Matt 9:36-37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
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.
The words of our Lord seem never truer than they are at this present time. On planet Earth we now have 6.6 billion people, more than has ever lived at one time in human history. That means there are 6.6 billion people who need to hear the gospel and to be saved. America has an estimated 305 million people, which means there are 305 million people who need the gospel of Jesus Christ to be saved. Polling data from the 2001 ARIS study tells us that 76.5% (159 million) of Americans identify themselves as Christians and in that 52% of Americans identified themselves as Protestant and 24.5% are Roman Catholic. That poll was taken 7 years ago and I believe that the number of professing Christians would probably be less, with the rise of humanistic atheism, Islam, and the occultic religions as Wicca. The majority of professing Christians are just that, professing. They know nothing of a relationship with Christ and would claim to be saved by a work of some sort (baptism, church membership, etc). Ask some of you're "Christian" friends. You'll see what I'm saying. My point? America’s in desperate need for the gospel. Many people believe missions work is something that happens overseas, but it actually starts in your own neighborhood.
Jesus tells the apostles in Acts 1:7-8 ... “ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
This command is also relevant for us as believers today. Jerusalem was the headquarters of Judaism, the capital of their country and the first place evangelized in the Book of Acts. After Jerusalem was reached Judea, then Samaria followed, then to the uttermost part of the earth. This order was followed exactly.
Ok, so why have I said all of this? I think as believers we have neglected our Jerusalem, our home towns and the wider scope of our country. I have nothing against foreign missions, but should our burden for missions be entirely for the foreign fields? Jerusalem was the apostles’ top priority before the uttermost part, and if we have neglected our Jerusalem, what right do we have to move on to the next ring of the circle?
There is a definite need. Our Lord said in the verses mentioned above that the harvest is plenteous, so the reason the gospel is not going out isn’t for the lack of people who need to hear it. It is because of the lack of laborers in the harvest!
So you may be thinking, “Well I’d love to help, but I’m not a pastor or a missionary or any sort of “professional Christian.” That’s the great part, the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:14-16; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21-23; Acts 1:8) is for every disciple of Christ.. every believer!
But can’t someone else do it?
That’s exactly what Satan is telling people. “I’ll let someone else do it” more often than not, this apathetic approach means it never gets done, which means more people perish. There may also be people in your life that with whom you may be the only one who can share the gospel. So if you won't do it, no one will. Every one of us needs to be involved with the evangelization of our Jerusalem, no matter what our occupation, age, gender, etc. There will be something to be done, whether it be inviting unsaved neighbors to ones home for a meal, or going canvassing door to door.
Not convinced yet?
Go visit a shopping mall or grocery store. There will be hundreds of people in one of these locations that may never hear the gospel. Why? Because no one took the time to tell them! They will die, and spend eternity in hell because the Christian church neglected its command to be witnesses in our Jerusalem! Your neighbors, friends, family may be in that group of the unevangelized!
Think you’re too busy?
The average US household has a television on for 7 hours, 12 minutes each day.
Approximately 10 people per minute die in the USA. From my math, that’s over 4300 people during the time the average American is watchiing television. How many of those people do you think knew Christ as savior?
Imagine how much you could do if you spent just an hour a day or an afternoon once a week walking around your area knocking on doors witnessing!
When was the last time you prayed for the harvest in your town or area? Have you prayed for the Lord to send laborers into that harvest? When was the last time you approached someone with the gospel? Have you ever approached someone with the gospel? When was the last time you led someone to the Lord? Have you ever led someone to the Lord? Do you constantly say “I’ll get involved later?” The clock is ticking. I hope this will motivate you to get involved.
If you aren’t sure how, email me back, and I can give you some suggestions. Thanks for reading this.
Raymond Wilfong
www.raymondwilfong.blogspot.com
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
--Matthew 6:33
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