I was studying St. Matthew’s Gospel chapter 9 the other day and when I got to verses 35 through 38, the Holy opened my eyes to something so amazing. Something I had never seen before. Something that was revolutionary. Something that got me so stunned that my only response was tears. I’ve been reading this passage for a long time but never noticed what exactly the Lord wanted me to see. O how it blessed me. Let’s read it together from the New Living Translation of the Bible:
“Jesus traveled through all the cities and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And wherever he went, he healed people of every sort of disease and illness. He felt great pity for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn’t know where to go for help. They were like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, “The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields.” (Matthew 9:35-38, NLT).
The Holy Spirit made it so clear to me that Jesus was particular about the kind of labourers He asked His disciples to pray the Father to send into the harvest field. What kind of labourers was Jesus asking for? What kind of labourers were fitting for the great harvest? Jesus asked His disciples to pray the Father – the Lord of the harvest – to send in labourers of His kind. Supernatural labourers who would do exactly the kind of labour He was doing in the harvest field. What kind of labour was Jesus doing in the harvest field? We see it in verse 35 “Jesus traveled through all the cities and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And wherever he went, he healed people of every sort of disease and illness.” He was not only preaching. He was not only teaching. He was not only healing the sick. He was teaching, preaching and healing – all three! The problem is that we have never connected verse 35 to 36-38. We always start from 36-38 and begin to talk about the harvest. What a limitation. No! To get the harvest into the Father’s ban, we must do it the way Jesus did it – we must do the three! Jesus was not just talking about preachers but labourers after His kind – teaching, preaching and healing! O how we need this in a world full of unbelief, sickness, darkness and distress. When we teach, we impart the knowledge of the Word. When we preach, we announce or advertise the Kingdom of God. When we heal, we display the power of the Kingdom! Doesn’t the world need all three? Imagine what the world would be like if we have many labourers after this kind. Think about having Jesus mulitiplied and sent into all the world. That’s it! We’d run the devil out of business!
Jesus linked Heaven and earth during His earthly ministry – that’s the supernatural! (John 1:51, NLT). We His co-labourers should do the same! Faith is the link between the natural and the Supernatural! It all starts from simply accepting and believing this. No wonder in John 14:12 Jesus said to His disciples and to us in extension, “"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” (NKJV). I strongly believe there’s a reason you are reading this piece right now. There’s going to be a spark up of the Supernatural in your life – get ready! God wants to use you to accomplish great things for His Kingdom. God wants all His children to walk in the Supernatural. He desires it for us more than we could ever desire it for ourselves. He knows that we’d have multiplied impact when the Supernatural is in operation in our lives. What would bring the crowd? The Supernatural! It simplifies the task and multiplies the result and impact.
If you are not doing the three, you won’t be as effective as you should. It’s time to get hungry for it! Tell the Lord, I want to continue the ministry of Jesus here on earth. I want to be the kind of labourer Jesus wants into the harvest field. “O Lord, we want all three!”. When you read Matt. 28:19 and Mark 16:15-18, you’d see that that is what the Great Commission is all about – all three! Nothing else will do. Let the spirit of supplication rise in you now as you read this piece. Be inspired now to pray for the Church – the body of Christ to arise and take on the divine responsibility given us by the Master – to teach, preach and heal the whole world. I believe that the Holy Spirit will manifest Himself like never before as we step out in faith. We shall experience more of His outpouring in all the nations of the earth. But we must act first. We must move. We must take the initiative! Mark 16:20 says “And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.” That is how it works. Smith Wigglesworth, of blessed memory, will always say “Acts of the Apostles was written because the Apostle acted.” The Holy Spirit lives (resides) inside the Believer – you and me! The move of the Church is the move of the Holy Spirit. Let’s take Him to the nations. He will speak through us, teach through us, preach through us and heal through us, glorifying Jesus everywhere! Become a Supernatural labourer today!
PONDER ON THESE: Matthew 10:7-8 “And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”
Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Luke 4:18,19 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Acts 10:38 “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
Zach. 4:6 “…Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts.”
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