by David Brenneman
"Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." Matthew 9:37-38 NASB.
If I had a 'dream job' it would not be remotely along the lines of what I do for a living. The closest match would be actually something with the local Habitat for Humanity. My dream job is having a facility to house recycled materials free to whomever would have need of them. Not meant to be a supply to those businesses but to be for their overflow to be able to give to those in need.
Part of the reason for this blog is for me to be a worker in the harvest. Far more than my physical employment this writing that I'm daily directed to do reaches people my wildest dreams could never reach for an audience. 61 countries of the world as of this past week. My only promoting is between business cards I and a few others pass out and or reposts on Facebook. God's done exceedingly abundantly beyond all I could ask or think with the rest.
To be honest for much of my life I was afraid of what all God might ask of me to do. That was on me. My fears are and were unfounded. 61 of 192 countries is beyond huge. I'm within 5,000 views of 100,000. Another milestone that I hope to see in this year 2023. In many countries what is written here is not permitted by governments. Yet people find it by way of what God does to make it happen.
I've spoken of the leap of faith that brought us to where we live now. The emotional, and physical, struggles we went through to get here. The other leap of faith that's most significant in my life had to do with a few Sunday Evening sermons that caused me to come to terms with things, baggage, that I had been carrying almost all my life.
Changes only came after I finally had left those things at the foot of the cross. When I finally could say with Isaiah "Here am I! Send me!".
It makes me really think about "Because He Lives". "Because He lives, all fear is gone; Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the livign, just because He lives!".
A phrase I heard many years ago goes like this: God gives His best to those who leave the choice to Him.
In as much as many put much weight into degrees and certificates of accomplishment or diploma's...God's shown me that those things of mankind matter not to Him. Look at the Father's choice for the Disciples who later became the Apostles, the foundation bricks upon which Christ built the Church. Not one of them had come recommended by the Pharisee's or Sadduccee's. Not one had their day's version of a 4 year Degree. They were chosen, as Dr. John MacArthur called them "12 Ordinary Men". Which they certainly were. Which we all certainly are.
We come to Christ we have a new life in Him. New life means new responsibilities. New role. New direction. New clothes to wear. Full armor of God as written in Ephesians 6. Take off the old, put on the new, as Paul wrote. Essentially put we have a job to do...IN THAT HARVEST.
Old fears will rear their heads when it comes to being a worker in the Harvest that Jesus spoke of. What "I" can't do. Believe me, been there felt that.
We cannot afford to consider the things of God and look at this world in the same way we always have. We cannot allow roots of selfishness or self-centeredness form within us. We cannot have written across our chests of what all WE can't do...and all the while whisper to God "what do you want me to do?". God needs not our resume. He already knows how far along HIS work in you is progressing. HIS work in you. It's not about what our evaluation of us says of us, it's what the Spirit of God says of us that's Truth. The book of John says that Jesus is THEWAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE. All aspects of living in this world wrapped up in one person as God intended it to be lived.
I know the excuse route. I lived it and sometimes still do. I know of all the hundreds of thousands of times I had stuff set before me to do for God and I didn't follow through. I know of all those hundreds of thousands of times when I was proded by God to go a particular direction and I didn't. When I let the opinions of people sway me rather than Him. When I let the profound hurts inflicted upon me by others change my direction rather than following the direction pointed out by the Spirit. It's why it breaks my heart to watch people who were so solid in Christ in my youth, living such lives so far away from God now and they don't even see it. They think they're doing things for God when they really aren't. They're so close to the world and don't see it rather than being close to God.
Does seeing people's lives impact you like what we read from Jesus Himself? It blows my mind to go back and read what all I've been lead to write in these going on I believe 4 years of writing. Writing has always been a passion of mine since elementary school but I had no direction for it. My last dream is to actually write a book and be published. I have no other such dreams in this world for anything else other than that kind of job I mentioned earlier. I have no aspirations anymore of going to various 'wonders' of this world. It's far more important to me to follow through with what I have as a worker in the harvest than it is other things like that.
I was told many decades ago that I would be in that generation that would see the Return of Christ by the Spirit. Consider your 'Earthy" job. When you KNEW your boss was coming around, would YOU be caught goofing off rather than being about what it was you were there to do? You would want to have the integrity to be about the business that you're there to be doing.
Would YOU look at your life and characterize it as you being about "the Father's business" as Jesus's example was to us who believe?
Would YOU look upon those around you to see their need for Jesus or do you see people as either a help or a nuisance in your goals of getting somewhere or getting something done?
