Missionary Nate Beckman uses the analogy of Thai food missing key ingredients to illustrate what may be missing in our approach to world evangelism.
Scripture TextMatthew 9:35-10:1
Main Points or Ideas
What Jesus Saw:
- A Hopeless Humanity: People harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd
- A Coming Harvest of Judgment: The harvest represents separation and judgment, not just salvation
- A Woeful Lack of Laborers: Despite all Jesus had done, there were still too few workers
The Missing Ingredient:
- Jesus' Command: "Pray earnestly" (literally "beg") the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers
- The Problem: We pray for the salvation of the lost but rarely beg God fervently for more missionaries
- The Challenge: If we're going to pray fervently for laborers without being hypocritical, we must include "Lord, do you want me?"
ConclusionThe missing ingredient may be fervent prayer for God to send laborers, coupled with our willingness to be part of the answer to our own prayers.
