by: John Combest
It has been said that God had but one Son, and He sent that Son as a missionary. What a statement! What a truth! But oh, what a massive task He has left for us. My brother just returned from Rwanda, Africa, where there are almost no Baptist missionaries working. He spoke of the people calling into the radio station asking for teachers and preachers. He spoke of men and women pleading for churches in their area. The response? As of now, it is little. What can we do when we have no one to go? How do we rightfully respond to these people who plead for help?
First thing you can do is, pray. If I may ask, how much time do you spend praying for those in full-time ministry? How often do you get on your knees and ask for God’s protection on your man of God and church? How often do you remember those missionaries who have left family, friends, cultural comforts, and conveniences to take the Gospel to a people who are not their own? You say, “But I do remember and pray for each one.” But, may I bring this before you?
In Matthew 9:38 (also Luke 10:2), the Lord speaks of a harvest. May I say, a dying harvest. A harvest that has ripened and has begun to pass away. He then says an interesting statement. God says, “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” Some may ask, “If He has the laborers, why do we need to pray for Him to send them?” Why does He not just send them if He has them? I would like to submit that, though He has many laborers, few are willing to go to the work. He will send those who are willing and ready to be sent. When God asked, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” in Isaiah 6:8, He was just waiting for Isaiah to step forward and say, “Here am I.” In Matthew when it says, “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest,” He is just waiting for that one to answer so that He can then send them.
Are you praying, not just for those in full-time service, but are you also praying that more men and women will answer the call so that God will then be able to send them forth? PRAY!
Second thing you can do is, give. Many people have a distorted view of giving. Some feel it is the commandment of God. Others feel that it is just our Christian duty. However, though these others may be true, I would like to also say that giving is a great way for us to help those who have been sent to continue harvesting. Someone must support and provide for the harvesters so that they can focus on their present task. This must be a group effort. If we get the idea that the laborer is somehow below our grade, why are we leaving the awesome task to them? If we feel that the harvester is someone of character and dedication, why not get behind him with all we have? He should be able to immerse himself completely in the work without always turning around and hoping he can put food on the table and provide for his family.
Paul speaks to the Philippians in Philippians 4, and commends them for their care of him while he was fulfilling the call of God on his life. I think it is interesting that he mentions that they were the only ones who supported his efforts after he “departed from Macedonia.” Verse 16 says, “For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.” Can I ask you a simple question? How much more work and how much more focused can a servant of God be if he can give himself wholly to his task without constantly having to skimp or scrape to get by?
I think there is one more point that also needs to be discussed concerning giving. Most people automatically consider giving to mean financial. However, this may not be the case at all. Do you remember the lady in the Old Testament who watched Elijah pass through town on multiple occasions? She did something very unique that has encouraged a similar response around the globe to this very day. She built the prophet a chamber, a room in which he could stay, rest, and work when he was in town. This has now become what we call the prophet’s chamber. Many churches keep one for pastors and missionaries who pass through. There are so many ways to give.
A laborer needs to feel as though he has the backing of those who must stay home. As he looks out across the vast fields of dying souls, he can become discouraged and tired. He can begin to wonder if those “back at the house” really care about the harvest. Whether they really understand the magnitude of the task that they have left for him. These men and women working in the field need to feel our care and concern. They need to know we are interested in the work. They need to be convinced that we are backing them 100%. If we must stay home, let us back every laborer as much as possible.
Third thing to do is, go. Sometimes these three words are spoken of so often, that we forget the significance of them.
When Paul, in Acts 16, had what we call the Macedonian call, what was his response? We find that it was immediate. What we often miss is the next verse. In verse 10, he said that he immediately endeavored to go into Macedonia, “assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.”
What made him “gather”? (folks, this term is still used out in the country. It means you inferred or understood something to mean a particular thing.) What made him think so strongly that the Lord had called him to do this? #1 He saw. O how great a burden becomes when you see it! #2 He heard. I believe a worker who never hears the cry of the hopelessly lost will ever have the drive to finish the task. He must hear their cry and see their torment. He must be willing to expose himself to their extreme condition and sweat, cry, and work to bring them in. When Paul, the great apostle, saw and heard of the great need in Macedonia, he immediately knew that God was calling him into the work.
