Prepare Now!

We live in exciting days leading toward historical events of the church. I am convinced we are on the verge of a great end-time harvest. As we race toward the last chapter in history, we need to prepare for hundreds of thousands who will be coming into the kingdom of God in our communities.

Jesus, Himself, tells us to be constantly alert and ready. “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest” (John 4:35).

Through the ages, the Lord has drawn multitudes into His kingdom. Unfortunately, a large portion of the harvest was often lost because Christians were not alert and ready for the harvest.

For example, I remember well the church was unprepared for the huge harvest that occurred when I was a teenager in the late 1960s to mid 1970s. Called the “Jesus People Movement,” it resulted in a massive number of conversions to Christianity among young people throughout the USA. Much of the church was unprepared to accept this radical new breed of Christians. The tension between the Jesus People and the established churches was a source of irritation for the Jesus People who saw the church as slow-moving and steeped in tradition. Some churches and Christian communities welcomed the new converts with open arms and discipled them, but many new believers fell by the wayside and became disillusioned or floundered in their new life in Christ.

If the church had been prepared and more understanding of these young people during this huge revival, I believe the harvest would have been much greater. In my opinion, there were simply not enough spiritual fathers and mothers willing to put their arms around these “Jesus freaks” and nurture them as new believers in Christ until they could stand on their own. If each Christian had taken just one new believer under his or her wing, it would have made all of the difference. May we not make the same mistake in our generation! The Lord is calling for thousands of spiritual fathers and mothers who are willing to disciple, one-on-one, the coming harvest. Let’s prepare now!