.

When the prophet gave the word about an unimaginable thing that would happen in Samaria, it seemed farfetched that it would take place. When times like these show up, it is only the prophetic word that can bail anyone/people/nation out.  In this case, it was lepers that God used as instruments to bring about the fulfillment of that prophecy. 

“Then they said to one another, we are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now, therefore, come, let us go and tell the king's household” 2nd Kings 7:9.

"And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king..." verse 18. If God could use lepers, He can use you also, so stop putting limits on yourself and never look down on yourself. 

The lepers knew they owed others this news and they knew it may become a punishable offence if they kept the good news to themselves. Don’t keep what you can and should share with others to yourself. “The liberal soul shall be made fat”. Prov. 11:25. Ordinarily, lepers could not come into the midst of the people, but the lepers had access to where they never had access hitherto because they had good news to share. 

If the lepers were not quiet, we have no reason to be quiet and not share the good news with others. The lepers carried the burden of the nation; the encounter was too much for them to keep to themselves. There is a mandate over our lives to rescue people and generations, to carry the good news to everyone and places we have access to.

Many times, we have inadvertently put limits to why we cannot preach the gospel because we have become so self-centred that we do not look at others nor consider others. A lot of times, we have what can take us, yet we still hinge on ourselves, we use our faith for self alone. We still so need conscious, self-centred, self-seeking. But we have to come to the understanding that human needs can never be satisfied, they are insatiable.

Hezekiah had an opportunity to share the goodness and faithfulness of God when envoys came from Babylon to see him upon his recovery but he showed them his treasuries and everything he had in his kingdom. See 2 Kings 20. Every time, people have access to you, it is an opportunity to share the gospel, to reveal Christ. We are to spread the fragrance of the gospel all round.  2 Cor. 2:15. Apostle Paul declared, “…woe is me if I preach not the gospel” -1 Cor. 9:16.  We were left here on earth to share the gospel of Christ.  In Luke 10:17-20, the disciples were joyous at the works, signs and wonders they were able to do but Jesus pointed them instead to the fact that their joy should be in their salvation: that their names are written down in heaven. 

Let’s not forget that our greatest testimony is that we are saved and that heaven rejoices even when one soul is saved.

The gateway to the kingdom of God is Jesus. You must not hold back the preaching of the gospel/good news. The lepers did not hold back the amount of spoil that they came across to themselves alone; they made up their mind to take the news to the king’s palace. The goal of the lepers was not for themselves alone. 

With our mouths, let us tell others of the Lord's faithfulness. 

“I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations”. Psalm 89:1.

 
As long as you are in Christ, you have a testimony, the testimony of a saved life. The lepers simply fulfilled the scripture that says not to withhold more than you need. *If you are waiting for a perfect state to share with others, you will never have the opportunity*. The lepers acted in a haste to share with others their findings, we also need to have this mindset whenever anyone, comes within the scope of our influence.

When we are silent about Jesus, it means He’s not real to us.
“Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, What do you seek? They said to Him, Rabbi (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), where are You staying? He said to them, Come and see. They came and saw where He was staying and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, We have found the Messiah (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas (which is translated, A Stone)…” John 1:35 - 42

Looking at these verses, you will notice that as each person found Jesus, they went and called others to come and see Him. The question is who has found Jesus because of you? If you have seen Jesus clearly, your heart will be burning to share Him with others because your heart will burn for Him and your mouth will speak of Him. If you are not calling anyone, it means you have not found Him.

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." Luke 4:18-19

The same anointing that was upon Jesus to carry out His mandate is upon us also. You may not have a special feeling, but, it is there, it is upon you, just do it. You are anointed to preach the GOSPEL. When you begin to function as you ought, you will walk in authority and have access. Rise up and take your place, do not let anyone take your place.

COMMUNICATING THE GOSPEL

Texts: Jeremiah 9:23-24, 1Corinthians 15:1-4, Romans 10:5-11

If we are not proud of what we have there is a problem. Our GREATEST testimony is that we are saved. Every other thing is secondary. Our salvation is our real testimony. 

