A humorous look at excuses as to why we don’t tell people about Jesus. What’s your excuse? Everyone has an excuse.

Book: With Christ in the School of Prayer
Chapter 9: Pray the Lord of the Harvest; OR Prayer Provides Laborers

“Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is ‘plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38).

Why does He ask His disciples to pray for this? Could He not pray Himself? Would not one prayer of His achieve more than a thousand of theirs? Is God, the Lord of the harvest, not aware of the need? And would He not, in His own good time, send laborers without the disciples’ prayers? Such questions lead us into the deepest mysteries of prayer and its power in the Kingdom of God. The answer to such questions will convince us that prayer is indeed a power on which the gathering of the harvest and the coming of the Kingdom do in very truth depend.

This paragraph, and especially the last sentence, really hit me hard. Somehow, the coming of God’s Kingdom (His reign & rule) depends on my prayer. The words that I release from my mouth wield a supernatural power. In the name of Jesus, I have authority to release the powers of heaven to do the work of the Kingdom on earth. In many ways, I cannot comprehend this mystery!

But since He entrusted them with the work and made it to a large extent dependent on them, He gives them authority to apply to Him for laborers and makes the supply dependent on their prayer.

In every church I have been to, one of the greatest complaints I have heard from leadership is that “20% of the people do 80% of the work”. And it’s true! This problem has several contributing factors, not least of which is a kind of Consumeristic Christianity that has emerged over the past 50 years. I won’t get on that soapbox now!

The point that I do want to make, though, is that Jesus makes a promise. Did you know that God has never broken a promise? He is completely faithful to the covenant that he made with his people; and, he is faithful to all promises that are bound to that covenant. In this passage, Jesus is telling us that we can rightfully invoke this covenantal promise! And, he WILL DO what he says. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be a faithful God. Is it possible that the problem isn’t on God’s end, but on ours?

Why don’t we obey the Master’s instruction more heartily and cry more earnestly for laborers? There are two reasons.

1) We miss the compassion of Jesus which gave rise to this request for prayer. Believers must learn to love their neighbors as themselves and to live entirely for God’s glory in their relationships with fellow-men.

2) We believe too little in the power of prayer to bring about definite results. We do not live close enough to God to be capable of the confidence that He will answer. We have not surrendered entirely to His service and Kingdom. But our lack of faith will be overcome as we plead for help.

Yes, the problem isn’t on God’s end. Two key elements that we, his disciples, are lacking: 1) The compassion of Jesus; and 2) Thinking too little of the power of our prayer.

Let us pray for a life in union with Christ, so that His compassion streams into us and His Spirit assures us that our prayer is heard.

Amen!

Let us set apart time and give all of ourselves to this part of our intercessory work. It will lead us into the fellowship of that compassionate heart of His that led Him to call for our prayers. It will give us the insight of our royal position as children of the King whose will counts for something with the great God in the advancement of His Kingdom.

I briefly mentioned Todd Bentley in my previous article as I talked about Charismatic Shenanigans. In my last post, promised to write more about Todd Bentley and what I think about him. As I was getting my thoughts together, I came across a press release issued by Fresh Fire Ministries, Todd’s ministry. In this press release dated August 15th, his ministry admits that Todd Bentley entered into an unhealthy relationship with a female member of his staff.

Now, I was completely unaware of this announcement yesterday when I suggested I had some beef with Todd Bentley. In light of his admitted sin, it is very tempting to pick up an even larger rock to throw at him, but Jesus would suggest that I put it down. I agree.

Conservatives have been declaring that Todd Bentley is a false teacher and false prophet for months now. In light of Todd’s present circumstance, conservatives are cheering and proclaiming, “We told you so!” However, I do NOT include myself in that camp. I believe Todd Bentley authentically proclaimed Jesus Christ. I agree with his ministry’s statement about Todd Bentley’s sexual misconduct when they said “the enemy has found a way into our camp.” Seeing a brother fall into sin is nothing to celebrate, no matter how you personally feel about his ministry. The enemy is Satan, not the sinner.

I’m not condoning his ministry either. My original intent in writing this article was to critique his ministry. However, considering he has been removed from ministry, I really don’t see the point in giving a detailed critique. My only concern was that he openly admitted to crying out to God for a revival (that’s a good thing), and he heard from God to do a few outwardly unloving things to trigger this revival (that’s a bad thing). Feel free to search YouTube for some outrageous clips of Todd Bentley.

I believe some Charismatics accept questionable behavior and teaching from their leaders because they are so hungry for the move of God. Being hungry for God is a VERY GOOD THING! We are to taste and see that the Lord is good! (Psalm 34:8) The problem is that some Charismatics are so hungry that they’ll eat anything. Some things in life are not meant to be consumed! Get off your hands and knees and stop eating dog food! Jesus has prepared you a meal, come to the Lord’s Table to eat! He is the meal!

