WFHF text
7/7/06
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Introduction Vaughan Roberts
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples: ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’ Matthew 9 v 35-38
PEOPLE TODAY ARE NO DIFFERENT to those Jesus met in the first century; they are ‘harassed and helpless’. Can we see them as they really are, in all their desperate need? We are surrounded by those who are lost, separated from God and facing eternity without Him, ‘like sheep without a shepherd’. Do we have compassion on them? Jesus did. And His compassion led to action. He saw a vast harvest waiting to be gathered in, but hardly any workers to do the job. So He issued an instruction to His followers: ‘Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field’ (Matthew 9 v 38). That command still applies today. Although 2000 years of Christian witness have passed, there are still millions in our world who have never even heard the name of Christ. Vast areas of Asia, North Africa and the Middle East have been largely untouched by the gospel. Even in countries where many profess to be Christians there is great ignorance. There is still a desperate need for workers
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