Berita NECF Newletters

Harvesting the Unreached

Description: By Rev. Datuk Dr. Prince Guneratnam
NECF Malaysia Chairman

The Christian understanding today of the harvest refers to those without Christ and need to be saved. In order to reach sinners and bring them to the saving knowledge of Christ, we need to take certain measures. The story in Mark chapter five gives us a clear illustration of what sin does and what we need to do to help the lost find new life.

"When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him: ‘My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live’. So Jesus went with him. When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, ‘Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep’. But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha, Koum!’ (which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, get up!’). Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat". (Mark 5:21–24, 38–43)

I would like to take note of Jairus and what he did to illustrate the steps we need to take as soul winners or harvesters of the unreached.

Faith in God Jairus had the faith to believe that Jesus could still heal his daughter. He came to Jesus and said: "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." (Mk 5: 23) Jairus recognised the power Jesus had and his faith in Jesus compelled him to plead for his daughter’s healing. His request was an expression of a positive faith in God. As a result, his daughter was raised from the dead.

Similarly, we should have the faith to believe that God can and will save and transform our lives. This conviction will certainly encourage us to fervently share the Gospel with non-believers whenever opportunities come our way. Faith in God will release His indwelling power to work within us and through us to bring in a good harvest.

Faith in God will do miracles—the miracle of salvation. This is the key to an abundant harvest. "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." (Eph. 3:20)

Love for the lost Our non-believing family members, neighbours and friends stand at the point of death—eternal separation from God. Are you concerned enough to want to reach out to them? Jairus told Jesus: "My little daughter is dying." (Mk 5:23) His love for her drove him to seek Jesus out for healing. Like Jairus, our love for the unsaved should lead us to positive action that will bring salvation to the lost.

Faith in God must be accompanied by love for those lost in sin and are destined for eternal condemnation. "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son." (Jn 3:18) John goes on to say that "whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains in him." (Jn 3:36) What an awesome responsibility and challenge we have! Our motivation must be love. Paul said: "The love of God compels us." (2 Cor. 5:14)

Right motive The Bible says, "Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31) We should not share Christ for personal gain. Sometimes, we think that when a wealthy or talented person gets saved, he will be a great blessing to the church. So, we subconsciously target our evangelism at people whom we think will be of benefit to us or the church. This is absolutely wrong.

Our motive must always be to glorify God. James 4:3 says: "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." In soul-winning we must always remember that heaven and hell are real. People will be eternally lost without Jesus. We should win souls at all cost with the right motive. However, right motives alone will not win souls. We must also match it with diligent effort.

Effort Most Christians think praying is enough to bring people to Christ. But, it is not. Prayer must couple with effort to reach the lost. To ensure a good harvest, we should be diligent in our efforts and this is hard work. It is one thing to pray for the salvation of others and yet another to witness to them. We should seize every opportunity to witness, testify and urge others to turn to Jesus. If this demands a sacrifice of time and pleasure and causes us inconvenience, we should put self aside and gladly oblige the other person. What matters most is the life and destiny of the person.

Jairus was one of the synagogue rulers but he humbled himself and made every effort to seek Jesus’ help. Jesus was despised and mistreated by the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Scribes. Yet, Jairus made the effort to come to Jesus and entreated Him earnestly to heal his daughter.

Therefore, if we want to win souls, we must put our faith in God who wants all men to be saved. We must have love for the lost, have the right motives in witnessing and make every effort to do so. Then Jesus, the Lord of the harvest, will empower us with His Spirit to bring in a plentiful harvest.



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