I came across Doug Addison’s ministry while looking for books on prophecy and evangelism. Here is a video clip I snagged from his web site: DougAddison.com

Here is a sermon that I wrote for our Family Friday Night at the Grove City Vineyard. I thought the evening went GREAT! The participation during the message and response for prayer afterward was beyond anything I could have imagined!

Target age: Kindergarden – 5th grade.
Bible Verse: 2 Corinthians 4:7.
Thesis: Jesus is the treasure. You are the one holding the treasure. We are to give this treasure to other people.

The Greatest Treasure
Introduction (2 minutes)
Tonight we’re going to talk about the true treasure of Christmas. But, before I do, I need a volunteer who wants to help me. How many of you have helped out in the kitchen? OK, now which of you has used a mixer before? [Pick a volunteer] What’s your name? JANE is going to help me make the icing for the Christmas cookies. [Take plastic wrap off bowl] Inside of this clay bowl we have some yummy icing! [Take lid off the cookie jar] And, inside of this cookie jar we have broccoli. Just kidding, we have cookies!

I’m going to put in a few drops of food coloring, like this. [put in the food coloring] OK JANE, go ahead and mix in the food coloring with the icing. [let her mix it for 30 seconds] Great job JANE! You can go back to your seat now. Everybody, give Jane a round of applause!

Usefulness – Icing and Cookie Jar (2 minutes)
I want to bring your attention to something we don’t usually think about when we’re working in the kitchen, and that is: How useful this clay bowl is. If we didn’t have a bowl, we wouldn’t have been able to mix in the food coloring using this mixer. [try to put the beaters into the icing container] This clay bowl was very important in making the icing.

We can say the same thing about this clay cookie jar. Where do we keep cookie jars? We keep cookie jars on the counter because it makes the cookies really accessible to people who are short. [Illustrate the following by getting a chair, climbing on top of the table, and pretend you are looking for cookies in a cabinet] If your parents kept the cookies way high up on a shelf, you’d have to go over to the dining room table to find a chair, bring it over to the counter, climb up onto the counter, open up the cupboard, find the box of cookies, and then finally open the box of cookies so you can eat one. Now what do you think would have happen if your parents found you standing on the kitchen counter trying to find a cookie? They would probably be really scared that you’ll fall down! So, some genius invented the cookie jar so all you have to do reach over the counter and lift off the lid. This clay cookie jar is a really practical way of holding cookies.

Significance (2 minutes)
There’s one other thing that we usually don’t think about when we look at the cookie jar and the bowl. I want a show of hands, how many people like to eat COOKIES? OK, put your hands down. How many of you like to eat COOKIE JARS? You like to eat cookie jars??? That’s silly, we don’t eat cookie jars! OK, another show of hands, how many people like to eat ICING? OK, put your hands down. How many of you like to eat CLAY BOWLS that hold icing?

Even though the clay bowl is very important because it lets us mix the icing with the food coloring, we’re actually interested in enjoying what’s inside of the bowl. The same thing is true for the cookie jars. Even though cookie jars are essential to bring the cookies closer to us, we’re more interested in enjoying the treasure that’s inside of the cookie jar.

Lesson (3 minutes)
In the Bible, the Apostle Paul talks about a jar and a treasure very much like the one we’ve been talking about here. Let me read 2 Corinthians 4:7.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

First, I want to look at the “jars of clay”. What Paul is saying here is that we are like a clay jar, very much like this cookie jar here. We’re fragile like a cookie jar. We also have the capacity to hold a treasure, and make that treasure accessible to the people around us.

Second, I want to look at the “treasure”. In the Bible verse just before this one, Paul talks about how this glorious light from God has been shown into our hearts. That light is the very glory and presence of God. The treasure inside of us is Jesus. Jesus is our treasure.

Finally, I want us to think about the “all-surpassing power”. Paul said that the treasure inside of us is powerful. Not just powerful, but a REALLY BIG power! Do you want to see what God’s all-surpassing power looks like? [Dump 2 boxes of cookies into the cookie jar.] What just happened here? It overflowed! Did you know that there is no limit to God’s power and love? There aren’t enough cookies in the entire world to illustrate God’s power! This is what happens when God shines his light on us and fills us with his power. The people around us begin to notice the love of God in a really powerful way.

Response (1 minute)
How many of you would like to be this cookie jar? How many of you want to have your life so filled with God’s love and power that you begin to overflow into the people around you?

If that’s something that you want, come forward in a little cluster right here so I can pray for you.