Eyes on the Harvest–Part 2

The following is a continuation of an excerpt taken from the chapter entitled ‘Eyes on the Harvest’ from Wayne Cordeiro’s book “Jesus: Pure & Simple”.

Stay Near the Door

In the early part of the twentieth century, the Reverend Samuel Shoemaker was known as one of the ten greatest preachers in America. He was rector of the Calvary Protestant Episcopal Church in New York in the 1920’s and later the rector of the Calvary Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh. He was also one of the spiritual leaders who helped draft the original Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, and was a spiritual teacher to Bill Wilson, AA’s co-founder.

Those who knew Shoemaker best described how his entire life was dedicated to showing people how to find God. He penned several versions of a poem titled “So I Stay Near the Door,” which begins:

I stay near the door.

I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out.

He was speaking of the door to a relationship with God, and his aim was to be where he could show others the way. That’s the key for us as well – to stay near to where people are receiving Christ.

Stay near the door.

There’s Always One in the Crowd

It was a busy day and the arrival of the miracle worker had people lining the street as if it were a Fourth of July parade. Mark 5 records the event with a focus on one woman caught in the press of the crowd. In the middle of the jumble, Jesus stopped and asked, “Who touched Me?”

The disciples were confused. “Who touched you?” they answered. “We are being pressed on all sides by humanity! It’s a madhouse! Everybody’s bumping into You!” “No,” Jesus replied. “Somebody touched Me.”

I can see the disciples shaking their heads. They were stifled by the crowds and stumped by His question. “I felt the power go out of Me.”

Just then, a woman fell down before Him and admitted that she had reached out and touched the hem of His garment. Quickly she explained that for many years she had suffered from an affliction. Worn and depleted, she had pinned all her hopes on the mercy of the miracle worker. Jesus stopped the parade and said, “Go your way. Your faith has made you well” (see Mark 5:25-32).

There’s a difference between bumping into Jesus and touching Him. And for Jesus, that will stop the parade. He took the time to recognize that touch among the hundreds of bumps, and paused to bring healing to this woman who came knocking.

There will be many who are bumping into Jesus each weekend, but there may be only one or two that are reaching for help.

Stay near the door.

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Eyes on the Harvest–Part 1

The following excerpt is taken from the chapter entitled ‘Eyes on the Harvest’ from Wayne Cordeiro’s book “Jesus: Pure & Simple”.

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.

Matthew 9:37-38 

After sharing about his granddaughters unfocused prayers and the fact that the author needs to guide her prayers, Wayne goes on to say that ‘Jesus guides our prayers too. The disciples once said, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). I wouldn’t mind taking a prayer seminar taught by the Master. We still can.

Slip into one of the seminars the disciples were attending. You can hear Him instruct them on how to pray. “Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. The harvest is ready but the labourers are not.” (see Matthew 9:37-38).

I wonder how many prayers of mine Jesus has answered. A hundred? A thousand? Maybe it’s time we answered just one of His.

Consider this chapter an invitation to regain focus. It’s a call to get our eyes back on Jesus and the things He cared about, to get our eyes back on the harvest. I’ll bet most of us pray often for our own needs, but consider this a divine request to pray for others’ greatest need: salvation.

Pretty simple. Let Him guide your prayers. Otherwise you may be praying for dogs, cats, and cars. 

Jesus always had His eyes on the harvest. He didn’t pray for more money, fewer problems, or bigger houses very often. Reading the Bible, I notice that He didn’t pray for more friends, more prominence, or more blessings. He never told the disciples to pray for a problem-free life, a fat retirement account, or a pin-striped donkey that would get them down the road faster and in style.

In Luke 10, Jesus told His disciples to pray fervently for labourers who had their eyes on the harvest. That same directive is ours.

It’s easy to lose focus in a … church. Weekend services just seem to happen on cue, and programmes appear to take place automatically without much prompting. The lights come on, people sing songs and play instruments that just happen to be in tune, and they seem to play in rhythm… usually. The preacher comes up with an encouraging sermon and the right Scriptures just materialise on the screens. We pray for God’s blessings and after a rousing final chorus, we leave for lunch, inspired to face another week at work.

We punched our spiritual time cards, and we motor onward in our daily lives. But we forgot our assignment.

The weekend service was not an end. It was a means to partner with one another in our attempts to reach our families and friends for Christ. It’s not just about Jesus working in us. It’s also about Jesus working through us.

You never determine the size of a church by how many are in it. You measure its size by how many are still outside of its doors.’

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New Zealand Coalition to End Homelessness

Originally posted as New Zealand Coalition to End Homelessness on the Breathing Space Southland Trust page.

Read the NZCEH report on Homelessness in Aotearoa entitled Homelessness in Aotearoa: Issues and Recommendations which was launched at the 4th National Conference in Christchurch in 2009 by clicking on the links.

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Eyes on the Harvest–Introduction

As I’ve been preparing my message each week I’ve become increasingly aware that each sermon relates not only to what others are utilising for prayer devotions for our weekly Sunday prayer meetings, but also illustrations that become apparent each week through what people in our congregation are going through in life… Coincidence – I think not!

My own reading, both biblically and through the two or three books that I currently have on the go, has had a definite focus on keeping our eyes open for what God has in store for us. As Matthew 9 says; ‘The harvest is plentiful…’ But are our eyes on the harvest or are we merely waiting for God to bless us?

Over the next few weeks I’m going to share through this blog what Wayne Cordeiro has to say about keeping our eyes on the harvest from his book “Jesus: Pure & Simple”.

In it the author shares how to focus on the One who matters most and take part in the joy and fulfillment that He brings. When we focus on Christ, everything else falls into place. Your relationships. Your job. Your church. Your mission.

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