"Thus says the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might,  Nor let the rich man glory in his riches: But let him who glories, glory in this, That he understands and knows Me..." Jeremiah 9: 23 -24

As long as this testimony is not tampered with, we have not lost anything. For the kingdom of God is not in things, meat and drink but in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. *As long as the joy of your salvation is not tampered with, sharing the gospel will not be a problem*. The Gospel is not a complex thing. The most important questions and issues have simple answers. It's satan that tries to make it complex. And that is why often we think we need to say something big before people can believe but the gospel is not complex.

IF WE ARE GOING TO BE ON THE SAME PAGE WITH GOD THEN  WE MUST ALSO DELIGHT IN WHAT HE DELIGHTS IN.

There's rejoicing in heaven when a sinner repents. What gives God joy is that men become His TYPE. So there is rejoicing in heaven when one becomes His type. God rejoices when one soul is saved. If we don’t know what to say about our salvation, then we do not really BELIEVE. If you do not know what to say, then it means you do not really know what you believe. What you are saying,  is a product of what you believe. 

The first Adam failed the identity test,  but the last Adam (Jesus) passed this same test. The devil simply came to test their knowledge of what they believed. 

The gospel we believe is that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that, he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.1st Corinthians 15: 3-4

WHAT YOU SAY IS A PROOF OF WHAT YOU BELIEVE

The devil and men fought Jesus for calling Himself the Son of God but Jesus would not call Himself otherwise, because indeed He is the son of God. This was the real contention. It is our identity that distinguishes us all round. If we fail the battle of identity then we have lost every other battle.  

At Jesus' baptism, (Luke 3:21-22 )the Father declared, "thou art my beloved Son..." Jesus heard what the father called Him, He stood by it, and lived by it. 

Who do you believe, and what do you believe? What did you receive and what are you standing on?  We must hold fast to the word through which we were saved. Becoming like Christ is not the end. Our being saved makes us saviours It is our responsibility to reach out to others with the gospel, so they are saved and become like Christ.  

What we BELIEVE  (that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and rose again on the third day and He is coming back again ) is what we owe our generation. We are not condemned, we have been redeemed. This is the basis upon which we profess our faith. 

Jesus was crucified for declaring He was the Son of God.  Today, the contention is that we believe He resurrected. Every time we identify with this truth, the power of resurrection goes to work on our behalf. We will not be caged, cowered over but we will keep triumphing over evil. 

THE STRENGTH OF THE EARLY CHURCH WAS THAT THEY KEPT ON EMPHASIZING THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS, and the resurrection power was evident in their lives. 

In summary, we can say that what we believe of our salvation is that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and that God raised Jesus from the dead. And whosoever believes in Him and accepts this provision for salvation will be saved. (Believe in your heart confess with your mouth. Romans 10: 9-10)

This is the simple gospel we should communicate to others and leave the rest to the Holy Ghost. This POWER is also available to everyone who believes.

RESPONDING TO PRAYERS WITH THE RIGHT ATTITUDE

“And the Lord said,Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren. But he said to Him, Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death. Then He said, I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me…” Luke 22:31-34 NKJV

From the scripture, one would think that because Jesus had prayed for Simon, the matter was settled, but it wasn’t so.

The effect of Jesus' prayer was tied to Peter’s response and attitude. But Peter’s response showed his lack of understanding. Jesus went further to tell him what would happen, still he didn’t get what Jesus had seen and was telling him about. The fact that Jesus saw what was ahead of Peter and prayed for him did not mean that it was all settled; Peter had a part to play. 

When God reveals things to us, it is not so that we become fearful but our response is to pray to avert it especially when it is evil. On the other hand, sometimes we are complacent about our response and take things for granted. (See another example in 2 Kings 8:12-15 about Hazael whom Elisha told would become king but would cause much havoc)  Hazael responded by saying “am I a dog”?Instead of crying out for mercy and asking the Lord to help him and avert those terrible prophecies. His response empowered satan to take a hold of him and lay the seed of the terrible things he eventually went on to do. If God can take over a man, satan too can get a hold of a man and use him.

As Jesus moved on to the Mount of Olives, Luke 22: 39-46, He enjoined His disciples to pray. The way to escape temptation is to pray. When Jesus returned from praying the first time, He met them sleeping. The day we begin to have an indifferent attitude towards prayers, we have missed it. There's no alternative to prayers. Today, there are many intellectual Christians, they can analyse everything from current affairs, world economy to the present happenings in the nation, all these and more they can do but pray. All they do is talk, they even talk about the need to pray but never pray. Jesus told his disciples to watch and pray that they enter not into temptation. Jesus was in sorrow, but He went to pray, the disciples were in sorrow but went to sleep.

