It is Lord's Harvest !

Last Sunday some of our London members attended the district meeting with the Conference Personal Ministries Director Eustace Williams. The agenda of the meeting was to do SWOT analysis of each local church in the district and to plan for cooperation and accountability in ministry.
As different churches analyzed their Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats and then presented them an observation was made that churches move in different directions and are on different stages. It was noted that our London congregations are ahead of others in terms of planning to act for change.
Your elders did this exercise a months ago and reviewed with our NCD coach Nick Rhone on October 1st. This past Sunday church members added more to the list, and it became obvious that we need to do this at a larger setting – the General Business meeting. Simply because private opinions, as valuable as they are, do not truly represent public view.
While we keep our Vision clear – becoming a Church where every believer is a minister – we also need to connect it with our current reality to chart the appropriate course.
Meanwhile, do not loose the main perspective what this is all about: The Lord’s Harvest. Jesus spoke to His disciples in Luke 10:2 “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Two words in this statement have been always softened in translation.
Jesus told us not to simply ASK, or even PRAY, but to BEG as though our life depends on it. Both Matthew (9:38) and Luke uses very strong Greek word deomai, which is same as when the leper begged Jesus for healing (Luke 5:12), same as demoniac pleading with Christ (Luke 8:28), same as the father of a possessed boy imploring Jesus for healing (Luke 9:38). Bottom line here – plead, beseech, implore, beg the Lord of the Harvest as though your life depends on it – to be SENT OUT in the field. One would expect here a commonly used word apostelo. Instead Gospel writers used much stronger word ekballo, which means to throw out, to kick out, to cast out against one’s will. Same word describes Jesus casting out demons out of people (Matthew 8:16). Same action as what will be done to the lazy children of God’s kingdom – cast out into outer darkness (Matthew 8:12).
Considering these “corrections” are you ready to BEG our Lord of the Harvest to KICK us OUT of our comfort zone into the field of His harvest?
Are you ready to PLEAD with the Lord personally to THROW you OUT of your balanced life into the plentiful harvest field? By the way what do you mean “balanced” life? What are you balancing it with? Kingdom of God on one side & ……….what is “balancing” the Kingdom in your life?
Pray for the harvest, regardless of what it may cost you!