Would YOU look at your life and see Jesus in it? If you ARE in Christ the Bible says that there ought to be fruit to prove it. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit nor a bad tree good fruit as it's written in Matthew 7:18.
Would YOU want to stand before Jesus, and be told to depart from Him for He never knew you? The Bible says that is GOING to happen to a great many people. People who loved being near those who were saved but would not commit themselves. Even taking on the properties of looking like a Believer without being one. Many Jews of Jesus's day thought they were 'the chosen' and even indeed were casting out demons, could recognize demonic activity...and they would be rejected by God because they rejected Jesus. Many in the last 2,000 plus years will be rejected by Jesus because their lives showed they still rejected Jesus as being THE only way to Salvation.
What fruit DOES show up in your life? Anything good? Jesus said that He absolutely hates those being lukewarm. He will spit them out. He would rather people be cold or hot but not lukewarm. Another view: don't try to be 'on the fence'. Don't try to mount a defense of not choosing Jesus or Satan. Those on that fence will be grouped with Satan because Satan owns that fence....hence another reason for Jesus spitting out those being lukewarm.
What does your mouth say of you? "With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth comes both blessing and curing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh." James 3:9-12 NASB.
Much to think about going into your day today. Are you striving to make YOUR dreams come true or are you here following through with being a worker in His harvest? For that we all who are in Christ Jesus who live in what is called 'today' are here to be doing. We're not here because of our good looks or of our intelligence or of our emotional stability for others to see. We read of the several parables that Jesus taught of workers being sent out into the fields to do a job and after a time the King would come and give to each man his wages for work accomplished. Jesus Christ the Righteous King will be coming and He says He brings His reward with Him. Will you be empty handed or would you receive something from Him?
Does your heart go out for only yourself or does it include those around you?
I honestly have great difficulty working with those whom have gone through all the effort to get Engineering degrees. They are taught 'the box' and are taught that all things engineering must comply with what's in that box. They are not taught to think outside 'the box'. I can do engineering work and God's brought solutions that many engineer's with degrees never thought of because of not having their limitations.
In this world we will need to think outside the scope of what the world defines as success or defines as good because in God's eyes none of it is good. It's been scarred and tainted by sin for thousands of years. The world is full of empty and vain philosophies that have been crafted by Satan over thousands of years.
The world is dying a very slow death due to sin. It's NOT getting better it's GOING to be going through the Great Tribulation that's coming after Jesus removes His Church in order to as He put it: Put an END to sin.
When Jesus appears...will you be going with Him or will you be staying behind because you never had truly come to Christ to be saved?
When Jesus appears...and if you are saved...will it show someone who lived for Jesus with a whole heart?
When Jesus appears...will your life at all reflect His?
Think about it. Jesus has thought about it since creating Adam and Eve, knowing they would indeed fall and sin would come. Knowing that in the fullness of time He would have to die on a cross, be separated from His Father for a moment. Knowing that the only way to save mankind was for them to put their faith and trust in Him to be saved. That His Spirit would seal, that is to mark, those who are in Christ upon truly coming to Him to be saved. He loved mankind, loved you and I so much that He endured the cross. We ought to live lives in such a way as to honor Him in everything we do. Putting what's important to Him as being important to us. He didn't concern Himself with Himself He put the needs of others above Himself. We are taught to prefer one another above ourselves in the New Testament.
Is your life a story of you or a story of Jesus lived through you? Are people important to you or is you important to you? Are you deceiving yourself by the life you live? Are you claiming to be following God yet in reality are not?
Have you at all come to Christ for salvation and meant it? Are you at all thinking this is all mumbo jumbo, all for those too weak to live life? Consider it well that there are no unbelieving people in Hell. One second they are alive today still persisting in rejecting Jesus the next they open their eyes in torment in Hell...realizing that Jesus was serious after all and that there is absolutely nothing that can be done about their current state.
With all the hundreds and I do mean hundreds of fulfilled prophecies from the Bible that would need to take place before Jesus returns...most if not all have taken place. All that remains is really just locating that last person who will be the last one saved before Jesus returns in the clouds and shouts "COME UP HERE!". That person COULD BE YOU. The very first person didn't have works to claim for Jesus. It's highly likely that the last to be saved won't either.
A life in Christ isn't to been seen through the lense of fear. A life given to Christ should not be seen through that lense of fear either. Do not fear what might be asked of you. Do not fear because in Christ you're never alone in it.
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