Jesus, speaking about the harvest – the readiness of people to hear and receive the Gospel of the Kingdom – said to His disciples, “Pray to the Lord of the harvest that He would send workers into the harvest fields” (Luke 10:1-2). An interesting situation if you think about it.

“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.'”

He is speaking to His immediate group of followers. It seems Jesus always had a “multitude” following Him. But, the majority followed Him for what they could receive from Him. A healing, food, a great teaching. Others followed Him because He was the current new kid on the block and the latest thing to hit the religious scene. Very few followed Him because of who He was (the Messiah) and what He represented (the Kingdom).

He says to His committed disciples that they are to pray for labourers. So, really, it would seem that He is asking them to pray that they would go into the harvest fields willingly and tell others about Him. After all, these were the committed ones. The ones who understood and followed Him for who He was. So, He is asking them to pray that the Lord of the Harvest would ‘kick butt’ and move them into the harvest fields. That they would see the importance of the season they were in (harvest time) and see and understand that each person was precious and needed to be personally brought into the Kingdom (harvested) through the message of repentance and the Kingdom.

This is a parallel situation to the day and season we are living in. Many people are hungry for a new reality. They are empty on the inside in spite of their current level of prosperity and comfort. They are searching for meaning because they live a somewhat meaningless life of getting up, going to work, coming home, sleep, get up and go back to work. And, in the world situation of one terror attack after another they are searching for something or someone to give them hope. So, the harvest field is ripe and ready and we are in need of believers who will leave their comfort zones and move out into their neighbourhood and town or city and tell others of the King and the Kingdom.

We need to be praying that the Lord of the harvest would “kick butt” and send us – the committed ones – into the harvest field as labourers and not observers. It is time that true followers of Jesus allowed Jesus to “make you a fisher of men” (Matthew 4:19). It is time for us to see the times and seasons we are living in and, like the sons of Issachar (1 Chronicles 12:32), know what we ought to do to touch lives that are desperate for hope, purpose, and meaning in life.

I firmly believe that in most nations the Christians are too comfortable and need to be shaken out of their lethargy and complacency. That we need to remove the mental and emotional “fog of materialism” and see the reality of a life without hope and a life without Jesus. Christians who are thinking of security and safety need to see that the Scriptures do not promise the believer these luxuries. We need to see the challenge Jesus has given us to ‘go into the harvest fields (the world) and make disciples’ (Matthew 28:18-20). And, we need to respond to that challenge immediately. There is a serious sense of urgency as we see the world in such a mess and the people living without hope and, sometimes, without meaning.

Will you become one of these labourers in the harvest field? Will you leave the safety and comfort of your life (and church) and join the others who are leaving for the harvest fields? Will you rethink your life and the values you have built that life on and move forward into the challenge to win the world for Jesus? Your neighbours are waiting.

I have noticed that often our focus when we come to together is somewhat blurred. Both leaders and followers are often focused on a current issue in their life or something that the Lord is dealing with in their hearts. So, they come to a meeting or an assembly of worship not single focused and often preoccupied with their personal issues or concerns. This hinders what the Holy Spirit is wanting to do – in a meeting where there is an agenda to be accomplished or in a worship assembly where we are there to honour the Lord and hear a good teaching from His Word.

As leaders we must be careful that our own personal issues in life do not get in the way of our leadership responsibilities. If we come looking inward then we are not leading. People will note that you are not “all there” and you will, in time, damage your leadership calling. People will see you as unreliable. They will see you as moody. They will begin to wonder, even before they see you, if this is another “we need to walk on eggshells” time with you because of your moods and preoccupation. They simply will see you as someone controlled by their feelings and thus not someone that they want to follow.

As a leader, if you are struggling with something (and all of us do), you need to push the “pause button” and just leave the issue mentally and emotionally for a while and do what God has called you to do – lead! Then, when you have fulfilled your obligations as a leader, push the “pause button” again and begin the thinking and feeling process once again so as to resolve and effective deal with your issues.

If you are called to lead then lead regardless of what is transpiring in your life. We all have issues that need to be dealt with and there is an appropriate time and place to do so. A public meeting that you are called to lead is not that place. So, get a handle on your feelings and don’t let the bumps in your personal or leadership journey prevent you from adequately fulfilling the call on your life.

If you are not a leader but you are actively involved in the life of the local church…Then, here again, you need to learn to push the “pause button.” If you come to an assembly focused on your issues then you take from what the Holy Spirit is wanting to do. You are self-focused and not God-focused.

You come to a service to honour and glorify God and your inner struggle and your outward moods are not helping you and others to accomplish that purpose. You are draining the energy of others and literally causing them to lose focus because they are listening to you as you explain and complain. Push the “pause button” an hour before you come. Get over yourself. Focus on the One who love you and is the real answer to all of your inner and relational issues. This will help you to focus and stay focused when you join others – who also have their individual concerns and issues … surprise, you are not the only one with an issue – and do what you have come together to do. Honour and glorify the Lord together.

Focus is really important in all aspects of the Christian journey. And, in my humble opinion, it is time that believers got over themselves so they can come together and edify and encourage others as they honour the Lord. In other words, live your life like there really is a God and that you really do know Him.

In a meeting recently a young regional leader late into the evening stated “growth internal is eternal.” In spite of the late nature of the meeting and all that had gone on as regional and local leaders shared and spoke this one specific phrase really spoke to my heart.

