Allow the Spirit to Take You to See the Need

The Lord Jesus sees here, as He always did as He came into contact with the multitudes, their needs. There are very few people today who realize the need. Most people live their lives, concerned only with their own needs; concerned only with how to bring enough money into the home to keep the pot boiling. This is natural, and nearly always, the great concern of the poor boy, from the time he leaves school until the day they carry him out is how to make ends meet. Many are not able to make them meet, but this great thought is in the hearts of the people everywhere—how to make enough money to clothe, feed and shelter themselves and their families. That is the greatest thing in the lives of most men and possibly ninety percent of the activity of poor people is directed to this end.

It is quite plain to us then, that unless a tremendous revelation of a need that is far greater, and that in the end will prove to be more important than just making ends meet, though that is important enough, we too, will live our lives as the others. Furthermore, after we have seen the revelation of this all important need, there is another step that we must take, at least, another place to which we must allow the Spirit to take us, and that is the place where we will be enough concerned to think on the need, and then begin to do something about it.

As we go on in the Christian walk, we will find ourselves being taken more and more from our original position of making ends meet. Making ends meet will not be the most important thing in our lives. It will not be the thing on which we rise and fall; but sometimes without realizing it, we will be led further and further away from that great emotion that is in the heart of every poor man, the desire to look out for Number One. We will FIRST see visions, and then be stirred with a something that comes at first vaguely, and then more definitely, until we see there is something more important than just bread and meat; something more important than clothes, shelter, home; than all the things that we have not only been taught to think important, but the practice of years has wrought in us such frame of mind that God has to take us away from it little by little.

“But,” we may ask, “What will happen if I get too concerned with the spiritual or natural needs of others?” Then God has a chance to work a miracle for those who are faithful and once we allow God to take full charge, they somehow meet. God either sends enough money to make ends meet or else He changes the ends. The human heart is prone to want too much, but God will whittle down our needs and then supply them.

The first thing God says staggers us. “Give Me something first”…… “What”, we say, “before I make ends meet? Before I feed the children? Before I pay the rent?” God says, “Yes, you must give to Me first.” My that is a staggering blow to the natural man many times, but when that process of “God first” begins to work—if we only allow it to, (I do not mean to allow somebody to get everything you have), but allowing that holy something that is of God to get into your heart and life; it will take you away from the natural things little by little and you will find ends are meeting in a far better way than before, and better still, you will be doing something for which you were born again, and for which God brought you into this spiritual life. We are not simply a “white-washed” people, but we are born again; everything new, both inside and out. Most people only want to be new enough to go to heaven. Possibly every sinner has that desire of living as he pleased and go to heaven when he dies.

When Jesus saw the need, He did something about it, and He saw here a great need. Here was a multitude of people; people without a shepherd; fainting, scattered—wandering to and fro; nobody cared about them. Nobody cared—a tremendous need on one hand, a plenteous harvest, and then looking over those few disciples He said, “but the laborers are few.”

Well, what are the laborers supposed to do about it? Here was a harvest that was plenteous, but not enough laborers to go around. A tremendous job had to be done, and only a few weak laborers to do it, and it has always been so. The need has been so far out of proportion to those who were willing to put their hands to the work that it is overwhelming. So much so, that many try to stop thinking about it, and try to put it out of their hearts.

Jesus did not say, “Well it is too much for us. It is too big a job—just put it out of your minds. Try to thing about something else.” No, He said “The harvest is plenteous and the laborers few.” But, the high point, the bright light, the main thought in this passage of scripture is neither the plenteous harvest nor the few laborers. They were important, but the main point is, “Pray ye therefore, the LORD OF THE HARVEST and he WILL send forth labourers into his harvest.” “Why”, you ask, “what shall be done about this great need?” It rests with the “Lord of the harvest.” Jesus did not say, “Now gird your loins, and work overtime.” Naturally, they could not have scratched the surface. Anybody who has been on the mission field has not been there a week before they know that the need is overwhelming, awe inspiring. If a lifetime is spent there one hardly scratches the surface. It is like trying to bail out the Atlantic Ocean with a tin cup, but thank God, the great need is not the thing. Our weakness is not the thing. Our hope is in the LORD OF THE HARVEST.