From this account, Jesus was trying to show them the temptations ahead of Peter and the others but they didn’t see. In the times of temptations, there is a tendency not to pray. In our day, there are diverse temptations facing us and the only way we will not be victims is to pray. The manifestations of temptations and evil are rampant and we have to pray not to fall into the temptations. These temptations are so real that it can make one become bitter, self-centred, wicked, offended etc but you have to make up your mind not to give in to these feelings. The things happening in our nation are enough to cause one to react and begin to respond in the negative. The lawlessness and wickedness of men can make one wicked,  but we must not fall for it.

At Gethsemane, When Judas came to betray Jesus, the disciples acted wrongly. Because they had not prayed, they interpreted and responded wrongly, with swords.

Prophetically, this is not the season to sleep but to pray. This sleep is not a physical one. You will be on the wrong side if you are not praying in this season. When you are sleeping, you have no idea about what is going on.  You are not in the know. Interestingly, Peter’s response/state in verse 62, (And  Peter went out and wept bitterly) was the answer to Jesus’ prayer for him in verses 31-32. This was actually a cry for mercy and help. If he had responded in this way from the beginning, he may not have had to deny Jesus. If Peter’s response was different when Jesus prayed for him, his experience would have been different.

THE CONNECTION. These things were written for our learning.  We must not make the mistake they made. The disciples had Jesus with them, to instruct and pray for them but in our day, we have the Holy Ghost. And part of what the Holy Ghost does is to help us to pray. This is where the connection comes in, we must respond correctly in these very tempting and wicked times by the help of the Holy Ghost.

WHAT THIS SHOULD LEAD US TO? As you give in to prayers:

1. Insist on the salvation of all those in your sphere of influence or your world, all those connected to you biologically, spiritually, geographically, vocationally. You must not be indifferent about their salvation. Never forget that the greatest testimony that heaven reckons with is that a soul is saved and knows the Lord. (See Jeremiah 9:23-24) Everything begins in prayer. Prayer has no geographical boundaries, nor is there distance in prayer. Jesus’ desire is that none should perish and He left us with the mandate to go into all the world and preach the gospel by letting us in on the Father’s prayer point that we should pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers into His harvest.

2. Draw the bloodline around your covenant domain against the activities of the angel of death that no one will be taken in their prime.

3. To be effective in prayers, you must forgive, love and show mercy. When you are in bitterness and offence, you cannot be effective in prayers. You cannot enjoy mercy if you are not showing mercy. Anytime you are walking in unforgiveness, you are in captivity. (Matt.24:12, Jude 1:21-23, Matt. 5:6)

4. We have to be strong in the Lord. As we see the day approaching, many more will deny the faith for comfort, and in several ways. But we have to hold on to the profession of our faith without wavering,  we need to provoke one another to love and good works and also not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Hebrews 10:23-25, Ps. 84:7, Acts 2:46. You can never grow in the Lord when you take fellowship with God for granted. How truly a Christian you are is seen in the structure you’ve put on ground. What makes your home a Christian home,  is that it is the principles of God's word that governs the affairs there,  and the family altar is kept alive. We shouldn’t neglect our gathering together. The enemy targets where our strength is. (Our personal and corporate fellowship, See Acts 8:1-3) We must endeavour to keep our corporate and personal fellowship intact. In summary, keep fellowship in the temple and fellowship in the house alive. Keep the corporate altar alive, keep the personal altar alive.

5. It is WARTIME, not PLAY or REWARD TIME. This WAR is not physical but spiritual. Presently, schools and churches are on lockdown, these two are avenues for both spiritual and mental education. Are we not bothered that our children are out of school, church? And don’t we believe we should go on our knees and pray rather than fighting over mundane issues and spreading matters that have no eternal value and will not add to us?

6. Let’s seize the moment and make the most of it because we won’t have it forever.

CALL FOR LABOURERS 2

The Church has failed to know and understand her primary assignment. We talk about everything the gospel has brought and we have gained through it, except the true gospel and heartbeat of the Father:- that men be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth. The present-day church has no compassion for souls. We have ignored the real reason for our being believers. What we go through is nothing and will be nothing if only we will give ourselves to God's business. We focus more on self-preservation fretting over things we shouldn’t. This is one of the reasons we cannot be true labourers-We are SELF CENTERED, NEED-CONSCIOUS and NEED-DRIVEN. 

