Pray-pare for Summer Spiritual Harvest
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease
among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion
for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then
He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."
Matthew 9:35 – 38
Let’s Prepare for a Summer Harvest by being pray-pared!
What are your plans for the remainder of this summer? Are you planning on spending
extra time with your family and relatives? Are you planning a vacation to have fun in the
sun? This summer I want us to think about preparing for a summer harvest.
Farmers have one purpose in planting – planning for a harvest. It takes hard work to
have a bountiful harvest. You cultivate the ground, plant the seed, pray for rain, and
then when the harvest is ripe you cut and harvest the wheat, and it is sent to market to
be used in our economy.
Some of you may remember the plantation days working ‘cane or pine’ (that’s sugar
cane and pineapples for those who don’t know). It was long hard hot work!
Jesus and the Apostle Paul give us instruction concerning the harvest. Scripture
equates preparing for harvest with prayer.
Matthew 9:37, 38 – “Then He [Jesus] said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful,
but the laborers are few. Therefore pray [ask] the Lord of the harvest to send out
laborers into His harvest.”
I like the way Eugene Peterson in “The Message” translates Matthew 9:36 - 38 “When
he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like
sheep with no shepherd. ‘What a huge harvest!’ he said to his disciples. How few
workers.’ On your knees and pray for harvest hands!”
It was during the summer working long hours for my dad, that I sensed God’s call on my
life for full time Christian service. The theme of Matthew 9:38 kept ringing in my ears:
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few, won’t you become a laborer in My
harvest fields.” I enrolled in Bible College and the rest is almost history.
Jesus is talking about a spiritual harvest with men, women, young people and boys and
girls accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. Our harvest fields are located where we live,
in our neighborhoods, where we work, our family and our friends.
1. Jesus Linked a Fruitful Harvest with Prayer
Jesus said, look out and see the people in your community. They are confused and
aimless, like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus tells us to drop to our knees and pray.
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Thousands of people in this beautiful Aloha State have substituted doing God’s will
with living according to their own will. There is only one hope for people who are
confused and lacking purpose in life. That is to know Jesus who alone can meet the
deepest needs of a person’s life…including forgiveness and eternal life.
There is power in prayer. Someone has said, “When we work we work, when we
pray, God works.” We are committed to pray because we want God to work through
our lives and the ministries of International Church.
The scriptures are clear. God is not satisfied with puny harvests or no harvests. God
wants His church to grow.
“The Lord … is patient, not wanting anyone to perish, but wants everyone to come to
faith in Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:9 Jesus came to earth on a mission of seeking to
save the lost. There is not one person on earth that God does not love. He is not
willing that anyone spends an eternity apart from God. If a person misses spending
eternity with Jesus, it will be because the person chooses to miss heaven by
rejecting God’s love.
Our task as a church is to continue the work started by Jesus. Jesus tells us to “GO.”
We are to reach out in love to the community around us. "Then the master told his
servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my
house [family] will be full.’” (Luke 14:23 NIV)
Do you believe God wants International Church to grow? Yes, He does. He is not
willing that anyone perish. He wants His house to be full. It is God’s will for the
church to grow. Ephesians 4:16, “Under [Christ’s] direction, the whole body is
[nourished]...so that the whole body is healthy and growing....”
As a church we are committed to use all means to see people come to Jesus. The
first strategy for growth is prayer. Jesus linked the harvest to prayer. Remember –
“When we work we work, when we pray, God works.”
In Exodus 17:8 - 13 Moses prepared to send Joshua into battle against the
Amalekites backed by what many Bible scholars identify as prayer. When Moses
said, "Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on
the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand." And so it was, when Moses held up
his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.”
Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill and Moses lifted his hands toward
heaven in prayer. As long as his hands were raised toward heaven the Israelites
were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands the Amalekites were winning.
When Moses’ hands grew tired, Aaron and Hur stood on each side and helped him
hold up his hands. Moses trusted God in prayer, and God gave the victory.
We have the choice of keeping our hands in our pockets and living in our own
strengths or make the commitment to pray and see what God can do.
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Do you have a hard time praying? I encourage you to pray. Ask the Lord to guide
you into what are of His harvest He wants you to serve.
You can’t go wrong praying.
Using the following is another help in prayer…
Adoration
Confession
Intercession – Praying for others
Supplication – praying for specific needs
Thanksgiving
I recommend using a prayer journal. I challenge all of us to pray for a great time of
harvest this summer in the International Church Family.
2. Jesus Asks Us to Prayer for More Workers
Jesus said, “Look at the huge harvest. Look how few workers there are. On your
knees and pray for harvest hands.”
Jesus had just finished witnessing to a Samaritan woman and he said to his
disciples… “Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends
four months from now? Look around you! Vast fields are ripening all around us and
are ready now for the harvest.” (John 4:35 NLT)
Farmers know that before there is a harvest there must be a time of sowing seed. As
a local church, we can’t expect to have a harvest if we are not sowing seeds of
God’s love and truth. We need to widely scatter God’s Word. If we are faithful in
sowing some seed will eventually find good soil and good soil produces 30, 60 and
100 fold.