Jesus said, “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest and he will send forth laborers into his harvest.” In other words, “Do not try to do it yourself, but you try to move Him. If you get Him moving, He can do it. You cannot do it though you work overtime, but if you can move Him, He can do it.”

This is not only true with the mission field, but with the slightest test. It is possible to go through big tests and fall on little ones. Many people do fall on little tests. We think we are strong, that we are perfectly all right. If we think that we are in danger of falling. We cannot go through without the Lord of the harvest. He must be our strength and guide not only on the mission field, but at home. We do not have enough confidence in the Lord of the harvest. He must be our strength and guide not only on the mission field, but at home. We do not have enough confidence in the Lord of the harvest. If we did, the conditions would not be as they are on the field or at home. We are not to look at the harvest, but at the Lord of the harvest. Praise the Lord! Suppose a man is threshing wheat; he may have fifty acres. He hires some laborers and tells them, “I will give you $3.00 a day.” Do these laborers wonder and worry if he is going to get enough men or if they will get through in one day? No, not in the least. The man knows what he is doing. They are doing their day’s work. So it should be with us. It is a tremendous job. Is it too much for us? Yes, and I am glad it is. If it were a small thing. But, there is the danger of saying, “Well then, let God do it.” When we get to the place of saying “Let God do it alone,” we are getting far away from God. Indeed, we are. When we say, “Well it is God’s job, let Him do it,” we are not in fellowship with God. We are not unctioned by the Holy Ghost. They human heart says, “Why doesn’t He do it and be done with it?” I have heard people who are outside of Christ say that. There is a tendency for even saved ones to say, “Well I am quite sure God will work it out sometime. There is no sense giving my last cent, or of working myself to death, or to worry myself. Of course I have faith to believe God will do it.” But Jesus did not say, “LEAVE it to the Lord of the harvest.” No, He said, “PRAY YE” therefore the Lord of the harvest……..” What can we do against so much? What can we do for the whitened harvest fields? We can get in touch with the Lord of the harvest. There is plenteous harvest …….the laborers are few, but isn’t it so in life? How would you like to take your life from now on, looking at your weakness and at the tremendous power of satan as he comes against you, or as his subtle depression comes upon you and have to meet the enemy in your own strength? Don’t we thank God at those times that we know where to get strength when we do not have any? We know One who will reach down with strong arms to help us. When it comes to pouring money out, pouring our lives out, doing the humble thing here, oftimes we may be tempted to say, “Let the Lord of the harvest do it,” but He is not a reaper. He is not going to reap. He is going to send laborers. We are not to pray that the Lord of the harvest will come down out of heaven and reap in the field, but that He will send laborers in that field. I believe He will accomplish by the Holy Spirit many mighty things, but we are to pray Him that He might send laborers into that harvest.

It was so with the early church. They were praying. The Spirit said, “Now Barnabas and Paul.” He sent laborers and He has been doing it ever since. God knows the need and as we look upon the need and look upon our weakness it is discouraging, but as we look to Him, hallelujah, the clouds roll away, the sun shines again. Can we seriously look at things? Sometimes it might be better not to if we do not have our eyes on the Lord of the harvest. Men are failures, and as we look to the Lord of the harvest and see what He is going to do through failing flesh, but the power of the Spirit, we realize more how powerful He is.

We have a God who is able to match satan and to overcome him, both on the field and at home. The battle is as definite here as it is there. A different battle, but a battle nonetheless. In wartime the enemy not only tries to kill those in the front line trenches. No, such activity is directed against the lines of supply. He tries to destroy ammunition plants and food trains. In addition to that the enemy sends people in the enemy’s country. They try to get into the factories; they sign up as sailors; they get into every line of work they possibly can, doing their deadly work wherever they go. It is done in every country wherever there is war. There are people who try to get in to weaken the enemy.