ONE OF THE EASIEST WAYS TO MATURE IS TO TAKE UP RESPONSIBILITIES.

When we willingly take up the responsibility of fulfilling God’s desire, our capacity is enlarged. Anyone who signs in to be a labourer has signed in for accelerated growth in all ramification. 

God has given us the privilege to undertake this task as labourers. Let's count it as such. It is important we start from what is most important, which is praying. There is a problem with our commitment if we have to be forced to pray.  Jesus didn't just ask us to pray, he gave us the prayer point. 

If you truly PRAY, you will GIVE and also PREACH. Many times¸ all we use our faith for is to RECEIVE from Him. You don’t become spiritually strong if all you do is come to church, hear the word day in and day out and you are not imparting anyone. How many have encountered Christ through you,  how many are growing in the knowledge of Him through you? 

This was the reason Jesus told His disciples that they should pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers into His harvest. “Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest."

Matthew 9:37-38 

We have said, that, we have three types of labourers namely;

PRAYING, PAYING AND PREACHING LABOURERS 

Remember, the takeoff point is prayers. If we truly pray, in the place of prayers, God will give us the inspiration and light on how to go about winning souls, also in the place of prayers, compassion and passion for souls will well up in our hearts. 

One major trait of a labourer is WILLINGNESS. Do whatever God asks you to do willingly and gladly, that’s one way you will also receive from Christ. This was a trait of the early church. They were not forced to gather, they did so willingly. When Saul encountered the Lord, his first question was, “Lord, what would you have me do”? This ought to be the question of every true believer in Christ.

PREACHING LABOURER

Another word for preaching is proclaiming. Preaching is more than just talking, It isn’t just about preaching the gospel. It is about your whole life proclaiming and revealing Jesus. In thoughts, words, action and your entire lifestyle. As believers, we ought to allow our faith/profession in Christ to speak in every aspect of our lives. There should be no separation. We shouldn’t have a secular life different from our lives in Christ. Both should go hand in hand.

See Deut. 6:1-13. The Israelites were a shadow of the real to come and God laid out His commandment to them which was to be obeyed and not analysed. We are a type of Israelites and more is expected of us. Many times, we don’t pray as we should. If we are truly shining, we will be persecuted. You can’t deny Christ and expect His power and glory to show forth in your life. We are in a pruning season, if we interpret it correctly, we will bear more fruit but if otherwise, we would be cut off. Our attitudes and misplaced priorities hinder God in our lives.

WE ARE TO USE ANY AND EVERY OPPORTUNITY AND PLATFORM TO REVEAL CHRIST.

Acts 1:8 tells how Jesus told the Apostles to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Ghost comes and they were to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. Still, this injunction was not carried out because the Apostles and disciples continued to live in Jerusalem even after the Holy Ghost had come and God was adding to them. 

 Acts 8: 1, 4. But great persecution came that scattered them all over the places( Judea, Samaria...) Jesus had told them to go. If we do not go willingly, we will be forced to do so. The good news, however, was that, as the scattering came they went about preaching the gospel of Christ.  This scattering was pruning and thank God, they interpreted it correctly and they kept bearing fruit wherever they went.

TRAITS OF LABOURERS

- A true labourer is full of PASSION which is birth out of COMPASSION

- A true labourer is WILLING. One who does the work willingly.

Let us be labourers indeed.

CALL FOR LABOURERS

“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”. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Matthew 9:35-38 NKJV

“Then Jesus made a circuit of all the towns and villages. He taught in their meeting places, reported kingdom news, and healed their diseased bodies, healed their bruised and hurt lives. When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. What a huge harvest! he said to his disciples. How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!"  Matt. 9:35-38 MSG 

The first question is, if you are of Christ, as you are going about, what are you doing? As Christ gives you access to people, places, what are you doing? Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil. So you should be seen as doing what Jesus went about doing because it is what you are doing as you go about that tells who you really are. Where people are pursuing Christ, you will see peace amongst them. Let’s be reminded that what brings joy to heaven is not when you bought a car or built a house, it is when a sinner gets saved. One way to measure your spiritual state is how you feel and what you do when you see others who are not born again. The multitudes Jesus saw during His time cannot be measured with our time -the number is nothing compared to what we have now. Jesus didn’t say to pray for “members”, He said LABOURERS because members come to watch, labourers come to work.

