Thoughts for Life: #89 You Can Be Involved In Harvest

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel- You can have a thrilling role in reaping God's harvest. Only a small percentage of God's people are actually involved in seed-sowing, watering, cultivating, and preparing more harvesters, yet all of us could participate on a deeper level than we have ever dreamed.

If you are willing, prayer offers you a way to be significantly involved in world harvest. Prayer does not cancel your duty to witness, give, and help, but it provides an opportunity for you to exert a world-wide influence. (Google image, Harvester)

Through prayer you can join any team. Which team would you like to join? The Franklin Graham team? The teams broadcasting over the superpower radio stations now sending God's truth into Russia, China, Muslim lands, or teams on telecasts right here in our country?

Your circumstances, your own talents, and other reasons may prevent you from doing all you would like to do. Even if you were a member of one of these teams, you could be in only one place at a time.

I have tremendous news for you! Through prayer you can join any or all of these teams! You can stand beside [Franklin] Graham each time he steps before the microphone to face a waiting crowd. For years I have prayed for [his father, Billy] daily, and at times [felt] I [was] standing right beside him as he preached the gospel.

I urge you to do the same. [Franklin] may never be aware that you are part of his team. You can tell him about it when you get to heaven. But [Franklin] Graham knows very well that there are thousands on his prayer team. If that number were doubled, think of the multiplied results!

While I was ministering in Palmerston North, New Zealand, some years ago, a lady came to me at the close of the service and told me that she had been on her knees each morning at four o'clock, praying for me! I was so deeply moved. She had driven some miles alone on a wintry night to tell me.

A few weeks later, at the close of a rural service in Australia, a dear lady and her husband, both in their eighties, spoke to me. "Brother Duewel, we've been praying for you every day at four in the morning. And for years we have been asking Him to send you to Australia, and to this church!" I felt so unworthy.

Who was I to be the recipient of such prayer blessings? Then I understood why the new pastor of a city church, without informing us, had abruptly canceled the meeting for that night in his city church and booked me in this rural church.

He knew nothing about the prayers of this couple. But God knew. They were on my team. They were retired missionaries to the aborigines of Australia, but they were also on my team in India.

Through prayer you can preach through any evangelist, broadcast a radio message in any country, write a Christian book or hymn, or work side by side with any missionary or national co-worker. As you pray, you become partners with all of these. You are not confined by time, distance, or space. Ask God to guide you to the ministry and person or persons He wants you to support in prayer.

(Chapter 25, pp. 187-188, italics added for emphasis)

Used by permission

of the Duewel Literature Trust, Inc,

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Let's pray-

Father, as prayer offers us a way to be significantly involved in world harvesting of souls, may we take the opportunity to exert our world-wide influence in this way.

Through prayer, we can become partners with several ministries or persons that You direct us to support in prayer.

Our prayer is that You'd lead us to pray for those who are serving in places where we can't go, and to people who desperately need our help by praying for those ministering to them.

In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Today's Bible verses-

Ephesians 6:18 "Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints . . ."

Matthew 26:41 "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Romans 12:19 "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Quote for today-

~ James h. Cagle- "Time spent meditating in the Word of God is time spent gathering our thoughts, directing our thoughts, and learning to think after God. Meditation serves to discipline our thought process that our thinking may glorify God by being captive to Christ (2 Cor. 10: 5) and advance or profit us spiritually (1 Tim. 4: 15).
Meditating is part of the formula for spiritual success. By meditating, we better understand God’s Word and can mature and grow in our faith, and can better explain God’s Word to others and aid them in their spiritual growth."

Words of wisdom-

~ When we are faithful in giving the tithe of our income to our church, and also some to special needs, opportunities will open to us of the needed income to keep our bills paid. We can then manage a budget to pay off debts, because God will bless us back in a compound measure.

Today's question-

Why do we need Christ?

He changed everything! He made a way for us to be rid of our sin problem, inherited from Adam and Eve thousands of years ago when God first created them as our original parents.

Because they rebelled against God's authority in their lives, they were kicked out of Eden and had to make a living from the earth, which then started to grow weeds. It made it difficult to grow and harvest the food they needed.

Today, as people of faith in Christ's provision of salvation from our sin, we are finding it difficult to even worship Him in gatherings of any size due to the pandemic. Our sins have found us out! We are a people who have left off the Savior's instructions for righteous living. We have made it hard to find a local church group that is sold out to Him and His words of the Bible to be our guide in our daily living.

The main problem is that we have separated ourselves from God by our sins. Yes, we are a sinful nation! Repentance is in order if we expect to reconnect with Him anytime soon. Sin is what apposes God, and Christ's solution of Salvation and repentance is the only way to get rid our our sinful natures. (See Romans 3:23, 24)

As creation denies the Creator, we are hardpressed for getting a peaceful solution to our problems. Our sin is preferring anything over God. Only through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, will we find the way of peace with the Father. Jesus is our solution for peace. Our nation needs to repent for the over-all sinning we're guilty of. May God have mercy on our souls and the soul of our once-Great Nation. (See Ps. 106:6)

We need Christ Jesus to guide what takes place in our days ahead. What will transpire depends on our return to God and repenting massively, and as individuals. We can save our nation. Will we look to Him with new eyes of faith, that He is in control of everything? May we see that re-establishing a renewed faith in Him, once delivered to the saints so long ago, is of utmost importance at this time. (Jude v. 3)

We need to get back to what the Bible states as "the faith once delivered," believing it has the authority we need to live by, and is sufficient for salvation. (Acts 4:12) The Scriptures, breathed by God through writers of the Word, we have the account of how it went with the early Christians. Their witness of God's ways for us outline His expectations for godly living. (See 2 Tim. 3:16)

Needless to say, we've drifted far from those guidelines, and have found ourselves committing sinful thoughts, words and actions against the Holy God who created us for fellowship with Him. Our sinful ways aren't working to bring the peace we longed for. Returning to God with heartfelt repentance will bring about the affect that's needed to fashion within us hearts of a sincere desire to please Him. (See Acts 2:38)

He's shaking us up out of our complacency of allowing sin to have dominion over us. (See Ro. 1:18) Our charge is to return to God, and allow Him to cleans us from our filthiness of sin-infected living. Will you be one of those who will make things right with Him through your repenting of your own sins? Please pray for others to follow His leading to repent of theirs too.

It's up to us, friends. Will we begin to witness a true revival that begins with us and our church group? Will we keep the faith, once delivered to the saints? (Jude 3).