Fri/Sat/Sun—September 1–3•A Heart for the Harvest 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 9:37–38) In today’s Scripture passage, Jesus used an agricultural metaphor to describe how things happen in His kingdom. He calls people to go out into the harvest field, not to wait for the harvest to come in on its own. But how does that happen? Is it the result of simple willpower? Does it happen simply because we convince men that they need to do more? No, because Jesus said we should pray that the Lord would send out workers. It must come from a heart change in us. No amount of human persuasion or pressure will bring about the desired result. When I don’t care about men, or I’m apathetic towards my neighbors, I have a heart issue. Something in my heart has grown hard and cold, so that I don’t see people the way Jesus sees them. That stiffness blinds me to the origin of my own faith, causing me to ignore the fact that once upon a time, Jesus rescued me. Jesus can address that issue and transform my heart as the Holy Spirit works in my life. The Lord sends out the workers into His harvest field. If you’re still waiting for the harvest to come to you, then I challenge you to spend some time praying that God will send out workers into the harvest field. And ask Him to change your heart, so you can be part of the answer to that prayer. MIMBS 7 Let’s pray: Lord, I trust that You can do in me what I could never do for myself. That’s the promise and the hope of the gospel. I pray that You would change my heart. Convince me how much You love me, and how Your power changes me from the inside out. Then inspire me to overcome discouragement, so I would not look at the results of what I do with other men, but I would ask, “Am I loving men the way that Jesus loves them?” Lord, I pray that more and more You would make the answer to that be yes. For Your glory, we pray in Jesus’s name, Amen. Daily Reading: Job 40:1–42:17, Ecclesiastes 1:1–6:12, 2 Corinthians 5:11–7:7, Psalm 45:1–47:9 Proverbs 22:14–16 FOR YOUR SMALL GROUP August 28– September 3 Summarize the story of Zaccheus as described in Luke 19. ■ Name one man who might be your “Zaccheus.” ■ List three ways you might be able to meet him in the environment where he is comfortable. ■ Which of those three possibilities will you try first? 45
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