Jesus asks us to pray because Jesus knows sowing the Gospel seed and reaping
the harvest challenge us to get out of our comfort zones. Satan will do all he can do
to keep us from praying and keep us from becoming harvesters. Therefore, we need
to “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all
strategies and tricks of the Devil. For we are not fighting against people made of
flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world,
against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked
spirits in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:10-12)
If Satan can’t keep us from planting seeds, he then will try and steal the seeds that
are scattered. Jesus said, “The farmer…is the one who brings God's message to
others. The seed that fell on the hard path represents those who hear the message,
but then Satan comes at once and takes it away from them.” (Mark 4:14, 15)
If we are too busy to pray, then we are too busy. Jesus is our model in prayer. Jesus
was never too busy to spend plenty of time in prayer. Jesus prayed before every
difficult task or crisis in His ministry.
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When Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane he was praying.
To become a worker / harvester requires prayer and putting feet to our prayers.
There is a battle going on in the hearts and souls of men and women, young people
and boys and girls in our neighborhoods.
We are living in a tough battle zone here in Honolulu, Hawaii. On our island God as
creator of heaven and earth is forgotten and ignored. God is looking for men and
women to stand in the gap and void caused by unbelief and sin.
Ezekiel in chapter 22 talks about the sins of Jerusalem. People have turned to
idolatry and immorality. The people had ignored the laws of the Lord. Ezekiel 22:30
The Sovereign Lord says, “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of
righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in
the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.”
Jesus asks us to pray for workers to stand in the gap of prayerlessness. Jesus asks
us to stand in the gap of unrighteousness. People are seeking truth. People are
seeking meaning in life. People are searching for God’s love and understanding.
Jesus asks us to stand in the gap and help people know who they can become in
Christ.
Jesus calls His workers to take action, take initiative and go on the offense. For too
long we have been on the defense. We huddle in our boxes and fail to get out into
the playing field of life. Jesus promises that His Church is triumphant –
Matthew 16:18, “Now I say to you, that you are Peter; and upon this rock I will build
my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”
Jesus asked His disciples a question: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They answered, some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say
Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. Jesus then turned to the disciples and asked,
“Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus
responded with the statement in Matthew 16:18. Jesus would build His Church on
the foundation of faithful men and women just like Peter. The church would be
triumphant. The church would be on the march. Satan might try to stand in the way,
but the church of Jesus Christ would be unstoppable.
2 Corinthians 10:4, 5 gives the promise of power we have in prayer: “We use God's
mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the Devil's strongholds.
With these weapons we break down every proud argument that keeps people from
knowing God. With these weapons we conquer their rebellious ideas, and we teach
them to obey Christ.”
When we pray we are punching holes in the spiritual darkness that hangs over our
community. When we pray we knock down Satan’s strongholds. Jesus can turn the
darkest corner into light.
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As a Christ follower, you have the assurance that Jesus will never leave you or
forsake you. Jesus said that after He ascended into heaven He would send the Holy
Spirit to comfort you, guide you, and teach you spiritual truths.
A number of years ago, a student was killed in a fraternity hazing accident at a
southern university. John, the star football player at the school, was returning to his
dorm the next morning after the tragedy when he saw three fellow athletes
mercilessly confront one of the dead boy’s friends. That friend later wrote:
“I wanted to make my classes that day and I was about to break down
crying from the taunts of my fellow classmen. I felt like a ten-year-old kid
surrounded by high school bullies. I don’t think these guys realized what
they were doing, but they had me boxed in and weren’t going to let me
pass until I broke. My friend was dead, and these guys wanted to put the
blame of his death on me.
Suddenly, there was a hand on my shoulder. It was John. He stood there
while I told the story of what had happened, and faced their critical and
derisive response. John squeezed my shoulder and gently pushed me on
past them.
He walked clear across the campus with me to class. Though we had no
classes together, he quietly checked on me during the rest of the day.
John was there when everyone else seemed against me.”
As we pray Jesus puts His strong hand on our shoulder and guides us through
various obstacles and challenges we face in life. Jesus promises to never leave us
or forsake us. There’s power in prayer.
When we pray for someone who has a need, we can be assured that God does hear
and answer prayer. The answer may be immediate, or wait or no. But God does
answer.
A missionary and his family were forced to camp outside on a hill. They had money
with them and were fearful of an attack by roving thieves. After praying, they went to
sleep. Months later, an injured man was brought into the mission hospital. He asked
the missionary if he had soldiers guarding him on that special night. “We intended to
rob you,” he said, “but we were afraid of the twenty-seven soldiers.”
When the missionary returned to his homeland, he related this strange story, and a
member of his church said, “We had a prayer meeting that night, and I took the roll.
There were just twenty-seven of us present.” Your prayer does count for specific
answers to prayer.
Because we believe God does hear and answer prayer we want to increase the
prayer ministries of International. You all can have a part in the prayer for harvest.
Will you be one to stand in the gap? Will you stand in the prayer less gap? We don’t
want any of our neighbors to say that no one cared for their soul.
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Maybe the first prayer is for you to be a part of God’s forever family of people who have
place their faith in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sin. Your prayer is really just an
acknowledgement of your need of Christ and your faith in Him.
Maybe your prayer is to ask the Lord to let you know of a need in the church that can be
met by your involvement. Will you plant, water, and allow the Lord to bring the
increase?
Dr. Stan Ponz
Senior Pastor
International Baptist Church
808 / 595-6352
PastorStan@Internationalchurch.us
This message is recorded and may be ordered at the Aloha Table in the Lanai
or may be downloaded from our website at www.internationalchurch.us
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