Often as leaders we focus on the growth that you can see immediately. The numbers in attendance, the growth in the budget and the income of the ministry or the local church, the number of baptisms of new believers. It can be a numbers game if we let it become that. However, there is a growth factor that is hard to see and even harder to measure. This is the internal growth of character and maturity inside the believer. This growth is not temporary and worldly like so many other things that we can and do measure. This growth is inner growth of character and purity as we become more and more like Jesus. The Bible calls this sanctification. This growth is eternal and seriously important in the life of every believer.

As a leader I work hard at constructing and building teaching that are godly and challenging for those who are disciples of Jesus. My goal is not to give them more information or knowledge of the Bible. I am not out to be entertaining – however, I do want to be interesting.  My goal is to release the life of God Himself inside the heart of the believer. This life of God (Zoe) is life-changing and will transform the person from the inside out. This life will bring about permanent changes in a person’s character, motives, desires, dreams, and perspective. These inner changes are eternal. They will go into heaven with the believer.

However, these changes are also very powerful in the life we are called to live here before we exit and head to Heaven. These changes on the inside will always lead to external changes. And because of these changes in the way we think and speak, our attitude and the way in which we view and live life – we are then a witness for Jesus among those who do not yet know Him. These inner changes will lead to more effective outreach and bring about a powerful testimony of the life-changing power of the risen Jesus Christ.

So, although most churches and believers measure the success of a church by the budget, buildings, and number of bodies in attendance … God sees success in terms of changed lives. And, lives change from the inside out and never from the outside in. Making resolutions and setting goals never bring about permanent and lasting change. But, the transforming power of the eternal Word of God which is “spirit and life” (John 6:63) brings about permanent inner changes of the heart and mind which then effect the lifestyle, values, and perspective of the believer bringing about permanent and important changes on the outside. These changes are the foundation upon which we can then build effective outreach influencing people and impacting a community for Jesus.

This life of God (Zoe) on the inside because of the Word of God bring taught and received – this “life” is the light of men. John 1:4 states that “…in Him with life and life was the light of men.” The very life of God inside Jesus was the light that drew people to Jesus and the Kingdom way of life. Jesus said in Matthew 5:14 “…you are the light of the world.” This tells me that the very “life” of God in us through receiving and applying God’s Word which is “spirit and life” is a light to my world and will draw those whom I relate to to Jesus and and the Kingdom. Inner changes through God’s Word bring eternal changes that releases His life that touches others. Growth internal is eternal bringing about powerful outreach.

I believe that Jesus is calling His disciples to a higher level of commitment than is generally seen in the Church and in the world today. In many way and in many nations today Christians are living and acting like non-Christians and it is hard to tell the saved from the unsaved. Believers have compromised their faith so as to enjoy the comforts of society and acceptance by their culture. Oh, we disguise it well calling it “being relevant” but in reality it is simply compromising the truth to be accepted and considered ‘normal.’

However, there is a deepening sense in the Kingdom and in the Church in general that things are not right. Leaders and followers are beginning to see that in our post-Christian society we need to live a distinctively Christian lifestyle based in Scriptural principles with the foundation to this life being the Great Commission and the need to tell the world the good news of the Gospel of the Kingdom. We need a Kingdom perspective and a lifestyle that matches what we believe. We have become too much like those we are trying to reach all in the name of being relevant. And, surveys and statistics are showing us that it has not worked.

I am not suggesting that we become so different in our dress code or lifestyle that we are considered totally irrelevant. We already have many groups and some churches that are like that. In one town where I work every one of the males – young and old – goes to church wearing black dress slacks and a long sleeve white shirt. When they walk into the restaurant or gas station after their morning service everyone knows who they are and literally avoids them – not speaking to them.

After all, the thinking goes, if I became a Christian I would have to dress like them and talk like them. I could no longer wear bluejeans and a t-shirt. And, that simply seems ridiculous. It is. Do we really think that dressing like it was the 1960’s or the 1850’s (read horse and buggy – no modern conveniences – black hats, beards, and solid black clothes) makes us more holy and acceptable to God. Really? And, it certainly does not make our message or lifestyle something others want to embrace. The lifestyle totally defeats the message.

Well, you might say, we are not extreme. Probably not. But if you took a good look at yourself and your lifestyle you will most likely find you are the total exact opposite. You are so much like the people you should be reaching that they don’t even know you are a believer. Forget the clothes and the lingo! How about simply living like a believer. Talk positive, stop talking about how hard your life is and how difficult work has been. Find another topic other than your health issues. Stop gossiping. Stop asking just to each other and avoiding the real world whenever possible. Love people regardless of who they are and how they live. Accept people even if they don’t live like you think they should. And, don’t expect them to live like Christians until they become Christians. And even then, don’t expect them to live like you do because you are not them – they are unique – and you also may not be one of the better examples of how a believer is to live.

As followers of Jesus we need to have open hearts and open homes. We must, like God our Father, be loving and giving – giving generously of what we have … time, energy, money. We must be willing to turn the other cheek (forgive) and go the extra mile (sacrifice). We must stop looking to be comfortable and start wanting to be challenged. Instead of a luxury vacation or staycation we should sign up to go serve overseas helping others who don’t have the luxury of either a vacation or staycation – they simply need to work seven days a week to keep their heads above water. Maybe…

Jesus is asking His followers – we are called disciples – to be like Him and willingly give of ourselves to serve others. Then the world will see we are different AND relevant. So, the call for a greater commitment and a seriousness about the faith is being felt and even heard in the Kingdom and in the Church today. Are you ready for the change? Are you willing to make a greater, deeper, and different commitment than ever before? I am!