I do want to make a note here to add that there is much preparation that goes into answering this call. When Isaiah answered God’s calling in Isaiah 6, notice what preparation had gone into answering the call. One of the greatest things was for Isaiah to truly see God as He really was. Isaiah then saw himself as he truly was. Isaiah says in Isaiah 6:5, “Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” Isaiah saw God, and then saw how base and sinful he himself was. Yes, even that great prophet Isaiah. It was after God cleansed Isaiah that he was able to answer when God called. Oh, the laborer must see how sinful he is before a righteous and holy God. He must have his own life in tune with the Master before he can ever seek to work in His fields. But notice that once Isaiah’s heart was in the right place, his response to God’s call was immediate. It was not a delayed answer, but rather one that followed on the heels of the request. I believe if a worker is truly at rights with the Master, he will not wonder or question as to whom God is calling.
Both Paul and Isaiah had no question as to who God was calling. When they heard of the need, they immediately stepped forward to fill it. Oh that we would have a generation of men and women who see the massive harvest and prepare themselves to step into it and work. We have so many who sit in the house and watch through the window, making up so many excuses as to why they couldn’t be the ones God would be calling. They sit and watch as the workers sweat, labor and die in the fields as the crop turns white and begins to fall to the ground – to forever perish. They do not realize that God has given them the opportunity to see so that they may feel the burden and answer the call. Where are the men who will step in and take the place of those who have spent their lives in the fields? Where are the women who will step forward to encourage and work to get the harvest in? Our houses are full – the fields are empty. Who will go?
A storm is approaching. The harvest is already ripened and some has already begun to fall to the ground. The Master Harvester comes by and sees that if He does not get more workers in the field to get the crop, it will all be lost. He goes back to the house and calls for help. He does not call those who aren’t there, but rather those who have been called already and are in His house. However, He quickly finds that those who should have been ready are still babes. They have refused to grow and mature. He slowly goes back out to the fields and watches as the storm rolls in. Again, He calls. As he does, He sees with some encouragement, as 2 or 3 workers run out of the house and put their backs to the work. He turns to watch them go and sees as 4 or 5 old worn out harvesters collapse from the fatigue of years of labor. He cries out for more help, knowing that if all would get into the work there would be enough to get the job done. But no response! Then, all of the sudden, he sees as a number of workers leave the fields. He runs to them to see what has happened; and with bitter regret, they tell Him that they have not eaten in many days. That their families have been left to starve and go without because those within the house have refused to send anything for their needs. With sorrow, they leave just to take care of the families God has given them. Oh, the anguish of the Master as He turns and sees the wind begin whipping across the fields. As the storm begins its death march across the fields, the Master’s call becomes more insistent and urgent. But, with a mighty rush, the rain and hail begin to fall and the crop is destroyed. Overcome with sorrow, the Master stands in the road and begins to cry as He sees the grains of wheat fall and die, many of them without a harvester even close to reach them. He heads back to the house, and all He can see is each and every grain falling. He cries bitterly as He knows each grain is the soul of a human being that has perished for eternity. He has called for help for many years. He has pleaded for workers and none have answered. As He stands on the porch and watches the wheat disappear, He hears in the background those whom He had called. Those who He fed and clothed and cared for – for all of those years, and yet, when the day came for them to work in the fields, they didn’t answer the call. They had accepted all He gave, but never moved when He beckoned for help. Oh the bitter tears as He watches each grain fall, knowing it never had to be this way. Knowing that if those He had called had answered, every soul could have had a chance to be brought in. Oh, the bitter tears of those in the house as they were brought to a day of reckoning. As the Master allowed them to see each and every soul, one by one, pass into the lake of fire for eternity. How the memories then flooded their minds of all the times the Master called for more workers and no one answered. They will remember the many times a tired, worn out, discouraged laborer pleaded for help and no one moved to his aid. Oh, the bitter tears that they then cry as they realize that the fault is theirs and theirs alone. But, it is too late. The storm has passed and the crop has failed. There is nothing now but regret.
May I plead with you? The harvest is greater than we can imagine. Every day thousands of souls pass into eternity without even a witness close by. Generations are born, live, and die without ever once hearing that there is an eternity waiting them on the other side. We who sit at home fail to pray for laborers. We sometimes allow the few workers to suffer from lack while we eat and drink and throw our lives away on frivolous things. But then, so many of us feel God’s tug on our hearts. We see the vast need and hear the hopeless cries of those millions of souls, and yet do not move to help. Sometimes it is out of fear. Sometimes out of rebellion. Whatever the reason, it is the harvest that suffers. It is those men and women in Rwanda, calling for someone to teach them. Pleading for someone to come to their village. They are the ones who suffer. They are the ones whose lives are crushed and snuffed out without a man or woman of God to show them “This is the way, walk ye in it…” Who will pray for more workers? Who will give what they have to take care of the harvesters? Who will answer that call to head into the fields to bring in the grain? We are a body. We are the workers. This is the task. This is our job. Let us rise to the challenge!
John Combest
Missionary to the Congo