What is this labour and what is the harvest all about?

Jesus told His disciples to pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers into the harvest. This is the prayer point of Jesus expressing the heartbeat of the Father. Jesus was simply saying the disciples should pray because without them, He cannot do what He ought to do concerning the harvest. There must be harvest hands.

The harvest is all about. SOULS. “On your knees, pray for harvest hands". There are some who do not even bother about this heartbeat of the Father, for others, it was a bother, they started but possibly stopped along the way. The truth is two cannot walk together except there is an agreement. You must ensure that all those you truly love are saved. Anyone who is not born again will go to hell; self-righteousness will not take anyone to heaven.  As disciples of Jesus, in order to bring in the harvest, we must have compassion, but the church in our day lacks compassion. When you are moved with compassion, you will not need human intervention and you can’t be stopped until that vision is accomplished. If the church does not have compassion, it cannot make an impact (Jude 22). 

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise. Jesus has not come because His desire is that all men will be saved and He is not willing that any should perish.  To accomplish this task, LABOURERS must arise. The harvest is all about SOULS-turning men from darkness to light, from the power of satan to the power of God.

The need for the hour is LABOURERS. To send forth means to ENVISION and EMPOWER men for the harvest. That empowerment means when you feel intimidated and threatened, you would be bold and stand for the harvest. When men who are envisioned and empowered go into the harvest, they reap out proper souls/fruit. The reason Jesus left us here with breath in us, kept us alive and has given us strength is so that souls will be won to the Kingdom of God. You do not beg labourers to work; they go looking for work, that’s how they are sustained, it is their livelihood. They make themselves available to work. They are available to work, not coerced or cajoled. All they need to do the work is simply to give them the platform. 

A lot of us believers have still not seen our work for God like that. We give Him our leftovers (of time, resources, strength...) 

There is a definite day and time a man gets saved. Make sure your children are saved. That they grew up in church, does not mean they are saved. It is alright to ask your child over and over again if he/she is born again and they must answer until it gets to such a time whereby it truly dawns on them in whom they have believed. 

A man is only saved through Jesus. Thus it is not a title, denomination that saves a man but JESUS. Romans 10:1-9, 10-15.

The LABOURERS primarily functions in three categories and we can function in all the three.

1. PRAYING LABOURERS

2. PAYING LABOURERS

3.  PREACHING LABOURERS

The enemy’s goal is to wear us out so we would not be able to fulfill these three.

PRAYING LABOURERS. Praying comes first. There will be no power, or resources released if we do not pray. If we do not pray, nothing will happen. Praying labourers are men who have come to the point where praying is now their lifestyle. They enjoy praying, they’ve become prayer addicts.  When you are a praying labourer, you cannot be too rigid to pray. When the Apostles stayed in the upper room waiting for the coming of the Holy Ghost, praying was not a burden for them; they were together in one accord. Those who believed in Jesus were of one accord. They were a praying people birthing a prayer people “… they continued steadfastly in the Apostles’ doctrine, in fellowship, in the breaking of bread and prayers”. When you are convinced, it’s not easy to walk out of anything.

Jesus told a parable about the dubious servant who stayed true to what he believed. Here, Jesus was saying that in spite of his dubiousness and though he was going to lose his job, he stayed true to it. (Luke 16:1-13) The result is not a determinant of the actions of these sets of people but their commitment. The response of praying labourers is prayer and the centre of their prayer is the heartbeat of God. The reasons we do not see miracles happening much in our day is because we do not have praying labourers. A praying labourer is not forced or cajoled but rather it is his/her lifestyle to pray. We pray prayers that make it look like God is irresponsible. When the Apostles were threatened and beaten on account of their preaching, that did not deter them because when they gathered together, their prayer points still centred on God giving them boldness to preach the gospel. Acts 4:24-30.

