Torch, Summer 1992

Third, He called, empowered, and sent forth laborers into the harvest (Matthew 10: 1-8). He said in verse six, "Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." A Vision For People We can evaluate our own response to people's needs by looking at Christ's example . How do we see people? We are prone to look on the outward appearance-tall, short, thin , heavy, pretty eyes or hair. We look at people's vocations, educational status, or income level, and judge whether they are smart, affluent, or successful. God help us to see people as the Bible depicts them: spiritually dead captives of Satan , headed for eternal judgment! We can get so caught up in others ' appearance of well-being that we do not sense their terrible plight. We should daily cringe over the future of the unsaved that we see and know . Do we ache for people, or do we give ourselves regular shots of emotional novocaine? , When we spend all our passion on a baseball game or a soap opera, our hearts grow numb. When is the last time you wept for a lost soul? Forty-four percent of Americans attend no church whatsoever. We need to see them as they are, like sheep without a shepherd. A Prayer For Laborers The FBI has its "Most Wanted" list. Perhaps you have a prayer list of the 10 }.;(~i·l~llMI people you most want to come to Christ. Many Christians -~•••"·'" '" pray earnestly and regularly for friends and loved ones who are lost. Important as that is , do not forget that Christ's command in this passage is to pray for laborers! Wi.iMi~i»Jlri!l't Believer, have you ever r~~·rRJ~ prayed for God to send people "'"'-~ to be vocational harvesters of souls? Parent, would you pray for your son or daughter to become a pastor-teacher or missionary? Pastor, do you pray from the pulpit for God to call laborers from your church? If we have a genuine vision of the condition of people we know , we will be fervent in prayer for the lost and for laborers . Planned Outreach We seem to be going all the time , but do we know where we are going or why? We go to concerts, go to the beach, go play , go shopping , go to work. In the process of our going , we could be attempting to reach lost people. Many of us feel too busy to commit to be at church one night a week for "visitation." But Jesus practiced planned outreach . He invited Himself to Zaccheus ' house. He planned to meet a woman at the well. The following exercise might help you find time for planned outreach . Keep a log of your nighttime activities for a three– month period. As you review your time, think of how many of the places you were going were more important than going to see an unsaved friend . Plan how you could use some of the very same activities to get to know that person at work to whom you want to witness. You may find you have plenty of time to invite someone over to the house to share some "good news," if only you will plan to do so. Arise And Go? The compassion of God that caused Him to send the disciples to the lost sheep of Israel also caused Him to send Jonah to the Ninevites. God's word to Jonah was "Arise and go!" But Jonah had no compassion for those Gentile sinners. He was content to let them perish and reap the judgment they deserved. So God used a big fish to motivate Jonah. After stirring the "innards" of the fish , He stirred the inward being of Jonah! Still , after a great conversion of sinners , Jonah bemoaned God ' s gracious and merciful character. As he sat looking at the city, Jonah drew comfort from a gourd that God grew to give him shade (Jonah 4) . When God took it away , the prophet pitied it. The Lord rebuked Jonah, because he actually had more compassion for a plant than for people! If we honestly examine our lives , we may find we have great pity upon our pets and great concern for our manicured lawns. We can get all "worked up" over a scratch on the car. Do we get as upset when we read the obituary of a neighbor we never tried to reach for Christ? Who Is My Neighbor? Caring about material things is not wrong , but selfish preoccupation with our own plans and possessions is tragic. Luke 10:30-37 records the cold , uncaring hearts of a certain priest and Levite. They saw a bloodied and beaten man lying by the roadside ...but they passed by . A Samaritan saw the beaten man and had compassion. He gave of his time, money, and heart. He helped . Jesus asked His questioner, "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" When the man answered "He that showed mercy on him," Christ said "Go, and do the same" (Luke 10:36-37) . Compassion sees the needs of others and does something to help. Members of the first local church exhibited compassion by selling material possessions to help others (Acts 2:45). Philippians 2:4-5 states , " ...do not merely look out for your own personal • interests , but also for the interests of others . Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus ..." Meeting people's needs may involve material or emotional support. If we will look around, we will see people in need of help. We can plan visits to the homes of shut-ins. We can financially assist those out of work or facing overwhelming financial burdens. We can spend time with children who have no father at home. We can go with a heart of compassion. Jesus wept over lost people. Compassion stirred his heart to action. What is your compassion level? Do you see the needs of the people around you? Do you pray for them, and for Christians to reach them? Do you go to them? By this perceive we the love ofGod, because he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whosoever hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his compassions from him, how dwelleth the love ofGod in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth , and shall assure our hearts before him (1John3:16-19 New Scofield) . Rev. Cal Searles pastors the Camden Baptist Church in Wellington, Ohio. He is a 1977 graduate of Cedarville College.