[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.” — Matthew 9:36-38 NKJV
When Jesus was on Earth, there were temples where people went to worship God. Priests were ordained from the Levite tribe to serve in the temples and oversee the spiritual affairs of the people. But evil was on the rise. People were worshipping God but under the overseer of evil priests. And God saw that this can’t continue. Although the coming of Jesus was predestined (see Ephesians 1:4) and not a spontaneous reaction to sin, God brought Him to the Earth at the exact time.
When Jesus started ministry, He went through all the towns and villages preaching the gospel in their synagogues and healing all manner of diseases and illnesses (see Matthew 9:35). And upon His experience on the mission grounds, He concluded that the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few. In other words, many were those in church, yet lacked genuine labourers in God’s vineyard to oversee them spiritually. Though Jesus said this as a statement from mission field experience, I still believe this situation still exists.
Despite the many churches in cities and towns in today’s world, men are still doing evil things. Why? Don’t they live by the Spirit of grace to stop doing profane things? I tell you that most of them haven’t encountered the Lord Jesus for themselves. That’s why they treat living by God’s dictates as secondary in life.
When God calls you to ministry, put your selfish ambitions aside and flow with Him. Don’t think there are enough pastors and chapels, so your work is irrelevant in God’s kingdom. It’s a lie from the pit of hell. There were priests before Jesus came, but they weren’t doing God’s work. They were secretly doing evil things. So, if God has called you to serve in His vineyard, there’s room for you. He’ll grace and provide for the work He has called you to do. Spend time with Him to constantly refresh yourself in His presence. You’ll be strengthened to fulfil His mandate.
Prayer:
Father, blessed be Your name for calling people to preach the gospel. Empower them to do the work of the ministry diligently, so that souls will be spiritually transformed and overseen well. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
Devotional Code: KGD – 2024 – 073
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