What do you see?

"And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom and curing all kinds of disease and every weakness and infirmity.

When He saw the throngs, He was moved with pity and sympathy for them, because they were bewildered (harassed and distressed and dejected and helpless), like sheep without a

shepherd.

Then He said to His disciples, The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few.

So pray to the Lord of the harvest to force out and thrust laborers into His harvest." Matthew 9:35-38 AMPC

So often we are waiting for others to do the very things that Jesus asks us to do!

Here we find Jesus demonstrating how to fulfil what is often referred to as the great commission.

He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on people who are ill, and they will get well.’ Mark 16:15-18NIV

As you go about your day, how observant are you?

Are you continually focused on what’s in the news, your finances, your health, your job etc? Are you conscious of the Holy Spirits desire to use you each and every day to be a signpost or answer to someone’s prayer?

Do you ‘see’ those around you? Do we actually ‘see’ people through the eyes of the Lord or are we just too caught up with our own lives that we miss the opportunities in front of us?

As Jesus went about his business, he used his eyes and his voice to respond to what he saw! ‘When He saw the throngs, His heart was engaged, He was moved with pity and sympathy for them, because they were bewildered (harassed and distressed and dejected and helpless), like sheep without a shepherd.’ So, He spoke, sharing good news that resulted in people being healed as He laid His hands upon them!

Jesus was on a mission! He was re-presenting the father, reconciling us to the very one who formed us in our mother’s womb, the one who knew us before we were even formed, the one whose signature runs through our DNA. The one who commissions us still to go and do!

Hopefully we are all doing this to one degree or another. Not everyone is called to Nations, most of us remain in the places of our birth and live out our lives until we are called home. However, the world hasn’t changed that much in terms of the pain and suffering we see in this world. We are still in the days of Noah. The internet and news allow us greater access to what is going on in our world than ever before! We see far more than previous generations and in my opinion have far greater revelation of God’s word.

It draws to mind, Jesus’s teaching on the parable of the Sower.

‘And He said to them, To you has been entrusted the mystery of the kingdom of God [that is, the secret counsels of God which are hidden from the ungodly]; but for those outside [of our circle] everything becomes a parable,

In order that they may [indeed] look and look but not see and perceive and may hear and hear but not grasp and comprehend, lest haply they should turn again, and it their wilful rejection of the truth] should be forgiven them.

And He said to them, Do you not discern and understand this parable? How then is it possible for you to discern and understand all the parables?

The Sower sows the Word.

The ones along the path are those who have the Word sown [in their hearts], but when they hear, Satan comes at once and [by force] takes away the message which is sown in them.

And in the same way the ones sown upon stony ground are those who, when they hear the Word, at once receive and accept and welcome it with joy;

And they have no real root in themselves, and so they endure for a little while; then when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word, they immediately are offended (become displeased, indignant, resentful) and they stumble and fall away.

And the ones sown among the thorns are others who hear the Word;

Then the cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless.

And those sown on the good (well-adapted) soil are the ones who hear the Word and receive and accept and welcome it and bear fruit—some thirty times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some [even] a hundred times as much.’

How much we must guard against the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches!

‘But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.’ Matthew 6:33

As a young Christian I couldn’t get enough of the bible, I would read it for hours and ask for opportunities to talk and pray for people. He honoured my hearts cry and gave me so many adventures to not only talk to others but to prophetically speak into their lives, ‘read’ their mail and pray with people and see them healed.

I had no church background, like most people just the occasional weddings and funerals. But when I heard the gospel, a fire was lit in my heart to know this Jesus!

Over the years I allowed my passion to dampened by disappointment, betrayal and all the other things that the enemy uses to rob, kill, steal and destroy! Despite it all God never let me go even when I wanted to quit!

He sent the right people into my life at the right time to fan the flame again.

Valley experiences can teach us so many things if we allow them to, about ourselves and especially about the goodness of God. We pass through the valley of weeping (Psalm 84:6) and the shadow of a dog never bit anyone! (Psalm 23:4).

Don’t quit help is on the way! (Psalm 18:6)

Jesus allowed what he saw to motivate him to pray.

Then He said to His disciples, The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few.

So pray to the Lord of the harvest to force out and thrust laborers into His harvest.

Matthew 9:35-38 AMPC

As a result of saying this, Jesus in the next chapter sends out the twelve disciples giving them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness.

EVRY KIND OF DISEASE AND ILLNESS! Then after the success of the twelve He sent the seventy! By now the numbers of sent ones should be in the millions!

Jesus said ‘The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few.

So pray to the Lord of the harvest to force out and thrust laborers into His harvest.’

The boiler room to me is the most important part of a ship. Engine room failures affect the whole ship; it can cause the ship to become stationary and an easy target for the enemy. It has to be attended 24/7, it takes a company of workers to each know their role in keeping the ship well-oiled and functioning to full capacity. If the engine room is disabled for any reason, it may nullify all of the weapons on board despite their fire power! If the ship is part of a group deployment it may also affect the success of the collective mission. The other ships go on ahead leaving the crippled ship to her own fete, because the mission must be fulfilled. The crew then pool their resources into creative ways to repair any damage so that the ship can eventually rejoin the group and fulfil it’s mission!

When the engine room is running well, it allows the captain of the ship the freedom to flow with the charts it has. In times of war, it enables the ship to out manoeuvre the enemy and get the weaponry it carries into the right position, to adjust its speed and enable the ship to be battle ready.

The crew then focus on the job in hand. They work in unity, know their function, maintain discipline and position. Now, we have all kinds of technology but in times past a watchman was posted in the crow’s nest with binoculars to watch for enemy activity and alert those below to outrun or engage in a counterattack.

A church, a ministry an individual is only as strong as their prayer life!

Is your engine room up to scratch or does it need an overhaul?

Watchmen, gatekeepers and intercessors are vital in this hour. We may not battle in the natural realm like wars, but the battle we face takes place in the heavenlies.

The Battle for Britain during WW2 was won in the skies. It was those brave pilots who flew multiple missions, many losing their lives that stopped the invasion of Nazi Germany and prompted Winston Churchill to say these words:

'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few'

‘For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.’ Ephesians 6:12

The gatekeepers need to commission the watchmen, who then mobilise the intercessors.

Gatekeepers to me are the leaders, who need and must enter a reciprocal relationship based on trust, honour and faith with the watchmen and intercessors. The watchmen see what’s going on in the spirit, (Often what is happening in the natural realm can be a sign of what is happening in the spirit.) then report back to the leaders. The watchmen and or gatekeepers then alert the intercessors who clear the airways so that the workers who have been prayed for can multiply and go and gather the harvest unhindered!

It sounds so simple! The bible gives clear instructions and illustrations to succeed in life for an individual, church, ministry or nation to live in victory and to enforce the victory that Jesus won at the cross!

Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate how we work together for the greater good!

‘How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!

It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard,

running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.

It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.

For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.’ Psalm 133:1-3

Let us not be like Israel, as a whole generation apart from two men, were kept from entering the promised land through their constant moaning’s. They died in the wilderness!

Join or start a prayer group, offer your own home and begin praying into the release of workers for the harvest. Who knows where it might take you!

You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. John 4:39NLT

“Prayers that move you move him. Prayers that don’t move you probably won’t move him. It’s not their length; it’s their authenticity.” Bill Johnson