PAYING LABOURER. The most expensive venture on the surface of the earth is the advancement of the gospel. The devil knows this, thus he tries all he can to hinder and stop people from giving to the work of God. A giving labourer is glad giving to the work of God because therein, he finds fulfillment. Paying labourers give with simplicity expecting no recognition. A lot of people believe money is needed for everything except the gospel. Paying labourers see giving as their LIFE’S MISSION and they give willingly without being compelled, cajoled or coerced. After Jesus resurrected from the dead, the Pharisees paid much money to the guards to lie that Jesus’ disciples came to steal His body at night. If this can be done to hinder the spread of the truth how much more do you think is needed for the spread of the gospel? When the Holy Ghost is moving upon our hearts, everyone will know by the Spirit what is expected of them. One key sign that you are a genuine believer is that you do not regard whatever you do as your covenant responsibility as an achievement but a covenant obligation. True believers respond to every covenant obligation willingly. 

 Paying labourers always want to do more. When a man genuinely encounters Jesus, he will be committed to giving as he has proposed in his heart.

The people who brought money for the gospel’s sake were not cajoled, coerced or forced. They did what they did wilfully and willingly. (Acts 2:42-45, 4:32-35) Giving is not about how much you have, it is about vision and commitment. (2 Cor. 9:6-7) We can only make out time and give money to what we believe in. The wealth transfer we talk about is not for all but for paying labourers who have the heart and who are properly positioned.

If the gospel will be preached and men saved, paying labourers must rise to take their place for these to be done.

EMBRACE GOD'S STRUCTURE

“Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth”. Genesis 1:26

When God wanted to create the real intent in His heart, He didn’t embark on it on His own. He needed a team to carry out His original intent-it was an “US” affair. He went on to give the mandate to “THEM”. We were never wired for independence but interdependence.

When people say, “I just want to mind my business/I just want to serve God”, that’s an antichrist statement. You cannot truly be in fellowship with God and not be in fellowship with men.

When we hear the word church? What comes to mind? The church is the body of Christ; it is also known as the army of Christ and the army is made up of soldiers. Just like a soldier cannot function alone except with the army of soldiers, so also, the body of Christ cannot function alone. There are different parts in the body, each with its own unique feature, but nevertheless, each part needs the other to function effectively. However, what is common to both is STRUCTURE. This means there’s a part for everyone to fit in and it must be respected.

Sadly, we tend to have more regard and respect for human structure and less regard for the structure of God.

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height; to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God”. Ephesians 3:14

The terms being used in this verse of scriptures gives one a picture-that of a family-God was referred to here as Father. Thus, it gives the picture of a family, coexistence. Strength is a requirement for the journey of life. You can never come into the fullness of God in isolation no matter how much you live Him. What you know of God is as He reveals to you per time, to know more of God, you need the contribution, partnership of others to come into more of God. Daniel had a company while in Babylon, he didn’t walk alone.

Anyone who has genuinely encountered God will love the people of God. It is an antichrist spirit to believe it is only God you are in fellowship with or just with the man God sent you to. Life is about relationship. Every dealing with man is dealing with God. To come into the fullness of God, you have to fellowship with the saints. It was at the point we began to embrace strange cultures and lifestyle that are alien to scriptures, we also began to see strange culture and lifestyle creep into the church-His body.

“…There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all…When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men."  (Now this, "He ascended"; what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love”. Ephesians 4:1-16.

Looking at the scriptures above, we know that this is the structure of God. The saints cannot be equipped nor perfected without the input of these ministry gifts ordained by God. In order to play your role effectively in the body, you must give yourself to be impacted by the ministry gifts. We cannot be built up in isolation nor can you build yourself by yourself. Our unity is an internal one. Every part has a part to play, every part should know it’s connected to the body and should be supplying what it’s meant to supply. This structure must be regarded if we must get ready and prepared for His coming.

“Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you”. Hebrews 13:17.

If the scripture says to obey, obey. You mustn’t be forced to obey those God has set over you. Don’t frustrate them so they will not become grieved. And truly, it is for your benefit if you make up your mind to obey them. If you do not see beyond man, you would be at variance with God’s instruction and structure.

“Early the next morning the people went out to the wild country near Tekoa. As they were starting out, Jehoshaphat addressed them with these words: People of Judah and Jerusalem! Put your trust in the LORD your God, and you will stand your ground. Believe what his prophets tell you, and you will succeed”. 2 Chronicles 20:20 GNB.

God is in heaven and whatever God will do on the earth, it is a combination of both man and the Holy Ghost. Believe God’s Prophet-the one who has been sent by God because he has not come on his own behest but as sent by God with His word.