That is so in this warfare. There is danger in the front line trenches, but that which comes against the source of supply is even more dangerous. More deadly is that which comes against the food train, or in the very midst sow discord to throw the army of Christ out of agreement. As the nation at war tries to weaken its enemy, so the enemy of our souls tries to fight us not only on the field but in the homeland. The boys in the trenches may be just as safe, in the next war, as the men and women who stay at home. The airplanes are coming with gas, bombs, etc. That is what is coming naturally, and that is how things are getting to be in the kingdom of God. If the devil has powerful forces to work on the foreign field, it is also true that he has been able to create a tremendous havoc in the home land. Why are men and women brought back from the field? Many times it is because the enemy has created a whispering campaign at home. “Why put that money in the missionary offering? Use that for yourself.” Whey you begin cutting God down it is amazing how fast you can cut. We must not only keep our money up but our standard. Once it slips, how quickly it can be dragged down!

The fight in our Assembly will be not only on the field, but there will be an even more desperate struggle going on right here in our work. If we fight satan, satan fights us. Every new step in God brings subtle whisperings, influences, talk, out and out fighting in every way; front and rear we are attacked, but glory to God we are going to pray to the Lord of the harvest. That is all we can do. The devil has so many people if we would start chasing everybody who worries us we would do nothing else. You could spend your lifetime running down lies; getting people to face them, but you would be wasting your time. Pray the Lord of the harvest and He quite likely will bring some of them to their senses.

I really believe the time has come when the saints of God, the true ones, will be more closely banded together than they were before, but I believe it will only come as persecution, trials, testings comes. Let us pray for Jesus Christ’s sake, to the Lord of the harvest, not only about the foreign field, but about the homeland. We are believing on the field, that God is able to establish churches that will be self-supporting, self-governing. That is easier said than done, and every new move we try to make, every digression from the old cut and dried way, will be resisted by stand true, I believe God is creating and fitting together a body. I believe God is trying to work with you and with me until we fit. He is trying to fit us into the body. As it is brought together; as bone comes to bone, we will see what God has been about. If we insist on knowing every day what God is doing, how much has been done, where we stand, I am afraid we will not get far. If we are willing to trust God though His moving and working might be making us into something we had not thought of, but if we know it is God who is working, the day will come when we will fit into something else and the fitting will be to God’s glory, and to the functioning and building up of the body of Christ. God has never intended that we be separate units, but that we be a body that functions, walks, talks, and that is used for His glory.

That is what is going on right now. That is WHAT GOD is trying to do with you and with me, to so mold, make and fit us that we will fit in His body. Bodies that are admired are symmetrically formed. We do not say about a well formed man, “He certainly has a big muscle in his arm.” No we would say, “He is well developed.” So God wants our Assembly to be a well developed one. Not to produce some great one, who can do great things, and no one else do anything. That is deformity. It should NOT be. WE DO NOT WANT THAT. We MUST NOT have that. Deformity is pitiful. We are NOT trying to produce bright lights, but I pray we will ALL MOVE ALONG TOGETHER.

“But the world will not take notice,” some may say. That is right, and if they notice us too much, we had better go to prayer because somewhere we are not shining but glittering. God grant that we have that steady growth in God that is unpretentious. Deformity hinders the body from functioning, and in the end kills it. We are not great ones, and if there are those who think they are, they are in error. Nobody here is great; there is nothing about any of us, leaders or members that is great. I do not believe we want greatness in the sense that the world calls great ones. I have nothing against great ones, but God has given us something different, and let us try to see it through by the help of God. You will not be very much and neither will I, but let us be ourselves in God for Christ’s sake. We will get further in God, do more good, stand better, and what we get we will really have. Better to have $5.00 in the hand than $500.00 in your mind. Better to have a small symmetrical Assembly than a large deformed one.

Let us go forward in God. Let us not be drawn aside with the popular ideas of today. Jesus does not fit in with the ideas of today, but He does fit in the body of Christ, of which, He is the head. As we see the great need, let us not faint; let us not become frantic; let us not go to extremes, but let us pray the Lord of the harvest. He will bring us through. Sometimes great extremes one way leads to great extremes the opposite way. Sometimes trying to carry the world on our backs may lead us to doing nothing at all, because we cannot do it all, and we will not do anything.

Thank God, we can do our part, and I believe that is what we are going to do. Hallelujah! Praise His Name! Amen!