I don’t know which was more exciting for me–hearing the joy and relief from members of Southbrook who brought friends and witnessed them come to Christ–or the actual harvest of nearly 100 souls this past weekend! Both are important and both a part of the whole process–the presenting of the gospel and the receiving of the gospel. Jesus calls it the reaping and the sowing. In the reverse order :).
Last week Brookies sowed to the tune of about a hundred guests–these guests heard the gospel and the Lord made sure the reaping of the harvest brought 92 people home to Jesus! That’s how it works. But did you catch the ratio? The Lord is indeed faithful! When He says the harvest is ripe, it’s RIPE! That’s 92 percent of the people who showed up! Only one thing would be better…200 guests, 300 guests, 1000 guests. So, once again I’m asking you Southbrook–to join me in the sowing, gathering, and reaping of the harvest @ Southbrook Church this weekend.
If you’re hesitant, I understand. There are spiritual forces at work any time we decide to step out of our comfort zone for God. Let’s talk through this, ok?
If you are a part of Southbrook but have never brought anyone with you to church–why? What’s holding you back? I’m not saying this in some sort of judgmental way. I really want to know. I really want to help you step out for God and do great things, but He won’t give you something great if you refuse to complete the small tasks. So let’s figure this out.
The following are some of the more common hurdles that keep Christ followers from following through in obedience to what God called them to do:
#1 Confusion
You don’t quite understand what it is God’s asking you to do?
Um, I’m not trying to be condescending here, but that’s hogwash! Come on. The things Jesus asked us to do were almost always clearly understood by children. If they get it, can we really play the confusion card? No. Here are a few things Jesus asks us to do. After reading the list ask yourself if you truly comprehend it…
- Read the Bible
- Pray
- Tell others what Jesus did for you.
- Follow His commands (if this is the one confusing part, start with the 10 commandments. Most today find these challenging enough! I’m just saying)
- Fellowship together each week with others in the body of Christ (i.e. Go to church)
- Tithe (tithe means tenth. We are asked to give this small portion back to God so that we dethrone ‘stuff’ in our lives each week).
Tough to understand? Didn’t think so.
#2 Fear
Listen, if you don’t feel at least a little, “AAAaaaauuuugggghhhh!!!!” when God reveals what He wants for your life…then you probably didn’t hear form God! I like what Perry Noble said about fear…
“We will never become who God has called us to be and do what He has called us to do if we do not face our fears.
- David faced his fear and stepped out to face Goliath.
- Moses faced his fear of not being able to speak and went before Pharoah.
- Noah faced his fear of not knowing how to build a boat
People that accomplish great things for God MUST fight through their fears because reality is than God has never asked anyone to do anything that was easy (other than receiving Christ!)”
#3 Nay-sayers
Whenever you decide to do something great for the glory of the King–there will be individuals waiting in the wings with buckets of cold water prepared specially to dump on your parade. Count on it. For what it’s worth, here’s what I advise–IGNORE THEM! 99.99999 % of the time they are doing nothing for God. Their spiritual gift is often criticism. They are armchair QB’s who have never seen a minute’s playing time on the field and you would only learn how to be nothing for Christ if you listened to this group. Stay far away from them. They have zero knowledge on what it’s like to step out for Jesus.
In other words, never take swimming lessons from a rock!
#4 The ‘Some day’ lie
I still remember when I saw a round wooden object on the desk of someone I greatly respected. I was just a kid but he told me I could look at it. It was a chuck of wood carved into a disk like shape and I thought it was for throwing or something. Then my friend told me it wasn’t for throwing at all. Actually, it was called a Tuit and it really wasn’t for anything. But He said that he was glad he had it because apparently it was quite valuable since so many people he ran into constantly talked about how they were going to get one themselves some day. I was perplexed.
“Why would they want one of these so bad,” I asked
He smiled and looked at me with a wink. “Oh, I suppose it was something else they were really referring to whenever they responded to challenges with, ‘Oh, I plan on getting around to it one of these days.’ But as for me, I just went ahead and got me this one so I’d always have that excuse covered when I knew God was telling me to get off my rear end and do what He commands.”
#5 The Partnership Principle
I hear this a lot, “If God really wanted to reach all these people He wouldn’t need us. He could just zap them, or wave His heavenly magic wand or whatever and they’d respond. Why would He need my help? I’d only mess things up.”
Boo hoo. That really speaks to me.
Really pastor Rob? What does it say?
It says, ‘Cut the crapolla and start doing what Jesus asks you to do!’ Pardon my French (Yes, when you add ‘olla’ on the end, it makes it French. I’m pretty sure.) but, SERIOUSLY?! Are you really expecting people to buy that? Let alone God buying it? Of course we aren’t adequate. Of course God could do better without us. We are flawed, sinful, human beings! But God chooses to partner with us in order to mold us ever more into the image of His Son. Instead of whining about how you ‘aren’t good enough,’ simply praise God for letting you be on the team warts and all and then get busy!