CBN.com -- I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, worshiping
God when I received a vision. It was as if I was in the sky, looking
over America. As I looked, I could see all of the continents of
the world. Each continent was covered with wheat, ready for harvest.
I focused in on Africa. Laborers were busy harvesting the wheat.
I noticed one in particular. He had a very large scythe and was
swinging it with all his might, working feverishly to bring in
the harvest. The wheat was flying everywhere. I could feel the
awful dread, the anxiousness of his heart as he thought of the
coming storm. He knew the wheat would be destroyed if it weren't
harvested soon. Occasionally he would stop and take a deep breath,
wipe the sweat from his forehead, look toward America and yell
with all his strength. "HELP! Someone, Please HELP!" Then he picked
us his scythe and began swinging it again.
Looking at America, I noticed a few different groups of laborers.
One group was standing together, totally consumed by an argument
they were engaged in. They had completely forgotten the harvest.
I then saw other laborers who had gathered wheat into bundles
with their arms. They were doing all they could to just hold the
bundles together. Occasionally one would notice a harvested stalk
of grain that wasn't in a bundle. Being careful not to let his
bundle fall apart, he would cautiously pick up the stalk and add
it to his bundle. There were many like this. Their efforts were
consumed with just holding the bundle together. They would do
their best to not compare their bundle with other bundles, but
some times they couldn't help but look with envy at the larger
bundles.
They too had forgotten the harvest.
I believe the message of this vision is very timely for today's
church, especially in America.
First of all we need to open our eyes and recognize that people
all over the world -- including America -- are ready to receive
Jesus. By-in-large the church of America has believed a lie! The
lie is that the majority of non-Christian Americans have heard
the Gospel, rejected it, and are now hardened against it. But
the truth is that most people need to clearly hear the Gospel
several times before they receive Christ.
Who of us accepted the Gospel the first time we heard it? Not
many, I would dare to say.
We must also remember that God is continually at work in the
lives of people. He's speaking to them through nature, their circumstances
and other people. He's arranging things to happen in their lives
that will bring them to a place of receptivity. We, as Christians,
need to always be ready to share the Gospel. We never know when
God is at work in the heart of a person.
Another lesson the vision illustrates is the importance of not
allowing our time and resources to be wasted by arguing with other
believers. Doctrine is important, but arguing about doctrine is
rarely, if ever, beneficial. It is one thing to respectfully discuss
differing understandings of scripture with the purpose of encouraging
one another. It is totally another thing to get caught in the
trap of trying to prove your own view is right and the opposing
view is wrong.
Knowledge has the tendency to puff us up, but love always edifies.
Unfortunately, as in the vision, far too many churches, pastors
in particular, spend all of their time and money just trying to
hold the church together. They've become keepers of the aquarium
rather than fishers of men. A significant lesson can be learned
from the relatively few churches that are consistently growing
via conversions. They regularly allocate a minimum of 10% of their
resources in money and manpower to reaching the lost. Some of
the fastest growing churches allocate 30% or more of their budget
to evangelism.
In the comfort and business of our American lives, it's far too
easy to forget the great commission, to "go into all the world
and preach the good news to all creation" (Mark 16:15 NIV). We
must become more active in communicating the Gospel, both personally
and corporately.
If you are a pastor or leader in a local congregation, I hope
this short teaching has challenged you to examine your church's
allocation of money and staff. If you are not putting at least
10% towards local evangelism, then I ask you to prayerfully consider
doing so. In the name of Jesus, I respectfully say, "repent."
Repent and embrace the passion of the Lord for the lost.
If you will allow your heart to be filled with this passion I
believe you will see that 10% will not be enough!
Sherman Nobles is an evangelist and a graduate of Regent University
School of Divinity.